Apple Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit Over Failing 27" iMac Displays

[spiglet]

I agree

I will admit, there may be fine details to this individual's issues that I am not aware of, but I have to agree with the frustration.

Apple is a master of knowing and owning their brand. And, having said that, their brand is (mostly) that of extreme quality and differentiation from the pack.

Years ago, if I recall, I remember spending around $2,000 - $3,000 grand for one of their monitors, and within 1.5 years of very tender use, the screen went black.

I had no recourse, and I was livid. The most emotional moment was when I finally, after months of it sitting around, I chucked it into the trash. Broke my heart.

Even though I am still a die-hard Apple fan, I hope he gets every penny he can, because it's time for them to stand behind EVERY thing they make.

 

[iPad Air]

Are you kidding

In fact, the Judge should award him 500 million. You would see how quick Apple comes with a policy if it its broken after one year, give the customer a brand new iMac plus a MacBook Pro Retina display speced out.

You need to do these things to remind companies they are can't just easily get away with stuff like this.

You pay 2000 dollars, it better work for a good 9 years. I get that from a PC, why should expect any less from Apple?

"Get away with stuff like this"??!! What do you mean? You are talking like Apple has done something criminal. They are simply a technology company that makes technology that is not perfect(LIKE EVERYONE ELSE), and people buy their products with the understanding that it will not last forever. And if something goes wrong out of Apples warranty period, the OWNER of the machine is NATURALLY responsible to PAY for the REPIAR. Oh and by the way, where do you think that 500 million would come from? Lets all suck Apple dry so they can't make any more products that enrich the technology world!!!!

 

[zoezoezoe]

Do you guys have no consumer protection laws at all?

I'm not 100% sure on the official terminology, but in the UK (and presumably all across the EU) we have the right to demand a replacement on goods that dont last a 'satisfactory amount of time' - I.E in general don't last as long as you'd expect them to. This does mainly apply to electronics, and is based on price. So a £30 LCD obviously will not get replaced 2 years down the line, but a £500 one might.

It's a very grey area, but the law is there so that when something like this comes up, the consumer is protected, and rightly so.

I had a very similar on a 2007 iMac - the screen had terrible ghosting and was replaced twice under Applecare. I was able to get it replaced again 6 months after it expired - I just said it hadn't lasted a satisfactory amount of time for the price, and they accepted it.

I believe Australia also has the same, or a very similar law.

Hahahahahah! This is America! We protection Corporations, not people! The amazing thing, look at the posts here! The HUMANS are defending the CORPORATION! What in the world happened to this country.

And for those saying 5,000,000 is too much for a 2,000 computer, please go wiki what a class action lawsuit is - that is not money for him it's for the class. You are all insanely wrong and look silly.

 

[KPOM]

5 Million $ for what? This is ridiculous.
Why not just take his Screen back and give back his money?

$5 million is for the class. My guess is that it's the minimum threshold for the federal court to take up the case. Otherwise, they'd tell him he'd have to take up the case in California. By claiming that "X" number of people must be affected, and that they are all owed $500 to get a repair, the attorney can choose a forum that is perceived to be friendlier.

 

[khoyme]

Cut and paste problem there...

Page 8 line 19 of the complaint refers to the problem as a "headlight assembly defect".

Methinks this attorney left some text over from a prior class action complaint. Unless the iMac's screen is called a "headlight" in some circles.

If you have worked in product development/pricing - warrantees are simply insurance policies. The longer they are, the more things are going to need fixing, because the components and their manufacturing have an underlying reliability/failure rate.

The challenge in the US is the race to the bottom. US consumers are noted for their desire to pursue the best bargain, so the item listed with the lowest price gets the most sales. Walmart pushes the manufacturers to lower costs - one of them being the warrantee length. So, to match the other manufacturers practices, most companies offer the lowest legally allowed warrantee and let the buyer consider extended warrantees if that isn't enough (except in the case where a company decides to use longer warrantee as a marketing tool to communicate high quality - in reality, there is just more warrantee costs built into the price).

So we end up with complex class action cases in the courts arguing what was reasonable to expect when the warrantee is too short. Europe seems to have approached it by raising the required duration, increasing average costs to everyone, but eliminating costly lawsuits about it later.

