I can remember when software packages used to say by breaking the tab, you agree to the terms and conditions contained herein... So you couldn't read them until you broke the sticker - at which point you were told you didn't own the software you purchased, you only had a license to use it at the programmer's discresion...
Write your own sales agreement and stick it on your debit card, "by agreeing to this sale the manufacturer agrees to offer free babysitting services (or whatever)
But your right to repair shouldnt be honored by warranty. Sure it should be easy to repair, no fancy screws or whatever, but if i think my mouse scroll wheel is acting up a bit, my right to repair using a sledgehammer to knock the mouse wheel back in place shouldnt be honored by warranty. After warranty expires, sure i can use sledgehammer to nudge it back in place. On december my mouse wheel went loose, the part which makes the scrolling happen broke off. i didnt want to wait for warranty, so i opened up the mouse, detected the problem and used superglue to glue the wheel to the scrolling mechanism, it works as new, but should the company warranty apply for my superglue stuff? No.
@@DageLV That made me laugh a bit. Repaired without a warranty? What a concept! Be careful. If this news gets out, it could bankrupt the mouse manufacturers.
Warranty isn't a right to repair issue. To me it's just perfectly logical to have some tamper protection so that manufacturers can't be on the hook if the end user starts fiddling with the product which results in it being damaged, and then requests it to be replaced or fixed under warranty. In my opinion, the law in the USA regarding this part of the warranty is illogical, and if followed, will result negatively on the end users. Without a warranty void sticker to see if the product has been tampered with resulting in damage, the manufacturers then have to open up the product and inspect it for user made damages before accepting the claim which leads to further delays and issues for the customer who subsequently might get charged an inspection fee if user made damage is found. A warranty void if removed sticker is a much more effective way to quickly figure out if the claim should be honoured or not. Right to repair is a completely separate issue, and it has everything to do with what happens after the warranty has expired and the manufacturer has no longer any obligation to repair or replace the device for free.
@@DanniV8 The problem with warranty is that you have to send the item back to the manufacturer rather than an approved 'local' repair shop. Apple have been perverting warranties and insurances for years, and reducing right to repair. It is people born into this corrupt Apple era that make arguments such as yours
While working at University, we received a power-supply from a well known vendor. The "do not remove" sticker was placed over one of the output terminals of the supply. We couldn't use the thing without tampering with the sticker! Calls to the vendor didn't help at all...they'd sell us a new supply but they absolutely would not exchange our 'defective' supply! Had to break the sticker to test the supply...
Take a picture before and after breaking the sticker, then inform them of that and the MM warranty act. The sticker is literally not legally enforceable.
@@orppranator5230 The thing is you have to be willing to sue them, and often you can't even do that because there is usually an arbitration agreement, meaning you have to argue in front of an arbitrator, that THEY PAY and have a business relationship with, who will intentionally misunderstand you in order to preserve that relationship. The whole thing is so corrupt. My approach: Look for a company that explicitly stands by their products and does not do that kind of thing. If I don't find one, buy the very cheapest thing that meets my needs.
@@orppranator5230 not only is it not legally enforceable, the sticker is illegal to put on the product since they can't deny a warranty just because you opened it.
A friend's husband bought a generator from a major sporting goods store here in the USA. He registered the 3 year warranty u der his name at the time of purchase. He passed away unexpectedly a few months later. Well the generator had a catastrophic failure at 16 months old. The company denied and canceled the warranty because she was not the original purchaser. Now she has a $4000 paperweight. It's sad hiw slimy some companies have become.
Louis Rossmann and Gamer's Nexus have been talking about this for years! I mean these corporations have lawyers and they know they're breaking the law to the detriment of their customers but it keeps happening. Like how the state swears an oath to uphold your rights but knowingly violates them anyway. If the organization doesn't serve the public interest it doesn't deserve to exist.
It's been going on forever. A common example is the statement on parking garage tickets that state that the parking lot is not responsible for stolen or damaged cars. However, by common law, the parking lot needs to take reasonable steps to protect the cars. Another common example is skiing tickets that state that they aren't responsible if you get hurt. However, by law, they are responsible for their negligence. You can't agree to certain contract terms due to issues of public safety. However, businesses know that these warnings are not enforceable, but they know that most people will believe the warnings and won't file a lawsuit. Their strategy works.
Cellphones had small stickers inside that would change color if the sticker was exposed to moisture. People would bring their phones to authorized repair shops for repair only to be told it won't be covered under warranty because the stickers showed signs of moisture exposure. Those stickers could change color just from someone having the phone in their pocket when they were sweating. Even though the phones never got wet, the manufacturers would not honor the warranties. Companies will do anything to get out of honoring a warranty. 🤬
Watched one in an LG phone change in (near) real time while taking a shower. IIRC, I'd overheated the room w/ a dehumdifier and the phone was overheating. So, I pulled the battery, left the phone on the counter, and hopped in the shower.
Louis Rossmann, an Apple motherboard computer repair shop owner revealed how shoddy Apple's main warranty repair facility work is. They have repair quotas for numbers of cases resolved per day, thus many are "resolved" despite still being broke. Rossmann is a big Right to Repair advocate.
