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."

Comments

Once again, misleading summary

[gnasher719]

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).

Re:Once again, misleading summary

[Sockatume]

Actually, it's correct. The EU statute applies to the manufacturer, not the seller, and most companies simply provide a two-year warranty that meets or exceeds their obligations under EU statute, rather than train staff on local rules. Apple has gone that route.

You're probably thinking of the Sale of Goods Act which applies in the UK, and which does apply to the seller. There are moves to harmonise the EU rules which would essentially remove the UK statute but I (and the government) think it would be a bad idea. I have more power under the SOGA than the EU rule. (I once used it to very easily get a TV replaced that died 8 months out of the warranty. They called me up and gave me store credit equal to most of its value, to account for depreciation.)

Re:If they said it was supported for one year

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is that Apple acts as both the manufacturer and the seller if you buy from Apple Store (online or retail). As a manufacturer Apple provides a one year warranty and still do so, that was never the issue.

Whong. The EU law applies to manufacturers and requires them to provide a manufacturer's warranty for a "reasonable life" of the device. For computers and suchlike, that's 2 years according to the law.

However as a seller Apple also is responsible for hardware defects, and this is something that they have to do for two years; but only if you actually bought from them. If you bought from a reseller then it's the reseller that has that responsibility. That responsibility is very limited in comparison to a traditional warranty and as a customer you essentially has to prove that the defect was the result of manufacturing. As a seller you are also responsible for explaining this to the customer.

Wrong. A seller may provide an additional warranty beyond the legally required manufacturer's warranty. That in no way alters the manufacturer's duty under EU law to provide a 2 year warranty.

Apple did not explain this well enough to customers, and that was what the problem was all about.

Wrong. The problem was that Apple (the manufacturer) does not provide a manufacturer's warranty of 2 years as required by EU law. They insisted it should only be 1 year, in flagrant defiance of the EU laws. The fine they received was a minor wrist slap, but would probably have been repeated in heavier increments if their illegal stance had continued.

Re:If they said it was supported for one year

[Hognoxious]

It applies to the manufacturer.

Monkey spunk. Your contract is with the seller, not with any of his suppliers, subcontractors etc.

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/ecc/consumer_topics/buying_goods_services_en.htm

"Always try to contact the seller first: under your 2-year guarantee, the seller is liable if the product turns out to be faulty or not as advertised. "

I do hope you're not European

I do hope you're not a practicing lawyer.