
Which companies have been fined for the worst customer service failures in recent history?
3:25PM AUSTRALIAN retail giant Apple has been fined $1.7 million by the Competition and Consumer Commission for failing to meet customer service obligations.
The $1 million fine relates to a series of failures on Apple’s customer service website in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in customers being billed for services they had not received.
The commission also fined Apple $1,000 for failing “to ensure that customers are fully informed about the availability of services”.
It has ordered the company to pay an additional $300,000 to cover “further remedial work to improve customer service”.
“Apple’s actions are unacceptable and they need to change,” the commission said in a statement.
“They also breached the consumer rights of many customers, who had paid up-front to ensure that Apple could deliver the products they paid for.”
The ACCC found that Apple had failed to comply with its obligations under the Competition Act, including not offering the full range of products to customers, and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure consumers received the best service possible.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said he was “disappointed” by the decision.
“It’s disappointing to learn that our company didn’t deliver on our promise to provide a high-quality service to our customers,” he said.
“This is something we’ve addressed for years, but it’s a matter of priorities for our team.”
We’re working to improve our customer service and will continue to improve the customer experience on Apple.
“As an organization we believe in providing the best possible customer experience, and we are committed to improving our customer experience.”
While this is a difficult time for our employees, we will continue working hard to improve and improve our service for our customers and our customers’ families.
“Apple has previously been criticised for its poor customer service.
The ACCCs watchdog has found that more than $20 million of fines have been levied by the company for customer service issues since its launch in 1997.
Apple said in September 2018 it would invest $10 billion over the next decade to improve its customer service practices.
The company’s previous chief executive, Tim Cook, was previously suspended from the company after he was fined $5 million in 2017.