Has Apple been charging its customers for unnecessary repairs?

Earlier this year I asked if it was right for Apple to be actively tinkering with our old iPhones.

In a nutshell, Apple introduced a ‘feature’ into operating system updates that slowed some phones down. The reasoning was that tempering performance would help to avoid unwanted issues caused by older or degraded batteries.

Apple attempted to rectifying the situation by offering a £25 battery repair (reduced from £79) to all affected customers. Unsurprisingly this has proven popular, but some of the hoops you have to jump through have not.

Aside from the fact that Apple determines whether your phone really needs a new battery, there’s another rather large caveat to this cheaper price.

Added costs

Apple’s repair website states that “If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.”

This might seem reasonable at first glance, but as reported by the BBC and seen on last week’s Watchdog, consumers are not happy at what Apple is trying to charge for.

One customer was quoted £200 to fix a small dent in the edge of the phone before Apple would make good on its battery promise.

Another had a phone that appeared to be in perfect condition, only to be told there was ‘internal damage’ that needed fixing.

A few bad apples?

And Apple customer service representatives appear to be singing a different tune to Apple’s repair policy, stating that ‘any and all damage’ must be repaired to benefit from the battery replacement service.

One customer, having been quoted £250 before the battery could be replaced, took their phone to a third-party repair centre who replaced the battery with no issues, something Apple had refused to do.

Is Apple unfairly burdening customers with unnecessary repairs, and should it be doing more to appease customers after the recent bad press? Have you attempted to take an iPhone to an Apple repair centre for a discountedreplacement battery, or had repair issues with any other Apple products?