Apple Will Soon Send Payments for $95 Million Refurbished Device Class Action Lawsuit

[Kierkegaarden]

How does a device that is refurbished work any differently than one that works “like new”? Is it the box? Perceived inferiority?

Ok, just add an extra $1 to the iPhone price increase to cover this lawsuit!

 

[gabo864]

I got an e-mail stating I'm eligible to receive a payment of $72.25 I really thought it was a scam lol

 

[bookofxero]

My iPhone 5c worked perfectly, til the day I took it into a 3rd party place to replace the battery. They took my money and ruined my iPhone 5c in the process. I took it into Verizon (where I originally bought it from) and they gave me a replacement. Within months, it was acting like it was going bananas! I couldn't make a call, because it kept trying to take pictures and would cancel the call. My phone was quickly becoming entirely useless! It was, of course, a refurb. Ended up having to upgrade to a iPhone 6S, which is now begining to show it's age, battery-wise. However, as iOS 16 will likely not work on an iPhone 6S and I've already faced a situatioin where I HAD to update my iOS version for iBotta to even function, I realize I need to consider upgrading my phone, to even keep using some apps. "FORCED obsolescence" strikes again! Not a fun situation to have to face, but that's life when you play in Apple's sandbox...

By whom was it "obviously" refurbished? It does make a difference when it is a manufacturer refurb and 3rd party - as you learned with your bad battery swap.

 

[Neepman]

Why I never EVER fill out class action paperwork. You get enough for a Happy Meal and the trial attorneys get the next generation Gulfstream. And the funding to prey on another company to do it again.

 

[jetjaguar]

I got this today but it was the wrong first name but the right last name .. dunno

According to our records, you are eligible to receive a payment of $86.70 in the settlement for the matter entitled Maldonado, et al. v. Apple Inc., et al.,

 

[russell_314]

Had to laugh at that statement. Why settle for $95M if it isn't true? 😄

For the same reason innocent people take plea bargains for probation instead of risking years in prison. It's not worth the risk that's why.

 

[russell_314]

Why I never EVER fill out class action paperwork. You get enough for a Happy Meal and the trial attorneys get the next generation Gulfstream. And the funding to prey on another company to do it again.

It's $14 and some change for me. It wouldn't be worth the $14 to have my info out there publicly being sucked up by telemarketers.

 

[macfacts]

The bar has been set, this is how evil apple are, $95million USD level evil.

 

[jdiamond]

I've once had my iPhone 7 replaced 3 times under apple care and every time there was something with the phone. so no refurbeshed is not good as new.

I completely agree. I had an iPhone 5s replaced 3 times. Sometimes the issue is with the internals, and those don't get replaced. In fact, there was ample evidence that the refurb devices weren't even tested with the same standards - in fact, in cases where they failed tests several times but then passed it, they were just handed out again. It's fine to pay less for a refurb. But no one should buy a new phone at retail cost and then be given a used phone for the same price. If anything, they should be compensated for their inconvenience and Apple's bad QC.

While the $28 is NOTHING in terms of compensating the user for his issues, I assume this is more to get the attention of Apple and make them try to improve their QC. The best solution is one in which AppleCare never needs to be used.

 

[Roy]

I had 2 iPhone 5’s replaced under AppleCare. The Apple Representative(s) in the Tampa Apple Store told me my original iPhone 5’s were being replaced with 2 NEW iPhone 5’s. I have been keeping up with the case, but I have received no contact from anyone pertaining to the payout. The 2 replacement phones worked well until I replaced them with iPhone 7 Plus’s. I still think it was a software issue on the original iPhone 5’s and not a hardware issue.

 

[christarp]

This is a ******** class action, and usually I am all for companies getting ****ed for how they treat their consumers. This just promotes / increases e-waste if companies can't actually fix their devices for warranty service. As long as a battery replacement isn't with another used battery, then this should be perfectly fine / actually encouraged.

