Apple says it will appeal a ruling from Italy’s antitrust regulating body that claims the company hasn’t fully complied with an earlier order to offer a free two-year warranty with every product as mandated by EU law, reports “Appleinsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com).
“We have appealed the recent decision of the (Italian) court as it was, in our view, based upon an incorrect interpretation of the law,” an Apple representative said. “We have introduced a number of measures to address the Italian competition authority concerns and we disagree with their latest complaint.”
Apple has been threatened with the temporary closure of its operations in Italy and with further fines of up to 300,000 euros (about US$377,500) if it doesn’t offer customers a free two-year warranty as demanded by Italian law, reports “Reuters” (http://macte.ch/kkMIT).
In December 2011, Italy’s Antitrust Authority fined Apple 900,000 euros (approximately US$1.2 million) for its handling of customer guarantees. The watchdog group said Apple had failed to inform shoppers of their legal right to two years’ technical support, recognizing instead only a one-year standard warranty.
The Antitrust Authority 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.
However, months after the earlier fine, Apple has failed to comply with warranty request, says the AGCM.
