THECompetition and Market Authority ha Xiaomi Italia fined 3.2 million euros. According to the Authority, the Italian division of the company hindered the exercise by consumers of the rights deriving from the legal guarantee on the electronic products of the brand. The conduct of the Chinese giant, specifically, reveals three behaviors poco correct which highlights how it managed to avoid the replacement of devices (when necessary) and to repeat the repair at the expense of the end user. But let's see the matter in detail.
UPDATE: XIAOMI ANSWERS, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T JUSTIFY ITS ACTIONS FOR NOW. MORE DETAILS AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE
The anti-trust Xiaomi Italia fines as it hindered consumers in an attempt to take advantage of the legal guarantee of compliance
From the antitrust provision against Xiaomi it emerged that the company refuses legal warranty repair in the presence of other defects in the product, even if only aesthetic. For example, if the surfaces or other external parts of the product have more than one scratch on the screen, not exceeding 5 hundredths of a millimeter in width and 5 mm in length, the company would have decided to prefer the "out of warranty damage" formula instead of the one included in the guarantee. Furthermore, Xiaomi carries out repeated repairs rather than replacing the product, thus repeatedly depriving the consumer of the purchased good. The Authority recalls that the "repair" intervention can constitute a remedy only if it promptly resolves the lack of conformity.
Finally, Xiaomi Italia in the event of a negative verification of a lack of conformity of the good would ask to pay the costs of verifying the defect and shipping of the product, under penalty of non-return, if the consumer refuses the estimate of the out-of-warranty repair. Instead, it is up to Xiaomi to verify the possible existence of the reported lack of conformity without charge any verification fees or shipping.
These episodes didn't just happen to users with smartphones. In fact, some point out:
I ask that the warranty part be repaired without any other additional cost of the scooter sent to you. I was sent a quote for the repair of the brake lever being scratched, this is not a damage due to any fall but only rubbed because it is placed on the wall or on the ground and in any case does not affect in the most absolute way the safety and damage to be repaired. In addition, the replacement of the headlight was also estimated because it came back a little, given that when the scooter was delivered, the headlight was not in this state as demonstrated by the inspection of the scooter carried out by the company Dima when it was delivered. It is evident that it is the result of a collision during transport.
Read also: Proximity sensor on Xiaomi: what is the real problem?
But now let's move on to another problem, which will affect everyone: i software problems. Testimonies were also collected at this juncture and the antitrust authority obviously agreed with the users. But let's go in order. According to Xiaomi's policy:
We inform you that according to our legal terms, if a product is considered unrepairable by the service center (this ONLY applies to mobile phone hardware problems), we will consider replacing the direct product; in the event that the problem is at a software level or operating system bug and not a hardware problem, then in this case the problem can only be solved through updates that are released for MIUI
However, the software is a part (albeit not a concrete one) of the smartphone and for this reason theCompetition and Market Authority said it is Xiaomi that he has to fix any bugs that arise. Among other things, we would like to emphasize, also the problems with the proximity sensor are attributable to the company.
At the moment Xiaomi has not released a statement but undoubtedly it will be heard in the next few hours. We await an official response.
SECURITY UPDATE TRAINING
Xiaomi shares the statement official which follows the news made public yesterday byCompetition and Market Authority with regard to the fine of 3.2 million euros imposed on the company itself for having hindered consumers in an attempt to take advantage of the legal guarantee of conformity. The following is reported:
We have taken note of the decision of the AGCM and we are working on evaluating the reasons for it. We believe that our after-sales services, including the warranty service, are fully compliant with Italian law. We are committed to providing highly satisfactory after-sales service to our customers all over the world
For the moment, therefore, alone a patch and not a response capable of justifying one's actions. No doubt this "hit" will have one resonance not indifferent given the number of users involved. We await news in the coming months.
