AppleCare Gets The Boot in Italy

[Michael Essany]

Apple has learned why Italy is shaped like a boot. In a nutshell, AppleCare was given the boot inside of Italy.

As MMi has reported in recent months, Apple’s warranty policies have caused turmoil with several foreign nations that subsequently demanded that Apple offer a 7-day return policy on App Store purchases. For a time, it even looked like Apple's legal battle with Italy over warranty policies could have resulted in the closure of Apple’s Italian operations.

To simplify matters, Apple has now decided to cut its losses and pull the plug on AppleCare as of late last week.

Italy's competition watchdog had threatened the U.S. giant with a fine and even temporary closure of its Italian operations if the company did not make it clear to customers that they were entitled to a free two-year warranty on its products, in accordance to EU law.

As of last Friday, Apple stopped selling the AppleCare Protection Plan (APP) through its store and also through authorized Apple resellers. Apple's decision comes just as two more consumer advocacy groups are taking legal action against Apple, alleging that the iDevice maker is not in compliance with regulations governed by the European Union.

Source: Reuters

[dsg]

Apple care sucks anyway, so not a big loss for Italy

[0055]

I think most electrical items, phones, printers, pc's, macs etc etc should all come with a minimum of 2 yrs warranty. In the case of phones this should be a must as most people have a 24 month contract and could end up with no handset at the 13th month if their handset fails.

[Borischan]

I think most electrical items, phones, printers, pc's, macs etc etc should all come with a minimum of 2 yrs warranty. In the case of phones this should be a must as most people have a 24 month contract and could end up with no handset at the 13th month if their handset fails.

Exactly what happened to me when my 3gs took a dump at around 16 months. Should be a mandatory 2 years in my opinion.

[Sk8r4life66]

Wait so is it just in italy or everywere??? 

[TechnoUniversity]

Wait so is it just in italy or everywere??? 

Just Italy I think

[Serathwind]

Just gonna chime in here to point out the epic flaw in this article:

AppleCare and AppleCare Protection Plan are VERY different things; What was cut was the AppleCare Protection Plan, which is the extra 12month coverage that the laws demand they provide for free... Whereas AppleCare is the over-the-phone technical support.

Please update the article to make sense.

[hitman10]

Apple care sucks anyway, so not a big loss for Italy

I agree i got it for my MBP, and my trackpad broke 1.5years after, they said they wouldnt replace it due to water damage, yet i never once spilled water on my laptop and no one else touches it except me. The only thing i could think of is when i bring my laptop in the bathroom while having a shower listening to music.. They are a complete effing scam.. but the last time I didnt buy it apple wanted $800 for a new logic board.

[FonKaizoku]

I think most electrical items, phones, printers, pc's, macs etc etc should all come with a minimum of 2 yrs warranty. In the case of phones this should be a must as most people have a 24 month contract and could end up with no handset at the 13th month if their handset fails.

The carriers could offer one year contracts if they wanted to do so. The fact that they want to force their customers to pay for a two year contract should not impact Apple's decision to provide a one year warranty that can be extended to two years (three years in the case of computers).
It is extremely difficult to support these devices for a period of more than one year without the customer paying into the system for insurance. People carry these devices everywhere, drop them, bump them, drip liquid into them and abuse them all day long. No company should be expected to cover them for more than a year without the consumer paying for an extended warrantee.

[rocky5]

The carriers could offer one year contracts if they wanted to do so. The fact that they want to force their customers to pay for a two year contract should not impact Apple's decision to provide a one year warranty that can be extended to two years (three years in the case of computers).
It is extremely difficult to support these devices for a period of more than one year without the customer paying into the system for insurance. People carry these devices everywhere, drop them, bump them, drip liquid into them and abuse them all day long. No company should be expected to cover them for more than a year without the consumer paying for an extended warrantee.

it's to do with the price point, if you pay £600 for any item you expect it to function for more than 12 month, I 100% do.

It's the same for all electrical goods, here in the Scotland we actually have 5/6 years on all electrical goods, but this is based on how much you pay, you wont get 5 years for a £50 mp3 player but you will get 5 years for a £500 washing machine.

Same for my £600 iPhone4 I expect it to work for more than 12 month, mine broke (home button & ear speaker) after 14 month, I had to pay £119 for a refurb because it wasn't purchased through apple, as this law only covers the place you purchased the item from.