iBomb: Apple Tries to Cover Up Exploding iPhones & iPod; France DGCCRF Investigates

Not long ago, we covered a story on a British girl where her father tried to obtain a new device. Apple was going to offer the daughter and her father a full refund only if they were willing to sign a non-disclosure/settlement form. The proposed settlement would have left the family open to any legal action if they ever violated the terms of the proposed agreement.

Apparently, iPhones and blowing up in peoples faces all over France. France’s official consumer affairs and fraud watchdog, the DGCCRF,  launched an investigation to find out whether the Apple smartphone could pose a threat to consumers. “An investigation is under way. We have been alerted to the problem and we are looking into it closely,” a spokesman said Tuesday.

France’s consumer rights group, UFC-Que Choisir, also called on Apple to come clean about possible faults with its iPod and iPhone devices. “We want to know if this is an isolated incident as they claim, or a real problem involving the iPhone — in which case, what are they planning by way of compensation and to prevent it happening again?” said a spokesman.

In the latest French incident, Rolland Caufman, a pensioner from the Paris suburb of Noisy-le-Sec, says his iPhone screen broke up on July 21, the week after he bought it.

“I went out shopping, with my iPhone in my left pocket, when I suddenly felt it heat up and start vibrating — even though I never use the vibrate setting.

“I took it out of my pocket and held it to my ear — and saw the screen crack up like a car windscreen,” he told AFP.

Caufman says Apple initially refused to believe him, before finally sending him a free replacement.

On Tuesday, 26-year-old security guard Yassine Bouhadi, claimed he was hit in the eye with a glass shard when the screen of his iPhone cracked up. He said he would seek a full refund and file suit for damages.

French mobile phone operator Orange said it had been contacted by two customers with shattered iPhone screens, out of 1.2 million iPhones sold.

[via Yahoo Tech]