Suit v. Apple on iPhones gets OK
By Yang Jian |
October 25, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A Beijing court has accepted the lawsuit of a Chinese consumer rights advocate who sued Apple Inc for allegedly selling refurbished iPhones as new in one of its Beijing stores.
The Beijing Xicheng District People's Court is hearing the case and will begin a court session soon, a press officer of the court told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
Wang Hai, well known in China for his campaigns against counterfeiters, claimed Apple was cheating customers by selling refurbished phones and filed a lawsuit on behalf of two customers in August. He sued the Apple Electronics Products Commerce (Beijing) Company, which is the Beijing branch of the US company, and its legal representative Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
On July 9, the two customers each bought an iPhone for 4,999 yuan (US$783) at the Apple retail store in Xidan Street in Beijing.
The warranty period should have been one year, but when they searched for the serial numbers of their phones on Apple's website, they found the warranties were due to expire on January 28 and April 26 next year.
Wang said it proved their iPhones were not new and likely were refurbished. "It is a very serious discrimination to Chinese consumers, because refurbished phones are being sold at cheaper prices abroad, but the same as new ones in China," he said.
Wang wants Apple to terminate the sales contracts with the consumers, return all the money and compensate another 4,999 yuan along with other costs for the lawsuit. Apple was also asked to apologize to the consumers.
The litigation demands are consistent with China's consumer-protection law, he said.
The Beijing cases are not rare. The anti-counterfeit hotline that provides legal aid to consumers is receiving complaints of more cases where consumers found they bought refurbished iPhones, said Li Jing, who is Wang's assistant.
In Shanghai, a consumer complained on the Internet that his friend found the new iPhone 4 she bought at the Apple flagship store in Lujiazui last week was activated three months ago. He claimed the receiver also did not work well and the Apple store had agreed to exchange a new phone to his friend.
An Apple hotline staffer said there might be time difference between the dates of production and activation, but failed to explain why some phones were activated before customers bought them.
In another case, a local woman surnamed Zhao was surprised to find that her iPhone 4, purchased as new from a non-official store last Thursday, had a repair record from June. A repairman found Zhao's "new" phone had been fixed more than once before.
Apple China was not available to comment yesterday, but a staffer at the Apple store in Lujiazui denied the accusation of selling refurbished products. "It was impossible for the store to sell refurbished phones, and we even promised no-reason returns within 14 days," the staffer said.
The Beijing Xicheng District People's Court is hearing the case and will begin a court session soon, a press officer of the court told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
Wang Hai, well known in China for his campaigns against counterfeiters, claimed Apple was cheating customers by selling refurbished phones and filed a lawsuit on behalf of two customers in August. He sued the Apple Electronics Products Commerce (Beijing) Company, which is the Beijing branch of the US company, and its legal representative Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
On July 9, the two customers each bought an iPhone for 4,999 yuan (US$783) at the Apple retail store in Xidan Street in Beijing.
The warranty period should have been one year, but when they searched for the serial numbers of their phones on Apple's website, they found the warranties were due to expire on January 28 and April 26 next year.
Wang said it proved their iPhones were not new and likely were refurbished. "It is a very serious discrimination to Chinese consumers, because refurbished phones are being sold at cheaper prices abroad, but the same as new ones in China," he said.
Wang wants Apple to terminate the sales contracts with the consumers, return all the money and compensate another 4,999 yuan along with other costs for the lawsuit. Apple was also asked to apologize to the consumers.
The litigation demands are consistent with China's consumer-protection law, he said.
The Beijing cases are not rare. The anti-counterfeit hotline that provides legal aid to consumers is receiving complaints of more cases where consumers found they bought refurbished iPhones, said Li Jing, who is Wang's assistant.
In Shanghai, a consumer complained on the Internet that his friend found the new iPhone 4 she bought at the Apple flagship store in Lujiazui last week was activated three months ago. He claimed the receiver also did not work well and the Apple store had agreed to exchange a new phone to his friend.
An Apple hotline staffer said there might be time difference between the dates of production and activation, but failed to explain why some phones were activated before customers bought them.
In another case, a local woman surnamed Zhao was surprised to find that her iPhone 4, purchased as new from a non-official store last Thursday, had a repair record from June. A repairman found Zhao's "new" phone had been fixed more than once before.
Apple China was not available to comment yesterday, but a staffer at the Apple store in Lujiazui denied the accusation of selling refurbished products. "It was impossible for the store to sell refurbished phones, and we even promised no-reason returns within 14 days," the staffer said.
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