NZ man takes Apple to court | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

A Waikato man is taking on technology giant Apple after he says the company backed out on an online deal that seemed too good to be true.

Adam Crouchley, a Te Awamutu-based online marketing specialist, will have his David v Goliath day in the Disputes Tribunal with the multinational corporation on December 13.

The conflict started after Mr Crouchley stumbled across massively discounted products on Apple.com, run out of Australia, on October 10.

He said some Apple accessories, mostly cases, were reduced from as much as $89 to as little as 83 cents. "So the whole range from that supplier was really super cheap and so I thought: this can't be right, there's something incorrect here."

Using the website's live chat function he contacted customer support and checked that the prices were genuine. The representative, named Lou, confirmed that they were.

"I ordered a bunch of stuff. I spent about $35 and got about $1600 worth of gear, so I was pretty happy with myself then."

Soon after he placed the order, Mr Crouchley said, he received an email saying some of the goods had been shipped, and then other emails to confirm the order had been processed and his credit card charged. "Two or three days later they came back and said the order had been cancelled because there was a problem with the price."

They told him they would honour the part of the order they had already shipped but later managed to intercept the courier package.

"So I was spewing. I said to him: this is not on, I phoned you, your call centre assured me that you'd honour that order."

After several other phone calls he was told there was nothing more he could do.

His money was refunded, his bargain haul too good to be true. However, Mr Crouchley wasn't going to let this one slide.

After seeking legal advice he filed a claim with the Disputes Tribunal, and received a date for his hearing at Te Awamutu District Court on Monday last week.

"I'm a bit nervous about it.

"I'd imagine they'd probably want to settle before we get to that date.

"They may want to prove a point and show up but it can't go too wrong against me."

He said he used a lot of Apple gear in his business and just wanted to get what he paid for at the prices advertised.