Federal court of Australia has fined Apple on the 9 million Australian dollars, which is about 6.6 million U.S. dollars. This was reported edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.
The penalty for misleading Australian iPad and iPhone users who have been refused repair of devices from Apple, if the gadgets were previously repaired in unauthorized third-party centers.
The trial was initiated by the Australian Commission on competition and consumer protection after receiving complaints of an “Error 53”.
Recall that in 2016, the scandal broke when Apple “turned off” thousands iPhone for repairs in the unofficial service centers. Users complained about the “Error 53” (Error 53) that began to offer smartphone and, in fact, turned into a brick. Because of the “error 53” affected users with refurbished “on the side” home button with Touch ID and iOS 9. The problem was solved by a subsequent iOS update.
According to the representative of the Commission, users complained that Apple refused to repair or any compensation on the grounds that the device had previously repaired in unauthorized centres, while it was about minor repairs like replacing cracked screens. The number of affected Australians was at least 275 people.
As a result, the court found that the repair of the iPad and iPhone by someone else cannot be the basis for termination of the consumer guarantees.