Apple cops stern warning for misleading customers
Apple has been issued a warning by the Commerce Commission for misleading customers about its replacement policy.
The company behind iPhones, iTunes and Mac computers also led New Zealand customers to believe that their faulty Apple products were being replaced with new products when they were in fact supplied with remanufactured products, the commission said.
After investigating Apple under the Fair Trading Act the consumer watchdog issued a warning to the United States technology giant for ‘‘likely’’ misleading customers about their rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) and about its replacement products being new.
The commission said Apple was likely to have breached the Fair Trading Act in several ways, including telling customers that products were only covered by a two-year guarantee.
Commissioner Anna Rawlings said this was misleading as guarantees in the CGA did not expire after a legally prescribed period of time. ‘‘They apply for a reasonable period,’’ she said.
What was ‘‘reasonable’’ depended on the type of good, statements made about it and how the customer used it, she said.
‘‘Although businesses may form a view about how long a product should generally last, they must assess each reported fault on its own merits.
‘‘They should not base decisions solely on how long a consumer has owned a product.’’
The commission has a role to play when businesses mislead customers about their rights because this breaches the Fair Trading Act. Apple was also warned for:
Referring customers exclusively to the manufacturer of non-Apple branded products and then excluding Apple’s liability;
Telling customers they must accept a defined number of replacement goods before an alternative remedy was made;
Excluding liability for consequential losses when customers might be entitled to compensation; and
Providing conflicting information on its website about whether spare parts and repairs would be available for some products.