Warranties are usually one year. Why wouldn’t you follow their instructions if you want to claim a warranty repair where they pay? After it is out of warranty, you can do whatever you want.
It still prevents a lot of people from messing with devices, and that's why manufacturers leave those stickers still on there. I'm not sure the ACCC will ever have the guts to go after them. Much more pressing cases with actual injuries are simply being ignored by this "regulatory body"... 😔
I had a Motorola phone die and was told it was water damage. One of the moisture stickers had started to turn colors. That had nothing to do with the cable between the halves wearing out (it was a flip phone) but was enough to keep Moto from fixing it. I wish they actually had to find moisture damage in stead of being able to say "We don't have to fix it because a sticker changed color in one corner." I could have fixed it if they would have sold me the part. Oh, well.
In my experience, a lot of manufacturers don't seem to have very good warranty policy, oversight or coordination within their own doors. One example: I bought a piece of electronics test equipment, and indeed it had a sticker reading "No user serviceable parts inside. Warranty void if removed.", and indeed it was placed over a screw that needed to be removed in order to open the enclosure/case. Then right in the user manual was a section describing how to open the case in order to change the fuse, or add an accessory, or touch-up the calibration, etc; and it instructs the owner to "peel off and discard" the warranty sticker, remove the screw, and open the case.
What is really crazy is when part of the troubleshooting they have you remove a covering or open a sealed compartment. After you verify something damaged or blown they tell you sorry the warranty is voided because you opened the compartment.
Yeah I've definitely seen this practice before. "Are you sure? It says void if removed" "No that's not true it's just to scare you away". Later..."Sorry you voided the warranty by opening the case". "BUT YOU TOLD ME TO!"
@@SpaceCadet4Jesus Ya, I don't believe it either. You know how hard it is to actually talk to a person to troubleshoot these things? Let alone them telling you to open the device.
You know Louis supports the little guy... He is one of the biggest bugs in Apple's butt by always calling out all the anti consumer nonsense the company comes up with.
If a major company like O'Reilly's can figure out how to sell spare parts and accept returns for defects - and still be profitable - surely electronics companies can do the same thing. We USED to be able to buy components at Radio Shack!
I think that's a bad example. go to O'Reilly's website and look at their warranty requirements. items must be unopened and uninstalled. so if you get a bad part and install it well you are just SOL I guess.
yep also you know hp printers are maddening you cant even use a non hp ink cause of drm. remember that keurig 2.0 that was a disaster!!! but hp gets away.
In the United Kingdom we have the ‘Sale of goods Act’. This states an item should remain working and fit for purpose for a reasonable period of time. That means if for instance an expensive laptop fails just outside the manufacturers warranty period they may still be liable for a repair to be done free of charge.
Yes! This was brought in because of the shrinking warranty periods on expensive items. What used to have a 2yr warranty suddenly only came with 6 months or less. Build quality tanked, and nothing worked for long. Bringing that legislation in improved quality to a degree, but it did ensure that electrical goods with 3month warranties were far more likely to last at least 12months. And warranties are why I drive a Kia and will never buy any other brand of car. 7 year warranty. I even had an accident that was repaired by my insurer. They agreed to purchase Kia parts, but not use a Kia licensed mechanic. However, they did agree to a 7 year warranty on the parts and repair. Kia said my warranty with them still stood, except on that part of the car. And the warranty is transferable. I cannot think of any other company that offers such a thing. I do think even mattresses.e with more than a 12-month warranty anymore, they used to come with a 25yr one.
@@silkvelvet2616 I loved the residual transferable KIA warranty, when I bought my car from a local hire company with still a few years left. Such peace of mind... 😊
Many moons ago radio tuners had color-coded paint over the tuning scews inside the radio set. My SF Commo man friend had a set of paints that could match any conceivable color combination. His radios were always the most powerful in the Group. He was a wizard! 😎
@@spvillano Strictly speaking, a radio tuner doesn't emit radio waves, so I don't see how it would be more findable by anything. That said, unless the OP means the radio was capable of receiving more frequencies than other radios, power isn't a concept that makes sense. Power is a concept you use with radio transmitters, and doesn't really have much to do with what frequency it's broadcasting on.
@@Tahgtahv actually, quite a few tuners do emit in their IF frequencies. But, that's beyond this context. In over 28 years of military service, I never used a receiver only in the military, only transceivers that could by definition, transmit and receive. It's called communications, it's bidirectional to be able to ensure proper communication. And powerful receivers, well, no such thing, transmitters have power, receivers can only be efficient in reception. Now, I've saw transmitters that were detuned and had a higher effective power, this was at the cost of inefficently splattering signal over an entire band, making that transmitter even more easily located. The rule of thumb with military radios was the lowest power setting that gets one's signal to its recipient, not scream across the entire solar system and get incoming aircraft, missiles, artillery and very irritable infantry visiting in large numbers.
