Apple is in hot water again, facing a class action lawsuit against customers who bought the company’s AppleCare and AppleCare+ warranty services.
The heart of the matter is that Apple oftentimes will replace a faulty device with a refurbished model rather than a brand new one. Functionally, Apple claims refurb devices are “equivalent to new in performance and reliability,” but importantly they are second-hand devices and the plaintiffs claim that depriving customers a new device when it is implied they will get one is essentially false advertising. Especially as the 33-page T&C document for AppleCare only mentions the word “refurbished” once.
If the case is successful, it could force Apple to stop giving out refurbished models as replacement devices, and the company could face a heavy fine to compensate customers. Good news for anyone who may have felt short-changed by this policy over the years!
The lawsuit is filed on behalf of anyone who purchased an AppleCare or AppleCare+ plan after July 11, 2011. So if you fall into that category, keep an eye on this story as it progresses as you may be due some money back in the future!