The group had used refurbished hardware instead of new goods as replacement devices. The subsequent customer lawsuit is expensive.
A large class action lawsuit filed by American customers over discrepancies with Apple’s device insurance, AppleCare, has now resulted in the payment of almost $100 million to those affected. The iPhone group had already reached an out-of-court agreement with the plaintiffs last year.
Wanted new, got used
The case was about the fact that customers who received a replacement device due to a hardware defect that could not be repaired were only given a refurbished product from Apple instead of new goods. Apple considers these so-called refurbished devices to be equivalent to new goods, even though they have already been in the hands of customers. The process ran for several years and was due to be heard in a US court last summer.
Among other things, Apple stated in its repair conditions for the US market that the company may issue parts or products that are “equivalent to new devices in terms of performance and reliability”. However, according to the lawyers who conducted the class action lawsuit on behalf of customers, that is exactly what should not be the case – refurbished hardware is never equal to new goods.
Almost 70 million for customers
However, the out-of-court settlement from last October does not mean that Apple adopts this position. Instead, the payment is made without a court decision or even an acknowledgment of a legal obligation. Nevertheless, it’s not a small amount of money: A total of up to 68.1 million dollars are to go to customers, the rest of the sum of 95 million dollars goes to the plaintiff’s lawyers.
The lawyers have been collecting since January Information from affected US customers on a dedicated website but the payment then took a few months. According to a report by MacRumors Those affected have now received letters in which the amount due to them is stated. They’re not gigantic. One customer was awarded just under $30. The prerequisite is that those affected had an ApleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+ for iPhone and iPad – Macs are not affected – from July 2012 to September 2021. Non-US residents are not allowed to participate.
