by CIO Staff

Apple iBook Users Complain of Consumer Rights Violations

News
Jul 05, 20062 mins
IT Leadership

Apple faces yet more investigation in Denmark, where 50 furious Mac users have launched a complaint with the Danish Consumer Rights Board.

They are asking the board to test their claims that Apple isn’t obeying local consumer rights regulations. They claim that Apple Denmark has denied the exchange of faulty keyboards on PowerBooks and iBooks.

The problem they describe has also been experienced by this author. The complainants are angry because the letters painted on the character keys of these notebooks have faded after less than two years of use.

The Danes demand that Apple replace these keyboards for free, as Danish consumer law demands a two-year guarantee if consumers can prove a fault to be a factory fault.

The protesters claim that Apple Europe “has helped a limited number of danish Mac users with a free exchange of keyboard.

“At the same time Apple said it will only help customers within the limited guarantee of 90 days and customers with AppleCare extra insurance,” the Danish protesters claim.

“I purchased my iBook G4 at AppleStore Denmark and expect the company to pay due to the laws of my country,” said group spokseman Carsten Legaard.

“As a highly branded company, Apple should not let customers pay for the necessary exchange of a keyboard that is way beyond the quality one must expect from a $1,500 notebook. Have you ever paid $1,500 for a product just to see the user environment falling apart in less than 18 months? Well, that is what happened to the letters on my G4 keyboard, and I surely did not step on it. I did not even use the G4 extensively, while at work I am equipped with another machine,” he added.

The trial at the Danish Consumer Rights Board is expected to last up to 18 months. Meanwhile, the group has launched a website where affected Mac users can meet.

-Jonny Evans, Macworld.co.uk

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