Court Orders Phone Store to Refund Customer for Defective iPhone

TDT | Manama

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The High Civil Court court has ruled in favour of a customer who purchased a defective iPhone, ordering the phone store owner to refund the purchase price and pay legal fees.

According to the plaintiff's lawyer, Essam Al Tayeb, the incident occurred on December 15, 2022, when the plaintiff purchased a new iPhone 14 from the defendant. The plaintiff paid 330 BHD for the device. On April 13, 2023, the phone's network connection was disrupted. As a result, the plaintiff contacted the telecommunications company, who confirmed that there was no issue on their end.

On April 15, 2023, the plaintiff informed the phone store (the defendant) about the issue and returned the phone. After a quick examination, the store informed the plaintiff that there was a problem with the phone and they would contact the technical agent (the telecommunications company responsible for the device). They promised to contact the plaintiff once they had more information.

After a period of time, the store informed the plaintiff that the problem with the phone was due to the original owner's failure to pay their monthly installments, leading to the phone being deactivated by the telecommunications company. They promised to resolve the issue within a week.

Al Tayeb stated that the issue was not resolved, and the plaintiff requested a full refund or a replacement phone. The store owner refused, offering only a used phone as compensation. The plaintiff then filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Agency, who advised him to accept the replacement phone or file a police report. The plaintiff subsequently filed a lawsuit against the phone store.

The plaintiff's lawyer relied on Article 158 of the Civil Code, which states that "any fault causing damage to another shall oblige the person who caused it to compensate him," and Article 161(A) of the Civil Code, issued by Law Decree No. 19 of 2001, which states that "the damage for which the person responsible for the unlawful act is obliged to compensate shall be determined by the loss incurred and the profit lost, as long as it is a natural consequence of the unlawful act."

Al Tayeb requested that the defendant be ordered to provide his client with a new phone or the value of the defective phone. The court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, dissolving the contract and ordering the defendant to reimburse the purchase price of the phone, as well as court fees and legal fees totaling 100 Bahraini dinars.