An update on the Apple iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program saga: I finally received my refund request letter on April 3rd, and sent it right back in. The letter said to expect my refund in four to six weeks. As of today, it’s been two months, and I have yet to see a single red cent from the company. Of course, that led to a phone call.

I spoke with a nice young man (of course he was nice, he was named Jason!) who offered to “escalate the issue with accounting” and get back to me in three to five business days. I told him I wasn’t really willing to continue to wait for them to return my money to me, so he offered to pass me on to his supervisor, Sheila. She acknowledged that Apple processed my refund request on April 26th, and that there was no clear reason why I hadn’t seen the refund yet. She offered up her direct phone number, and said that unfortunately, she could only do the same thing — escalate with accounting, and get back to me in three to five days.

So, here’s our timeline to date:

• December 9, 2003: I brought my broken laptop into the Apple Store for repair.
• December 11, 2003: I received my fixed laptop back, and was charged $289 for the repair.
• January 28, 2004: Apple acknowledged the inherent flaw in the iBook logic boards, and started the “proactive” process of contacting people who paid for repairs to offer refunds.
• March 23, 2004: After having never received any contact from Apple, I called them only to find out that they mailed my refund letter to the Apple Store that performed my repair. They quoted one week to get me a new letter to, you know, the place where I live.
• April 2, 2004: I still had no letter in hand, and Apple told me to be patient.
• April 3, 2004: I received my letter, quoting a four to six week turnaround for the refund.
• April 4, 2004: I mailed the signed letter back to Apple.
• April 26, 2004: Apple processed my letter.
• June 8, 2004: After still not having my refund, I called and was told that they now need to escalate the process, and that they will get back to me in three to five business days.

The dates pretty much speak for themselves; I wonder how long this next hurdle will take to get over. I also wonder how long it will take for me to be willing to give Apple any of my money again.