Apple pays $1,800 damages after retail store wiped pensioner’s iPhone

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Cydia-iPhone-5
The problem occurred on a 2012-era iPhone 5.
Photo: Cult of Mac

A 68-year-old O.A.P. has been awarded £1,200 ($1,800) in compensation after Apple Store employees accidentally deleted the photos and contacts on his iPhone.

Newly-married Deric White took his iPhone 5 to the Genius Bar at Apple’s flagship London retail store after it suffered a technical fault — only for staff to delete his data, which contained photos of his recent honeymoon and 15 years of contacts, without White having a backup. A judge ruled that Apple staff had been “negligent.”

Speaking after the court case, White described it as, “a victory for the common man who sought to stand up against multi-national corporations. They should be brought to boot when they do wrong, but they are usually too big for anybody to take on.”

Personally, I can see this case splitting public opinion — between those who think White should have backed up his data and Apple is not therefore at fault, and those who will view this as a victory.

White has said that part of his issue is that Apple Store staff purposely ignored the problem after deleting the data.

“They knew they had done this and [sent] me on my way,” he said. “This is where my anger is — they sent me on my way like an imbecile.”

White had initially asked for £7,000 compensation, but later reduced his demands to a new “computer screen and printer” — although Apple refused to settle out of court.

“The defendant’s employees were negligent in the treatment of the claimant’s telephone, causing the claimant loss of photographs of particular sentimental value and the loss of all his contacts,” said District Judge Ruth Fine, adding that, “This could easily have been settled if common sense had come into the arena.”

Do you think justice was done here, or should Apple have not been forced to pay out damages — plus Deric White’s costs for the case?

Source: Mirror

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