iStore by St Moritz (Apple Authorized Service Provider) — Attraction in Englewood

Hidden fees and misrepresented service.

I brought in my MacBook to have an issue related to my file system and startup fixed. I described the exact situation and issue, the solutions I’d tried, and explained that I was able to do a restore from backup myself but was looking to avoid having to go that route. I said I was hoping that they had some tools or software I didn’t have myself and could fix my problem for me without me having to restore from backup. I was told as long as no physical parts were broken they should almost definitely be able to fix it. Based on that info I paid to have it done, and paid the $50 extra have it done ASAP rather than wait 48 hours.

15 minutes later they call me up to tell me what the issue is (exactly the issue I told them it was), and said I’d have to buy a hard drive from them so they could back up to the hard drive and restore from that backup. Not only was that the exact solution I said I didn’t need or want from them, but I was also never told that there was the chance of an additional charge from them to complete the repair. When I first came in I was told that there would only be extra charges if parts needed to be replaced. I have no clue why a shop like theirs doesn’t have a hard drive lying around that they could use. So essentially the $120 base fee is completely wasted unless I fork over another $100 or whatever it was to buy a hard drive from them. I felt completely extorted.

So 20 minutes after dropping it off, I’m back in the store being handed my MacBook back and being told that the problem is exactly what I said it was. For $170 I received no fix, and only after the fact did they explain that this was purely the cost of the “evaluation”, despite telling me right before I paid that they’d “almost definitely be able to fix it if no parts were broken”.

I asked for a partial refund, considering they didn’t do anything to fix my problem or provide me with any information I didn’t have, and it only took them 15 minutes. I said I’d be happy to pay the $50 rush fee, but the $120 base fee was ridiculous considering the situation. I was told no refunds. In fact that’s actually written on a document you receive from them - after you’ve already paid them. As another note, that document says “Please see the reverse side or second page for Terms & Conditions”, yet included no reverse side or second page.

So I’d be cautious going here. They completely misrepresented their service. I shared with them the exact issue, and they told me it could be fixed and said there shouldn’t be any extra fees unless something was physically broken. Given that I described the exact issue before paying, they had everything they needed in order to tell me what their solution would be and that it 1) was the solution I explicitly said I didn’t want and 2) would cost me more money. They just took my money though without telling me either of those things. Turns out you’re forking over $120 to just have them evaluate the issue, not fix it, and they could have extra charges you have to pay (or your money spent was all wasted), and there’s no refunds. Felt like a complete scam, I don’t know how Apple is willing to attach their brand to a store like this but I’ll be sure to reach out to Apple to let them know about the experience I had. I will also be disputing the charge through my credit card.

So in short I went in and very specifically described the service I needed, was led to believe that I’d be able to receive that service, and then was given no help while they asked for more money from me.

The woman at the counter who received me and heard me out was very polite and professional, my issue is purely with the owner and their...

I will explain why I gave them 3 stars. I dropped my IPhone to recover my info because my phone was dead. They tried the regular recover process, but it wasn’t successful, then they sent it to a clean room. That process took 4 weeks. My phone returned from the clean room with my info backed up in a external hard drive. The recover process was successful but not everything, they explained to me that I can restore my info very easy. Well I went to apple store (GSP) to return my dead phone and get a new one. But my old phone turn on, I was in shock, and I didn’t read my invoice or they (IStore guy) didn’t explain me that my phone was repaired in order to recover my info but it cannot be used as a regular phone. I didn’t think about because I was expecting my backup in the hard drive that I totally forgot that I could backup my phone in my laptop. Well, finally I got my new iPhone from apple (under warranty) after 1 hour because my phone turn on. When I tried to restore my info from the HD I couldn’t. So once again I have to go back to IStore to ask for help so I can restore my info. They told that I have to left my HD (backup) and they will call me when my info is uploaded in their computer. Two days later they called me and let me know that I can drop my phone. Finally I dropped my phone,’and once again they told me that they will call me when my phone is ready, four hours later finally my phone is ready. But not at all. They didn’t backup my info with the encrypted option, so all my password in all my apps and WiFi password are lost. I have to start all over again with all that info....

While the staff were friendly and polite, I cannot recommend this place for repairs. I brought in my MacBook Pro, which had stopped working, and was told by the technician that the only solution was to replace the motherboard—resulting in the loss of all my data. Because I needed my data, they recommended a costly data recovery service, insisting that there was no way to repair the laptop without wiping it. I decided not to proceed with their repairs due to the high cost and opted to purchase a new computer instead. I did, however, pay for the data recovery.

Later, I visited a different repair shop next door, where they were able to fix my MacBook for less than half of iStore’s quoted price—and they managed to save all my data. Unfortunately, iStore did not offer any refund, despite having misled me into paying for unnecessary services. I feel like they pushed me toward a service I didn’t need, rather than exploring all repair options upfront.

Dishonest service, thus the 1 star review. Shop around before agreed to...