Firm refused to repair devices services at third parties

Jun 19, 2018 06:14 GMT  ·  By

Apple has been hit with a $9 million fine in Australia after the Federal Court ruled that the company violated consumer rights when it refused to service devices previously repaired at third-party shops.

The lawsuit was started by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as part of the infamous Error 53 case, which iPhones encountered after installing iOS updates on devices that received repairs at non-Apple service centers.

Some of these units were disabled and Apple refused to provide any solution, with ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court saying that the problem was quite widespread in Australia. 275 individual customers were officially affected and their cases acknowledged as part of the lawsuit.

“[The customers said] they were being refused a remedy of any kind by Apple on the basis that their device had had unauthorised repairs, and those repairs could be as minor as just having a cracked screen replaced on an iPhone or iPad, which all of us need to do from time to time,” the commissioner was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald. “So these consumers were being told, 'because you've had this third party repair, you are not entitled to any remedy'.”

iPhone owners can repair their devices at any shop

Under Australian Consumer Law, customers are allowed to repair their devices at any service center as long as the “underlying system of the phone” isn’t damaged, the commissioner said.

In addition to receiving a fine, Apple has also been required to not use this approach in the future. The company has provided a generic statement in which it praises the local market and emphasizes that it wants to provide high-quality services to its customers.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the service we deliver and we had very productive conversations with the ACCC about this,” a spokesperson said. “We will continue to do all we can to deliver excellent service to all of our customers in Australia.”