The Commerce Commission today said it has warned Apple Sales New Zealand after it "likely misled" consumers about their Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) rights and about its replacement products being new.
In the Commission’s view, Apple is "likely" to have breached the Fair Trading Act by:
The Commerce Commission says Apple told some customers that their products were only covered by consumer law for two years and considers this was misleading as guarantees in the CGA do not expire after a legally prescribed period of time but apply "for a reasonable period".
Adds the Commission: "What is reasonable depends on the nature of the goods, any statements made about the goods and how the consumer, in fact, uses the goods.”
The investigation also found Apple was likely to have misled consumers by "trying to exclude its liability for non-Apple branded products when Apple is responsible, as a retailer, for compliance with the consumer guarantees applying to all products it sells, even if it is not the manufacturer".
Retailers "must not point blank refuse to address consumer complaints and refer consumers exclusively to manufacturers for attention,” says the Commission.
The Commission also warned Apple about:
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