The FTC said that the companies have been told to make the necessary changes to their service rules within 60 days, and that failure to follow through could result in administrative action being taken by the corporate regulator. (Kārlis Dambrāns/flickr)
SEJONG, July 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust watchdog ordered six local iPhone repair companies Thursday to change their customer service rules that unfairly restrict the rights of users.
UBase, Peach Valley, Beyond Tech and three other firms cited for unfair practices are all official repair companies authorized by tech giant Apple to service its products in the country, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.
“Unfair practices include asking for costs of repairs in advance and not accepting cancellations of repair requests,” an official said. “Such practices clearly restrict legitimate consumer rights.”
The official also said that customers have the right to accept assessments of repairs that need to be made and whether or not they need to change their device altogether if the damage is too serious.
The FTC said that the companies have been told to make the necessary changes to their service rules within 60 days, and that failure to follow through could result in administrative action being taken by the corporate regulator.
The regulator’s move comes after customer complaints have been mounting over the way iPhones are repaired in the country. Apple‘s smartphones make up a sizable domestic market, even though more South Koreans use Android phones made by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
(Yonhap)
