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“ The regulator also said Apple and Goldman misled many consumers into believing they would automatically get interest-free monthly payments when buying Apple d

“ The regulator also said Apple and Goldman misled many consumers into believing they would automatically get interest-free monthly payments when buying Apple devices. Instead, those same customers were charged interest.” Interesting! Will they notify those charged interest?

warkdarrior 2y ago
They'll probably get 3 months of Apple Arcade free.
- mensetmanusman 2y ago
  Or a $100 off coupon for spending over $500?
  - dylan604 2y ago
    That's quite generous. I'd assume that of the $19.8 million going back to customers would see at least 60% used as legal fees before seeing distribution resulting in a similar payout to most class action suits
    - kgrin 2y ago
      That's one advantage of this being a CFPB action and not the result of a class-action suit.
      - dylan604 2y ago
        Isn't CFPB one of the agencies on the chopping block of Project2025?
        mjcohen 2y ago
        Anything that helps consumers is on that chopping block, and CFPB is at the head of the list.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 2y ago
    On a select items that they mark up 20%.
loeg 2y ago
> Will they notify those charged interest? Yes? Where do you think this money is going? > Goldman will pay $64.8 million. Of that total, $19.8 million will go back to consumers.
ezfe 2y ago
I'm curious what the issue is, since most Apple Devices DO have interest free payments for 12 months
- tedunangst 2y ago
  But you have to click the payments option (and pay the billed amounts). If you put the full balance on your card, you can't ignore it for 12 months and then pay.
  - dmonitor 2y ago
    So it's only no interest as long as you make payments on time. I guess this is technically misleading advertising? It might also be that it only applied during specific circumstances (buying directly from Apple) instead of as a blanket offer. I've bought a few devices through this deal and personally am a happy customer, so I hope this doesn't kill it.
    - mrastro 2y ago
      Isn't that every credit card? You pay your full balance on time it's essentially a delayed debit card because no interest is paid.
      - kbolino 2y ago
        There's actually a term for this: charge card. Some American Express cards still work this way (i.e., you must always pay in full on time).
        Kirby64 2y ago
        No. The financing Apple is offering is typically 12 months split into 12 separate payments. That is 0% financing and not a 'charge card' style. You're still getting 11 months of delayed payments, unlike a charge card where everything is due once a month from the previous month of the card.
hirvi74 2y ago
I've used the service plenty of times now, and was never charged interest. I wonder what situations lead this to happen? I know one has to select the payment option when purchasing through Apple and not all items are eligible. Maybe people just assumed the payment plans would be automatically and didn't require selecting the option during checkout?
- _mlbt 2y ago
  I believe if you fail to make the entire monthly payment by the end of the month you will be charged interest.
  - themadturk 2y ago
    Also, you do need to explicitly specify you want to use the interest-free installment option when making the purchase. It's not automatic, even when buy an Apple product at an Apple Store.
    - Corrado 2y ago
      Yes. I found this out after purchasing a new laptop for my wife. One call to the Apple store that I bought the device at fixed it though. It really was (mostly) painless.
      - themadturk 2y ago
        Oh, now that's interesting news. I never would have thought of that! The one time I did it wrong was on a small enough item I was able to pay it quickly via savings.
  - ClassyJacket 2y ago
    I mean... isn't that how most interest-free cards work?
- icelancer 2y ago
  Yeah, I don't think I was ever charged interest on Apple products either, but I wasn't paying that close of attention. I'll have to go back and check to see if I can get a sweet class action payout.
xyst 2y ago
Probably payment on GS backend was processed late even if customer initiated payment on the due date. So customer was charged interest. I was an early adopter of the AC during my Apple glazing days. Everybody has the same due date (end of month) and GS systems just could not handle the volume. I remember an auto payment taking a week to withdraw from my bank account and applied to account. I wasn’t charged interest and didn’t have an installment at the time though. I believe installments were introduced a year later after AC was generally available.
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  > an auto payment taking a week to withdraw from my bank account As an aside, for anyone using an Apple Card today, a handy way around this is to not make payments via ACH. Use your debit card with Apple Pay to pull money instantly into Apple Cash, then use that to instantly pay your credit card bill. An extra step, sure, but it's instant.
  - NavinF 2y ago
    Related: Most banks let you pay credit cards over the phone using a debit card. This is usually intended for debt collection though, so you may have to have to call the debt collection phone number to do it. Of course the main use case for tech people is maxing debit card rewards until they close your account :)
    - minhaz23 2y ago
      Churning? Can u tell me more abt that please in the process of doing a few but dont want to mess up. Any tips?
  - xyst 2y ago
    This isn’t needed anymore. Credit is applied to account if autopay is setup. I guess it’s only reversed if ach fails due to insufficient funds. Personally I have a bank account that I use solely for the purpose of auto pay/ach. It’s only funded with enough money to pay creditors.
  - 2y ago

warkdarrior 2y ago

They'll probably get 3 months of Apple Arcade free.

