Apple is flouting the Consumer Guarantees Act by replacing near-new but faulty iPhones and iPods with older, repaired products, Consumer NZ says.

Other consumer technology companies, including Sony, also supply refurbished rather than new models as replacements, but in New Zealand Apple customers have been most affected by the practice.

Consumer NZ technology writer Haydn Green said the act required retailers and manufacturers replacing a faulty product to substitute it with one of "identical type".

Apple claimed a refurbished product was "as new" but that was wrong, he said.

"A refurbished model is not the same as a new one, otherwise they would just say it was new. We don't believe that's acceptable under the act."

Consumer NZ had received several complaints from people who had received repaired models as replacements.

It had contacted Apple each time it received a complaint, but the consumer technology giant had largely ignored its protests.

People encountered the problem, which has mainly affected iPhones and the iPod Touch, regardless of which retailer or telco they bought the product from, Green said.

Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin did not respond to questions about whether the company was complying with the intention of the act.

Instead she referred The Dominion Post to Apple's standard limited one-year warranty, which states Apple will repair, refund or exchange defective products "with a product that is new or refurbished that is equivalent to new in performance and reliability and is at least functionally equivalent to the original product".

Green said Consumer NZ advised anyone who had been given a refurbished product as a replacement to challenge the practice and take their case to the Disputes Tribunal if necessary, but that was a "very long and drawn- out process" and most could not be bothered with the inconvenience.

"How long can you live without your cellphone these days?"