China criticizes Apple's repair policy

China Consumers' Association criticized Apple's repair terms and conditions as "Unfair" in a recent report issued on June 19.

By reviewing consumer complaints nationwide about Apple's iPhone and its general repair policy, the association referred to at least seven clauses and said that they were unfair to the customer and against the country's law.

The focuses were Apple's possession of the repaired parts, its immunity from paying for any damages caused during repair, and charging customer for late collection, etc.

The report was initiated by the association's national head quarter and jointly issued by its provincial and municipal subsidiaries in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Jiangsu, and Shandong.

"The amount of unfair clauses showed that, as an international IT giant, Apple wasn't always abiding the laws in the Chinese market," said Zhao Zhanling, a consumer right expert at the China University of Political Science and Law. "As an industry organization, the consumer association cannot represent consumers and file any law suit against Apple; it also has no law enforcement powers. We need the country's commerce administrator to step in."

China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce launched a special action of investigating and punishing the infringement of the consumer rights in March, and the consumer association's Jiangsu and Shandong subsidiaries are now working with the local authority to investigate Apple's repair policy and the customer complaints.