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Australian law requires that sellers of products offer warranties for "a reasonable period from date of delivery until the failure becomes apparent". This has been interpreted as two-years for computers. Apple's standard warranty on all products runs for one-year, while AppleCare extends coverage to three years on Macs.
The Sydney Morning Herald writes of the warranty requirements, including that Apple Retail Store employees and authorized resellers have been notified of a change in how Apple handles warranty claims in the country.
On Friday, Apple's Australian retail store staff and authorised Apple resellers were notified about a change to Apple's internal policy on how it handled standard warranty claims.
Until now, many Apple consumers have reported on forums that store staff have only ever discussed with them a standard 12-month manufacturer warranty when selling, fixing or replacing Apple goods.
Apple has now changed this from 12 months to 24, which appears to bring it in line with Australian Consumer Law.
The consumer protection law, which Apple details in a page on its website, requires purchasers to contact the seller of a product for a warranty claim rather than the manufacturer. This means that if a Mac is purchased from a non-Apple retailer, that retailer is responsible for satisfying the requirements of the Australian law. It also means that Apple is responsible for warranty claims on third-party products purchased at Apple Retail Stores.
Apple notes that consumers can receive warranty coverage under the Australian consumer law, Apple's standard one-year warranty, or AppleCare, whichever is applicable.
The company had previously gotten in trouble over its AppleCare practices in Italy -- that country has a similar consumer protection law and Apple was fined more than a million dollars because it did not sufficiently notify customers about the standard warranties available to them under Italian law.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Instead you're all rooting for price hikes to penalise a country that protects its consumers.
Muppets!
* "Die Australia Die"
* "Apple should just take some of it's war chest and buy Australia"
* etc (you know the usual nonsense typically shared when anything goes against Apple... even something like this where it's a win for our fellow consumers).
And isn't this about the usual point in this kind of thread where someone posts that Samsung is probably behind this?
I own a lot of Apple stuff, but good for a country looking out for its citizens over the biggest corporation in the world. It's not like 1 extra year of warranty will break Apple.
It's too bad Australia doesn't let the free market work without interference. If people value a longer warranty, they will buy computers that have them and those that don't will lose out in the marketplace. It's Econ 101.
Also in "Econ 101" is the revelation that the free market doesn't work if people have imperfect information.Consumers can't factor in "unknowns" into their purchases. That's the whole point of consumer protection laws.
When you enter the "contract" to purchase the goods, there need to be some unwritten expectations that are self-evident. For example, if you buy a new car from a dealership, you should be able to expect that it is roadworthy... even if you don't explicitly ask to see the engineer's reports.
If you go buy a TV or computer, you (consciously or not) factor into your purchasing decision a certain "expected life span"... which would, at a minimum, be two years for this class of goods.
If the goods don't last that long, then the seller hasn't held up their end of the contract, and there must be some action that consumers can take under that contract. Otherwise, it just encourages shady business practices where sub-standard products are sold to unwary consumers... the antithesis of what is needed in a properly functioning market.
The whole point of consumer protection laws is to remove some of the "unknowns" from the market to make the free market work more smoothly, and get closer to the ideal market based on "perfect information" that people learn about in Econ 101.
What is wrong with people here. This should be a case of saying 'Nice one Aussies, wish my country had the common sense to do the same!'
Instead you're all rooting for price hikes to penalise a country that protects its consumers.
Muppets!
You're 100% right. That's why you can never talk sense to a fan boy.
Some of the comments in this thread are bewildering.
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It's too bad Australia doesn't let the free market work without interference. If people value a longer warranty, they will buy computers that have them and those that don't will lose out in the marketplace. It's Econ 101.
How far are you willing to go with that? Should businesses be able to sell foods contaminated with dangerous pesticides for cheap? Car tires that might blow out under normal use? With no warranty of merchantability or suitability for any particular purpose?Caveat Emptor ruled for centuries, but pretty much every country in the world has pared back on that, for many good reasons.