Apple claimed the move was saving the planet from electronic waste, but the move was seen as so clever that this week Elon Musk decided to adopt it to get more cash from Tesla users. Samsung, too, followed Apple's suit and removed the power adapter from the retail boxes of its high-end Galaxy S series phones.

Now it seems that the courts are getting around to telling the big corporates that it is a bad idea. A judge in Brazil has ordered Apple to compensate an iPhone user about $1,000 for not shipping a charger in the box

The judge has ruled that Apple selling the iPhone without a charger in the box violates the country's consumer law and, therefore, the company must pay $1,075 as compensation to the impacted customer.

Brazil's Consumer Code deems "tie sale" abusive and prohibits its practice in the country — something that Apple's no-charger policy for the latest iPhones seems not to comply with. Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, of the 6th Civil Court of Goiânia, has, therefore, sentenced Apple to compensate.

This is the second time that Apple has fallen foul of Brazilian consumer law. Last year, a Brazil court fined Apple a whopping $2 million for not complying with the country's consumer laws and disrespecting Brazilian customers. The court said Apple must include a compatible charger in the iPhone box.

Apple managed to save a lot of money by removing the iPhone chargers from the box. Apple apparently "earned" $6.5 billion by selling iPhones without their chargers in the box.