Even when products wwre "built to last" they still had warranties. They also cost a hell of a lot more. In engineering there arent solutions only trade offs and price sells consumer goods once they become common.
@@jhoughjr1 I would be interested in seeing an inflation-adjusted price study on, say, the “most reliable” products across a variety of appliances comparing the last 30 years.
Reverse went out on my Didge Ram transmission at 25K miles and rather than rebuild it Dodge replaced the whole thing. To top it off when they received the new transmission they found a bend external part on it and rather than replace that one part they sent out for another transmission. And now 100K miles later I have no 4th gear and it is a known Didge transmission problem.
I used to use calibration equipment used to calibrate instrumentation. The calibration equipment had to be certified yearly as accurate. They would put these little sticker over the case screw holes that would void the calibration certificate if damaged. On some of the equipment, you had to remove the back of the case to replace the battery thus voiding the calibration certs. In some instances, calibrations used to be very expensive. On a side note, I never had an inspector check to see if those stickers were intact before allowing the equipment to be used to calibrate their instruments.
@@prodigalpriest The right wing media narrative is not reality. A month ago Joe Biden did a 1hr interview live on howard stern. There is no faking a live interview. Biden talked about details of his life from young childhood to now. It is impossible for him to do an interview like that if his mind is not sound. Stop trusting the "main stream media" and look with your own eyes. Go look at the howard stern interview. He may have had a poor debate performance, but it was no where near as disastrous as trump and his endless lying. Trump isn't even capable of dropping the lies during a debate, he is sticking to all the crazy stuff he has been scaring people with at his rallies. This is why we keep seeing footage of people walking out of his rallies. When he starts doing the "Mama" bit or talking about hannibal lector as if he was a real person, people realize Donald Trump is insane.
I bought a chair from Amazon that needed to be assembled. When I got to the very last step - to attach the arm - the screw would not go in the screw hole because there was a broken drill bit in the hole. I could not remove the bit. When I called Amazon about the problem, they told me there's nothing they could do because the product was no longer in its original condition. (I called the manufacturer, and they sent me a new arm for free.) The point is, once you start to assemble a product, Amazon's return policy is voided.
I had a somewhat similar thing - I bought a power supply made for vintage video game boards; the first board I was working on did not need one of the outputs (-5V). A month or so on, I started on a different repair - and found that the labelled -5V terminal, listed in its specifications, did not have any connection or components to produce the -5V supply! I contacted Amazon and said it was not as described, and was told it was outside the return period so they could not do anything. I said to the rep: "Does that mean Amazon UK does not honour English consumer law?" which got an instant "Of course we do!" response, then a few seconds of silence, then I was told I they were refunding it. Some of the reps just do not seem to see beyond the amazon "unwanted item" return time script, until they get a mental kick to shift them to consider laws and warranties instead.
I bought a used pair of Manley monoblock amplifiers. I deciphered the serial number from the images the seller had posted, and emailed Manley about it. I told that the amp had been properly registered, they gave me the some history on the amps, and told me to register it if I purchased them. EveAnna Manley Herself actually wound up in the email chain. Some companies are actually honorable and do the right thing
I learned that the hard way. Now, I weigh, very carefully, how much I want / need the product vs the costs to upkeep and maintain it. I'm wondering if perhaps the fees involved with executing the warranty can be reclaimed in small claims court because the company is violating the spirits of Magnuson Moss
Microsoft, they also give you 1 quote on the phone and then once they have the console or computer, start raising the price. If you ask for it back, sure, $125.99 for shipping For a Xbox I got for 150$ 😂 Extortion!
Nah they're too busy making sure Sony maintains its market dominance in video games by declaring Microsoft a monopolist on a new niche market they just created. 🙄
Had a laptop die ~3 months after the warranty expired. Since it wasn't covered I opened it up to try a repair and found a roughly three cent (in quantities greater than a million or so) component that had the typical pin layout of a voltage regulator but no markings whatsoever. Tracing the circuit paths from the putative output pins revealed a SMT resistor whose sole purpose was to shunt the voltage to ground. This made no sense from a circuit longevity point of view, but there it was in all it's overheated uselessness. The point is its sole function was to load that regulator to just barely past its current rating to cause a failure just past the warranty period. That required a brilliant EE with no moral compass to design a planned failure into their product. Fortunately I was given an excellent education by the Air Force to repair aircraft RADAR system components and after replacing the failed component along with throwing out the useless resistor, five years later it's still working perfectly. Not counting my time the repair cost was roughly sixty cents instead of eleven hundred to replace the whole computer, which undoubtedly had the same planned failure mode as mine. No thank you!!!
I notice your flag is upside down. Is that because you hate your country? Move to another one, there are plenty of choices.Better than disrespecting the one you are in.
@@OmniscientWarrior Ya, that would be pretty funny if taken literally. The wearer is what would be inside the shirt, and I certainly wouldn't want to try and repair myself.
