A disgruntled Apple customer is staging a one-man protest outside the company’s store in Watford.

Dave Carter, 51, has been outside the store in the intu centre since Monday, informing passers by that the company is “arrogant”.

Mr Carter bought a Macbook Pro for his 19-year-old daughter for Christmas in 2014.

He said the computer does not work due to manufacturing problems – whereas Apple claims it is water damage.

Having spent an hour waiting to speak to the manager about the broken laptop on Monday, the father-of-two, who works in technology, decided to take a stand.

Mr Carter said: “Apple is lacking in after service care.

“People passing me during the week have told me they are appalled with product durability, with many experiencing different issues, but all with the same outcome – Apple’s exorbitant after service costs.

“Apple has the monopoly and it has made them arrogant.

“Their customer care is non-existent and there is no consideration on a customer level.”

Mr Carter was quoted £800 for repairs, almost as much as the laptop’s original cost of £1,000 with a 15 per cent student discount.

He added: “After being told at my initial appointment there were no previous technical tickets raised for the Apple support team, as if by magic they were miraculously found.

“The retail costs for this work amounted to £508.

“If I was to add the warranty work and the estimated cost to fix this machine, the cost post-sale would be approximately £1,300, which is a lot of money for a computer that is just over a year old.

“I work in technology, I know the parts are cheap.

“I am a law-abiding citizen but someone has to take a stand.

“I will come back everyday until something is done.

“What I am most annoyed about is the lack of goodwill.

“The laptop is for my daughter’s university work and she is currently the one suffering.

“It is not about the money at all.

“It is the principle. Apple should look at each individual case and make decisions based on that, not just have a one rule fits all attitude.”

Mr Carter, who lives in Nightingale Close, Abbots Langley, said he would be back over the weekend to protest.

He has been removed from the shopping centre in High Street twice this week after police were called by staff at the store.

He said the last resort would be to take the laptop to a service provider for repairs.

Apple said it did not comment on individual cases.