Italy Fines Apple Over Misleading Warranties
Italy' s Antitrust Authority has fined Apple
€900,000 (about $1.2 million) accusing the company
of selling consumers two-year AppleCare warranties when
they were entitled to free two-year warranties under
Italian law.
The Italian Antitrust Authority said in a statement
that instead of offering consumers a no-cost two-year
warranty and tech-support plan, Apple (Apple Sales
International, Apple, and Apple Retail Italy Srl)
offered only a one-year plan and charged consumers an
extension fee for the second year in the form of its
AppleCare Protection Plan.
This resulted in Italian consumers being misled into paying for something they should have received at no extra cost.
In addition to the fine, the antitrust agency said, Apple has 90 days to update its Italian website to reflect that it now offers a free-of-charge two-year warranty.
Apple has not provided any comment on the issue.
European antitrust officials earlier this month launched a probe to determine whether Apple and five international publishers struck illegal deals to fix the price of e-books in Europe.
This resulted in Italian consumers being misled into paying for something they should have received at no extra cost.
In addition to the fine, the antitrust agency said, Apple has 90 days to update its Italian website to reflect that it now offers a free-of-charge two-year warranty.
Apple has not provided any comment on the issue.
European antitrust officials earlier this month launched a probe to determine whether Apple and five international publishers struck illegal deals to fix the price of e-books in Europe.