By law, a person has the right to repair purchased equipment anywhere, and manufacturers can not force it to use branded service centers. This is the general meaning of the
warning letters that the US Federal Trade Commission sent out to six large companies that sell cars, mobile devices and gaming systems in the United States. Specific firms are not called, although some of them can be guessed by quotes from their terms of use of the products (see below).
The FTC is concerned about some of the statements by the manufacturers. In particular, that consumers are obliged to use the specified components or to contact the specified service providers in order to preserve the guarantee. The FTC warns that such conditions are generally illegal if the warranty company does not provide replacement parts for
free or has not received special permission from the FTC. Namely, such conditions are prohibited
by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act), which regulates manufacturers warranty obligations for consumer goods. In addition, such statements may be considered misleading under the FTC Act.
Below are examples of quotes from user agreements of violating firms.
- The use of [company name] component parts is required to preserve ... the manufacturer’s warranty and all extended warranties.
- This warranty does not apply if this product ... is used with products not sold or licensed to [company name].
- This warranty does not apply if this product ... has been changed, damaged, or the warranty seal has been removed on [the product].
“Provisions that bind warranty coverage using specific products or services are detrimental to both consumers who pay more for them and small businesses that offer competing products and services,” said Thomas B. Pahl, who responsibilities of the FTC Consumer Protection Director.
The FTC asks all companies to review their advertising and warranty materials to ensure that such materials do not indicate or imply that the warranty coverage is based on the use of certain services. In addition, the FTC asks companies to review their practice in accordance with the law. The letters said that the FTC staff will once again examine the sites of companies after 30 days for corrections. If violations continue, then law enforcement actions may be taken against companies.
The imposition of branded components and branded service centers, as well as sticker warranty stickers and seals are often found in computer equipment and consumer electronics. Although this industry has exactly the same laws on consumer protection as in the automotive industry or any other. No one would think that replacing tires or any repairs in a private service station could void the warranty for the entire car. But for some reason, manufacturers of computer equipment often argue in this way, imposing their rules on consumers and trying to get super profits on the sale of an "extended" brand warranty or branded components for repair. Now the Federal Trade Commission has once again reminded such careless manufacturers that this practice is illegal.
For example, Apple regularly tells its customers that it is possible to repair its products only in the company workshops, and the use of third-party components can lead to device malfunction. And this is not horror stories - Apple really
disables devices with third-party components . Sony and Microsoft manufacturers of gaming consoles stick stickers on their gaming consoles with warnings that a violation of this “seal” will void the warranty. Such stickers are illegal. Thanks
to the Magnuson-Moss War Act of 1975, no manufacturer has the right to impose restrictions on repairs to the device for which it offers a warranty. But now dozens of companies are doing this, which the FTC warns about. In this area, it's time to restore order.