Bad Apple

Tech giant Apple has agreed to change the terms and conditions it offers UK consumers who buy from Apple and iTunes stores and download software from the web, after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said they were neither clear nor fair enough.

Jason Freeman, Legal Director, OFT Consumer Markets Group, said:

"The contract or terms of use between a company and a consumer, whether they are found online or on paper, must be clear, fair and easy to understand," said Jason Freeman, legal director at the OFT consumer markets group.

"It is important that consumers are given clear and accurate information about their consumer rights in case things go wrong. We have worked closely with Apple to secure these changes and we believe they will improve confidence and clarity for consumers."

Apple has agreed to change its Ts and Cs such that they:

• do not exclude liability for faulty or mis-described goods
• are consistent with consumer rights under the Distance Selling Regulations
• are drafted in plain or intelligible language
• do not potentially allow changes to be made to products and prices after an agreement is made.

The clear inference from this announcement is that the criteria above were not adhered to previously.

 

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