I had a computer that was having some issues while it was still under-warranty. Took it in to the chain-retailer i bought it from. Long story shortened - Employee voided the warranty. The company wanted to charge me "because the warranty's voided". Another customer (who was an attorney) who saw the whole thing threatened a lawsuit. We both made complaints to that retailers corporate _and_ the computer-company. The two companies worked it out where i got a new computer that was slightly-upgraded and a year of tech-support from the retailer (not sure if the other customer received anything beyond my gratitude). I havent gone back to that retailer since
I used to have a "Warranty Void is Seal is Broken" t-shirt with a picture of a baby seal. The void sticker was on my son's defective PC (late '90s). It never seemed to work for more than 90 days. It'd then be in the "shop" a 3 to 6 weeks for each repair. They didn't fix it the first time and the 3rd time they refused warranty work "because the seal is broken". Needless to say, that famous company went out of business. They'd cover warranty but charge a $110 "handling fee" for each warranty claim.
Gigabyte doesn't honor it's own warranties. I had bought a GB board and had bought all components to the 'compatibility list' for that board. Put it together and it would start and freeze up. After swapping out basically everything with the same result. Ran testing software and got insane results from the readings on the board. (Negative 43 degrees temp on the board?) Sent the board to the service center and waited, and waited, and waited, Couple weeks went by and no word at all. Finally bought another board from another maker, put my computer together with all the 'compatible' parts that the GB board wouldn't work with instantly had a fully working computer that I still use to this day. After 3 months GB finally sent my original board back saying they had taken it out and had run tests and it was fine they said. Only one slight problem. I had packed the board back in the original box and taped that box shut. And packaged that box inside another box for shipping. They had opened the shipping box, but they had never opened the original box the board was in. The tape I had put there was untouched. They had just opened up the shipping box. Put in a fake testing readout result in and shipped it back to me after letting it sit somewhere for weeks. And just for a lark, I tried the board again, froze right on up. Never will buy from GB ever again.
It's obvious testing software was at fault in terms of the temperature measurement, and it's reasonable that the wrong drivers would definitely cause it not to boot up. But to give an actual analysis there would need more specific information.
What is the recourse for these warranty violations? Do the consumers need to front a bunch of money to sue the corp to try to get their 300 dollar motherboard warrantied? Unless legal fees get moved, it doesn't feel like this has teeth to deter the corp from still doing it.
It provides for the company paying all legal fees and expenses if you prevail. Companies count on the fact that most consumers have no idea and wrongly think they will have to pay legal fees even if they win and never fully research it or bother to consult an attorney.
They also bank on you not having the money to keep fighting if they draw it out a long time. They will do it even if it costs them more than it would to settle just to avoid setting a precedent.
Thermonuclear bombardment. Good luck getting one. Hey, work with me, it's just that damned hot outside right now... OK, close. Not quite as hot as Djibouti got, there, walking on the flightline for five minutes or longer literally melted combat boots.
The same in Australia and, I believe, NZ. The retailer is the one who has to bear the cost, so the retailers just don't want to take the risk of carrying a shoddy product. With retailers refusing to carry them, shoddy products generally don't stay on the market for very long, and the manufacturers learn to make their products up to at least a certain minimum standard.
I'm so glad the government is tackling warranty stickers instead of fixing healthcare, protecting people's rights, dealing with corrupt officials in government, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, fighting corporate greed-driven inflation, or a thousand other things that would actually help people. I guess it's cool that those labels that are already bogus and not enforceable are getting some attention too.
I wish the Feds would target these "AI" companies like Adobe and Microsoft for stealing their users data. I built a new Windows 11 PC for my wife and put her files in my documents. 15 minutes later I got a message saying my ONE-Drive was full. Everything I put in "My Documents" was uploaded straight to the cloud. Ridiculous. I disabled the sync to the cloud, and found that the data I copied WAS NOT on the machine. Luckily it was still on my USB drive. These companies are getting too comfortable stealing and using our data. Apparently this was a new change as of June 17, 2024
I really can't understand why anyone uses any of TinyFlaccid's software for anything at all. I really cannot. You could have Linux for free. It's certainly not what it used to be (back when everything just worked) but at least you don't have to worry about them reading all the data you ever create and deleting bloatware, adware, and spyware that is installed with the OS!
Years ago my company rented a portable computer that had an available slot for our custom PC board. We discussed it at length with the rental company, so they new very well what we intended to do. And why would anyone rent that model of PC anyway if not to use the slots? Never-the-less, when we received the PC, it had a sticker blocking access that said the warranty was void if the sticker was removed. We immediately removed it.
I have a tankless water heater that has one of those on the cover. The BIG problem was that you had to take off the cover to wire it. So the seal was broken before it was even able to used. That was 6 years ago and it's still working like a charm.
My experience with manufacturer warranties makes those stickers meaningless to me. Why would I be afraid of losing something that never works as advertised-there is almost always some loophole that makes them unable to honor the warranty before the sticker/seal is broken? I figure, if I can’t fix it, I must pay to have it fixed or replace it.
@@jhoughjr1 yes you can. It’s how cars work. If you have a new car and you swap out things for third party parts you still have a warranty. The auto manufacturer has to show the actions led to the problem, they can’t just say your engine isn’t covered any more because you put a spoiler on the back.
