King IT computer store in Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, charges unwitting grandma $1600 to remove virus
Outrage after a computer store charges an unwitting grandma $1,599 as it makes her pay for things usually done for FREE
- A grandma had to fork out a whopping $1,599 for a regular iPhone repair
- The King IT store charged her $978 for malware removal and $98 for iOS update
- The woman’s son wrote a scathing Google review about the huge invoice
- The computer shop regretted the error and said the woman was fully refunded
A grandmother has been hit with a massive $1,599 bill after she took her iPhone to a computer repair shop.
The 80-year-old woman went to the King IT store in Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, this week for an iPhone repair.
The shop charged her $978 for checking and removing malware – which should normally cost between $100-$300, according to an Airtasker search on prices.
The computer store’s itemsised costs (pictured) included $98 for an iOS update, that a user can do for free, $59 for a 30-minute tech lesson and $69 for the installation of antivirus software
The woman’s son took to King IT’s Google review page and wrote a stinging takedown for charging her the $1,600 (picture, a stock image)
Other costs included $98 for an iOS update, that a user can do for free, $59 for a 30-minute tech lesson and $69 for installing antivirus software.
The woman’s son penned a scathing review on King IT’s Google account.
‘Local computer store [King IT Caloundra] charged my 80-year-old mother $1,500 to remove a “virus” from her iPhone,’ he wrote.
Kapersky, a cyber security firm, said getting a virus on an iPhone was ‘extremely rare’ but could happen if the phone was ‘jail broken’ – where a user unlocks it to get more control over its operating system.
By jail breaking a phone, any restrictions Apple puts on its software can be removed, including deleting the apps that are usually unable to be wiped.
However, the IT store updated the woman’s iOS meaning her phone was not jail broken and therefore she did not need the antivirus software for $69.
King IT issued a statement on Facebook after the son’s furious review, saying the woman’s charges were an error.
It also confirmed she had been fully refunded the $1,599.
‘Recently at our Caloundra store one of our staff made a poor judgment, which, in an extensive bill to one of our valued customers,’ their social media post read.
‘This is unacceptable and it shouldn’t have happened. We would like to offer our sincere apology, a full refund and would like to compensate our customer for the grief we caused.
‘Rest assured, this will never happen again. As of now, we’re reviewing our internal processes and training, and taking disciplinary action.
‘We are sorry and will go to great lengths to show this is not what King IT is about.’
The IT store took to their social media (pictured) saying the blunder was made by one of their staff in ‘poor judgment’ and they would offer a full refund
Daily Mail Australia confirmed with the store the woman has been refunded the entire amount.
Despite the refund, the shop is still being inundated with furious comments about the bill.
‘I think [the tech lesson] is free at the [Apple] Genius Bar. They have class sessions where you can learn basic stuff,’ one said.
‘They could have probably spent 15 seconds of that time showing someone how to flick the toggle to turn on automatic iOS updates instead of charging for that as a separate “service” for an additional $98. Total fleece job,’ another said.
‘You spend time doing anything for a customer, you can charge as you’d like … That’s how business works. It’s a transaction, not a giveaway,’ a third said.
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