Apple's warranty compliance 'simply not good enough,' says EU

By techbeck
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Grand Master

techbeck

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Apple has once again come under fire for its warranty policies in Europe, and according to senior EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, the company hasn't made great progress in complying with the law. According to Dow Jones, Reding accuses the company of not properly informing consumers of their warranty rights in at least 21 EU members countries, something she deems "is simply not good enough.

Reding's remarks are the latest in her quest for more oversight into Apple's warranty practices. In September, she wrote to EU ministers calling for an investigation into whether Apple (and its retail partners) were notifying its European customers of their right to a free two-year warranty under EU law. Reaffirming today that the Commission should intervene, Reding said:

This case and the responses I received since I sent my letter have highlighted rather clearly just why the Commission cannot sit on the side-lines on enforcement issues.

The approaches to enforcement in these types of cases turn out to be very diversified and inconsistent at a national level. In at least 21 EU Member States Apple is not informing consumers correctly about the legal warranty rights they have. This is simply not good enough.

Reding also called for the EU's executive to play "a more prominent role in monitoring and coordinating coherent enforcement of EU consumer rules." Apple has already been fined $1.2 million by Italian authorities over its warranty policies, and has seen similar cases brought against it in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal. While the EU isn't able to take direct action against Apple, it can put pressure on local ministers and take legal action to see rules enforced.

http://www.theverge....nough-eu-reding

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Grand Master

ILikeTobacco

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LOLWAT. If a company operates in your country, it is safe to assume that they abide by the warranty laws. If not, you get to sue them anyway. What else is there to inform? I thought that Europe was filled with the smart people and the US with the dumb sheep for customers and yet EVERYONE in the US knows this basic principle.If you don't know that, you are just a moron.

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djdanster

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Wait, there is a 2 year warranty on all products in the EU or just Apple products?

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Roger H. Veteran

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Wait, there is a 2 year warranty on all products in the EU or just Apple products?

2yr on ANY and EVERYTHING required by law (even longer for some stuff).

So even buy a toaster and get 2yrs warranty, none of this 90 day crap we get shafted with in the USA.

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neufuse Veteran

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2yr on ANY and EVERYTHING required by law (even longer for some stuff).

So even buy a toaster and get 2yrs warranty, none of this 90 day crap we get shafted with in the USA.

psh 90 days "limited" warranty, 30 days labor, 15 days money back, 1 day full warranty and 1 microsecond return policy, and remember if we shipped it to you broke out of the box, you only qualify for a refurbished product, not a brand new replacement for that broke brand out of out the box toy

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HawkMan

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LOLWAT. If a company operates in your country, it is safe to assume that they abide by the warranty laws. If not, you get to sue them anyway. What else is there to inform? I thought that Europe was filled with the smart people and the US with the dumb sheep for customers and yet EVERYONE in the US knows this basic principle.If you don't know that, you are just a moron.

Errr. Yes they are supposed to follow the laws the country. The thing is apple doesn't. And customers, sure they can sure, but suing costs a LOT of money and takes a LOT of time, someone apple abuses.

Maybe you should know wha ou talk aout before you comment on it.

In Norway for example Apple refuses to follow our warranty, reclamation and service time laws.

2yr on ANY and EVERYTHING required by law (even longer for some stuff).

So even buy a toaster and get 2yrs warranty, none of this 90 day crap we get shafted with in the USA.

In Norway it's 2 years minimum warranty, 2 years on most. 2 years minimum reclamation on everything, 5 years reclamation on products expected to last longer than 2 years.

Also services are supposed to be done in 30 days, if they're not you're supposed to be compensated or given a replacement.

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n_K

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AFAIK in europe it isn't 2 years minimum, it's a reasonable service life depending on the price because I vagulely remember people taking washing machines back with 1 year warranties 3 years after it expired and under EU law because of the price they had to last a minimum of 6 years and got replacements.

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Stoffel

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While the EU isn't able to take direct action against Apple, it can put pressure on local ministers and take legal action to see rules enforced.

I don't understand this part! the EU can fine MS for billions but they can't take legal action against Apple?

Does anybody understand why this is?

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Grand Master

HawkMan

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AFAIK in europe it isn't 2 years minimum, it's a reasonable service life depending on the price because I vagulely remember people taking washing machines back with 1 year warranties 3 years after it expired and under EU law because of the price they had to last a minimum of 6 years and got replacements.

sigh

Europe is not one country, and the consumer protection laws vary from country to country, in some countries like mine it's minimum 2/5 years(depending on product) in others it's different. warranty and reclamation is also different, but for electronic devices it's generally treated the same since its nearly impossible to prove the difference. and it's the makers job to o it, and it'd cost them as much to do that as just fixing it.

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HawkMan

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its good that EU tries to protect their citizen from faster cycles of Foreign Corps's planned obsolescene due to fast expiring warranty.

ugh, planned obsolesence again, it's not a thing. it's a made up thing by reversing what actually happens. manufacturers don't design it to break at a certain date. They design products to last a minimum of this time, or rather, these many cycles, which is then calculated from say how many cycles a washer will "normally" go through in 5 years for a normal family. (it's usually one a day for washers). on low the manufacturers they use years, this means it could break earlier if it's used heavily (in which case it's actually normal wear and tear and reclamation don't cover it, so you only have the minimum 1 year actual warranty, not the 5 year reclamation/production fault warranty). Other manufacturers will use higher product lives, like Miele and Asko, who operate with 20 years product life, and actually give the customer full 5 year warranty, and Miele even gives another 5 year mini warranty after that. These are of course more costly brands to buy, and may not score the best on tests as far as functions go or clean the best since quality is more important for these.

People often fail to understand the fact that old washing machines that lasted 20-30 years, firstly they didn't wash nearly as god as modern machines, they used much more soap and water, they also cost a LOT more, not just in pure money, but in relative value to, since they pay was a lot lower back then, just for the simplest machines back thn, you'd pay over a months salary. which is also why people where more willing to repair them then, it was actually worth repairing back then.

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Hardcore Til I Die

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LOLWAT. If a company operates in your country, it is safe to assume that they abide by the warranty laws. If not, you get to sue them anyway. What else is there to inform? I thought that Europe was filled with the smart people and the US with the dumb sheep for customers and yet EVERYONE in the US knows this basic principle.If you don't know that, you are just a moron.

You sound like a petulant teenager.

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Torolol

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Didn't know Apple made washing machines :rofl:

perhaps he mean Samsung which indeed also made washing machine,

but Samsung not accused being incompliance about EU warranty though.

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