So apparently they are at it again – Apple accused of fraud again for milking the battery replacement scheme. If you haven’t heard about it yet, Apple are already in hot water over deliberately slowing down older models of the iPhone in a bid to sell newer models. Read all about it here.
In order to comply with the law and save face, Apple have set up a battery replacement scheme, where owners of the iPhone 6 or older can bring their phones to an Apple Store and have the battery replaced.
An investigation by the BBC revealed that Apple were reporting so-called faults with phones and demanding that the repair be paid for before the battery would be replaced. Replacement batteries were due to cost £25 in the UK and 25 EURO in Ireland, however it only costs 5 EURO in France. I guess that is because they are already being sued for obsolence in France.
One customer, David Bowler said Apple found a fault with his phone speaker and microphone. Told him he’d have to pay £250 before a new battery could be fitted. There was nothing wrong with his phone. It was then verified by the BBC when they sent the phone to a repair specialist.
As stated on Apple’s main website –
If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement.
Another unhappy customer Josh Landsburgh sent away his iPhone for a new battery, but later received an email from Apple over ‘a small dent’ on the edge of his phone. They said he’d have to pay a whopping £200 to fix the ‘small dent’ before they would replace the battery for £25! Needless to say he declined their absurd offer.
According to the BBC News Watchdog investigators that when contacted, Apple customer service reps stated – it said in their warranty that “any and all damage” must be repaired first before battery replacement. They could find no such warranty and neither could a respected dispute resolution lawyer.
They are certainly not doing themselves any favours in terms of gaining back credibility and loyalty to the brand!
They do say no publicity is bad publicity but I think we have the exception here. Apple are milking the battery replacement scheme at a time when they should be gaining back a level of trust.
The least they could do is explain properly on their website that if there is any prior damage that it needs to be fixed before having the battery replaced.
Thoughts?
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