Cupertino-based giant Apple has been fined $2 million for not including chargers with the iPhone 12 series by a Brazilian consumer protection agency, a report in 9to5Mac said.
Procon-SP, the Brazilian consumer protection regulator has fined Apple for “misleading advertising, selling a device without the charger and unfair terms.” Last year, the same agency questioned Apple saying that the iPhone maker didn’t demonstrate the environmental gain it made by excluding the charging brick inside the box.
Procon said that Apple did not respond to its query on if the iPhone 12 price was reduced after removing the charger, what the price of the iPhone is with and without the charger, and if the company has reduced the number of chargers produced.
Procon SP, apart from the charger removal, has pointed out other issues with the Cupertino-based giant, including misleading advertising, where iPhone 11 Pro customers reported that Apple didn’t repair their phones after problems with water. Apart from that, Procon SP said that some users reported problems with some functions on their iPhones after updating them, which Apple didn’t help with.
Lastly, the regulator has an issue with Apple exempting itself from all legal and implicit guarantees and against hidden or not apparent defects, the 9to5Mac report said. The report quoted Procon-SP executive director Fernando Capez as saying, “Apple needs to understand that in Brazil there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions. It needs to respect these laws and these institutions.”
Apple has not yet responded to the Procon-SP inquiries, but the company has the option of appealing to the court. The iPhone 12 series starts at a price of $1,200 for the iPhone 12 Mini, as against the $729 price-tag in the US.
