Telstra has strengthened its handset warranties following an announcement that it is rolling out 24-month warranties for all mobile handsets that it sells – except for Apple products.
Telstra has strengthened its handset warranties following an announcement that it is rolling out 24-month warranties for all mobile handsets that it sells – except for Apple products.
The move follows what appears to have been some heavy leaning by the competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
ACCC says Telstra already offered 24-month warranties for handsets manufactured by RIM, HTC and ZTE.
“Telstra has decided to do what’s right and fair for consumers, and has been negotiating with manufacturers to bring in warranty periods that last for the length of a consumer’s contract,” ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says.
The move follows an investigation last year which resulted in the ACCC accepting a court-enforceable undertaking from Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), including undertakings that VHA will supply a 24 month express warranty to any phone – again excluding Apple – sold on a 24-month contract.
Samuel said the ACCC continues to hold discussions with Optus seeking a similar handset warranty policy.
And he said that, while nearly all major handset manufacturers had agreed to honour full warranties, the ACCC continues to have “concerns” about terms of Apple’s iPhone warranties. He didn’t explain the particular problems with Apple.
