I took in to a repairers in Guildford to see if they could identify the fault but it behaved perfectly for them. So I brought it home and it was OK for a few months then started playing up again so took it back again and they couldn't fault it. I took back home and once more it was OK for few months.
At the beginning of this year the fault started to occur more frequently so I took it to another repairer and it failed for him. Long story short, he said I'd need a new screen assembly (£360 + labour). Then he thought about it and said as it is under 6 yrs old I could try taking it to Apple and claim under the EU 6 yr warranty regulations. I booked a session at the Genius bar and thankfully the imac failed on cue. The technician said it needs a new screen and as it is a late 2009 'vintage' model they do not hold the spares any longer.
I said, in my opinion if the machine is still within a warranty period they can't just say there are no spares & wash their hands of the problem. The Apple technician suggested I call Apple Care again which I did and their initial response was 'it's a 2009 vintage machine and there is nothing they can do'. I said I don't care if they consider it a 2009 model, I bought it brand new in 2010. I asked for a supervisor and went through my reasoning with her and she said they would repair under the EU warranty regs and was told be to take it to a Apple approved reseller. This I did and after a week they said they couldn't get the spares. I contacted the Apple Care supervisor again who said leave it with her.
Today I went the the Apple Store in Kingston and collect a brand spanking new 27 inch iMac
p.s. I'm still voting out.