mensetmanusman 2y ago
Or a $100 off coupon for spending over $500?
- dylan604 2y ago
  That's quite generous. I'd assume that of the $19.8 million going back to customers would see at least 60% used as legal fees before seeing distribution resulting in a similar payout to most class action suits
  - kgrin 2y ago
    That's one advantage of this being a CFPB action and not the result of a class-action suit.
    - dylan604 2y ago
      Isn't CFPB one of the agencies on the chopping block of Project2025?
      - mjcohen 2y ago
        Anything that helps consumers is on that chopping block, and CFPB is at the head of the list.
- onlyrealcuzzo 2y ago
  On a select items that they mark up 20%.

loeg 2y ago

> Will they notify those charged interest? Yes? Where do you think this money is going? > Goldman will pay $64.8 million. Of that total, $19.8 million will go back to consumers.

ezfe 2y ago

I'm curious what the issue is, since most Apple Devices DO have interest free payments for 12 months

tedunangst 2y ago
But you have to click the payments option (and pay the billed amounts). If you put the full balance on your card, you can't ignore it for 12 months and then pay.
- dmonitor 2y ago
  So it's only no interest as long as you make payments on time. I guess this is technically misleading advertising? It might also be that it only applied during specific circumstances (buying directly from Apple) instead of as a blanket offer. I've bought a few devices through this deal and personally am a happy customer, so I hope this doesn't kill it.
  - mrastro 2y ago
    Isn't that every credit card? You pay your full balance on time it's essentially a delayed debit card because no interest is paid.
    - kbolino 2y ago
      There's actually a term for this: charge card. Some American Express cards still work this way (i.e., you must always pay in full on time).
      - Kirby64 2y ago
        No. The financing Apple is offering is typically 12 months split into 12 separate payments. That is 0% financing and not a 'charge card' style. You're still getting 11 months of delayed payments, unlike a charge card where everything is due once a month from the previous month of the card.

hirvi74 2y ago

I've used the service plenty of times now, and was never charged interest. I wonder what situations lead this to happen? I know one has to select the payment option when purchasing through Apple and not all items are eligible. Maybe people just assumed the payment plans would be automatically and didn't require selecting the option during checkout?

_mlbt 2y ago
I believe if you fail to make the entire monthly payment by the end of the month you will be charged interest.
- themadturk 2y ago
  Also, you do need to explicitly specify you want to use the interest-free installment option when making the purchase. It's not automatic, even when buy an Apple product at an Apple Store.
  - Corrado 2y ago
    Yes. I found this out after purchasing a new laptop for my wife. One call to the Apple store that I bought the device at fixed it though. It really was (mostly) painless.
    - themadturk 2y ago
      Oh, now that's interesting news. I never would have thought of that! The one time I did it wrong was on a small enough item I was able to pay it quickly via savings.
- ClassyJacket 2y ago
  I mean... isn't that how most interest-free cards work?
icelancer 2y ago
Yeah, I don't think I was ever charged interest on Apple products either, but I wasn't paying that close of attention. I'll have to go back and check to see if I can get a sweet class action payout.

xyst 2y ago

Probably payment on GS backend was processed late even if customer initiated payment on the due date. So customer was charged interest. I was an early adopter of the AC during my Apple glazing days. Everybody has the same due date (end of month) and GS systems just could not handle the volume. I remember an auto payment taking a week to withdraw from my bank account and applied to account. I wasn’t charged interest and didn’t have an installment at the time though. I believe installments were introduced a year later after AC was generally available.

rootusrootus 2y ago
> an auto payment taking a week to withdraw from my bank account As an aside, for anyone using an Apple Card today, a handy way around this is to not make payments via ACH. Use your debit card with Apple Pay to pull money instantly into Apple Cash, then use that to instantly pay your credit card bill. An extra step, sure, but it's instant.
- NavinF 2y ago
  Related: Most banks let you pay credit cards over the phone using a debit card. This is usually intended for debt collection though, so you may have to have to call the debt collection phone number to do it. Of course the main use case for tech people is maxing debit card rewards until they close your account :)
  - minhaz23 2y ago
    Churning? Can u tell me more abt that please in the process of doing a few but dont want to mess up. Any tips?
- xyst 2y ago
  This isn’t needed anymore. Credit is applied to account if autopay is setup. I guess it’s only reversed if ach fails due to insufficient funds. Personally I have a bank account that I use solely for the purpose of auto pay/ach. It’s only funded with enough money to pay creditors.
- 2y ago