Apple fined by Italy over misleading product guarantees - Polidicks

[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16339651[/URL] [QUOTE]An Italian watchdog has fined Apple 900,000 euros ($1.2m, £750,000) for its handling of customer guarantees. The country's Antitrust Authority [URL="http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.agcm.it%2Fstampa%2Fnews%2F5829-sanzioni-per-complessivi-900mila-euro-al-gruppo-apple-per-pratiche-commerciali-scorrette.html&act=url"]said Apple had failed to inform shoppers of their legal right[/URL] to two years' technical support, recognising instead only a one-year standard warranty. It said the firm's action had led people to pay extra for Apple's own support service, which overlapped in part with the free guarantee. Apple could not be reached for comment. The authority said the penalties applied to the iPhone maker's three local divisions - Apple Italia, Apple Sales International and Apple Retail Italia. It said it had fined the firm 400,000 euros for failing to recognise the length of the statutory guarantee, as set out in Italy's consumer code, either on its website or at point of sale. It said that a further 500,000 euro penalty was imposed because the firm had gone on to offer its Applecare Protection Plan. It said the information provided about the service, and the lack of clarification about customers' rights, combined to "induce consumers to sign an additional contract". The authority added that Apple would have to publish an extract from its ruling on its website, and must add details of the two-year guarantee to its Applecare plan within 90 days. [/QUOTE]

JUSTICE.

Haven't seen any good news related to Apple lately.

[QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;33924611]Haven't seen any good news related to Apple lately.[/QUOTE] fucking good.

[QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;33924611]Haven't seen any good news related to Apple lately.[/QUOTE]Ever since Jobs died it's been going downhill damn fast.

A classy way of helping themselves with financial crisis. I mean it honestly. The complaint against Apple is valid, and it's better if they take the money from clearly corps which are clearly doing well, instead from taxing the common people more.

Karma for all those stupid ass lawsuits Apple have been making.

The BBC newsbot were faster for once: [url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1150711[/url] And I don't feel like reposting my stance on the subject.

[QUOTE=AceOfDivine;33924681]Ever since Jobs died it's been going downhill damn fast.[/QUOTE] No, Jobs did a lot of awful things whilst he was alive, too. What's been in the news lately (and what I assume Mr. Bleak is referring to) are the frivolous and ridiculous patents and consequent lawsuits, but all of that was definitely occurring before he died, and he was definitely overseeing it. Plus there was a lot of other unethical things going on before, too. This is not a new thing; they're just getting more press for it, I think.

This is an innovative way for Italy to balance the budget

Now, humble yourselves Apple. Be no longer rotten to the core. Else you shall fall.

Oh, it's just the Apple executives trying to uphold the will of their god (Steve Jobs), to finally fulfill his dream of a technological dictatorship. Serves them right.

Wow lol, a friend of mine works as a mobile salesman, and he never heard of this warranty. He actually made a lot of people sign these supplementary warranty contracts. If I recall, they're worth just 30€.. still..

Doesn't Apple have a patent on filing lawsuits?

[QUOTE=MisterSjeiks;33927199]Doesn't Apple have a patent on filing lawsuits?[/QUOTE] Probably will soon the way they are patenting everything they see.

I didn't know technical support was a legal right.

I'm surprised no whiner has come in started shit posting about FP being so judgmental or poor 'ol Apple

Looks like they bit the sour apple

Looks like this apple had a worm

Just wait for Paravin to come in here and be all pro-Apple.

[QUOTE=Abrown516;33927961]I didn't know technical support was a legal right.[/QUOTE] I'd want it as a right

I'd hate to say it, but the amount they were fined is equivilent to the average person losing a penny. I don't think this is going to change the way Apple does things.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;33924779]A classy way of helping themselves with financial crisis.[/QUOTE] 900,000E would cover less than 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000015% of their debt, and first be subsumed by administration costs, therefore not actually helping anything. Add 6 or 7 zeros to that amount and you may actually have something useful.

[QUOTE=bohb;33929006]900,000E would cover less than 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000015% of their debt, and first be subsumed by administration costs, therefore not actually helping anything. Add 6 or 7 zeros to that amount and you may actually have something useful.[/QUOTE] Its a step in the right direction though.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;33924779]A classy way of helping themselves with financial crisis. I mean it honestly. The complaint against Apple is valid, and it's better if they take the money from clearly corps which are clearly doing well, instead from taxing the common people more.[/QUOTE] That's nice and all, but the sheer amount of debt involved in governments, especially the U.S., is staggeringly above what any corporation can even match in small increments such as this.

I wonder if Apple execs just sit around all day thinking of new ways to be more cartoonishly evil.

[QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;33924611]Haven't seen any good news related to Apple lately.[/QUOTE] I don't know about you, but this was pretty good news to me.

[QUOTE=Bumrang;33928356]Just wait for Paravin to come in here and be all pro-Apple.[/QUOTE] I thought that was your job?

[QUOTE=teh pirate;33931093]I wonder if Apple execs just sit around all day thinking of new ways to be more cartoonishly evil.[/QUOTE]In what way is this "cartoonishly" evil?

[QUOTE=AceOfDivine;33935112]In what way is this "cartoonishly" evil?[/QUOTE] Well, to be cartoonishly evil means to be a dick for no reason at all in unconventional ways. Here, they're getting people to pay for an extended warranty and then pretending such a thing doesn't exist. Honoring the warranty would do absolutely nothing to Apple, so they're ignoring it for the sole purpose of being evil.