Apple just got busted in Italy for selling bogus extended warranties to cover Apple products.The scheme was simple. Apple sold “Apple Care” extended warranties to cover Apple products for one year past their traditional one year warranty.The problem was, though, that Apple failed to tell consumers that products in Italy are automatically covered for 2 years by law.It was a rotten ploy and now they have to pay a fine of $1.2 million for misleading consumers.
Two points need to be made. First: how sleazy is it for Apple to try to gouge customers in Italy with an unneeded warranty? What does this greedy move say about Apple as a company?
The second point: why are consumers here in the United States forced to beg companies to take back and repair defective products, while elsewhere it is the law that products should work? What a concept – that a product should actually last more than 60 days. How many times have you been faced with a product failing within months of purchase, only to find buried in the fine print that the warranty has expired and you are screwed?
The bottom line is that American consumers can thank our elected representatives for leaving us stuck when products fail. Now repeat after me the mantra of political hacks who say we need fewer regulations.

This post is tagged $1.2 million dollar fine, apple, apple care, apple corporation, apple fined, apple misleads consumers, consumer protection, consumer scam, consumers, extended warranty, Investigative guy, investigative guy John Mattes, investigativeguy John Mattes, italian consumer protection, italian consumers, John Mattes