Apple’s repair policies attacked on two fronts

The Commerce Commission is investigating complaints from Apple customers who are unhappy about it replacing faulty iPads and iPhones with refurbished devices.

The watchdog revealed its investigation after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed proceedings against Apple in Australia’s Federal Court.

The Australian watchdog has alleged Apple broke Australian consumer law by telling customers with faulty iPhones and iPads that they were not entitled to a free repair if their device had previously been repaired by an ‘‘unauthorised’’ repairer.

Apple appeared to have routinely refused to examine or service devices if they had previously been repaired by a third-party repairer – even if the new fault was unrelated to the original repair, it said.

A spokesman for New Zealand’s Commerce Commission said its investigation was ‘‘similar but different’’.

‘‘Our investigation includes whether it’s sufficient for Apple to provide refurbished or remanufactured goods as a replacement in some circumstances, such as for new products that are faulty,’’ he said.

The spokesman did not rule out the commission looking at the same issue targeted by the ACCC.

‘‘We keep track of what the ACCC is up to but whether it translates to here it’s too soon to say,’’ he said.

Apple has not responded to a request for comment.

A 2016 investigation by Stuff indicated customers could sometimes save hundreds of dollars if they got smashed screens repaired on the ‘‘grey market’’, instead of by Apple-authorised repairers.