Apple faces class action suit over allegedly defective iMac displays
Another class action suit has been brought against Apple, this time alleging the company knew about, but did not address, a fault with displays in the previous generation of 27-inch iMac desktops.
Corbin Rasmussen, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, says in the complaint that his 27-inch iMac began to experience trouble with the display 18 months after purchase. Specifically, half of the display went dark, which Rasmussen says impacted his use of the computer for things like watching movies or web browsing. The suit was first noticed by GigaOM.
After examining the computer, Rasmussen claims that Apple told him a repair would run $500 because the desktop was out of warranty. Rasmussen believes Apple should offer free repairs for the product, pointing to a 300-page-long thread on Apple's user-to-user support forums as evidence that the problem is widespread enough to warrant special action.
"Despite numerous complaints mounting in Apple's online forums and lodged with Apple Care customer service representatives, Apple has refused to publicly acknoledge the screen dimming defect," the complaint says, "and has failed to stand behind its representations and products and offer a fix for impacted consumers."
Rasumussen also cites a 2009 Techcrunch report that called the iMac an "iLemon," and seeks to represent all owners of 27-inch iMacs featuring LED-backlit displays from South Korean manufacturer LG made prior to December 2012. The case, the complaint says, may be worth more than $5 million.
Corbin Rasmussen, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, says in the complaint that his 27-inch iMac began to experience trouble with the display 18 months after purchase. Specifically, half of the display went dark, which Rasmussen says impacted his use of the computer for things like watching movies or web browsing. The suit was first noticed by GigaOM.
After examining the computer, Rasmussen claims that Apple told him a repair would run $500 because the desktop was out of warranty. Rasmussen believes Apple should offer free repairs for the product, pointing to a 300-page-long thread on Apple's user-to-user support forums as evidence that the problem is widespread enough to warrant special action.
"Despite numerous complaints mounting in Apple's online forums and lodged with Apple Care customer service representatives, Apple has refused to publicly acknoledge the screen dimming defect," the complaint says, "and has failed to stand behind its representations and products and offer a fix for impacted consumers."
Rasumussen also cites a 2009 Techcrunch report that called the iMac an "iLemon," and seeks to represent all owners of 27-inch iMacs featuring LED-backlit displays from South Korean manufacturer LG made prior to December 2012. The case, the complaint says, may be worth more than $5 million.
Comments
After examining the computer, Rasmussen claims that Apple told him a repair would run $500 because the desktop was out of warranty. Rasmussen believes Apple should offer free repairs for the product...
Screw you buddy! Why should ANY manufacturer be obliged to continue fixing products out of warranty? I think Apple goes way more out of their way to fix/replace items that did exceed their warranty period but they certainly are not obligated to.
That's what AppleCare is for. Idiot. Moron. Sure, extended warranties in general I think are a scam, but I think what one gets with a bonafide AppleCare plan, it's worth it considering how expensive those iMacs are.
Written on my trusty 2009-iMac.
Fixed a 24 inch Apple LED Cinema Display with a LG panel. The solder on one of the backlight LEDs had cracked and the entire LED came off, disabling the entire backlight system. Joys of lead-free solder.
We just repaired one of these at our office last week, a mid-2011 model. The actual part that breaks when this fails is VERY poorly designed and thought out. This isn't just a case of trying to get around a warranty, Apple should not have built it the way they did. A class action lawsuit like this is meant to encourage a company to make smart choices when making a poor one hurts users.
He's not just complaining. My iMac is fantastic, but that power connector was really stupid. Don't do it again, Apple.
Weren't early LG panels used in iPads prone to a light leakage problem?
Besides that, 500 bucks to replace a 2 year old screen? That's beyond ridiculous. Maybe if it were from the current gen, considering how hard the stupid things are to remove and replace, but the previous gen took maybe a half hour to swap out panels.
