AppleCare+ Lawsuit Claims Apple Continues to Charge for Subscription After Old Device Is Traded In or Returned

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Apple illegally continues to charge consumers for AppleCare+ after they have already traded in or returned the device tied to the subscription.

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The 26-page AppleCare+ lawsuit says that although Apple’s agreements with consumers require the tech giant to stop charging for AppleCare+ extended warranty coverage once a person no longer owns the device linked to the subscription, the company, in the plaintiff’s case, charged monthly fees “for years after the trade-in, amounting to hundreds of dollars.” At the same time, the complaint says, Apple charged the plaintiff and other consumers nationwide for new AppleCare+ subscriptions connected to their new devices.

The breach-of-contract filing stresses that Apple knows when a device covered by an AppleCare+ subscription, which offers additional services such as 24/7 tech support and accidental damage protection, has been traded in or returned given that each contract is linked to a particular device serial number. Since Apple can automatically enroll new devices in AppleCare+ as soon as they ship to a consumer, it would be just as easy, though “far less profitable,” for the company to automatically end AppleCare+ fees for a traded-in or returned device, the suit contends.

“Charging for AppleCare+ after a trade-in is pure profit for Apple because it cannot incur any replacement, repair, or support-related costs for a device that is out of circulation,” the lawsuit summarizes. “For Apple, it’s money for nothing. For consumers, it’s one more obstacle to making ends meet.”

Apple’s terms and conditions for AppleCare+ state that coverage applies only to “covered equipment,” defined as the device listed on a consumer’s plan confirmation, the case shares. Thus, when Apple is aware that a customer no longer owns the covered device, the company cannot continue to charge them for an AppleCare+ subscription in good faith because it knows the plan provides no consideration for the customer in exchange for their payments, the complaint argues.

According to the case, Apple has been obligated by its terms and conditions to automatically cancel AppleCare+ subscriptions for certain trade-ins and returns since April 2021.

“When Apple later updated the Terms and Conditions to provide for automatic cancellation, Apple failed to adopt procedures sufficient to implement the updated cancellation policy, and Apple limited automatic cancellations to plans with certain Plan Terms,” the lawsuit says, arguing that Apple’s apparent failure to develop a system for automatic cancellations “can only be seen as intentional.”

The AppleCare+ lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who traded in or returned a covered Apple device under an AppleCare+ contract in the last four years and whose contract was not immediately canceled, resulting in new monthly fees or a failure to provide prorated refunds.

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