Reuters: Technology News: Apple stops selling customer protection plan at Italian shops

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Apple stops selling customer protection plan at Italian shops Nov 13th 2012, 17:35 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Exclusive - Amazon to win EU e-book pricing tussle with Apple Tue, Nov 6 2012 Apple iPad mini draws New Yorkers; crowds thin elsewhere Fri, Nov 2 2012 Samsung posts $7.4 billion profit, handsets mask weak chips Fri, Oct 26 2012 Wall Street manages slim gain, Apple falls after results Thu, Oct 25 2012 iPad mini won't upset low-end market: analysts Wed, Oct 24 2012 Analysis & Opinion How Apple botched its fair rate case against Motorola Apple means (almost) never having to say sorry Customers gather outside an Apple store before the release of iPhone 5 in Munich early September 21, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Michael Dalder MILAN | Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:35pm EST MILAN (Reuters) - Apple Inc has stopped selling a customer protection plan that raised concerns with Italy's antitrust authority, a company spokesman said on Tuesday. Italy's competition watchdog had threatened the U.S. giant with a fine and even temporary closure of its Italian operations if the company did not make it clear to customers that they were entitled to a free two-year warranty on its products, in accordance to EU law. As of November 9, Apple is no longer selling its own, broader AppleCare Protection Plan (APP) in own brand retail stores in Italy, nor distributing the APP to Apple resellers, a company spokesman confirmed to Reuters. AppleCare can be bought on its website, where it is described as a product with advantages that "add to the two years of vendor warranty required by Italian law to protect consumers". Italy's antitrust watchdog AGCM has already clashed with Apple on this issue and has fined the maker of the iPhone and iPad some 900,000 euros for failing to offer the free guarantee. Apple's own protection plan remains available online on the Apple Online Store. The AGCM alleged earlier this year that the information provided by Apple about an extra guarantee plan encouraged customers to buy the APP service without clearly explaining that the company is obliged to offer a two-year free warranty. Apple rejected the antitrust claims at the time. A spokeswoman for AGCM said talks between Apple and the Italian regulator were still in progress. The regulator is expected to near a decision at the end of November. (Reporting By Lisa Jucca and Naomi O'Leary) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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