New York: Hey Steve Jobs, make the iPhone more consumer friendly – we’re not liking that $80 battery replacement fee!

Well, someone had to officially say. Following on that retarded poor, misguided guy’s class-action lawsuit over the iPhone’s sealed battery, New York State’s Consumer Protection Board has officially put in their two-cents on the iPhone’s fleecing of America. The organization took issue with the additional costs associated with owning an iPhone, and sent Stevie a letter to that regard.

The battery’s $80 replacement fee, $29 iPhone loaner, short 14-day return period and the 10% restocking fee are among the poor customer service tactics cited by the CPB.

We completely agree. While we don’t condone a free battery replacement, the cost of doing so should be considerably lower, especially considering the ridiculous profits that Jobs is making on each iPhone. And charging for a loaner? We get free loaners for our cars (which cost considerably more than even a high-end gadget)! But, we can’t really say that a restocking fee is a bad idea, it keeps the non-serious lookey-loos from buying and returning the iPhone on a whim.
iPhone Central seems to think restocking fees should be abolished industry-wide, while they don’t understand the need for a longer trial period. We think they got this one backwards. Restocking fees are necessary, and so are longer trial periods.

We’re hoping more consumer protection agencies throw their hat into the ring on these issues. Afterall, their job is to make sure that greedy CEOs don’t overcharge or take advantage of us poor, little consumers. But, then again, Jobs is about as stubborn as they come, so we’re not holding our collective breath for any leniency from Apple.

[Via: MacWorld]