OFT forces Apple to change unfair terms

Apple will have to rewrite its terms and conditions which do not comply with UK consumer laws following action by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

The company fell foul of the consumer protection regulator on a number of points including terms that were found to be inconsistent with people’s rights under the Distance Selling Regulations.

The OFT also found blanket terms that could have been used to exclude Apple’s liability for faulty or mis-described goods.

As well as specific changes, much of the wording was confusing, according to the OFT, so Apple will have to redraft the terms in plain English.

In 2008, Apple agreed to change its terms and conditions regarding delivery charges after Computeractive’s Fair and Square campaign that flagged them up as being in breach of consumer law.

The latest changes, which apply to both Apple and iTunes stores, were raised by the OFT using the Unfair Terms and Conditions of Contract Regulations (UTCCRs). Terms and conditions of sales are written by companies and consumers have no say in them, but must agree to them if they want to buy products.

The UTCCRs protect consumers from terms that are either unfair or ignore other consumer protection regulations.

Apple has agreed to revise its standard conditions to address with the OFT’s concerns and to ensure it does not potentially allow changes to be made to products and prices after an agreement is made.

Computeractive asked Apple if it had already made the changes but as of yet, we had not had a reply.