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Apple’s one-year warranty in the EU

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  Reding: Asking all EU states to investigate Apple
Reding: Asking all EU states to investigate Apple’s warranty practices

Apple is not alone in giving inferior warranties to overseas buyers. It joins a long list of car manufacturers and other consumer-goods producers which get away with the conjuring trick of offering long warranties in the USA and minimal cover in other areas.

And they aren’t all American companies, far from it. In the car world this has happened for years and European manufacturers are often the main culprits. Three years’ warranty in Europe, five or even more in the USA; we’ve seen it all before.

The European Union (which, I think, has to be useful for something, although I have more than sufficient fingers on one hand to count the good bits) is turning its attention to Apple in particular. Apple is still advertising a one-year warranty and is failing to tell buyers that under the EU Sales Guarantee Directive they are entitled to a minimum two-year cover. EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has asked all 27 members to look into Apple’s advertising of warranty practices.

I shall be following this with interest. In the meantime, it is worth quoting the Sales Guarantee Directive if you turn up at the Genius Bar one year and one day after purchase. In fairness to Apple, though, I have always found a degree of flexibility on interpretation of the warranty.

by Mike Evans, 3 October 2012

Via Computer World