Apple is being sued by a consumer for refusing to repair his iPhone 12 which still has a warranty. The consumer, Theodore A. Kim, filed his lawsuit in court in San Francisco, United States.
In his lawsuit, Kim asked for compensation of USD 1,383.13. This amount corresponds to the price of the iPhone 12 that he paid when he first bought it.
Kim said he bought the iPhone 12 through an Apple authorized seller in Vietnam in October 2020. The iPhone 12 has a warranty that is valid until October 2022.
When Kim returned to the US in the midst of the pandemic, he admitted that his cell phone had trouble detecting the US SIM card. He also contacted Apple and they asked him to take the iPhone 12 to the Apple Store.
"And I took it to the store and they sent it to the repair depot -- then they came back and said, 'We're not going to fix this because it's been tampered with,'" Kim said, as quoted by Business Insider, Monday (25/10/2021). .
"And I said: 'Destroyed in what way?'" he continued.
Kim claimed not to get a clear answer from Apple. Instead, they returned their iPhone and now the SIM card tray is broken.
A few weeks later, Kim registered his complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Apple responded to the complaint and said they would repair Kim's iPhone 12 if the unit was damaged while in their possession, and Apple considers the issue resolved.
Since his warranty was voided by Apple, Kim later said he was willing to pay to have his iPhone 12 repaired. But Apple also still refuses to repair the phone.
As a last resort, Kim sent an email directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook at the end of June 2021. So far he has not received a response from the email.
Still not giving up, Kim was looking for a solution on Google. There he found a blog post from a blogger in Seattle, USA who successfully sued Apple through a small claim court or a simple lawsuit.
Because he felt the blogger's story was similar to what he experienced, Kim decided to sue Apple. Based on court documents, the trial of this case will be held on November 23, 2021.
"I joked a little bit, 'Well, it's kind of like the David and Goliath situation.' We'll see what happens," Kim said.