COMPUTER giant Apple tried to silence a family after a young girl's iPod exploded and they sought a refund.
The firm told Ken Stanborough it would only return his money if he promised not to speak about the settlement, and threatened legal action if he did.
But he refused, saying he found their letter 'very disturbing'.
The incident, which has left the family [pounds sterling]162 out of pocket, comes after it emerged that Apple had allegedly tried to do the same to customers in the U.S. Mr Stanborough, 47, complained after he dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie's iPod Touch A flash-based iPod from Apple that was modeled after the iPhone. It is essentially a thinner iPhone without the phone capability and uses a touch screen for navigation rather than the illustrious click wheel. Like the iPhone, the only physical button displays the main menu. because it was overheating.
'It made a hissing noise,' he said. 'I could feel it getting hotter in my hand and I thought I could see vapour.' He threw the music player out of his back door and 'within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air'.
After contacting Apple and Argos, where he bought the device, Mr Stanborough managed to speak to an Apple executive.
He then received a letter in which the company denied liability but said it would offer a refund if the family agreed to 'keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential'.
It added that any breach of confidentiality 'may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief injunctive relief n. a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction. , damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties'.
Mr Stanborough, a self-employed security worker from Liverpool, said: 'They're putting a restriction on myself, my daughter and Ellie's mum, not to say anything to anyone.
'If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they could take litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.
When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling.
'We didn't ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back.' An Apple spokesman said that the company could not comment because it had not looked at the Stanboroughs' iPod. Argos also refused to comment.
The Trading Standards Institute The Trading Standards Institute, formerly the Institute of Trading Standards Administration (founded in 1956), formerly the Incorporated Society of Inspectors of Weights and Measures (founded in 1881), is the professional association which represents trading standards professionals said it did not know whether such letters were standard across the industry. But it added it could understand that Apple would want to protect its reputation by trying to reach a confidential settlement.
Last week, it emerged that Apple tried to hush up to procure silence concerning; to suppress; to keep secret.
- Pope.
See also: Hush several similar cases of exploding iPods in the U.S.
Documents obtained from the Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested that the iPods' lithium ion A rechargeable battery technology introduced in 1991 that provides greater charge per pound than nickel metal hydride. In 1993, Toshiba introduced the first notebook in the U.S. with a Li-ion battery. batteries could be the source of the problem.
In 2006, Apple and Dell recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems in laptop computers.
And in March, a mother in Ohio began court proceedings against Apple after her son's iPod Touch allegedly exploded in his pocket, burning his leg.
SOURCE:http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Exploding+iPod+and+an+Apple+at+tempt+to+gag+us.-a0204968453
The firm told Ken Stanborough it would only return his money if he promised not to speak about the settlement, and threatened legal action if he did.
But he refused, saying he found their letter 'very disturbing'.
The incident, which has left the family [pounds sterling]162 out of pocket, comes after it emerged that Apple had allegedly tried to do the same to customers in the U.S. Mr Stanborough, 47, complained after he dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie's iPod Touch A flash-based iPod from Apple that was modeled after the iPhone. It is essentially a thinner iPhone without the phone capability and uses a touch screen for navigation rather than the illustrious click wheel. Like the iPhone, the only physical button displays the main menu. because it was overheating.
'It made a hissing noise,' he said. 'I could feel it getting hotter in my hand and I thought I could see vapour.' He threw the music player out of his back door and 'within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air'.
After contacting Apple and Argos, where he bought the device, Mr Stanborough managed to speak to an Apple executive.
He then received a letter in which the company denied liability but said it would offer a refund if the family agreed to 'keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential'.
It added that any breach of confidentiality 'may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief injunctive relief n. a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction. , damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties'.
Mr Stanborough, a self-employed security worker from Liverpool, said: 'They're putting a restriction on myself, my daughter and Ellie's mum, not to say anything to anyone.
'If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they could take litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.
When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling.
'We didn't ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back.' An Apple spokesman said that the company could not comment because it had not looked at the Stanboroughs' iPod. Argos also refused to comment.
The Trading Standards Institute The Trading Standards Institute, formerly the Institute of Trading Standards Administration (founded in 1956), formerly the Incorporated Society of Inspectors of Weights and Measures (founded in 1881), is the professional association which represents trading standards professionals said it did not know whether such letters were standard across the industry. But it added it could understand that Apple would want to protect its reputation by trying to reach a confidential settlement.
Last week, it emerged that Apple tried to hush up to procure silence concerning; to suppress; to keep secret.
- Pope.
See also: Hush several similar cases of exploding iPods in the U.S.
Documents obtained from the Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested that the iPods' lithium ion A rechargeable battery technology introduced in 1991 that provides greater charge per pound than nickel metal hydride. In 1993, Toshiba introduced the first notebook in the U.S. with a Li-ion battery. batteries could be the source of the problem.
In 2006, Apple and Dell recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems in laptop computers.
And in March, a mother in Ohio began court proceedings against Apple after her son's iPod Touch allegedly exploded in his pocket, burning his leg.
SOURCE:http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Exploding+iPod+and+an+Apple+at+tempt+to+gag+us.-a0204968453
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