@@jhoughjr1 This is absolutely absurd. The manufacturers MADE the product. They, of all people, will be able to identify when something is wrong with the product which is entirely the point of the warranty consumer protections. Manufacturer has to be able to point to something customer/3rd party did to product that specifically created the problem the customer is attempting warranty for.
Companies: Blatantly break the law in plain view FTC Enforcement: Here is a strongly worded letter Me: Breaks the law Law Enforcement: You're going to jail. Here's you're fine. You're on probation for the next 5 years
I'm not quite sure I understand the problem here. During the period of the warranty, there shouldn't be any reason to do "repair" as that would be covered under the warranty. "Right to repair" is a concept that comes up AFTER the warranty is over. I understand that it is ridiculous to prohibit someone from opening the case on a PC, since adding a peripheral isn't repair, per se, but is using the PC as intended. I have a TV that has a "Warranty void if damaged or removed" sticker over a screw hole. There is also a sticker that says, "No user-serviceable parts inside." That TV is well past any warranty it once had, so if it were to quit working, and given that I do have some skills with electronics, I would not hesitate to open up that TV to check for common faults, rather than simply sending it to be recycled. But if I were the manufacturer, I wouldn't want people doing that to TVs they are sending in for repair under the warranty. Instead of simply finding the fault and fixing it, we would be responsible for making sure the customer didn't mess up anything else, and we'd end up being responsible for those damages too.
Sent a board back to Gigabyte with a warranty claim, a valid claim in my humble opinion. Denied. I called Fremont Ca. police department and asked them to look in to what I thought was fraud. I don't know what was said, but I got a new board two days later. If you believe you have something, try calling their local PD or DA. Can't hurt and it might just cut the chase.
If you're curious, the issue was bad electrolytic caps. I had the same issue with a few boards but only Gigabyte denied me. Asus was the best, I called, they shipped it to me in a return box. Overnight 🖖👍😻
There was a couple long periods of time where inferior electrolytic caps were present on manufacturers motherboards who tried to save a few pennies. Eventually the problem went away, and then if by magic it returned again recently.
@@SpaceCadet4Jesus According to something I read a while back, it was a result of industrial espionage which went wrong. One manufacturer tried to steal another's formula for electrolytic capacitor electrolyte, but they wound up getting an early version of the formula, from well before it had been adjusted correctly. They faithfully copied that wrong formula to make their capacitors, which led to almost all of them failing prematurely.
Ben is behind the KAARME plate and the plate under it. I can't read that one because of the right-most microphone and bobblehead. Too many corporations are putting quantity over quality, and the end user suffers the consequences of their greed. The FTC needs to go on the news and state that those stickers are to be IGNORED, and that they will NOT be on any new products beginning in January 2025.
Nicely spotted! I think the lower plate says RES IPSA. Kaarme, or käärme rather, means a snake in Finnish. Just thought Id throw that in there :) My (Finnish) husband is an electronics tech (by trade), he hates those stickers with passion. They are nearly always just on American made things, or American owned, but made in China etc. Sometimes they aren’t like regular stickers at all, reasonably easily removable, but thick plastic, that seems to be glued in place with resin or some other very permanent option. And smacked over the only place that cant take heat or solvents, or just where it makes most problems and least sense. One I helped him with (Im an artist, material problems are my thing), eventually came off layer by layer, it had nearly 10 thin as thought tiny plastic sheets on top of each other.. while heat gunning it, it had distinct stink too.. yeah, “fun”.
It's RES IPSA which is short for Res Ipsa Loquitor which means 'The thing speaks for itself' i.e. something is so obvious the case around it can't be argued.
Steve over at Gamers Nexus has been talking about these stickers forever! Magnuson Moss act! Edit - Made this comment before watching and you mentioned Gamers Nexus!
Im so happy you mentioned ifixit. That dude needs more love. He's one of the most vocal right to repair content creators I've ever seen. Dude needs more love. He is to right to repair what you are to legal review. Thank you for mentioning him. Please consider a collab.
Same in Australia. It;s usually more than the Manuacturers warranty. Also, I'm fairly sure those warranty void stickers are not enforcable in Australia either. The're mainly there as a tamper proof seal.
@@RabbiJesus Three years protection. As long as it is not smashed or for example something crazy like submerging a TV in to the swimming pool. The success is usually 100% because manufacturers and sellers know the penalties. The courts would come down on a company in ways you would not see in the US.
Basic rule is, if the US has a consumer protection law, the EU and UK have one that's 5 times more effective and have had it for twice as long. Oh and it actually works because our courts don't side with businesses over consumers, and our politicians don't either because they are not allowed, by law, to be bought by them (lobbying is illegal here).
This reminds me of the signs on the back of semi trucks hauling gravel the say “Stay back 250 feet- Not responsible for window damage to your vehicle”….how valid are tgese?
Posting a sign doesn't change the laws. "we are not responsible for anything that happens to you or your personal property on our property. A light fixture falls on your head? Tough. Slipped on a wet floor tough. Get mugged by the stock boy? Yeah NO! it doesn't work that way.
