Apple ordered to pay $1,000 to customer over lack of iPhone charger

Apple power cables
Apple power cables (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple is in legal trouble in Brazil because of its iPhone.
  • It must pay a customer $1,000 because its phone doesn't come with a charger in the box.
  • A judge ruled that Apple had illegally carried out a "married sale" of separate devices.

Apple is to pay $1,000 to a customer in Brazil who sued the company because their iPhone didn't come with a charger in the box.

From Tecmundo:

According to Article 39 of the Consumer Code (CDC), "married selling" is an abusive practice and prohibited in Brazil, so it is not allowed to sell cell phone and charger separately. That's why Apple is being convicted after selling an iPhone model and charger separately to a consumer in the city of Goiânia.According to the result issued by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, the 6th Civil Court of Goiânia, Apple must indemnify the consumer in R $ 5 thousand for carrying out the "married sale" of the company's devices.

A judge said that Apple's decision to remove the charger from the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 packaging was "the sale married by concealment or 'inside out', abusive and illegal commercial practice, in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Code."

Apple, in its defense, had stated that it was clear the iPhone did not come with a charger and that it had removed the charger for environmental reasons. Apple says the decision to remove the charger from the iPhone 12 saves it 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, around 10% of Apple's annual footprint.

Apple has already been fined by authorities in Brazil over the issue.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9