 

[Shrink]

I'm not sure I understand US laws, on what grounds is he suing?

Under US law, you can sue on the grounds that you are entitled to be happy all the time, and someone made you unhappy.

OK...not quite...but almost!

There is a (only slightly exaggerated) saying that you can sue anybody, any time, for anything. We're a very litigious bunch on this side of the pond.

 

[Mike Oxard]

Yup.

We have the Sale Of Goods Act in the UK, which ensures consumer products must be fit for purpose, and last a reasonable length of time, which is usually around 5 years for small and medium electricals, including computers.

Very surprised that the US does not have similar legislation.

Having read a lot of similar threads on macrumors I've come to the conclusion it is because in the US they really don't want this type of protection, they feel that it should work for a year because that's what the manufacturer says, regardless of how much the item costs. I'm fine with this if that's what they want, but I prefer it our way, guess it's just what we're used to.

 

[fixmymac]

Typically for known faults, they offer a repair extension to cover the repairs on a specific batch of units known to have the issue. The Seagate 1TB drive on my late 2009 27" iMac was replaced under such a repair extension (even though it was still under Applecare at that point). I'm surprised Apple hasn't offered a repair extension for this problem if it falls into this well-known category. Unless this person's iMac didn't fit the exact problem?

I have to partly disagree with you. Very few of the known issues result in extended repair programmes that are made public. Just now, there are several repair programmes that have not been made public. Apple staff are trained to deny all knowledge unless the issue is public.

This guy's LCD has a weak solder joint where the backlight cable attaches to the LED tray. The LCD can be quite easily repaired and there is even a very simple trick that can get it working again.

 

[Xerotech]

Once again we can blame LG for a lot of issues. Their displays failing, bad quality and bleeding.
Might as well sue LG.
Think Apple would learn to stick to Sammy.

 

[thedeejay]

Your warranty expired over 6 years ago. He was 6 months past his.

6 years is equivalent to 6 months. Got it.

bad analogy is bad.

He's basically trying to say regardless of when the guy's warranty expired - it shouldn't matter. It expired. If you're getting yours replaced after warranty, even if it's 6 months after why is it that I can't get mine 6 years after?

Make sense?

 

[KPOM]

Having a debate on consumer laws is all fine and dandy - and I think the laws definitely have room for improvement. But this Idaho guy DOESN'T live in the UK. It's his responsibility to know how warranty laws work. That's the point of extended warranties. You want to chance it? Your call. You have a year to get it.

He also doesn't live in California. I'm a bit surprised that he'd be able to cite a California law, rather than Idaho law (which I'm guessing is far less "generous.") Perhaps it's because he purchased it from Apple's online store?

 

[TrashCanBin]

I live in Denmark and I own a 21,5 iMac from late 2010.

Since I bought it I've had to return it three times..

1: Faulty display
2: HDD crashed
3: Faulty SuperDrive

All three cases were fixed on the warrenty because the EU mandates that all products must come with a 2 year warrenty.

What I find disturbing is that Apple boasts to care for custumors, but apparently they only do what they are required to by law. I can understand how this guy is mad at Apple for not fixing his display, when they would do it in Denmark no questions asked.

It's too bad that Apple only treat their costumors as good as the law dictates they have to.

Apple users are known for their loyalty to Apple, but a loyal person must also point out when something is clearly wrong. A display in a very costly iMac should not fail after only 18 months.

So before bashing this guy with your zealous attitude, think long and hard about how Apple could really improve a lot of things. They're perhaps the company with the happiest costumors, but it sure could be better.

Also noting that if you buy a display it's usually covered with 36 months warranty, why iMac display gets only 12? It's still a display.

 

[asiga]

That's why I no longer like all-in-ones. I did buy an iMac years ago, and worked fine, but nowadays it's nonsense to make the durability of your computer depend on the display and vice versa, specially with the insane thin mania of Jony Ive, which makes the all-in-one less durable.

Now I only have interest in the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. The iMac is out of question for me.

