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How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

blog.simonrumble.com

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Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#141

Post by nijave »

In the U.S. you can usually file a complaint with the state's Attorney General's office. Sometimes there is a regulatory authority like for utilities or the Consumer Protection Bureau.

Usually a complaint gets forwarded to the company which requires some sort of authoritative response (which wastes time and money) so you can have reasonable success there.

Same issue as the article explains, it still takes a lot of time on the consumer side (who wants to be without an oven 2 months while they file paperwork and wait)

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#142

Post by aembleton »

miki123211 wrote: post #132
throwaway2037 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the idea of these indices to encourage buyers to choose more repairable / durable goods? I can remember shopping for a new fridge with my parents as a kid: The energy efficiency labels (mandated by the gov't) made a big difference on their purchasing decisions.

I'm of the opinion that manufacturers should be required to prominently list the "expected total monthly price" on their packaging, calculated as product_price / months_of_warranty. This basically assumes that the product may break immediately after the warranty expires. Such a price would incentivize manufacturers to make warranties last as long as possible. This encourages repairability where it's economically and…

> Such a price would incentivize manufacturers to make warranties last as long as possible.

Or keep warranties short, but push consumers into a pay by month model, because the amount per month is less than than the advertised "expected monthly price". The company then gets a regular income stream.

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#143

Post by cafard »

duckmysick wrote: post #137
0xEF wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would not call any of that a debunking, even quasi. Just a different dance around the same hard-to-swallow pill. Company X makes a great product that everyone only needs one of and lasts a long time. Over time, the market starts to dwindle and. Company X is going broke. Now, Company X must either invest in innovation or reduce the lifespan of its current offering. There's nothing inherently evil about this concept,…

How do the manufacturers of long-lasting one-off-purchase products survive? Stuff like doors, windows, roof tiles, floor tiles, faucets, staircase railings, fences, etc. Are they filling Chapter 13 or are they in the process in reducing the lifespan so their products are replaced every couple of years? What's their secret?

Some do go broke. We rely on New York Replacement Parts for cartridges for our bathroom faucets, the original manufacturer being long out of business. Double-glazed windows may get blurry over the years, I guess, and then one would replace those. But that should take ten or more years.

A properly protected door should last many years. One that we bought was not up to outside use, and failed. That manufacturer ended up purchased by a competitor, I think.

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#144

Post by mytailorisrich »

sitharus wrote: post #105
mytailorisrich wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law is not a precedent. The law is generic and courts deal with specifics.

These cases do not go to court, they go to a tribunal. They are not heard by a judge (or at least a judge in their capacity as a court justice) and the results are not entered as judicial cases and do not set precedent. It’s designed so a lay person can represent themselves without having to understand the justice system. I know in New South Wales companies have to apply for special leave to have a lawyer represent t…

That's details on this specific process but does not change the boarder point...

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#147

Post by VBprogrammer »

memen wrote: post #37
cornel_io wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

9 years is a lot to expect it to be under warranty...

Warranty is not the same as reasonable expected lifetime. Under warranty, the burden of proof is at the manufacturers side. The 2 years is typical for electric appliances, but it is from jurisprudence only. The law actually states that it should last as long as can reasonably expected. Intentionally vague, but yes, I would expect an oven to last longer than 2 years! In fact, we should be able to build ovens that last…

I recently replaced an element on our oven. It's 5 years old. Honestly, if manufacturers could make some of that stuff standardised I'd be quite happy to replace or pay to have them replaced. As it happens there are thousands of different shapes of "heating elements shaped to go around the fan". Same with the brushes in our washing machine I changed a while back. Finding the right replacement took more work than actually doing the replacing.

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#148

Post by poincaredisk »

miki123211 wrote: post #132
throwaway2037 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the idea of these indices to encourage buyers to choose more repairable / durable goods? I can remember shopping for a new fridge with my parents as a kid: The energy efficiency labels (mandated by the gov't) made a big difference on their purchasing decisions.

I'm of the opinion that manufacturers should be required to prominently list the "expected total monthly price" on their packaging, calculated as product_price / months_of_warranty. This basically assumes that the product may break immediately after the warranty expires. Such a price would incentivize manufacturers to make warranties last as long as possible. This encourages repairability where it's economically and…

I like this idea. Currently I usually buy cheapest things available, because I assume they break immediately after the (mandatory) 2 year guarantee.

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#149

Post by criddell »

23B1 wrote: post #2

I'd be curious to hear about stories of this working in the U.S., if ever.

There have been a few stories on HN over the years of people taking advantage of arbitration that so many companies insist on.

Here’s one, but there are others as well: https://www.shuchow.com/so-i-took-a-huge-corporation-to-arbi...

Re: How to get stuff repaired when the manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court

#150

Post by poincaredisk »

aembleton wrote: post #142
miki123211 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm of the opinion that manufacturers should be required to prominently list the "expected total monthly price" on their packaging, calculated as product_price / months_of_warranty. This basically assumes that the product may break immediately after the warranty expires. Such a price would incentivize manufacturers to make warranties last as long as possible. This encourages repairability where it's economically and…

> Such a price would incentivize manufacturers to make warranties last as long as possible. Or keep warranties short, but push consumers into a pay by month model, because the amount per month is less than than the advertised "expected monthly price". The company then gets a regular income stream.

I think that would be one last straw that would make customers rebel. But I heard apple managed to pull this off, so maybe I'm out of touch.
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