An Australian court handed out a hefty A$9 million fine to US tech giant Apple for refusing to repair iPhones and iPads that had been serviced by third parties. Just as in 2016 already, once again the investigation followed complaints about Apple's so-called "error 53" which had been reported by customers to the Australian consumer watchdog.
According to users, they received an “error 53” code after downloading an iOS update on their iPhones and iPads, which left theirs device useless.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Apple fined millions for Australia false iPhone claims <a href="https://t.co/hRvP1j4KKW">https://t.co/hRvP1j4KKW</a></p>— eNCA (@eNCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/eNCA/status/1008961954566860800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Some 275 Australian customers were told by Apple US that they received the “error 53” because their device had been repaired by a third party, and thus they were no longer eligible for a remedy.
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However, according to ACCC Commissioner Ms. Sarah Court this was a direct violation of consumer rights in Australia: "If a product is faulty, customers are legally entitled to a repair or a replacement under the Australian Consumer Law, and sometimes even a refund."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Apple fined $9 million for misleading customers with faulty iPhones and iPads (Australia) <a href="https://t.co/58KEjYKMgZ">pic.twitter.com/58KEjYKMgZ</a></p>— Freddy Valladares (@FreddyValla12) <a href="https://twitter.com/FreddyValla12/status/1008967631771033600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"Apple’s representations led customers to believe they’d be denied a remedy for their faulty device because they used a third-party repairer."
"The court declared the mere fact that an iPhone or iPad had been repaired by someone other than Apple did not, and could not, result in the consumer guarantees ceasing to apply.”
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According to the ruling, Apple had so far contacted some 5,000 Australian customers to compensate them for the unforced error.
Already in 2016, Apple was forced to issue a fix for error 53 after similar claims.
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