Now the company has refunded my money, I thought I'd share the e-mail that caught them out. It's all in the first paragraph. I had asked them the question why they failed to notice any exterior damage until a week after I handed the machine in (according to their engineers report) and made it clear I was considering a small claim...
Hello Daniel,
Further to your faxed letter, as the main damage to the computer was internal it was not possible to detect this from the outer casing when the machine was booked in. All that appeared on the outside bottom corner was a small area which was scratched and cracked. This has nothing whatsoever to do with what you consider to be inadequacies with our booking in system.
I will be speaking to our Solicitors about your conclusion that our Apple Centre is liable for the damage to your iMac which caused the repair to be chargeable. This is a very serious allegation and as a reputable Apple Centre we will not allow our name to be tarnished due to an event which did NOT occur on these premises. If a machine was ever damaged by a member of staff here we would pay the necessary costs to restore the machine to proper working order and would never contemplate trying to pass on any unnecessary expense to the customer. I am quite frankly appalled at the conclusion you have come to.
I would also advise you to ensure that any comments you make about our service are able to be backed up by hard facts not assumptions. We have endeavoured to provide a good service and maintain that you have not been treated badly by anyone at this Centre. We are not prepared to jeopardise our status as an Apple Centre by trying to put through repairs under warranty which are clearly caused by accidental damage.
No doubt we will be hearing from your legal advisor in due course,
Regards,