iPhone 12 leather cases defective!

[Larrikin69]

As I am sure many of you are aware, the dye/paint on the iPhone 12 leather cases wears away VERY quickly exposing black underneath. Apple claims this is a ‘patina’ effect, or ‘expected wear and tear’ and refuse to accept returns on that basis. Nonsense. Patina does not involve the original colour ‘rubbing off’ to reveal black underneath. It is apparent my blue case will eventually become entirely black.

Consumer law entitles you to repair, replacement, or refund, if you would not have bought a product had you known of its defect. In this case, the defect is that the ‘blue’ case you bought turns ‘black’ within a few weeks. Apple didn’t mention this to me when I bought the case, and it was not stated in their advertising, or associated terms of sale.

Given the large number of people affected by this, I intend to make a complaint to the ACCC (who is the consumer watchdog in Australia). To assist me, can anyone else who has been affected please provide me with their name and some form of contact (such as an email address) and a photo of their affected leather case. Apple needs to repay everyone affected by their (expensive) faulty product.



Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[SaguaroSeven]

That looks nothing like the wear I have on my midnight blue case. My wife had a red case on iPhone 12 mini > 1 year. It was worn on the edges, but not like that. Are you sure this is a genuine Apple case? It does not look normal to me.

 

[Larrikin69]

That looks nothing like the wear I have on my midnight blue case. My wife had a red case on iPhone 12 mini > 1 year. It was worn on the edges, but not like that. Are you sure this is a genuine Apple case? It does not look normal to me.

Thanks for chiming in. Yes, I’m absolutely certain it is a genuine Apple case, as it was bought directly from an Apple store.

 

[Dealmans]

Thanks for chiming in. Yes, I’m absolutely certain it is a genuine Apple case, as it was bought directly from an Apple store.

You won’t get much support in here most think that apple cases patina, not. knowing where they are made wouldn’t surprise me if made from a certain 4 legged animal we all love lol. Don’t they have a 2 year warranty with ACL? Or not for cases.
The only Apple leather cases worth buying are black or midnight now, the rest the colour wears off.

 

[Dealmans]

I got so sick of the quality control of their cases over over the years finally I rang to do a return and was told I could keep it and they gave a refund, now I do it every year lol.

 

[Larrikin69]

I got so sick of the quality control of their cases over over the years finally I rang to do a return and was told I could keep it and they gave a refund, now I do it every year lol.

Yeah I have been doing the same thing except on this occasion they refused to accept the return, which is odd based on previous dealings with Apple.

The case is 2 months old and covered by their warranty. Consumer law doesn’t have a timeframe per se. How long a product should be covered by an implied warranty is an objective judgment based on reasonable expectation.

Apple refusing to honour their warranty, and to ignore consumer law, is the issue. The question is, what can be done about it.

As it happens, I’m a lawyer and acutely aware of my options. Unfortunately, none make sense because an individual doesn’t have the resources to sue a large highly resourced company like Apple.

That’s why I am trying to get the consumer watchdog involved to act for a larger group of people who are experiencing the same problem. First step, assemble the group.

 

[laptech]

I am no expert but that does not look like leather dye to me but more like paint sprayed over leather because leather dyes ingresses into the leather. The reason I know this is due to the amount of times i've used leather dye on my shoes. Phone cases will recieve wear and tear on the edges of the phone where is makes contact with pockets and bags. If the leather was dyed the colouring would show fading but in the picture it shows black underneath the blue. This makes me think who ever made the iphone case used fabric paint applied via a spray paint process.

 

[Larrikin69]

I am no expert but that does not look like leather dye to me but more like paint sprayed over leather because leather dyes ingresses into the leather. The reason I know this is due to the amount of times i've used leather dye on my shoes. Phone cases will recieve wear and tear on the edges of the phone where is makes contact with pockets and bags. If the leather was dyed the colouring would show fading but in the picture it shows black underneath the blue. This makes me think who ever made the iphone case used fabric paint applied via a spray paint process.

Thanks for your input and I completely agree with you. What you have described Apple claims is a ‘natural patina effect’. What a joke.

 

[laptech]

Thanks for your input and I completely agree with you. What you have described Apple claims is a ‘natural patina effect’. What a joke.

Would seem Apple is trying to excuse a poorly designed and deffective product by claming it is 'patina'. I think this is only going to be resolved by the consumer regulator and/or the courts.

 

[SaguaroSeven]

Thanks for chiming in. Yes, I’m absolutely certain it is a genuine Apple case, as it was bought directly from an Apple store.

Like others said, it does not look like "wear" that would be expected. My 13 Pro Midnight (blue) wear looks nothing like that. I'm very happy with the look, feel, and wear of my case, however thanks to the large camera opening, the frame at the side buttons gets a lot of stress when putting removing the case. Mine is cracked through on both sides.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-leather-case-split-at-buttons-defect-or-just-poor-design.2349635

 

[JuneJune]

My kid’s blue looked exactly like OP’s case, edges looked like blue paint wore off and showed the black underneath. Our “brown” and cherry ones wear differently. I will see if I kept the case, might have thrown it away.

If we still have it, I can post a picture. Definitely not “patina” that’s for sure!

 

[Wxchaser]

As I am sure many of you are aware, the dye/paint on the iPhone 12 leather cases wears away VERY quickly exposing black underneath. Apple claims this is a ‘patina’ effect, or ‘expected wear and tear’ and refuse to accept returns on that basis. Nonsense. Patina does not involve the original colour ‘rubbing off’ to reveal black underneath. It is apparent my blue case will eventually become entirely black.

Consumer law entitles you to repair, replacement, or refund, if you would not have bought a product had you known of its defect. In this case, the defect is that the ‘blue’ case you bought turns ‘black’ within a few weeks. Apple didn’t mention this to me when I bought the case, and it was not stated in their advertising, or associated terms of sale.

Given the large number of people affected by this, I intend to make a complaint to the ACCC (who is the consumer watchdog in Australia). To assist me, can anyone else who has been affected please provide me with their name and some form of contact (such as an email address) and a photo of their affected leather case. Apple needs to repay everyone affected by their (expensive) faulty product.



Thank you in advance for your assistance.

My 12 PM leather case discolored just as described - while my 13PM leather case is like new and showing no signs of wear.

 

[Dealmans]

Yeah I have been doing the same thing except on this occasion they refused to accept the return, which is odd based on previous dealings with Apple.

You have to do it as soon as you get it within the 14 days, not after it's been worn out.

ACCC are a toothloose tiger doubt you will get anywhere with a phone case lol

I tried to get a 3.5 year old iPhone 8 replaced with it that stopped making calls, other than everything worked and is like new, no dice apple said was too old, I argued a $1K phone should last 5 years but didn't work.

But then I have had a 21" iMac screen replaced 2 years out of warranty.

 

[JuneJune]

My kid’s leather case, this isn’t patina, it’s surface color worn off, IMO.

It’s a genuine case, bought directly from Apple

 

[iFone88]

My kid’s leather case, this isn’t patina, it’s surface color worn off, IMO.

It’s a genuine case, bought directly from Apple

10000% correct