EU Justice Commissioner Calls For Apple’s Warranty Ads To Be Examined In Europe

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Did you know that EU law covers Apple products for a minimum of two years?
Did you know that EU law covers Apple products for a minimum two years?

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has called for Apple’s warranty adverts to be examined in the European Union’s 27 states. Reding hopes to establish whether or not the Cupertino company fails to mention a buyers’ right to a minimum two-year warranty for all electronics, including Macs and iOS devices.

Reding said in a letter to member countries, which was obtain by Bloomberg: “Apple prominently advertised that its products come with a one-year manufacturer warranty but failed to clearly indicate the consumers’ automatic and free-of-cost entitlement to a minimum two-year guarantee under EU law.

“These are unacceptable marketing practices,” Reding added.

What this means is, Apple customers in Europe are entitled to a free two-year warranty with every electronic device they purchase — without paying extra for Apple’s AppleCare extended warranty. However, the company hasn’t always made that clear.

Back in December, Italian regulators fined Apple €900,000 ($1.16 million) for misleading customers by “prominently advertising” that its products have just one-year of manufacturer warranty, and that this could be extended with an AppleCare plan.

But there are some big differences between AppleCare and the free coverage Europe offers. According to Apple’s website, EU consumer law only covers defects in products that are present at the time of delivery. That means defects that arise any time after that are not covered.

Of course, AppleCare covers any manufacturer defects that arise at any time while the device is covered by the plan.

Source: Bloomberg

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