A judge in Brazil has ordered Apple to pay one of their customers $1,000 for not including a charger with their latest iPhone.
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A male customer is expected to receive $1,000( 5,000 Brazilian real) from the company after Judge Vandelei Caires Pinheiro ruled in favor of his lawsuit. Pinheiro claims Apple violated Brazil’s Article 39 of the Consumer Code and deemed it a “tie sale” which is considered an abusive practice by not including a charger with the iPhone.
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Android Authority reports a tie sale is defined as a practice of forcing a consumer to purchase two products in order to make them work. Apple argued in court that most people who owned previous iPhone models already have chargers.
Back in 2020, the company announced in a statement that they would stop including charges with their cellphones and claimed it was more environmentally friendly.
“Leaving out those adapters was a bold change for Apple, and a necessary one for our planet. Since removing them from iPhone and Apple Watch packaging last year, we’ve avoided mining a significant amount of materials from the earth, and we’ve eliminated the emissions that come from processing and transporting them,”
Apple was previously fined $ 2 million by Brazilian officers after learning that the latest iPhone models will not include chargers or other accessories. The fine also includes Apple declining to repair phones with water despite the iPhone 12 being advertised as water-resistant in addition to issues with software updates and exempting themselves from legal guarantees as reported by 9to5Mac.
“Apple committed an abusive practice by selling a smartphone model without the power charger adapter, a necessary and essential accessory for its operation. After complaints registered by consumers about the sale of smartphone models without the accessory, Procon-SP notified the company asking for explanations. Questions about whether there was a reduction in the price of the iPhone 12 device due to the removal of the accessory; what the values of the device sold with and without the adapter and about the effective reduction in the number of adapters produced were some of the questions asked and not answered by the company.”
“Apple needs to understand that in Brazil there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions. It needs to respect these laws and these institutions,” said Procon-SP Executive Director Fernando Capez.
The company did not respond to Procon-SP for the allegations.