 

[KPOM]

I mean come on, Dyson offer a complimentary 5 year guarantee for a vacuum that get's beaten up every day! (or whenever you clean ) In contrast, surely Apple know how protective it's customers are with such expensive products that are mostly wrapped in cotton wool when they leave the desk! It's pretty pathetic that Apple don't believe their products would last more than a year.

It's probably more that they want to be able to upsell the AppleCare warranty for another $249-$349. Most of that goes straight to the bottom line.

 

[fixmymac]

I will admit, there may be fine details to this individual's issues that I am not aware of, but I have to agree with the frustration.

Apple is a master of knowing and owning their brand. And, having said that, their brand is (mostly) that of extreme quality and differentiation from the pack.

Years ago, if I recall, I remember spending around $2,000 - $3,000 grand for one of their monitors, and within 1.5 years of very tender use, the screen went black.

I had no recourse, and I was livid. The most emotional moment was when I finally, after months of it sitting around, I chucked it into the trash. Broke my heart.

Even though I am still a die-hard Apple fan, I hope he gets every penny he can, because it's time for them to stand behind EVERY thing they make.

I suspect your monitor was a 23" Aluminium model. I had one that failed and I successfully argued for an out of warranty replacement. My argument was simple. I owned two of them that were bought on the same receipt. The other one worked perfectly and still does. At the time, I told Apple that it is expected that an expensive screen should last longer... just like my other one

Crazy thing is, this issue is very easy to fix. Only one component on the main board needs to be replaced. Apple never sold parts for these screens. All they needed to do was order up some main boards from their suppliers.

 

[ppnkg]

Excellent news, and well done to the guy. Are there any iMacs that don't have display problems? I've had to change mine (early 2008 iMac) twice within the applecare period and now it's greying out again.

 

[SpinThis!]

So his display lasted 18 months. That sucks. I can sympathize. I remember my old PowerBook G4 was failing to read the top memory slot. There was a repair document out that it was a known issue for certain PowerBook G4s manufactured between xxx and yyy date but not mine. Apple was no use but a local authorized Apple dealer went to bat for me and intended up getting the logic board replaced even though it was out of warranty.

I wonder if he pursued other avenues besides just calling AppleCare? Doesn't appear so in the court document. In my experience, Apple won't do anything over the phone. You have better luck bringing the device to an Apple Store and failing that, trying to find a 3rd party Apple authorized provider as I did. It's harder to shaft a customer in person than it is over the phone. Failing that, check your credit card warranties and if they say go ahead, get the repair done and your issuer will pay for the repair. (Amex is famous for this, but most Visa cards offer the same thing.)

 

[Porco]

A display in a relatively expensive device like an iMac should not fail* in 18 months, and Apple should repair or replace it.

*fail is the word here, not 'get broken through misuse or normal wear or tear'. It's sometimes difficult to draw the line between the two, but not so much here when you're talking about a part that I think any reasonable expectation would be that it should be good to use 24/7 for longer than at least a couple of years.

If Apple wants to maintain its reputation for good service and quality products, then this is the cost of making everything more sealed up and difficult for consumers to repair themselves. Apple should suck it up and deal with it when things like this happen, because overall I'm sure they are way ahead on the deal.

 

[Elijahg]

I think the standard EU warranty is 2 years. That only adds to the cost if Apple are making stuff that doesn't last 2 years.

Exactly. And since replacing anything in the iMacs is like playing with fire, the average user may as well forget it. Virtually every desktop PC can be repaired cheaply, but if you do actually manage to get into the Mac, you'll find there's nothing standard (even the HDD has custom firmware) and you can't get the parts from Apple even if you did want to repair it yourself. Due to the iMacs effectively being throw away items, surely they should have a longer warranty by default...?

With being "green" the latest fad, you'd think Apple would make their computers a bit more repairable. The latest iMacs are hell to get apart, taped on screen which is what you expect to get from the cheapest of the cheap. The magnets in the previous iMacs were a perfect solution. It's massively more "green" to repair equipment than it is to buy new. It shows whoever came up with the eco-friendly ranking for Apple hasn't a clue, since their computers are less repairable than any PC...!

