Last Thursday (12), the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), of the Ministry of Justice, guided the more than 900 Procon units in Brazil to file administrative proceedings against Apple and Samsung for the practice of selling smartphones without chargers.
“Senacon has identified possible irregularities in the exclusion of shippers and, with the Procons, will initiate ‘checking procedures’ for companies to provide explanations or even have to take the necessary measures to guarantee the satisfaction of national consumers”, said Anderson Torres, Minister of Justice.
The long-standing controversy has already resulted in millionaire fines – which exceeded US$ 10 million – to big techs for compensation applied by the Procons of São Paulo and Fortaleza. With the new guidelines, the actions can result in losses of BRL 9 billion for both companies.
“The non-inclusion of chargers generates a profit of US$ 6.5 billion for Apple alone, and gives us the impression that the application of fines is something that both companies already counted on”, highlights Rodrigo Roca, national secretary. of the Consumer.
Cell phones without chargers? Not here in Brazil…
Here in Brazil, the practice of selling cell phones without the accessory is classified as tying, an irregularity provided for in article 39 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC). This is because the item is essential for the functioning of smartphones, which “forces” consumers to purchase chargers later.
There is even a Bill (PL 5,451/20) in progress in Congress that proposes an adjustment to the Consumer Protection Code to oblige all manufacturers to keep chargers, batteries and headphones in the sale of cell phones and other electronics that depend on these items.
Image: Shutterstock
To the Digital ConvergenceSamsung clarified that, during the manufacturing period, it makes an outlet charger available free of charge to all consumers who purchase the Galaxy S21 5G, S21+ 5G, S21 Ultra 5G, Galaxy S21FE 5G, Galaxy S22 5G, S22+ 5G and S22 Ultra products 5G, Galaxy ZFold3 5G and Galaxy ZFlip3 5G made in Brazil.
Apple has argued on other occasions that the separate sale aims to reduce environmental impacts caused by the manufacture of chargers, such as carbon emissions. The giant also claims that the measure has already been previously informed to consumers.
The fact is that the topic seems to be far from a simplified agreement and should still generate a lot of discussion – in addition to legal battles, of course.