They are responsible for securing their load so they would be responsible for a rock falling off and breaking a window as well as a ticket for an unsecured load. The reason for the sign is to scare people away from them so they don't have to pay the ticket it costs more than the window.
There are devices that should be able to enforce void if removed stickers. Hard Drives for example you do not want to open unless you have a clean room (and I don't mean picking up after the kids). Getting a spec of dust in a hard drive could potentially destroy the drive.😊
I live in a humid climate.. A lot of those warrantees have threats about water damage, and have indicators inside the device if the device gets wet... But those indicators always react, albeit slowly, to ambient humidity... Many a claim denied.
Australia has the Australian Consumer Law which is pretty good. In addition to the manufacturer warranty we also have statutory warranty rights so even if it's out of warranty if a reasonable person would expect the product to last longer than it has it has to be repaired, replaced or refunded. Example: You buy a 60" 4k LED TV from a major brand costing $1200 and has a 12 month warranty. At 14 months it stops receiving a signal on the antenna port and you realise it's out of warranty but a reasonable person would expect a TV of this brand and price to last 3-5 years. Under the Australian Consumer Law you can contact the manufacturer or the retailer to force a statutory warranty repair under the Australian Consumer Law.
In many countries warranties and terms are stipulated by law as to coverage, meaning, and sometimes even fitness for advertised purpose. In my state, used car warranties are handled that way; if you offer any warranty you have to fulfill the minimum requirements and if you can't, then you can offer no warranty at all on the car.
I'm guessing this might be the UK? What you haven't stated is that the price also has to be in line with whether or not the warranty is offered. The courts will generally be happy to say "that price was too high for a vehicle of that age and in that condition to be sold without a warranty, so the implied warranty applies, no matter what you agreed to when it was sold." Or to put it another way, the price for a vehicle sold without a warranty must be significantly lower than the price for a vehicle sold with a warranty, otherwise the courts might decide that the warranty still applies (and the reverse can be true, too).
California vehicle standards essentially ruined vehicles for a few few decades. I had an old Toyota that was built to California emissions standards, but my Chilton's manual was quite helpful in removing nearly all of the various hoses and devices to regain the engine performance that it was supposed to have everywhere in the world outside of California. Ironically, the vehicle was never sold, licensed, or emissions tested in California. Toyota just sold all of them in the US to comply with California laws because it was easier for Toyota to do so.
I saw a case here in California, the person who bought a brand-new car, and stuffed it full of stereo equipment and high-powered amplifiers. A few days later the vehicles computer system electronics burned out. The owner took the car into the dealer said this vehicle is only a few weeks old, and look what happened to my electronics. Although the owner removed all the stereo and high powered amplifiers and equipment, he left telltale signs of what he did, the dealer had the legal right to deny the repair, because in the warranty it says if the vehicle is modified in any way, it voids the warranty. The person was left with a $10,000 repair bill out of his own pocket. And the dealer was well within its rights to deny the repair.
Well, they'd be within their rights to deny possible repairs to the electrical system. But if it was something mechanical, they'd have to cover it under the warranty (let's say the axle cracked in half).
@@TOONMAN200 Makes sense. In office equipment terms, if you use crappy aftermarket inks that damage the ink feed system, it isn't covered; but a mainboard fault that prevents the system from starting should still be.
@@leftoverthoughts2275 Makes sense you know whoever writes the warranty, is going to look for a loophole. It's a fine line between denied warranties and warranties accepted. Misuse and abuse is usually what they are looking for.
Steve, Thank You for this information! I’ve been in the OEM service / repair and now the manufacturing industry and never heard of or knew about Magnuson-Moss! I’m definitely going to research it.
Steve, while I'm not an attorney, I once negotiated large purchase agreements for municipalities. In the 1990s, I found IBM's mini-computer purchase agreement intriguing. IBM's only obligation seemed to be delivering crates labeled "computer," with no warranty of use. This made me wonder if the agreement could be voided due to a lack of adequate consideration.
Steve, on another subject, what do you think about this: I recommend a new amendment to the Constitution. . . All Representatives of any state who support a bill that becomes law within that state that even remotely affects an opposition to any of the Statutes within the U.S. Constitution shall be held in contempt. Those Representatives who sponsored the bill shall be charged with treason accordingly.
If you think about it the moment they do just that like any gun law is null a void and their violation of their oath to the constitution supposed to removes them from their position (Supposed to) Yet think about how many laws would have to be null and void from them not having the power anymore from after that point. Basically if they violated it on X date anything else after X date is also null and void.
No, the SCOTUS ruling mostly deals with rules made using ambiguous statues in laws. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act has very specific conditions for issuing rules. Besides, this is just an enforcement of rules that have been on the books for decades. The FTC is just reminding these businesses of their obligations under the law.
Gamers Nexus has done some really good reporting over the years on this kind of stuff. Glad to see it is getting more attention, PC DIY is a MASSIVE industry with a lot of great people doing very interesting things, the more people know that its ok to tinker with what they own the better for everyone.
