Customers not happy with Apple's 'pitiful' cure for iPhone 'touch disease'

Apple is finally offering a curefor its iPhone 6 Plus models plagued by so-called "touch disease." The affliction causes the phone's screen to freeze up andno longer respondto touch commands.

The fixwill cost American customers $149 US. Canadians will have to shell out $189.

The move follows months of customercomplaints about touch disease andmultiple proposed class action lawsuits filed against Apple over the issue.

The suitsallegethe California-based tech giant knew about the defect and failed to take action.

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But while Apple is offering a fix, some customers are dismayed to discover the company ischarging a fee and placingthe blame onthem.

"Apple has determined that some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit display flickering or multi-touch issues," statesthe company on its website.

This problem, explains the company, arises after the phone has been dropped"multiple times on a hard surface" and then is subjected to"further stress."

'Pitiful' offer

"I think it's pitiful," says iPhone ownerTrina Rae Wiegers from Prince Albert, Sask.

She claims that many smartphonesget dropped, soif that's the culprit,lots of different iPhone models should be suffering fromthe same problem.

"You can't just pick one and say apparently people are just dropping the 6 Pluses."

Wiegers owns an iPhone 6, which she believes also suffers from touch disease. She says it periodically freezes up and becomes useless."You miss calls, you can't text, it's a horrible piece of crap."

Other iPhone 6 customers have also complained of the same problem, but Apple is only offering to fix the bigger 6 Plus. CBC News asked the tech company why, but it did not address the question.

Even if she could get the fix, Wiegersclaimsshe would never pay $189. "It's ridiculous," she says."It's their problem and they need to own up to it."

$189 fee for show?

Wiegers is the lead plaintiff in a proposed Canadianclass action lawsuit launched against Apple over touch disease.

A total of four proposed class-actions have been filed, two in Canada and two in the U.S. involving both iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners.

"It's a design defect, so to charge $189 to fix their problem is simply atrocious," claims Regina lawyerTony Merchant, who's heading up the Canadian lawsuits.

He alleges both the 6 and 6 Plus were designed in a way that even the slightest bend results in a disconnect in the phone, causing thescreen to no longer respondto touch.

Merchant claims Apple came up with a fee for the fix not because it needed the cash but to create the impression touch disease is not itsfault.

"Their motive is to maintain thepretense that they didn't design a defective phone," he alleges.

"What they ought to be doing is fixing all of [them]without charge and pay compensation to people who've lost the use of their phone."

In order to proceed, all fourclass actions must first be certified in court. Apple would not comment on the proposed suits.

Not interested in the fix

The term "touch disease" was first coined by an online repair guide, iFixit. It posted a blog in August claimingthat iPhone repair shops in the U.S. were being inundated with customers looking for fixes for the problem.

After CBC News first reportedon the issue, weheard from several customers who claimtheir phones are afflicted. They include Paul So from Torontowho took his iPhone 6 Plus to an Apple store last month.

He says the customerservice rep acknowledgedtouch diseaseandexplained it happened when the phone was bent.

So sayshe was told he'd have to pay $425 to replace the device because it's no longer under warranty.

He wasn't willing to pay that price and he's not keen tocoughup $189 for a problemhe too believes is Apple's fault. "It's not right. They should acknowledge the fact they did make the mistake."

YusufMotiwala inMississauga also doesn't plan to take Apple up on its offer. "That's a lot of money," he says about the fee, estimating it would total about $200 withtaxes. "I don't think that's fair."

Motiwala's19-year-old daughter, Hawwabought a second-hand 6 Plus for $750 in February. By September, it started flickering and eventually stopped responding to touch altogether.

Motiwalabelieves the $200 fee would be better used to help pay fora new phone for his daughter one that's not an Apple product.

As for Wiegers, she's sticking with the proposed class action lawsuit and says she's still waiting for the day Apple fesses up and addresses her problem at no charge.

"I just want them to fix my phone, that's all I want."

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CBC News askedApple for a response to the customer criticisms. It would only confirm that it is indeed running a repair program for the iPhone6 Plus.

As part of the program, customers who already paid to get their devicefixed will be reimbursed minus the mandatory $189 fee.

Phones that havecracked or broken screens won't be eligible for the repair.