David Becker
Gear

Consumer Group Calls for Free iPhone Battery Replacement

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), a consumer rights group that earlier sued Apple over supposedly defective iPod Nano screens, has sent Steve Jobs a letter complaining about the iPhone’s soldered-in battery, which we learned last week will cost $86 to replace. The group is particularly irked that consumers didn’t learn about the […]

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The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), a consumer rights group that earlier sued Apple over supposedly defective iPod Nano screens, has sent Steve Jobs a letter complaining about the iPhone's soldered-in battery, which we learned last week will cost $86 to replace. The group is particularly irked that consumers didn't learn about the battery replacement charge until Apple had sold a few truckloads of the wonderbrick. Sez leader Harvey Rosenfeld:

The cell phone industry is notorious for not being consumer-friendly while Apple has a fairly good reputation...so for Apple to stand on a technicality of a hidden disclosure that's going to cost the user as much as 20 percent of the purchase price I think will prove to be a colossal mistake.

FTCR suggests instead that Apple and AT&T should "provide free and immediate replacement" of the battery "at their retail locations for the life of the iPhone."

Consumer Group Irate over iPhone Battery[Newsfactor]