Wired
Apple last year agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit related to AppleCare. The lawsuit accuses Apple of violating U.S. laws and regulations by offering customers refurbished replacement devices instead of brand new devices when AppleCare repairs are needed.
The law firm in the case began collecting information on affected clients as early as January, and the settlement amount was finally approved in April. Now that everything is in place, Apple is ready to start sending payments, and customers who are expecting compensation are starting to receive emails.
The law firm handling the case, Hagans Berman, began sending emails to members of the class on Thursday, with payment notification mails due by Aug. 30, 2022, for class members to apply for payment electronically, as Apple began to pay its 95 million US dollar class action case payment.
Customers eligible for payment will receive an email by August 30, which they must reply by November 28, 2022 to receive their payment. The lawsuit applies to customers who purchased an AppleCare warranty plan or AppleCare+ for their iPhone or iPad between July 20, 2012, and September 30, 2021, as well as customers who received refurbished replacement devices.
Apple’s repair terms and conditions have always specified that the company may use “parts or products with performance and reliability equivalent to new or refurbished” when repairing or replacing devices, but the lawsuit states that refurbished devices are “in performance and Reliability is not equivalent to new”. The lawsuit seeks compensation for iPhone, iPad and iPod owners with AppleCare or AppleCare+ coverage who are unhappy with receiving a poor-quality refurbished device rather than one that works like new.
While Apple paid $95 million to settle the lawsuit, it admitted no wrongdoing and denied that refurbished devices were inferior to new ones.