BOSTON: A new survey by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund shows that the 43 home appliance manufacturers we surveyed would consider voiding the warranty if a device had an “unauthorized” repair, despite the warning of 2018 of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Three years ago, the FTC warned six companies to ban the placement of stickers that say “the warranty would be void if removed” on their products under warranty laws. A report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund at the time found that 45 of the 50 home appliance companies also voided warranties for independent repair. Since then, home appliance companies have not made things easier, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Requests for appliance repairs increased in the pandemic, which caused delays for many people who wanted to fix a refrigerator or a dishwasher. Many would have chosen independent repair at their own expense to avoid downtime, but manufacturers have told people they can’t do without voiding a warranty, ”said Nathan Proctor, director of the Right to Repair campaign. from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “It is totally unacceptable that the FTC has not cleaned up this. Consumers should be able to repair the things they own and manufacturers should follow federal warranty laws. “
The findings underscore the need for the FTC to step up its enforcement and have broader protections on the right to repair, as manufacturers aim to hit independent repairers and mom and pop repair shops.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act sets out guidelines that prohibit “guarantors from conditioning warranties on the consumer’s use of a replacement product or repair service identified by brand or name.” If a manufacturer revokes the warranty service because the service was not provided by an authorized service provider, it is generally understood to constitute a violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
After learning that 45 of the 50 companies we consulted in 2018 informed consumers that repair attempts would void the warranty, we wondered if the FTC’s warnings had changed things. We tried these 45 companies again in the last few months and couldn’t contact just two of them.
Of the 43 we reached or had clear policies on their websites, all said they would inform consumers that they would automatically void the warranty if their products receive “unauthorized” repairs.
Eleven of the written warranties we read, such as the following examples, clearly deter consumers from attempting stand-alone or stand-alone repair at the expense of their warranty.
Essick and Waterpick warranty fragments.
Of the remaining 34 companies, we contacted customer service and asked, “Would self-repair or independent repair void the warranty?” We tried three contacts each. Twenty-two of the companies informed us of the three attempts that the warranty would be voided and the remaining 12 had mixed responses.
(See appendix: 2.1.34, 2.1.22, 2.1.16.)
Consumer Reports contributed to the analysis of the report.
“Consumers benefit when they can choose where to take their electronics to repair them. This important report from the US PIRG Education Fund reveals that some manufacturers may be misleading customers into believing that the warranty requires them to use only repair services authorized by the manufacturer. This is against the law, “said Maureen Mahoney, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Reports.” We urge federal authorities to investigate and take steps to ensure consumers receive complete and accurate information. We also urge states to pass their own laws on the right to repair to expand consumer options for independent repairs. “
The report recommends that the FTC enforce the ban on this practice and also recommends that legislators improve access to unsecured redress options by passing legislation on the right to redress that requires fair access to service information. and parts.
“When manufacturers decide what is corrected and what is not, this increases waste and consumer costs. We should pass reforms to the right to repair to make sure Americans have options when it comes to repairing them, ”Proctor said.