I can't understand why people pile on Apple whenever their product goes bad out of warranty. Apple has surprised the hell out of me with two incidents that happened during the past few years:
1) In 2011, Apple notified me by mail that our iPod Nano, purchased in 2006 had battery issues. They asked me to send it back and they would 'rectify the situation'. We hardly used that iPod anymore, so I sent it back. A few weeks later, we received a brand new Nano, their latest model to replace our old one.
2) Last year, I received a note from Apple in the mail that my iMac model was experiencing hard drive failures. If I took the Mac to an authorized service, they would replace the drive with a brand new one at no cost.
This is the Apple that I know, that I invest in, and that I admire. They really care about their customers. Buy Applecare, play by the rules, and all should be fine.
Unless of course he is a lawyer or has a close relative that is.
This is perhaps the biggest problem with this issue. Right or wrong with his demands the lawyers win.
I'm not even sure AppleCare is justified in this case. I have to wonder if he considered a DIY repair or taking it to a third part maintenance organization.
I don't buy AppleCare BECAUSE I'm buying an Apple product that I expect to be as well made as any luxury product. I used to buy AppleCare and never used it after spending all of that money for it.
The extended warranty industry is as much of a scam as pay day loans. Those defective displays are from no fault of the user and Apple needs to fix them before they tarnish their image.
I bought 7 Macs from Mac Pro to MacBook Air until now, none of them I got Apple Care. Luckily not experienced any issue with any of my Apple products but still I did not have the peace of mind longer than one year and that was not enough.
I am again willing to buy new Mac Pro but if I am already paying Apple more than $3K for their premium product, it should automatically at least give me two year full replacement warranty, in fact, three years to be fair.
..and since the failure rate for Apple products are far less than others, Apple should not have this issue to give 2 years warranty instead of one.
Its just my opinion.
Consider a couple of things here. First, what is this “premium price” you think you are paying? Do you REALLY think you are paying “premium” prices for the hardware and software alone? I don’t. I think you’re getting tremendous value, because it INCLUDES world-class support built into it, for an entire year (or more, in some places), at a very fair price. How can you justify doubling that warranty period at no charge?
And for an equally fair price, they offer 3 full years of warranty support. Who else does that? And it’s not just “support”, it’s the best on the planet, consistently gaining higher marks than anyone else in their industries, and then some.
Dollar for dollar, feature for feature, spec for spec, Apple products are NOT that much more expensive than their apples-to-apples-compared competition, and that SMALL “premium” pays for the top-flight support you get.
Consider the quality of Apple’s warranty/after-sales support. Do you think the quality of support would be maintained if it was a “free two years”? I think their warrant programs are very fair. Especially considering the extremely low failure rate of their products.
It’s just my opinion.
Agreed, 1 year is a little short considering the price.
Oh hang on, I'm in the UK so I get 2 years anyway.
At least the EU can do something right.
If he win, then warranty means nothing and you can sue everyone whenever your device fail?
You can already sue anyone for anything.Doesn't mean you have a case or will win.
At the shop i was told that the LED connection on the lower left of the display looks like it was soldered by a 5 year old and that the new part didnt look that much better but it worked, i never had a problem with any apple products and i always buy applecare that was the first time i didnt get it.
Im currently speaking directly with an Apple executive relations rep who helped me get it repaired last time but this time this im asking them to take a recall of the display into consideration.
Also to those who say just get applecare, with or without it this is a faulty not well manufactured display (likely not apples fault but the manufactures) even if i had applecare i wouldnt want to take my bread and butter mac to the shop for a week to get it repaired once a year, what about after apple care expires? Does that mean the product shouldnt work? I had a mac for 5 years without a hiccup and i expect even more from this one, i still have and ipod thats about 7 years old and works like a charm, when a product is bad like this one its supposed to be recalled, they have recalled hard drives and other parts, again even with applecare many people have experienced this issue within the first year and thats not fair to bave to bring it in for a week to repair it once a year.
Just my thoughts
Well, at least it's not smelly.
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http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2013/10/30/youre-alone-new-dell-laptop-smells-like-cat-urine/