Advanced Search

Share Coverage



Category: Consumer Protection / Regulation / Electronics / Retail / Courts and Trials / Mobile Phones

ACCC takes Apple to court over alleged consumer law breaches

08:49 UTC+8 April 6, 2017 | Lucia Stein

The ACCC alleges Apple illegally denied warranty repairs because of third party work on devices. (Picjumbo.com)

The competition and consumer law watchdog is taking action against Apple over allegations it misled consumers about their warranty rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

Key points:

  • ACCC alleges Apple breached the consumer law by denying warranty repairs to customers who had used a third party repairer
  • Consumer law gives customers rights to repair or replacement of faulty goods beyond manufacturer's warranty
  • ACCC said Apple's move may unfairly discourage people from using third party repairers

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Apple after an investigation into "error 53", which saw iPads or iPhones disabled after users downloaded an Apple IOS update.

The ACCC alleges Apple represented to consumers with faulty products that they were not entitled to a free remedy if their Apple device had previously been repaired by an unauthorised third party repairer.

The regulator is arguing that the law is clear that consumer rights are not void because a consumer has had their goods repaired by a third party.

"Consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law exist independently of any manufacturer's warranty and are not extinguished simply because a consumer has goods repaired by a third party," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

"Denying a consumer their consumer guarantee rights simply because they had chosen a third party repairer not only impacts those consumers but can dissuade other customers from making informed choices about their repair options - including where they may be offered at lower cost than the manufacturer."

The ACCC is alleging breaches of the law relating to 275 customers, with each breach carrying a maximum penalty of $1.1 million.

However, even if the ACCC wins its case in full, it is extremely unlikely that Apple would be fined anywhere near the maximum penalty for each breach.

Rights outside of warranty


The Australian Consumer Law's guarantees mean you can get some faulty goods replaced even if they are out of warranty.

Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers are entitled to have their goods fixed or replaced at no cost to them in situations where the goods or services are not of an acceptable quality - that is where they have faults, visible damage or do not do what you would normally expect them to.

Mr Sims said those consumer guarantees extend to software or software updates loaded onto a product, which means any problems caused by software updates may entitle consumers to a free substitute under the Australian Consumer Law.

The ABC has contacted Apple for its response.

AustraliaPlus


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend