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Apple Revises Warranty Policies In Europe To Comply With EU Laws
ccguy writes "Apple revised its warranty policy in Italy last year after being hit with a €900,000 fine for not complying with an EU-mandated two-year term. The company has today revised the terms of its warranties in France, Germany and Belgium, specifying that customers are entitled to repairs and replacements of their Apple products for a full two years after purchase, and not just one as previously stated. No word yet on when the rest of the EU will see those changes, but it would now seem to be just a matter of time before other countries get the new terms as well."
Their products only last a year, by then you would be two versions behind and obsolete.
Hmm... because "Belgium" is mentioned in TFS?
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
The article, as many articles before, confuses "manufacturer's warranty", which is unchanged, and "legal rights against the seller". Apple as the manufacturer can give any manufacturer warranty they like in the EU, and they give the same warranty as any other manufacturer. The seller, that is the shop that sold the goods, whoever that seller is, has legal obligations to make sure the product works for a reasonable time.
The only thing that has changed is that Apple makes more clear on the page where they explain their one year manufacturer's warranty, that you have other rights against the seller. If you look at Dell's website for example, there is not the slightest trace of such information, even though Dell doesn't sell through any store, so if you buy a Dell product, then they are _always_ the seller (whereas Apple is sometimes the seller, and Apple stores also sell other company's products, in which case that Apple store also is the seller responsible to handle your legal rights).
No word yet on when the rest of the EU will see those changes, but it would now seem to be just a matter of time before other countries get the new terms as well.
Nope. the customers in other EU countries already have the same (or very similar) terms. Because these terms are based on laws that are based on EU guidelines. And law trumps whatever Apple says they are willing to do.
The only thing missing is Apple admitting to the customers what rights they have under the law.
I don't think so, or else he would have known somebody already did come up with good frozen waffles, it's just that the somebody doesn't live in his own country.
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B*****m
Language!
Well, duh. This is just the paperwork catching up with the law. EU citizens already have 2 year warranties.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Any of you wonder why the text reading “revised the terms of its warranties in France, Germany and Belgium” links to an article that instead says: “Apple has updated its policies”? And why said article doesn’t link to those policies but instead (for Germany at least) links not to a promised PDF but an article at ifun.de?
http://www.ifun.de/apple-kommuniziert-gewaehrleistungsanspruch-deutlicher-41275/
In which is stated that Apple adds this paragraph to its product pages in the Apple Store:
“In Deutschland haben Verbraucher gemäß BGB innerhalb von zwei Jahren ab Übergang der Ware Anspruch auf eine kostenlose Reparatur, einen kostenlosen Austausch, einen Rabatt oder eine Rückzahlung durch den Händler, wenn das gekaufte Produkt zum Zeitpunkt des Übergangs nicht dem Kaufvertrag entspricht.”
My human translation: “In Germany—according to BGB [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch/civil code]— customers have the right, within tow years of transfer of the goods, of free repair, free replacement, a rebate or repayment by the vendor, if the purchased product does not comply with the terms of the purchase contract at the date of transfer.”
They do this because with the Apple Store (be it online or brick and mortar) they are the vendor. This, EU-mandated, german warranty applies to the vendor. If you buy an Apple product at Random-Computer-Hütte and it breaks within one year you can either call the manufacturer Apple upon their 1-year warranty or go to the vendor. If it breaks after a year but within two years you’ll have to deal with that vendor. If you buy at an Apple-run store manufacturer and vendor are the same. And if it breaks after two years you could use Apple-care if you bought it.
Still, Apples warranty gives better protection. With the EU-warranty, if the product breaks after 6 months the burden of proof that the product did not comply with the terms of the purchase contract when you bought it, is on your side. And if you buy AppleCare you not only get Apple warranty for three years instead of one, but free phone support on top of that.
Then why would you go to them after that year to ask them to fix it?
Ergo by lying to you about how long they will support their device for under warranty, they were ensuring you wouldn't ask for it to be supported under warranty.
By coincidence, I happened to notice this on their UK site, yesterday evening:
"Claim period
2 years (minimum) from date of delivery, 5 years in Scotland and 6 years in the rest of the UK"
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/
"Absorbing your worst..."
If you're in the UK it's always worth remembering that the Sales of Goods Act cover electrical goods for up to 6 (or is it 7?) years depending upon the product's application. Recently I quoted it to Quantum to get them to replace our knackered DLT S4 drive that packed up after about 4 year's use. I argued that since it was an enterprise product it was reasonable to assume it should last the full 6 years. They agreed surprisingly quickly and replaced the unit with a new one. A friend of mine used the same tactic on Apple with a broken Time Capsule that was also out of warranty - same result, quote the Sales of Goods Act and they'll give you a replacement.
Semprini!
EU has a data privacy law, that bars the sort of thing Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook etc. did in the PRISM program. Breaching that law means breaching the safe harbor agreement. They lose the safe harbour after that. The data has to be moved back to the EU and be held under EU privacy regulations, which among other things prevents NSA back doors.
And if Apple want to prosper, they'd better get with the privacy agenda.
If General Keith Allen took the limits off spying so it could be done against citizens of the USA regardless of the laws, I have no doubt he would take the limits off cyber-propaganda so it could be used to target American forums.
I bet he even used the same argument, "well foreigners might be using Slashdot, so its ok to fill slashdot with cyber-warriors to push our views". Yes?
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/general-keith-alexander-cyberwar/all/
Mod me down if you will, dear NSA 'cyber-warriors'. When it comes to election time and your bosses have you modding political comments to favor some candidates over others, just keep kidding yourself you're the good guys.
When the Generals are leaking political secrets from their giant database, keep kidding yourself you're doing good for America and its legal, because your general tells you that a secret court ruled it was, even if the secret court ruling cannot be read because its secret.
You NSA Cyber Warrior guys will get mod points, and be techies on slashdot same as everyone else, and each mod point will be nail in the coffin of democracy. Don't lie to yourself otherwise. /rant
Isn't that sort of short for a PC?
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Nobody here would *ever* freeze waffles!
They are only good for about 15 minutes after preparation. (When they're still crispy.) Any older and no self-respecting Belgian would touch them with a pitchfork.
But I live in Luxemburg now (can't beat their worker protection laws and minimum wage height). Their waffles taste *even better*. But you only get them at fairs, street festivals, etc. They call them "Eisekuchen" (iron[-made] cakes).
Crispy like fries, tasty like our Belgian ones. (I think their secrets are greasing the thing with pork rinds or lard, and most importantly: Preparing the dough with *sparkling water*.)
Add powdered sugar on top... or strawberries and whipped cream... and IMO as a Belgian, you have the best waffles in the whole world!
Unfortunately their recipe is a well-kept secret. But for a reason.
Imagine what it would be like if citizens declared "we're already trying to not murder, perhaps some time in the future we won't rape and pillage"...
IT'S THE FUCKING LAW, OBEY IT!
Apple is obviously asking for another fine, this time much, much bigger. This time, make it count so there won't have to be a 3rd fine. They've got the money and the attitude, so this is the perfect use for the law.
DON'T FUCK WITH EUROPE.
Call your Congressman. Send him a postcard.
We are openly breaking the law, and you must drag us to court, before we change that. It's just because we like your money. Ethics is a foreign word, that we see as a limitation to reaching our goal of making money in every way conceivable.
I don't see why Apple should have to kiss Europe's ass this way. Apple is an American company, and if those wussy Europeeons don't like it then they can just stay in their tiny little matchbox homes sipping their red wine while nibbling their smelly cheese.
Here if it's under warranty then all you need to show is that it wasn't breakage. Even if it's "normal wear and tear" rather than manufacturing defect, that normal wear and tear must not cause the product to fail within two years.
At Portugal you can claim the warranty from the Seller or the Manufacturer at your choice. The warranty period is for AT LEAST 2 years, or anytime later if you can prove it was a manufacturer defect (basically impossible except if it is a class issue). Apple did give me some trouble back in 2009 to repair a MBP battery with about 18 months and I asked them nicely to fuck off. They replaced it after a few days.
When Apple was fined for this, lot of Apple fans at Slashdot said that Apple will withdraw their products from sale in Europe. Then all of Europe's citizen's will rise in revolt to get European countries to change their laws so that Apple can sell their products with whatever warranty Apple deems fit.
1. Guarantee: Your statutory right as required by the EU directive of 1999 designed to establish a minimum two year GUARANTEE for consumer purchases of non-perishables, assuming that the purchase is designed to last for at least that long. The EU directive only mentions the word guarantee in its wording for good reason. This is the the liability of the retailer and cannot be reduced by any additional warranty offered. At no point in that directive is the word warranty mentioned. Most EU members already met or exceeded the demands of the directive (e.g. SOGA in the UK), but the directive was aimed rather at more recent or pending members to harmonise consumer protection throughout the EU.
2. Warranty: A level of service offered by the manufacturer to the consumer IN ADDITION to the consumer's statutory rights. The manufacturer is under no obligation to offer one at all although most tend to give a free twelve month warranty and some also offer extended warranties (Applecare) for a charge. Extended warranties are insurance policies in all but name and retailers get a cut of the proceeds from the manufacturer for each one they sell to the customer.
People tend to confuse the two because many languages do not distinguish between both terms and when translating into English use both willy-nilly. German has Gewährleistung and Garantie with different meanings - Italian only has garanzia, for example.