So, I sell Inverters and Lithium batteries. Many, but not all, of the products have warranty void if removed stickers. Here is the problem; many DIY people with mess up their equipment by incompetence. They then open it up, try to “fix it.” Then send it in for warranty work. THAT is when the warranty is void. I haven’t seen one with the sticker was just simply removed.
@@xavier1964 correct; except when you make it worse. Which, usually, Mr. DIY does. See when they open them they usually lose screws, or damage parts of the electronics. THEN try to claim “it came that way.” See the problem is so many people are so dishonest that as a business you can’t survive the dishonesty. So you have to make rules like “don’t open it unless you know what you are doing.”
You just described Apple's entire business plan. No warranty actually offered, just pressure to buy an entirely new item, which a good Apple slave was going to do anyway every 180 days.
@@jdanon203 let me elaborate. Dell computers are full of proprietary parts. The power supplies are proprietary, the connections to the motherboard sometimes are, and the motherboard is Dell only. I was referencing only the proprietary parts where you have to go to them for parts, I wasn't speaking about voiding any warranty issues.
@@SpaceCadet4Jesus At one point in the past Dell's laptop warranty terms actually stated the customer had the right to do things like replacing the hard drive or upgrading the RAM without invalidating the warranty, providing they didn't damage the product in the process. Not sure if their warranty still says that.
I repair CB and Ham Radio gear, I put those stickers on the equipment because people try to modify their equipment and then try to say I did something wrong, I'm happy to repair my own mistakes but not theirs
@@PGspeed88 If the prices get raised any more to cover all "potential" warranty, then no one will going to buy because the prices are way too high. The customer then decides to buy from China.
EU with its 2 year minimum warranty is much better in practical terms. And try going to the ACCC, a Bunnings rangehood took one of my fingertips clean off when cleaning it, even cut through the cleaning cloth. Now I have little to no feeling on that finger, but no compensation offered. Lawyers wouldn't take the case .. 😔
Years ago, a lifetime warranty on jeans purchased at JCP: You washed them, warranty denied; we can't take them back. Was I never supposed to wash them throughout my lifetime?
@xenuburger7924 😂 FACTS! 😂 the whole interaction with the fugitive was great. My little brother & I used to recite the entire movie during dinner & drive my parents nuts. Classic.
Sure have appreciated the work the FTC has been doing under this administration. Havent seen this kind of much needed enforcement in a dozen years. About time we did away with the 'self policing' corporate model.
Keep in mind, folks - a lot of the time, somewhere far under that sticker, is a part thats good for at most a couple of years. Thermal interface materials dry up pretty quickly...then comes overheating problems and even hardware failures from over-temp...unless you change the thermal interface materials...underneath that "warranty void" sticker... BIG FACTS
considering the warranty usually doesn't outlast that thermal material, it's not a problem. and if the warranty does outlast it, it seems that should be handled under warranty.
This is exactly why to _actually_ void a warranty the company needs to show the actions led to the problem. If the thermal paste was replaced by a third party but it keeps overheating because of a faulty fan they should not be able to void the warranty.
Lina Khan has done amazing things since taking over the FTC! It's obvious that she truly cares about the average person, not corporations and the ultra-wealthy! 👍🔥
The first and last factory-built desktop computer was our first one we bought back in the early 90's. After that we (meaning my son) went and bought different peripherals and started upgrading. In the last 10 to 15 years, we have bought everything that was needed to make it work, as in but not limited to, power supply, mother board, video card, CPU, RAM etc... You get the idea. That way two things happen, one is, we can get better quality parts, and to go along with that the specific item we want. The only computers we buy that is manufactured is the occasional laptop.
Love the Bobby Isaacs shirt! When he got out of racing in 1973 he did it by pulling into the pit at Talladega Speedway, and told Bud Moore “I quit”! He said he heard voices in his head telling him to get out of the car now and quit racing or something bad was going to happen. True story. unless of course it was Buddy Baker’s car then I stand corrected, but still love the shirt lol
I have heard those voices, too. It was a dark and stormy night when a voice said, "Get away from this intersection." I quickly turned right on to the frontage road. When I was about 200 feet down the frontage road, two cars crashed together and spun into the space I had been in while waiting for the red light to change.
I do want to point one thing out. "Warranty void if removed" stickers are probably illegal in most cases. However, I do see the more appropriate "No user serviceable parts inside" stickers, which are valid on various components. No average consumer should ever open up something like a computer power supply. Unless you are knowledgeable in electronics, you can damage or destroy the device - or even yourself. Im not saying you cant service your equipment. Im saying the appropriate people should.
