Brazilian consumer protection regulator Procon-SP has fined apple over its decision to sell iPhone 12 and previous models in Brazil without the charger. The regulator also claimed that Apple misled consumers and failed to uphold repair contracts.
Last year, Apple announced its decision to exclude accessories from its iPhone retail box, starting with its iPhone 12 lineup. The company cited environmental reasons for its move which is aimed at reducing carbon emissions by shipping more iPhone units due to slimmer packaging. According to Apple, most users already have EarPods and power adapters and the decision will prevent a large number of such accessories from ending up in landfills.
Brazil fines Apple $2 million for not including chargers with iPhone 12
In December, The public consumer protection agency of São Paulo State, Procon SP published a notification instructing Apple to provide a charger to anyone who bought the iPhone 12 and requested it but the company did not respond.
“Apple needs to understand that in Brazil, there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions,” said Fernando Capez, Procon-SP Executive Director. Capez also noted that the tech company must follow and respect the laws and institutions in the country.
On March 19, the regulator fined the tech giant for failing to sufficiently explain the reason for excluding accessories from its iPhone retail box. The fine of 10,546,442.48 real ($1.9 million) was accompanied by allegations that Apple misled consumers with its advertising and sold devices with factory defects. As reported by Tilt:
The agency [Procon-SP] announced on Friday (19) that it applied a fine in the amount of R $ 10,546,442.48 to Apple for selling iPhones without a charger. In addition, Procon-SP accuses the company of misleading advertising, of selling devices with factory defects, of maintaining unfair terms in the contract with consumers and of not having repaired a product that was still under warranty.
Procon-SP also said that some users reported “problems with some functions” on their iPhones after updating them, which Apple did not help to resolve.
“In one of them, the company disclaims all legal and implied warranties and against hidden or hidden defects; in another, it informs that ‘the software distributed by Apple … is not covered by warranty’ and that ‘Apple does not it guarantees that the product will work uninterruptedly or without errors’ “, says Procon-SP.
The other complaints brought forth by the regulator include accusations that suggest Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup is not as water-resistant as the company claims. The regulator receiver many complaints from consumers where their devices stopped working properly after coming in full contact with water but were also denied repairs due to after damage. The tech giant was also accused of “disrespecting Brazilian law” by refusing to repair products purchased abroad within thirty days.
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