Apple Fined $1.2M For ‘Misleading Consumers’ With Applecare Warranties

December 28, 2011

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Apple is being 900,000-euro-or approximately $1.2 million USD-by Italian antitrust authorities after the company was [i]“found responsible for bad commercial practices that harmed consumers[/i].” According to [url="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hY2uGXfCwQ019Pa7X_sSNKr0XDzg"]a report by[/url] [i]AFP[/i], Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato is imposing the fines related to an investigation regarding AppleCare and the Italian Consumer Code:[/size][/font][/color]
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[i]Apple had given “unclear information on payments for additional assistance offered to consumers” and the company had not “fully implemented the two-year guarantee by the producer[/i][/size][/font]
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The Italian Consumer Code provides consumers with a minimum, mandatory two-year warranty on all electronics. The antitrust authority essentially claims Apple is deceiving its customers by selling AppleCare warranties and providing its 1-year manufacturer warranty without explicit indication of consumers’ rights to the complimentary two-year warranty. Apple does not currently offer the free, mandatory two-year warranty to Italian consumers.[/size][/font][/color]
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Targeted in the fines are Apple Inc., Apple Sales International, and Apple Retail Italy. Apple was asked to “cease practice and notify the Authority” of a new warranty policy for Italy, as well as publish a document on Apple.com to inform consumers of the resolution.[/size][/font][/color]
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The European Antitrust Commission is also probing Apple over its e-book business. Earlier this month, they [url="http://9to5mac.com/2011/12/06/european-antitrust-watchdog-probing-apple-and-e-book-publishers/"]claimed Apple has [i]“engaged in illegal agreements[/i][/url][i] or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition in the EU or in the EEA.” [/i]That EAC investigation is ongoing.[/size][/font][/color]