Apple’s Warranty Compliance Still ‘Not Good Enough’ In Europe

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applecare

Apple still isn’t correctly informing consumers about their warranty rights in Europe, according to the European Union’s Justice Commissioner, Vivian Reding.

The Cupertino company changed its European warranty policies last year after it came under fire for not meeting EU regulations. But it’s still not providing consumers with the right information in at least 21 of the EU member states, Reding says.

Reding wrote to national governments last September and encouraged them to take action over the way in which Apple advertises its extended warranty plans. She felt the company was not respecting the legal guarantee of the standard two-year warranty that consumers are entitled to under EU law, and instead chose to keep quiet about it to sell AppleCare.

But six months later, Reding feels Apple still isn’t going all it should.

“This case and the responses I received since I sent my letter have highlighted rather clearly just why the Commission cannot sit on the side-lines on enforcement issues,” she said in a speech on Tuesday. “The approaches to enforcement in these types of cases turn out to be very diversified and inconsistent at a national level. In at least 21 EU Member States Apple is not informing consumers correctly about the legal warranty rights they have. This is simply not good enough.”

Reding has now called for the EU’s executive to play “a more prominent role in monitoring and coordinating coherent enforcement of EU consumer rules.” She also said that the case against Apple is on-going, and that lawsuits have been filed against the company by consumer associations in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal.

Apple stopped selling its AppleCare protection plan in Italy last November after the country’s competition authority handed it a fine for not making consumers aware of the standard two-year warranty they get with each purchase.

Apple’s warranty practices have also come under fire in Australia, and the company recently changed its standard one-year protection plan to a two-year one. Though according to some, it’s keeping quiet about it there, too.

Source: Dow Jones Business News

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