iPhone without charger, Apple ordered to pay compensation to a customer in Brazil
Apple will have to compensate a customer due to the absence of the charger from the package of iPhones. It happened in Brazil, where a judge condemned the company for violating the local consumer code. As is known, starting from the iPhone 12 the charger has been excluded from the equipment: Apple only supplies the Lightning cable, for the wall adapter you have to scroll through the list of accessories.
The Apple at the time included the choice in the context of actions to combat climate change, therefore with the abatement of polluting emissions produced in the factory for the realization of each charger to be supplied, and to fight electronic waste, for a component that – it was said – now everyone owned. Apple said a few years ago that it wants to be carbon neutral by 2030 along the entire production chain, and produces annual reports to inform on the progress made, the latest of which is recently available.
The Brazilian sentence handed down by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, of the civil court of Goiânia, ruled that Apple has breached article 39 of the consumer code which prohibits the “tied sale”so it prevents separation between smartphone and charger. Apple will probably limit itself to budgeting the almost 1,000 euros in compensation to the customer and will continue straight on his way, at least until a class action action arises in the wake of the sentence or in any case until it will be cheaper to compensate individuals rather than putting a charger in the box of every iPhone sold in Brazil. The move, however, has so far earned Apple nearly € 6 billion.
But probably the smile of the customer who got the better of Apple in court will be slightly choked. With the compensation he will not be able to pay for the iPhone 13, assuming he does not own another model. In Brazil, iPhones are even less accessible than elsewhere. A 128 GB iPhone 13 Pro costs the equivalent of 1,820 euros in the listthat is 630 euros more than in Italy.
Last September, a study by Money SuperMarket compared the list price of a “base” 128 GB iPhone 13 with the minimum wage of the countries in which Apple markets it. It turned out that just Brazil could “boast” the iPhone 13 standard most expensive in the worldwhere a minimum-wage employee would have had to pay the wages for 86 days of work into Apple’s coffers.
In context, therefore, it is hardly surprising that we end up in court for an accessory, the 20 watt USB-C power supply, which in Brazil, moreover, costs the equivalent of 38 euros against the Italian 25 euros.