I've been a pc service technician (certified) Certain warranties have wording for service repairs, by qualified technicians, and of course the findings of of said "qualified technicians" should be weighed into warranty considerations.. For example if a pc motherboard has a defect.. its in the customer's best interest to get a thid party evaluation of the defect. This is part of the issue with online purchases, returns, RMAs, etc Noticably.. if a seller has poor RMA procedures.. the customer ultimately loses, especially if they may have to deal directly with the manufacturer directly.. (and literally be lost in translation or transmissions)
Great to see you also covering right to repair. I'd be happy to see more of those stories on your channel. Nice that the article mentioned Gamer's Nexus and IFixit. Gamer's Nexus did some great investigations and IFixit's fight to make all electronic devices easier to repair is great! It wouldn't surprise me if Louis Rossmann also were to do a video on this topic.
I told Hubby his sign stating he wasn't responsible for property (motorcycle repair shop) left on his premises after 30 days was unenforceable. Then one day, Customer wanted work done. Hubby was too busy, had no room in his shop, and couldn't take the time to offer an estimate saying it looked in rough shape and may not be worth the cost of repairs. Hubby passed on the job. Customer persisted. Hubby stood his ground. A few days later, after business hours, Customer chose to deposit his motorcycle in the yard outside the shop. Hubby repeatedly asked Customer to pick it up asap reminding him of the business's "policy". Customer refused. Then one night the custom-painted gas tank was stolen off of Customer's motorcycle. Customer sued. Hubby was left with a worthless pile of metal and had to reimburse Customer $600 for the "stolen" gas tank.
That's ridiculous. There was no contract for work, so there's no obligation for your husband to be responsible for the property that was abandoned on his property. I'm guessing he didn't have any documentation of his interactions with this non-customer?
I am sure the customer probably claimed your husband authorized the drop off. If you had called the police immediately to report someone leaving unauthorized and maybe stolen property on the lot and had it impounded it may have turned out the opposite. Trying to enforce a "policy" pretty much sets up a custodial business relationship. I hope this was a good lesson for him to always consult an attorney when someone does something outside the norm.
Another correct application of the interstate commerce clause. Incidentally, US courts have no jurisdiction in France; however, the US government has negotiated agreements with several other countries whereby their courts enforce their laws on behalf of our citizens. Also, French companies have US subsidiaries here for the purpose of doing business here and these subsidiaries are subject to US courts.
If you stick a label concerning a warranty on an item that has to break the label to be opened and repaired??? What about the right to repair? How does that fit in? Where are these items coming from China? I have ordered from companies that I thought were based in UK and other areas but they are still produced in China. I'm not trying to support communist China... I hate having to buy made in China products when I'm thinking I'm supporting businesses in America and other free world countries.
@@RT-qd8ylwhat, what? What I'm saying is that the simplification solutions seems to be supporting communist China instead of supporting the businesses in the free world.
@@Joe-by8jh If there are I'm not sure I'd trust them any more than a phone from anywhere else. You're still gonna get spied on, just by a different government. Just don't use a smartphone if you're gonna do goon shit.
Drove a Renault Fuego for a while and there was a small round medallion welded to the block that just said removing it voided the manufacturer warranty. Years later, well after all the warranties had expired, we threw a rod. It punched clean through the block exactly where the medallion was. Wise guys.
The fact that the USA has at least 51 different legal systems is mind boggling. Back in the 90s I bought a PC from Gateway, I think, and they asked if I wanted the extended warranty and I told them no, since I was going to void the warranty as soon as I got the machine out of the box by adding more RAM.
This sounds good on first glance, but it also means you can open the thing up, tinker with it and break it and then demand the warranty cover it. All this will do is push companies to stop offering warranties at all.
I know of NO warranties that cover anything you purposely broke, either inside or outside of a boxed portion of the product. Some stupid stores might give you your money back within a few weeks of proof of purchase. But that is why the sales mark up is often greater than all other costs of consumer goods, combined. For those of us that do not do that, Thanks for the higher prices, guys. Thanks a lot.
It doesn’t work that way. This is just about breaking the sticker to open the device, not about causing damage to the product at the hands of the user.
All the manufacturer has to do is provide proof that it was damaged, and did not happen through regular use (like pry marks or such damaging components....just an example) and they can still deny the warranty.
@@50PullUps the way i see it, that sticker helped to eliminate the grey area, and if they aren't allowed to enforce it, the logical thing for a company to do would be to reduce their warranty
This is not how it’s done, like with cars for example. The manufacturer has to show the third party actions directly caused the problem. Otherwise you replace a wiper blade with the wrong one and it completely dissolves your car warranty.
I would imagine Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital would be exempt, as I'm not aware of any private citizen or other consumer who has a class 4 clean room and inert gas filling system.
I've never had any issue with warranty stickers. If you get a computer the warrantee usually runs out after about 1 or 2 years. Sometimes as little as 90 days. Then you have to pay to get a repair whether the sticker is there or not. By the time you're removing the sticker it's normally many years after the warrantee (and often the company) has expired.
I once bought a pre-amp, amplifier and pair of high end speakers. Bought them from different manufacturers, at the same shop. Both met the technical requirements of the other components. And should have worked well together. Second time I played the system, one the speakers burst into flame, and the amp fried.
When I buy something, I start it up once to make sure it works.. then open it up, make any modifications I deem necessary. Never had warranty on anything.