Apple India asked to pay Rs 5K to Hyd customer for delay in replacing damaged AirPods

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Dispute Redressal Commission has directed Apple India and its authorised service centre in Ameerpet to pay a compensation of Rs. 5,000 to a customer in Hyderabad for delay in replacing damaged AirPods.

They have been given 45 days to comply with the order.

Pratik Sethia, a resident of Kachiguda, bought Apple AirPods on 20 June 2019 from an authorised distributor. Pratik always bought branded products in order to avoid any future issues with the device. In due course, the device started showing some defects and Pratik took it to one of the authorised service centres of Apple, Conquer Care Technologies LLP, in Ameerpet. The staff at the service centre made some minor adjustments and said that the device was fine.

But after a few days, the device started showing the same issues and Pratik took it to the same service centre. This time, the technician did some work on it and said such issues will not recur. The issue repeated for a third time and Pratik visited the service centre again only to receive a similar response.

Pratik thought that this time the technician had genuinely worked on the AirPods and felt that the device would work fine. But his hopes did not last long. The device showed similar issues again. On his fourth visit to the service centre, Pratik asked for a replacement as it was within the warranty period.

Apple India's response

Apple India, located in Bengaluru, in response wrote to the Commission that the allegations made by Pratik are false. "It is pertinent to mention that Apple Products sold in India by Apple India through their dealers/resellers are known for their cutting-edge technology and utmost customer satisfaction. The Apple Products undergo strict quality tests, to ensure that the said products maintain high standards, so that they do not fail to meet industry standards," read Apple India's response.

It also added that the service centre had placed an order for a new replacement device but there was a slight delay due to wrong shipment. It said that once the right product arrived, the complainant was informed but he refused to go and collect the same.

Service centre's response

Conquer Care Technologies LLP, in response to the notice served to them, said they were only authorised and equipped with the facilities to run basic diagnostics and troubleshooting minor issues as per the guidelines and knowledge transfer made by Apple India Pvt. Ltd. They added that the service centre does not have any sort of authority or rights to confirm or deny any issue in diagnosing the problems of the device except the issues that are listed by Apple India Pvt. Ltd. to be solved at the level of service centre, as the entire diagnostic process is conducted using a software pre-installed by the Apple India.

"We only diagnose the device and troubleshoot the issue and if the problem persists they will send the device to Apple India Pvt. Ltd. at Bangalore where they conduct advanced diagnostics on the device and decide whether to repair or replace the product," they added. In this particular case, they said they did do some diagnostic tests but the results showed that the device had no issues.

Commission's order

Pratik had asked for compensation for the delay in exchanging the device. He also wanted a warranty period of one year for the new product. However, the company was ready to give a warranty only for a period of 90 days. The Commission left the warranty option to Apple India and its service centre.

The Commission directed Apple India and its service centre Conquer Care Technologies LLP to exchange the AirPods with a new piece either with a warranty of 90 days and pay compensation of Rs. 5,000 or with a warranty of one year and compensation of Rs. 2,000.