Apple sued for selling refurbished iPhone units as new in China

Apple is sued for allegedly selling refurbished iPhone handsets as new in China, which is a pretty damn big deal if it’s true. I’d like to think there is more to this story, so hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of it sooner than later. But I can’t imagine what it must be like to take home a brand-spankin’ new iPhone and opening it up and using it only to realize that it isn’t a fresh virgin from the factory.

What’s worse is needing Apple Genius Bar service or other help and realizing that your warranty isn’t quite as long as it should be.BGR reports:

The suits both allege that Apple Store locations sold refurbished iPhones to the complainants under the guise that they were new devices. Only when the customers discovered that their manufacturer warranties expired less than one year from their respective dates of purchase did they realize something was awry. To make matters worse, Wang says that when one such customer went back to the Apple Store to confront them, the staff there allegedly tried to trick her by modifying her warranty expiration date.

Others are apparently coming forward with the same issue, stating that they thought they were buying new iPhones when it turned out they were being given refurbished or refreshed units.

It seems like shady business practice to sell refurbished iPhones as new, but again we ought to wait about what Apple has to say regarding the matter. It just doesn’t seem like the sort of thing a company would do in order to risk damaging its reputation and business.

What do you think? Could the problem be limited to only Apple, or is it possible that some middlemen are involved in this scheme? Or is it possible that this is some kind of scam from the user’s end? Let us know what you think in the comments below.