Waikato man takes on Apple

[watchthisspace]

A Waikato man is taking on technology giant Apple after he says the company backed out on an online deal that seemed too good to be true.

Adam Crouchley, a Te Awamutu-based online marketing specialist, will have his David versus Goliath day in the disputes tribunal with the multinational corporation on December 13.The conflict started after Mr Crouchley stumbled across massively discounted products on Apple.com, run out of Australia, on October 10.He said a number of Apple accessories, mostly cases, were reduced from as much as $89 to as little as 83 cents .

"So the whole range from that supplier was really super cheap and so I thought this can't be right, there's something incorrect here." Using the website's live chat function he contacted customer support and checked that the prices were genuine.

The representative, named Lou, confirmed that they were.

"I ordered a bunch of stuff. I spent about $35 and got about $1600 worth of gear, so I was pretty happy with myself then."

Soon after he placed the order he said he received an email saying some of the goods had been shipped, and then other emails to confirm the order had been processed and his credit card charged.

"Two or three days later they came back and said the order's been cancelled because there was a problem with the price."

They told him they would honour the part of the order they had already shipped, but later managed to intercept the courier package.

"So I was spewing. I said to him: 'this is not on, I phoned you, your call centre assured me that you'd honour that order."

After several other phone calls he was told there was nothing more he could do.

His money was refunded, his bargain haul too good to be true.

However, Mr Crouchley wasn't going to let this one slide. After seeking legal advice he filed a claim with the Disputes Tribunal, and received a date for his hearing at the Te Awamutu District Court on Monday.

"I'm a bit nervous about it.

"I'd imagine they'd probably want to settle before we get to that date. They may want to prove a point and show up, but it can't go too wrong against me."

He said he used a lot of Apple gear in his business and just wanted to get what he paid for at the prices advertised.

Apple did not respond to questions from Fairfax Media.

Source: http://www.stuff.co....-takes-on-Apple

In this case, he should win as the New Zealand laws protect him. However, I hope on his behalf he has proof to back himself up.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

That's the problem though, isn't it? Proving that customer support said that they would honour the deal won't be easy unless he recorded the phone call himself. That said, will it be worth Apple's time and money to continue with this? $1600 isn't exactly a huge hit for them to just let it slide. They should honour the arrangement and consider it a lesson learned that they should double check their prices.

[articuno1au]

It doesn't matter about contacting the sales person.

If the price was listed and the payment accepted, then a contract of sale has been made.

Apple are over the barrel on that one. It happened to Dell a while back with a particular HDD.

[tiagosilva29]

I can't read this news piece. Formatted pasting needs to go.

[watchthisspace]

I can't read this news piece. Formatted pasting needs to go.

Better now?

[tiagosilva29]

Better now?

Yes.

[Growled Member]

I feel that Apple will lose this one, at least they should based on past cases.

[Som]

Ya they really should loose that one . Shows how tight they are that they'd track down the courier as well. Couldn't they just let that one sale go?