Apple willing to offer refunds some Australian iPad buyers

by Steve Ragan - Mar 28 2012, 07:30

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken Apple to court over claims of false advertising. In response, Apple has said it would issue refunds to consumers who felt they were misled, however they refuse to place warning stickers on the product packaging as requested.

The ACCC’s false advertising claims stem from the fact that the iPad that comes with support for 4G and Wi-Fi being sold in Australian stores, does not support any 4G network in the country, including the largest one – Telstra.

Apple defends the advertising by referencing the fact that the networks operated by Telstra meet international standards for qualification as 4G. Which may be true, but Telstra doesn’t support 4G on the latest iPad, and it can’t because of hardware configurations. Then again, Apple never promoted the device by mentioning that it would work on Telstra’s 4G network, just that it supported 4G.

The ACCC wanted the court in Melbourne to order Apple to place stickers on the latest iPad promoting 4G and Wi-Fi alerting consumers to the fact that it is “not compatible with current [Australian] 4G networks.”

For their part, Apple called the process of attaching stickers cumbersome, but did tell the court that they would be willing to offer refunds to those who felt they were misled. They also noted that the demand for refunds would likely be low.

The hearings are to continue on Wednesday afternoon.

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