Here’s how Apple bluffs on iPhones. Agcm report
Why the Antitrust has fined Apple for iPhone ads. All the details of the provision of the Guarantor
The Antitrust hits on Apple: a 10 million euro fine to the bitten Apple for bluffing on the characteristics of their iPhones and not having covered the damages with the guarantee. Some customers and social media users who have found that what is promised in the advertisements are not kept to the attention of the Italian Antitrust Authority. After-sales assistance was also rejected.
All the details.
FINE FOR 10 MILLION TO APPLE
The Italian Antitrust Authority has fined the American Apple 10 million euros for two distinct unfair commercial practices, which began in October 2017.
FAKE ADVERTISING MESSAGES AND NO WARRANTY
In particular, the US giant is accused of having spread misleading promotional messages of different iPhone models (iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11pro and iPhone 11 pro Max), on characteristic of "water resistance" of each of the products.
At the same time it provided for the exclusion of the guarantee for all hypotheses of injection of liquids. The practice, explains Agcm, "appeared likely to mislead consumers regarding the characteristics of the products themselves and the related assistance rights that must be recognized, in particular the legal guarantee of conformity and the warranty of the Apple manufacturer, determining them to take a commercial decision that they would not otherwise have taken ".
DECEPTIVE PROMOTIONS
According to what was ascertained by the Authority, the House of Cupertino issued promotional messages in which it emphasized the "water resistance" characteristic of each of the advertised products up to a maximum depth varying between 4 meters and 1 meter depending on the model. and for 30 minutes.
However, this feature can only be found in the presence of specific conditions, i.e. only during specific and controlled laboratory tests with the use of static and pure water, and not in the normal conditions of use of the devices by consumers. In the same message, Apple included a disclaimer "Warranty does not cover damage caused by liquids."
SMALL AND "HIDDEN" WRITINGS
Also on the company's website it was possible to find bluffs. "From the documentation filed, it emerged that even in the messages disseminated on the website www.apple.com, the aforementioned water resistance characteristic represents one of the main aspects of Apple's commercial communication, which specifies" Resistant to 'water (maximum depth of 4 [2 – 1] meters up to 30 minutes "(see next image no. 4)", writes Agcm in the report, in which it is specified that "At the end of the advertising message it can be found, in lower case , a hypertext note (indicated by the arrows in the previous image), which shows the following message at the very bottom, at the end of the web page: "iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 11 are resistant to splashes, drops and dust; they have been tested in the laboratory under controlled conditions, with an IP68 rating (maximum depth of 4 meters up to 30 minutes) ”.
THE AFTER SALES
For the Antitrust, Apple is also to be rejected on the after-sales front of these products. Agcm has "deemed it appropriate to integrate an aggressive commercial practice the refusal by Apple, in the post-sales phase, to provide warranty assistance when those iPhone models were damaged due to the introduction of water or other liquids, hindering in in this way, the exercise of the rights recognized to them by the law on the subject of guarantees, ie by the Consumer Code ”, explains the Antitrust.
WHAT YOU READ ON THE APPLE SITE
"If damage to an iPhone or iPod was caused by contact with a liquid (such as coffee or another beverage), Apple's one-year limited warranty does not cover service, but you may have additional rights. under consumer protection laws. IPhone models and most iPod models made after 2006 have built-in liquid contact indicators, which indicate whether the device has come into contact with water or other liquids. IPhone models and most iPod models have liquid contact indicators (LCI) that are visible from the outside. Contact with water or other liquids will activate an LCI, ”reads Apple's website.
THE SIGNALS
It all started with some reports from consumers and social videos.
"In my case [ed: purchase of an iPhone XS MAX 54GB SILVER (Rating IP68 – maximum depth of 2 meters up to 30 minutes)] it was found not so resistant, after a few photos and a short immersion in sea water (…) Has stopped working properly (…). I have not been given any guarantees. I had to pay 640.00 euros for the replacement of the product (..) ".
THE RESPONSE OF APPLE
What is Apple's line of defense? The company has with its defensive writings, writes Agcom, "argued that each of the charges against them was manifestly unfounded and not suitable to prove any violation of the Consumer Code".
And according to what was declared by the Cupertino group, and reported by Agcm, "it would have been the Authority itself, in the exercise of its powers, to induce it to include in its communications to consumers a disclaimer which, in itself, does not provide for any distinction between the two guarantees, in order to prevent any verification by the same in relation to the same disclaimer ".
APPLE: NOT DECEIVING MESSAGES
Apple, in fact, "believes that the promotional messages relating to the water resistance capacity of its iPhones are not misleading since no advertising message would suggest the" possibility of immersing the device in water without problems "not having, however, never reported the reference to depth meters as an independent feature of its iPhones ”.
THE FINE
Having collected the evidence and analyzed the facts, the Antitrust has decided to impose a fine of 5,000,000 euros on Apple for having spread misleading messages and 5,000,000 euros for not having covered the damage caused as far as it is believed. from guarantee.
Here the text of the Agcm provision.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-apple-bluffa-sugli-iphone-report-agcm/ on Mon, 30 Nov 2020 12:19:41 +0000.