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A thread on warranties and #RightToRepair
Warranties are important -- they protect consumers and push manufacturers to make more durable, repairable products. But our warranties are wearing thing. 1/
Warranties are important -- they protect consumers and push manufacturers to make more durable, repairable products. But our warranties are wearing thing. 1/
A lot of people have been led to believe that if you open or repair a product yourself, you “void your warranty.” Well, that’s actually not true. In fact, the FTC, which is supposed to enforce consumer protections on warranties, has really dropped the ball. 2/
In 2018, the FTC warned 6 companies that "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers were illegal, for this very reason. Consumers are allowed to seek independent repair an you can't void their warranty for that. But those 6 companies aren't the only ones who void warranties ... 3/
In 2018, I surveyed 50 appliance manufacturers and found 45 of 50 would state they void warranties for "unauthorized" repairs. I presented these findings to the FTC, which hasn't done anything. 4/
After hearing all manner of complaints during the pandemic I decided to recheck the 45 companies from 2018. We could reach 43 of 45, and all 43 we reached said on at least one attempt that any "unauthorized" service would void the warranty. 5/
These findings are available in the report. Terrific work by @al_debellis and @amgreentweets researching all these companies and helping line up all their responses https://uspirg.org/reports/usp/warranties-void-ii
Both Anne Marie and Alex were shocked while doing the research. First they read the FTC guidelines which say things like this:
And then you ask companies about their policies and get responses like this from Electrolux:
or this from Krups:
or this from Phillips:
(I could literally do this all day)
Ok I'd do more here's one from the already-ecologically-problematic Keurig k cup machine:
How about you, LG?
Whirlpool?
Bosch?
OK you get the point. Why even have laws that govern warranties if you won't enforce them? And why would we expect manufacturers to obey the laws if they aren't enforced? Join me in calling on the FTC to step it up: https://uspirg.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=43303