 

[fixmymac]

So his display lasted 18 months. That sucks. I can sympathize. I remember my old PowerBook G4 was failing to read the top memory slot. There was a repair document out that it was a known issue for certain G4s manufactured between xxx and yyy date but not mine. Apple was no use but a local authorized Apple dealer went to bat for me and intended up getting the logic board replaced even though it was out of warranty.

I wonder if he pursued other avenues besides just calling AppleCare? Doesn't appear so in the court document. In my experience, Apple won't do anything over the phone. You have better luck bringing our device to an Apple Store and failing that, try to find a 3rd party Apple authorized provider as I did. It's harder to shaft a customer in person than it is over the phone. Failing that, check your credit card warranties and if they say go ahead, get the repair done and your issuer will pay for the repair.

Your PowerBook is a perfect example of their repair programmes not making any sense. The RAM slot problem was huge, yet only certain serial numbers qualified. So, was it just coincidence that this unusual problem affected Macs outwits the stated ranges?

 

[slizgi]

for good sake they should just make them 5mm thicker and put some isolation from heat between display and rest of components,

 

[ChrisA]

Sucks for him, but I don't see how he has a case given that it's outside of the warranty period.

He is claiming this under "fitness" lews. It goes like this. If I sell something I call a "car" if was to act like a car, drive like a car and last abut like a car. So if If I give you something other then that and take your money you can sue.

This guy claims Apple sold hime a computer and what he got was junk. Not saying has is right or wrong, that is the claim he makes.

In order to win he will have to prove he is not a rare statistical fluke but that Apple knew the monitor was not good or didn't take care to find out and was just passing off junk as high end computers. He might be able to show this or not. That is why we have judges and juries.

 

[baryon]

If you sell a product with a ridiculous 1 year of warranty, that only says that you don't expect your product to last more than that. Surely, if you designed something durable, you'd want to prove it to the customer by guaranteeing that it will last this many years. 1 year is absolutely ridiculous, my crappy external hard drive came with 3 years of warranty. My Nikon SLR that cost far less than my Mac came with 3 years. A low end car costs as much as a Mac Pro, and yet it still comes with 3 years of warranty minimum. On top of that, when a car fails, you can replace the parts. With a Mac, you have to buy a new one, because they fill the inside with glue to make sure it's pretty enough.

I love Macs, don't get me wrong, but I got really pissed when my £1800 MBP's left fan, battery, GPU, SuperDrive and Display broke one after the other right after the 1 year warranty expired. I spent £400 on getting the screen fixed, the rest still doesn't work, but I don't need it that much.

I say **** that, spending £1800 only gets you 1 year's worth of a computer. That's a bit expensive. Either charge 70% less for your computers, or give us 3 years of warranty like everyone else does. Or just make products that won't fail all the freaking time, and that can actually be repaired!

I'm happy someone's sueing Apple for this, though I'm sure it won't change anything. I don't want big rich companies to just get away with this kind of crap. You might be saving money for a year only to be without a computer a year later. What if you can't afford to buy a new one every year? I believe a computer should be guaranteed to last 3 years. It's the useful life of the product, and there are NO moving parts, so if it fails (unless you drop it or spill something on it) it's always the manufacturer's fault. You can't actually do anything to make the screen or GPU fail yourself.

 

[iPad Air]

He's basically trying to say regardless of when the guy's warranty expired - it shouldn't matter. It expired. If you're getting yours replaced after warranty, even if it's 6 months after why is it that I can't get mine 6 years after?

Make sense?

Yep, that makes great sense

 

[0x0x0x0]

But that's also part of the reason products in the UK cost more. There are countless threads on MacRumors complaining that Apple products cost more in the UK, Europe, or Australia than the current exchange-adjusted US price.

That might be a part of it, but the price in the UK (and presumably the rest of the EU) is the price the consumer pays, whereas the price State-side excludes local taxes that the consumer will have to pay on top as well… Added to that, a lot of posters repeatedly say "buy AppleCare", which costs how much on top?

In any event, wouldn't you rather pay a little bit now and have a piece of mind that you can demand a replacement down the line, than to have to fork out the same, albeit slightly smaller amount, once the product goes out of warranty?