Bengaluru woman sues Apple after spilling coffee on MacBook

The woman accidentally spilled coffee on her brand new MacBook. (Representational image)

A woman in Bengaluru lost a case in which she sued tech giant Apple after she accidentally spilled coffee on her MacBook. The 31-year-old had bought a MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop for Rs 1.74 lakh in January last year, the Times of India reported. Additionally, she had paid Rs 22, 900 for AppleCare+ service coverage.

A few days later, she accidentally spilled coffee on her MacBook’s keyboard following which the laptop starting stopped powering up, according to the report. She then went to the store and sought to get her device fixed. The seller, however, returned the laptop without repairing it, saying damage caused to the MacBookby spilling of a liquid is not covered completely under AppleCare+.

In the same month, she complained to the consumer disputes redressal commission, accusing Apple India Pvt Ltd, iCare Ample Technologies and Imagine Store of unfair trade practices.

The woman lost her case in the consumer forum as Apple India argued that unexpected or unintentional damage to internal parts due to spillage of any liquids is not covered under AppleCare+.

The consumer forum also noted that the woman for laptop repaired at Apple's authorised service centre despite approaching the court with a complaint over repair, a point she allegedly did not mention to the court.

The consumer disputes redressal commission in Bengaluru routinely receives complaints from people against sellers over issues. Last year, a woman in the city won a case against IKEA over a Rs 20-carry bag that the Swedish-retail giant charged her after she shopped at its Bengaluru outlet. Retail outlets cannot charge for carry bags bearing the company logo. IKEA was asked to give her a refund as well as Rs 3,000 in compensation.