Apple agree to revise terms and conditions

After getting a bit of a telling off from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Apple have agreed to revise their terms and conditions to make them clearer and fairer for consumers.

Identifying terms in Apple’s user agreement contracts which infringed upon the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulation 1999 (UTCCRs), Apple have agreed to revise the standard conditions to ensure these:

• do not exclude liability for faulty or mis-described goods
• are consistent with consumer rights under the Distance Selling Regulations
• are drafted in plain or intelligible language
• do not potentially allow changes to be made to products and prices after an agreement is made.

Jason Freeman, Legal Director of the OFT Consumer Markets Group, said: “The contract or terms of use between a company and a consumer, whether they are found online or on paper, must be clear, fair and easy to understand. In particular, it is important that consumers are given clear and accurate information about their consumer rights in case things go wrong. We have worked closely with Apple to secure these changes and we believe they will improve confidence and clarity for consumers.”