After a customer filed a complaint with a brazilian court, Apple faces a new fine as a judge ruled that the company had “abusive and illegal” practices when selling iPhones without a charger, so it must now compensate its consumer.
That ruling was filed by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, who ordered the Cupertino-based firm to pay compensation of 5,000 Brazilian reais, which is equivalent to nearly $1,80.
The main reason that the judge had for his decision is that the charger is an essential element for the device to function normally, so, by not including it, it incurs a violation of Brazilian legislation regarding consumer rights.
At the time that Judge Caires Pïnheiro ruled in favor of the buyer, this means that more lawsuits could be generated against Apple for the same reason, since a precedent was set, which could even force the firm to include this accessory in stores in Brazil.
The member of the Brazilian justice system said that Apple’s argument that headphones and chargers are not included because “it is better for the environment” is not valid in court and “does not make sense” because the charger is necessary for the smartphone to operate, and ends up being purchased separately.
Another of the brand’s arguments was that the USB cable that was included was not for exclusive use for its products and could be shared with other chargers regardless of the manufacturer. However, Judge Vanderlei Caires rejected that allegation.
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This is not the first time that Apple is fined in Brazil for not including a charger, in 2021, PROCON-SP (the consumer protection agency of that country) set a fine to Apple for about 2 million dollars because the iPhone 12 did not include a charger.
