Why the Antitrust pinches Xiaomi in Italy
The Antitrust has imposed a 3.2 million fine on Xiaomi. According to the Authority, the Italian company of the Chinese group of the same name has hindered consumers in an attempt to take advantage of the legal guarantee of conformity. All the details
Salty fine for Xiaomi in Italy.
The Competition and Market Authority (Agcm) has imposed a fine of 3.2 million euros on Xiaomi Technology Italy Srl, an Italian company of the worldwide group of the same name. This was announced by the antitrust.
The investigation of the Agcm has in fact ascertained a series of conducts held by Xiaomy Italy which constitute an incorrect commercial practice. According to the Authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli, the Italian branch of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has hindered the exercise by consumers of the rights deriving from the legal guarantee on Xiaomi-branded electronic products.
So Xiami Italy now has sixty days to communicate to the Authority the initiatives taken in compliance with the warning.
All the details.
INCORRECT CONDUCT
Specifically, the Antitrust has verified the conduct of Xiaomi Italy on the occasion of the provision of the guarantee. First: refusal of free repair under legal warranty in the presence of other damages and conditions qualified as not under warranty. Secondly: carrying out repeated repairs, limiting the replacement of the product through the imposition of very restrictive conditions and third, requiring consumers to pay the costs of verification and shipping, under penalty of failure to return the product, when the service has been requested of the legal guarantee in the first period thereof.
THE ILLICIT ESTABLISHED BY THE ANTITRUST
In particular, from the procedure it emerged that the company refuses the repair under the legal guarantee in the presence of other defects in the product, even if only aesthetic – for example if the surfaces and / or other external parts of the product have more than one scratch on the screen, of dimensions not exceeding 5 hundredths of a millimeter in width and 5 millimeters in length -, making the warranty service subject to the repair of out-of-warranty damage.
Furthermore, Xiaomi carries out repeated repairs instead of replacing the product, thus repeatedly depriving the consumer of the purchased good.
THE PRECISATIONS OF AUTHORITY
The Authority reminds that the "repair" intervention can constitute a remedy only if it promptly resolves the lack of conformity.
WHAT “DOES XIAOMI TECHNOLOGY IYALY EXPECT
Finally, Xiaomi Technology Italy Srl – in the event of a negative verification of a lack of conformity of the goods – asks to pay the costs of verifying the defect and shipping the product, under penalty of non-return, if the consumer refuses the estimate of the out-of-warranty repair. Instead, it is up to Xiaomi to verify the possible existence of the reported lack of conformity without charging any verification or shipping costs.
THE PERIOD OF THE INFRINGEMENT
As regards the duration of the violation, it appears that Xiaomi Technology Italy Srl has adopted the incorrect commercial practice starting from the first half of 2018. Furthermore, according to the Antitrust Authority, the practice is still ongoing, as the measures proposed and adopted by the company during the proceeding such as to determine its termination.
THE PECUNIARY SANCTION
Therefore, the authority has resolved to impose a pecuniary administrative sanction applicable to Xiaomi Technology Italy Srl in the amount of 3.2 million euros. Instead of the basic amount of 4 million euros, given that the Agcm has ascertained the presence of mitigating circumstances consisting in the implementation, during the investigation, of some improvement measures by Xiaomi Italy.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-antitrust-pizzica-xiaomi/ on Fri, 08 Jul 2022 13:31:29 +0000.