HOUSTON – Two Houstonians are taking Apple to task, accusing the tech giant of false advertising and breach of warranty, and people who own an Apple device could be impacted by the lawsuit filed last week.
The suit is about the Apple Care Plan and Care Plan+. Consumers can pay for it when they buy an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The plans cover damage to those devices. However, the women who filed the lawsuit said that when they took their broken devices into an Apple store to be replaced, they didn't get what they were promised.
Vicky Maldonado purchased an iPad from Apple in 2012, according to court documents. When the screen cracked six months later, she took it back to the store, paid for a replacement device and the Apple Care+ service warranty plan to cover it. Maldonado didn't know the replacement iPad was not "new," but instead refurbished, and "it did not function properly."
According to the lawsuit, Maldonado paid for two other devices and the protection plans over the next two years, but each time discovered what Apple sold her was a reconditioned, used iPad.
The documents also revealed that Joanne McRight, of League City, purchased an iPhone5 and the Apple Care + plan, but when the screen cracked Apple sold her a refurbished phone instead of a new one without disclosing that fact.
The two consumers are suing Apple for breach of warranty, fraud and violations of California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act, according to the documents.
Apple's warranty paperwork claims it provides consumers with devices that are "equivalent to new in performance and reliability," but the suit argues "new" can never refer to a refurbished device because they're used.
Maldonado and McRight are asking a judge to stop Apple from providing only refurbished devices under its care plans and also to reimburse all customers who purchased an Apple Care or Care+ plan after July 11, 2011.
The case was just filed July 20, 2016. So far, Apple has not submitted its response to the court.