Company Kcell was fined 2.1 million tenge after proceedings in the Specialised Court for Administrative Offences. The reason was a customer complaint about a faulty iPhone 15 Pro purchased at the company’s office.
HOW THE DISPUTE BEGAN
A resident of Kostanay in December 2025 contacted the Department for Consumer Protection of the Kostanay Region with a complaint about the quality of an iPhone 15 Pro smartphone. According to the consumer, the device discharged quickly, would not charge beyond 85% and overheated, reports the publication ‘Kostanay News’.
After an inspection, the department issued the company an order to ensure an exchange of the goods or a refund in accordance with the Law ‘On Consumer Protection’. The deadline for compliance was set for 6 February 2026.
HOW THE SITUATION DEVELOPED
On 4 February 2026, the phone was sent via JSC ‘Kcell’ to an authorised Apple service centre. Following diagnostics, specialists reported that no hardware faults were found, the device was working correctly, and the smartphone’s firmware had been reinstalled.
During the court proceedings, representatives of the department stated that the seller had not proven the causes of the device’s overheating and rapid discharge. Furthermore, according to the state body, the faults were rectified without the consumer’s consent.
It was also stated in court that when the phone was sent to the service centre, one of the specified defects — device overheating — was not mentioned in the accompanying information.
WHAT THE COMPANY SAID
A representative of JSC ‘Kcell’ disagreed with the accusations. The company explained that a firmware reinstall is a standard diagnostic procedure and is not considered a repair or rectification of product faults.
The company’s side also stated that the order had been properly complied with, as the authorised service centre deemed the device to be working correctly.
WHAT DECISION THE COURT MADE
The case was considered under part 3 of Article 462 of the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (‘Improper fulfilment of lawful requirements of state control bodies’) in the Specialised Court for Administrative Offences.
The court concluded that the state body’s order had been improperly fulfilled. The ruling stated that the company violated the requirements of paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Article 30 of the Law ‘On Consumer Protection’.
As a result of the proceedings, JSC ‘Kcell’ was found guilty and fined 2 million 162 thousand 500 tenge. The court did not impose an additional penalty in the form of suspending the company’s activities.