Court Orders Apple To Pay Customer For Selling iPhone With No Charger

A judge has ruled in favour of a Brazilian customer who recently made a purchase of an iPhone device without a charger included in the box. The ruling of the judge points at Apple for violating consumer law and must compensate the customer.

Apple’s practice of removing chargers from new iPhone models started in 2020 with the iPhone 12. Apple’s decision to remove the charger in the box sparked so much controversy, but the company claims the move is intentional and purely for environmental reasons. The company claimed that the decision is equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.

The move continues to spark public and legal opinion from consumers and government bodies at various levels. In the most recent happenings in that regard, a judge in Brazil has mandated Apple to pay compensation of about $1,075 to a customer that complained about the absence of a charger in the box of his new device. Brazil is one country that has long-questioned Apple’s reasoning to remove the accessory from the box.

According to reports by Tecmundo, article 39 of the Consumer Code (CDC), “tie sale” is an abusive and prohibited practice in Brazil, so it is not allowed to sell cell phones and chargers separately. Therefore, Apple is guilty as charged for selling an iPhone model and charger separately to a consumer in the city of Goiânia. As a result of the rule issued by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, of the 6th Civil Court of Goiânia, is compulsory for Apple to compensate the consumer R$ 5 thousand for carrying out the “tie sale” of the company’s devices.

Apple was fined to the tune of $2 million last year in Brazil according to the head of the consumer group Procon-SP, Fernando Capez. The company was fined in regards to the violation of consumer law that disrespected Brazilian customers. Procon-SP has claimed that the charger is an “essential part” of the smartphone experience purchasing a brand new device. For now, it seems somewhat plausible that Brazil would force Apple to include a charger in the box for every ‌iPhone‌ sold in the country. 

According to the consumer protection agency, Apple’s practice of not providing a charger alongside the device is a breach of the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code. Apple in its response has argued that the majority of its customers already have chargers in their homes and removing additional chargers have significant environmental benefits that reduce the overall ‌iPhone‌ footprint.

In a similar case last year, five Chinese university students jointly filed a lawsuit against Apple in China. The Chinese students sued Apple for failing to include a charger in an iPhone 12 that they purchased. According to reports, the lawsuit was put forward for ‘public interest’ status, suggesting that doing that could be fast-tracked or given a higher profile. Apple’s practice continues to stir criticism and public opinions globally.

In a recent report that concerns Apple, the European Commission is also one step ahead in a bid to force Apple to switch to USB-C ports. Members of the European Parliament have voted in support of this legislation to drive Apple into offering a USB-C port for all her devices in Europe.