Apple have been fined by an Italian watchdog for the sum of £750,000 for the way they handle product guarantees.

The Italian AntiTrust authority have said that Apple fail to inform shoppers of their legal right to two years technical support, instead focusing on a one year standard warranty.

The antitrust authority say that this action has pushed customers into paying extra for Apple's own support service which overlaps with the free guarantee.

The penalities apply to Apple Sales International, Apple Retail Italia and Apple Italia. Apple were fined 400,000 euros for failing to recognise the length of the statutory guarantee which is laid out in the Italian consumer code. Another 500,000 euros were imposed due to the Applecare Protection Plan which overlaps with the free guarantee. The terms have never been made clear to the buying public.

Apple will be forced to publish an extract from the ruling on their website and will be made to add details of the two year guarantee to their AppleCare plan within 90 days.

Kitguru says: An embarrassing situation for Apple and one they will have to rectify soon.

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