Apple in Australian court for 'refusing to service' third party devicesApril 6, 2017 - 08:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple was Thursday, April 6 taken to court by Australia's consumer watchdog for violating laws by allegedly refusing to look at or repair some iPads and iPhones previously serviced by a third party, AFP reports. The tech giant "made false, misleading, or deceptive representations about consumers' rights under the Australian Consumer Law," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) charged. The proceedings, against Apple Pty Limited and its US-based parent Apple Inc, were brought on behalf of 275 consumers. Under Australian law, each breach can attract a fine of up to Aus$1.1 million (US$830 million), although it is up to the court to determine the size of the penalty. The case followed an ACCC investigation into reports users who had an error that disabled their iPads or iPhones after updating their operating systems were "routinely refused" by Apple to have their devices looked at or serviced. These customers previously had their devices serviced by a third-party, "even where that repair was unrelated to the fault", the government body said. "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. "(It) can dissuade other customers from making informed choices about their repair options including where they may be offered at lower cost than the manufacturer." Apple in Australia had no immediate response. It is not the first time Apple has fallen foul of the ACCC. In 2013, it worked with the watchdog over a court-enforceable undertaking after alleged "misleading representations" to customers that it did not need to refund, replace or repair some products even though required to under Australian law. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. |