An 80-year-old mother had to pay a $1,599 bill for iPhone repairs at a computer store in Queensland this week, angering fellow consumers.
The woman, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast area, went to King IT’s Caloundra store for a standard iPhone update when she was charged $1,599 for a number of questionable services, including virus removal.
“The local computer store (King IT Caloundra) charged my 80-year-old mother $1500 to remove the ‘virus’ from her iPhone,” wrote the woman’s son in sharp criticism review On the business’s Google Account.
An 80-year-old woman paid a $1,600 bill for basic iPhone services at a computer store in Queensland. Source: Reddit/Getty
The furious man also took to Reddit to share a picture of the hefty repair bill issued by an IT store to his mother.
IT store charges about $1,000 to remove spyware
On the printed invoice, you can see that King IT charged the elderly lady $98 for an iOS update (something that can be done for free by the user), $59 for a lesson from a “tech guru” , $18 for a monthly webroot installation of security software, and $69 for a lifetime version of the same software.
However, the most expensive component of the consultation involved double-checking and removing the spyware from the woman’s iPhone, costing a total of $978.
Australians will typically pay between $100 and $300 to remove malware from their iPhone, according to a search on AirTasker for the service.
King IT charged an elderly woman $98 for an iOS update on her iPhone, something that can be done by a single user for free. Source: Getty
Cybersecurity software company Avast says viruses are “rare” on iPhones and will only happen if the phone is jailbroken (which is when Apple’s software restrictions are lifted).
This was not the case in this example, as the woman was updating her iPhone to the latest version of Apple’s iOS.
Yahoo News Australia reached out to King IT for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
story continues
IT store feels the wrath of the Internet
The post struck a nerve with fellow consumers on Reddit and Google, who labeled the IT store “scammers” for their poor allegations on the woman’s bill.
“In addition to the $900 ‘virus removal’ sprinkled with a fee like $50 for pressing the system update button… what a scam. And most things are charged twice,” wrote one person.
“Abominable rotten people taking advantage of the elderly,” wrote a second.
“Cheating on the elderly is a new low,” wrote a third.
Several others advised the person to report the store to the ACCC, which he confirmed, along with notifying the shopping center in which the store is located.
Shocked by the high cost of his mother’s iPhone repair bill, the woman’s son sought online advice from fellow consumers. Source: reddit
Woman offered full refund
Following the man’s scathing criticism, an online reviewer for King IT confirmed they would issue a “full refund” to the customer in a public response to Google.
“Sadly, recently at our Caloundra store, one of our employees made a poor decision that resulted in an extensive bill for one of our valued customers,” the response reads.
This is unacceptable and should not have happened. We would like to offer our sincere apologies and full refund and would like to compensate our customer for the suffering caused by us. We are currently in the family to make this right reaching, he added.
The representative assured readers that the issue would “never happen again” and that they were taking “disciplinary action.”
How to remove malware from iPhone for free
Although rare, iPhone owners can remove viruses or malware from their Apple devices for free by restarting their iPhone, updating iOS, and clearing their history and browsing data.
Concerned people can also delete suspicious apps and factory reset their iPhones to protect themselves from malware and viruses.
If you’re not sure whether your iPhone has been infected with a virus or other malware, unrecognized or crashing apps, lots of Internet browser pop-ups, unusual charges or data usage, fast-draining battery, or persistent heat Phone.
Do you have a story tip? E-mail: [email protected],
you can also follow us Facebook, instagram, TIC Toc And Twitter and download yahoo news app from app Store either Google Play,