 

[Velli]

as they should be
It’s not about money ,it’s about sending a message (sorry couldn’t help ) .
If they don’t get paid very well they may not be willing to go into it
It’s important that big companies like Apple feel threaten by big well paid lawyers and know they can’t f*** with the customers as they do

In the EU, we do this by the government handing out fines, not by making private law firms rich (there are of course still lawyers getting paid, but nowhere near what’s going on in the US so-called justice system).

Oh, and by the way, in the EU this practice is illegal.

 

[Apleeseed84]

In the EU, we do this by the government handing out fines, not by making private law firms rich (there are of course still lawyers getting paid, but nowhere near what’s going on in the US so-called justice system).

Oh, and by the way, in the EU this practice is illegal.

This is because the EU is pro consumer and the US is pro business.

if you think the law system is a joke wait till you find out how bad the for profit prison system is when you get in trouble here.

Anyways I remember I did get 5 iPhone 7’s replaced because they all had that speaker defect right off the bat if I remember and that’s when they had that internal memo from apple that gave them the heads up to swap them out instantly applecare or not.

oooooooohhhh hahaha 10 years from now I cannot wait to hear from the airpods Pro defective lawsuit because i must have gone through 10 of those in 3 years hahaha

 

[RickDEGH]

I've once had my iPhone 7 replaced 3 times under apple care and every time there was something with the phone. so no refurbeshed is not good as new.

Then why did the new break in the first place? 😀

 

[svish]

Each individual might get only a very small settlement amount.

 

[t0rqx]

In the meantime elsewhere they continue this malicious practise.

 

[Scoob Redux]

Do you know how refurbishment works?

Yep, i've bought plenty.
Has nothing to do with a corporation owing a customer a new device to replace a defective one that was purchased new. Like for like.

 

[BeatCrazy]

While the $28 is NOTHING in terms of compensating the user for his issues, I assume this is more to get the attention of Apple and make them try to improve their QC. The best solution is one in which AppleCare never needs to be used.

This lawsuit won’t make Apple improve their QC, it will make them change their legal T&Cs for AppleCare+.

 

[Scoob Redux]

Why settle? Because they did the math and it was ultimately less expensive that way compared to legal fees, salaries, studies, reports, etc.

The decision is made way before the lawsuit. The corporate approach is:
"Hey, let's push all these janky refurbs with sketchy logic boards and unknown glitches on customers as replacements for defective NEW devices! We can budget $xxxM for an eventual settlement years down the road and in the meantime pocket triple that in savings!"

Evil corporate behavior is usually preplanned, amortized, and budgeted. They are not some poor victim of greedy lawyers.

 

[jbachandouris]

Around $14 according to the email the lawyers sent me.

 

[everlast3434]

$28 LOL

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Always annoyed me when my iPhone needed repairing under AppleCare and when a replacement was needed it wasn’t brand new.

I expect it to come in brand new retail packaging with the accessories inside like you’ve just come out of an Apple Store, not a white box.

 

[lindros2]

I got $28.90 and a 2019 MacBook Pro replaced 4x...

 

[lkrupp]

Does this mean that they’ll begin providing new devices for repairs?

Not at all. Refurbished devices will still be the norm. Apple settled out of court, admitted no wrong doing. Apple will tweak the AppleCare terms a bit and life will go one. The lawsuit was about the “like new” terminology, claiming refurbished devices do not perform like new devices, which is total B.S. Like most of these class actions it was cheaper for Apple to settle out of court than to go to trial and hope some clueless jury will decide their fate.

 

[lkrupp]

Always annoyed me when my iPhone needed repairing under AppleCare and when a replacement was needed it wasn’t brand new.

I expect it to come in brand new retail packaging with the accessories inside like you’ve just come out of an Apple Store, not a white box.

Well, continue to be annoyed because this settlement does not mean Apple will be handing out new iPhones as replacements. Sorry