FILE PHOTO: A customer holds the iPhone X during the global launch of the new Apple product in central Sydney FILE PHOTO: A customer holds the iPhone X during the global launch of the new Apple product in central Sydney
INTERNATIONAL - The Australian federal court fined US tech giant Apple $6.7 million for telling some Australian iPad and iPhone owners that their faulty devices could not be fixed because they had previously been repaired by a third party in a breach of Australian consumer law, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said yesterday.
According to the ACCC, the action against Apple US and Apple Pty Ltd (Apple Australia) was taken following an investigation of complaints relating to so-called error 53, which disabled some iPhones and iPads.
“If a product is faulty, customers are legally entitled to a repair or a replacement under the Australian consumer law, and sometimes even a refund," the ACCC said.