Apple Warranty
LEGAL GUARANTEE
Apple products and all products purchased from Apple, including those not branded as Apple products, are covered by a 3-year legal warranty against non-conformity, under the terms of the Warranty Law (Decree-Law No. 67/2003, amended by Decree-Law No. 84/2008 and Decree-Law No. 84/2021, of October 18).
According to this legislation, the consumer has the right to request from the seller, and, where applicable, from the producer, the free repair or replacement of the product whenever there is a lack of conformity within a period of 3 years from the date of delivery.
These rights can be exercised with the seller, except when this is impossible or constitutes an abuse of rights, under the general terms of the law.
Without prejudice to their rights against the seller, consumers may choose to take direct action against the producer, demanding repair or replacement, unless this proves impossible or disproportionate.
EXPLANATORY NOTE ON THE CONDITIONS FOR REQUESTING / OBTAINING REMEDIES UNDER THE LEGAL GUARANTEE
1. Who is eligible to benefit from the legal rights enshrined in the Guarantees Law?
Only consumers – i.e., individuals to whom goods are supplied, services are provided, or any rights are transferred, intended for non-professional use, by a person who professionally carries out an economic activity aimed at obtaining profit – can benefit from the legal guarantee. Therefore, the products purchased and described in a...
Invoices indicating a company's or professional's VAT registration number are not eligible for the Guarantees Law regime.
2. How/when can I claim the solutions covered by the legal guarantee?
According to the Guarantees Law, consumers have the right to obtain from the seller, as well as, if the legal requirements are met, from the producer, the repair or replacement of products, free of charge and without any burden, when a conformity defect manifests itself within 2 years from the date of delivery. During this 2-year period, consumers may also, without any charge, choose to request from the seller an appropriate price reduction or the termination of the contract. Consumers may exercise any of the aforementioned rights against the seller, except when this proves impossible or constitutes an abuse of rights, under general terms. Without prejudice to their rights against the seller, consumers may choose to demand directly from the producer the repair or replacement of the products, unless this proves impossible or disproportionate. Consumers must report the defect to the seller within 2 months from the date on which they detected such defect.
Consumers can exercise their legal warranty rights, provided they have proof of purchase of the product (e.g., receipt/invoice). Therefore, it is important to always keep the proof of purchase document for the product in question.
3. What is a nonconformity?
As stipulated in Article 2 of the Guarantees Law, products are presumed to have a
Non-compliance occurs if any of the following happens:
(i) Not conforming to the description given by the seller or not possessing the qualities of the goods that the seller presented to the consumer as a sample or model;
(ii) Not being suitable for the specific use for which the consumer intends them and which the consumer has informed the seller of when entering into the contract and which the seller has accepted;
(iii) Not being suitable for the uses normally given to goods of the same type;
(iv) They do not have the qualities and performance that are usual in goods of the same type and that the consumer can reasonably expect, given the nature of the goods and, where applicable, the public statements about their specific characteristics made by the seller, the producer or their representative, in particular in advertising or labeling.
According to the Guarantees Law, any lack of conformity that becomes apparent within 2 years from the date of delivery of the product is presumed to have existed on the date of delivery, except when this presumption is incompatible with the nature of the product or the characteristics of the lack of conformity.
If the product or part of the product has been replaced, the replacement product enjoys a new warranty period of 2 years, starting from the date of delivery.
The 2-year period is suspended, starting from the date the defect is reported to the seller (or producer), for the duration that the consumer is deprived of the use of the product because the situation is being resolved.
4. What should I do when a product purchased from the Apple Online Store is non-compliant?
If a consumer notices that a product purchased from the Apple Online Store is non-compliant, they can contact Apple's customer service center at the phone number listed below.
The Apple contact center will analyze the detected problem according to points 1 to 3 above. If the problem cannot be resolved by phone and/or if a technical diagnosis is necessary to verify an actual non-conformity, the consumer will be referred to an Apple Authorized Service Provider ("AAP").
In cases where non-conformity is confirmed, in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above, the consumer will be entitled to obtain from Apple the free repair or replacement of the defective product, an appropriate price reduction or termination of the contract, without any charge. The consumer may choose to exercise any of these rights, unless this proves impossible or constitutes a clear abuse of rights, in accordance with the general rules of law.
Notice: The aforementioned rights only apply to products purchased from the Apple Online Store by a consumer in Portugal.
5. What should I do when a product that wasn't purchased from the Apple Online Store is non-compliant?
Consumers who purchase Apple products in Portugal can claim the benefits of the legal warranty from the direct seller of the product, provided that the conditions established in the Warranty Law are met.
Consumers can also direct their repair or replacement request to Apple, as the manufacturer, by contacting Apple's Contact Center for this purpose via the telephone number. See below. Apple's contact details are also available at the following link : https://www.apple.com/en/contact/
Apple's call center will analyze the detected problem according to points 1 through 3 above. If the problem cannot be resolved by phone and/or if a technical diagnosis is necessary to verify an actual conformance defect, the consumer will be referred to an Apple Authorized Service Provider ("AAP").
In cases where a non-conformity is confirmed, in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above, the consumer will be entitled to obtain from Apple the free repair or replacement of the defective product, without any charge, unless:
(i) proves impossible or disproportionate, considering the value the product would have if there were no non-conformity, the importance of the non-conformity, and the possibility of the alternative solution being implemented without serious inconvenience to the consumer, or
(ii) Apple proves that (1) the nonconformity arises solely from the seller’s representations of the product and its use or misuse, (2) it did not place the product on the market, (3) the defect did not exist at the time it placed the product on the market, (4) the product was not manufactured for sale or any other form of distribution for profit or was not manufactured or distributed as part of Apple’s business, or (5) more than 10 years have passed since the product was placed on the market.
6. Examination, assistance and associated costs
In cases where a product purchased from the Apple Online Store is examined by a PSAA (Product Service Appraiser), the consumer receives a receipt with a unique claim number. When the consumer contacts the PSAA to check the status of the claim, they can use this number to identify themselves and the product being examined.
If the examination of the product reveals a lack of conformity (as described in item 3) (above ), the consumer will be informed of the estimated repair time, which should not exceed 30 days.
If the examination results in the product not being defective (as described in item 3) (above ) - for example, if the defect is a consequence of misuse or abuse of the product by the consumer - PSAA will contact the consumer to inform them about the nature of the defect, as well as the estimated costs for the service.
If the Guarantees Act does not apply, the PSAA will submit the estimated price for the service costs to the consumer for approval before the service begins.
When a consumer requests Apple technical support for a product that does not have a non-conformity, Apple will inform the consumer of the technical support costs, which will be fully borne by the consumer.
Apple contact center number
800 207 983
Apple contact details
Apple Distribution International
Hollyhill Industrial Estate
Hollyhill, Republic of Cork, Ireland