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Apple is facing a new class action lawsuit, levied today by customers in California who are unhappy that their iPhones and iPads were replaced with refurbished devices under Apple's AppleCare or AppleCare+ warranty plan.

Filed by Vicky Maldonado and Joanne McRight, the lawsuit, first shared by Cult of Mac, accuses Apple of failing to provide replacement devices that are "equivalent to new in performance and reliability" as stated in the company's terms and conditions.

Both plaintiffs purchased replacement devices under AppleCare protection plans and were given refurbished devices rather than new devices, which they claim is a violation of the aforementioned line in the AppleCare Terms and Conditions.

AppleCare-Apple-Watch-iPhone.jpg
The Apple Plans purport to provide consumers with Devices that are "equivalent to new in performance and reliability." What that phrase means is 'new' as refurbished devices can never be the equivalent to new in performance and reliability. Plaintiffs allege that it means refurbished. Refurbished is synonymous with the term "reconditioned," that is, a secondhand unit that has been modified to appear to be new for all purposes relevant to this litigation.

"New" means a Device that has never been utilized or previously sold and consists of all new parts. The word "refurbished" appears only once in the AppleCare+ terms and conditions even though the printed booklet is 33 pages long.
The plaintiffs claim they were deprived of the "use and value" of their original devices when Apple replaced them with refurbished devices, suffering an economic loss in the amount of the cost of the AppleCare plans, the loss of value of their original non-refurbished devices, and the purchase cost and replacement cost paid to Apple.

Apple is being accused of breach of contract, breach of warranty, concealing information from the public, deceptive marketing, violating labeling requirements, and unfair competitive practices. The lawsuit covers all customers who purchased an AppleCare or AppleCare+ plan for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch after July 11, 2011.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages, attorneys fees, an order that would prevent Apple from replacing damaged or defective iOS devices with refurbished devices in the future, updated AppleCare+ terms and conditions, and an option to get a refund for a broken device instead of a repair.

Article Link: Apple Facing Class Action Lawsuit for Offering Refurbished Replacement Devices Under AppleCare+
 
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I thought all the parts that receive wear and tear were new parts?

- New case
- New screen
- New battery
- New buttons
- New connectors

Basically the only thing that could be "used" is the PCB inside? Something that doesn't suffer wear and tear at all?

People are either idiots, or greedy. I'm gonna vote for the latter mostly.
 
Stupid lawsuits from stupid people who don't understand that Apple refurb devices actually undergo a heavier QA process than new ones.

If I had a penny every time a DOA laptop was shipped and the customer angrily accuses it of being 'a refurb'. Because only refurbs fail. :rolleyes:

Most consumers don't have the slightest clue about how anything works. Grinds my gears something rotten.
 
I've used AppleCare several times.
first time it was on an iPad which would not charge properly. I received brand new in box (not refurb) as the issue appeared shortly after purchase.

I also used AppleCare on my phone on several occasions (and I knew the phone was a refurb). As a matter of fact one time my phone fell out in it's pouch / belt clilp and was ran over a car. The phone still powered up but screen was shot and chassis was bent. I received a replacement with a manager override. I was polite and explained how it all happened and was actually looking at the new 6 phones in case I needed to buy a new phone...
At any rate I was never expecting a brand new item.
 
Stupid lawsuits from stupid people who don't understand that Apple refurb devices actually undergo a heavier QA process than new ones.
I'm on your side in this issue but I cannot agree with that.
Every refurb iphone unit I have ever had (iPhone 6 and iPhone 5 at least) ALWAYS had something wrong with them..more often than not dead pixels.

on the contrary none of my retail bought iphones ever had any real defects...
 
I personally hate that Apple gives out refurbished units, I can understand 1 year mandatory warranty doing it but considering you pay for Apple Care it seems like a bunk deal.
Also what is this nonsense that internal components don't get wear and tear? They most definitely do.
 
I've been fairly critical of a lot of Apple's in recent years, but it seems that they said the devices are equivalent in performance and reliability to new devices, not equivalent in value or newness. There are companies that give out terrible refurbs, but in my experience Apple has refurb devices that truly are new in appearance and performance (Nintendo is another company that sells seemingly perfect refurbs). If you could make an argument that the performance or lifespan were different in these refurb devices than a new one, then you would have a strong case. I think there are quite a few companies that do use refurbs that aren't equivalent in that manner, but I've not known Apple to be one of them.
 
I thought all the parts that receive wear and tear were new parts?

- New case
- New screen
- New battery
- New buttons
- New connectors

Basically the only thing that could be "used" is the PCB inside? Something that doesn't suffer wear and tear at all?

People are either idiots, or greedy. I'm gonna vote for the latter mostly.

Exactly. Much ado about nothing. I can junky imagine what Apple's GC has to deal with on a daily basis.
 
I thought all the parts that receive wear and tear were new parts?

- New case
- New screen
- New battery
- New buttons
- New connectors

Basically the only thing that could be "used" is the PCB inside? Something that doesn't suffer wear and tear at all?

People are either idiots, or greedy. I'm gonna vote for the latter mostly.

If you think that PCBs (and the components on them) do not suffer wear and tear, then you're pretty ignorant about PCBs.

You should probably check your facts before calling people idiots and greedy.
 
I thought all the parts that receive wear and tear were new parts?

- New case
- New screen
- New battery
- New buttons
- New connectors

Basically the only thing that could be "used" is the PCB inside? Something that doesn't suffer wear and tear at all?

People are either idiots, or greedy. I'm gonna vote for the latter mostly.
Def not true. And this is what apple wants you to think. Can't tell you how many iPhone replacements I've received with wear and tear on the sides. Scratches on the screen. Once the phone had the old users Apple ID logged in.

I hope apple loses this case. Apples replacements have always been ******.
 
The funny thing is you never really get much with class action lawsuits anyway. Maybe $20 at most. It's not worth all the hassle.

It's the lawyers who get rich, and I'm sure helped instigate this.

I used to defend major corporations against these types of suits. While some have merit, your observation is accurate with respect to most. We referred to this part of the class actions plaintiffs' Bar as "entrepreneurial," which in the legal context is not a compliment.

To be clear, though, while some lawyers seek to capitalize on the system, the vast majority do not.
 
And there you have it, the Dutch aren't the only people in the world wanting a new device instead of refurbished. I think some people need to be far more critical as to what a refurbished device is (is it really as good or even better than a new device or is it something you want it to be?) but also that if a company says you get A they'll also give you A and not B.
 
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