EU Right to Repair Rules Force Companies to Fix Out-of-Warranty Devices

[hans1972]

When I buy electronics (e.g. Macs) from Costco, I get an extra year warranty for free. And the device is always less than what I can get it directly from Apple for with only a 1 year warranty.

So your belief that an extra 1 year of warranty coverage will cost companies extra $$$ is a load of B.S. It just doesn't hold up.

Now, if a company puts out shoddy products that they only expect to last 1 year before failure (as measured by MTBF or MTTF), they it will cost them extra. But that's their fault for releasing low quality products to begin with that end up in our landfills.

Have you really thought this through?

Let's say 150 million mobile phones are sold each year in the EU. Even with a low failure rate of 1% in the second year, it would mean 1.5 million phones would need repair/replacement each year.

It wouldn't cost the producers anything?

Even with a MTBF of 10 years, some devices will still fail on day 1 and even more on day 366-730.

 

[truthsteve]

You do realize that consumers being able to keep their devices longer leads to lower demand

gee I wonder why Apple keeps giving them 5 years of software updates! bad apple! limit it to 2 years like most Android devices and get them to buy new iPhones!

 

[truthsteve]

Well we need the laws too

not really. stop buying the products and apple will listen to the problems.

 

[truthsteve]

The Costco extended warranty is standard. You don't need a credit card to get it, so I don't know why you're even bringing that up. You can pay with cash at Costco and you will still have a 2 year warranty. It's all part of Costco's Concierge service.

connection at your service concierge | Costco

www.costco.com

What is Costco Concierge Services?

Costco Concierge Services is a free technical support center available to Costco members who have purchased select electronics or appliances from Costco. All electronics and appliance purchases are covered by a 90-day return policy (instituted in 2007), and, as added protection, Costco extends the manufacturer's warranty for a second year at no additional charge on the following devices: televisions, tuner-free displays, computers and major appliances.

"televisions, tuner-free displays, computers and major appliances."

so not iPhone.

hence I brought that up

 

[hans1972]

Nobody is asking that your just pointing to extremes to validate your position. Frankly you should know better, sadly you appear to favour Apple over a fair deal for the consumer.

If there were no time limits, what would stop a consumer legally from demanding getting a washing machine repaired after 20 years?

 

[truthsteve]

Well, if you want to live on a contaminated polluted plant… continue playing as you are.

Bravo, Bravo 👏👏👏

nonsensical response.

moving on.

 

[Naraxus]

The EU needs to go pound sand. If something is OoW, it's OoW.

Manufacturers are now supposed to fix devices in perpetuity?

Cool. I have a gramaphone that could use a little tune-up. Who do I call?

 

[philip456]

this will cost companies extra $$$ for each model they release.

and I'm sure companies will eat the costs and totally not charge more to customers for every new product they release.

why stop there? go for free 10 year warranty for all yeah!! make companies pay for everything! throw in free accidental damage coverage too!! let's gooooo

you just played yourselves. 👏

If companies made decent quality products this wouldn't be necessary.

It's the same with most Government regulations. Companies continue to scam customers with hidden add on charges, pollute the rivers, adultrate food and drink, cut costs in any way to the detriment of customers, until they are forced to stop by regulation.

And anytime they are forced to stop, some dumdum will howl, Oh dear, oh dear it going to increase prices/what about my freedom to poison myself and my children/its the begining of making companies pay for everything.

 

[Sander]

The issue is as a customer you don’t know what parts were actually touched and potentially damaged during the repair. It’s reasonable to expect a repair to result in a product that is guaranteed to work for at least another year. The customer doesn’t want “please repair the screen but feel free to break some other component”, they want “please make it so that the device is in proper working condition again”.

This is a “slippery slope”. I assume that when you bring your car to the garage to have the windshield replaced because it was cracked, that you don’t expect to be able to go to that shop half a year later because your engine failed and “that should now be under warranty”.

This is an exaggerated example but I’ve had it happen that a customer escalated a problem with their machine (we build scientific instruments) that “started sometime after the last periodic service visit” and although it was completely unrelated, the “correlation doesn’t equal causation” thing was lost on the customer and we ended up fixing the problem on our own dime. I don’t think this was fair.

 

[chmania]

Manufacturers are now supposed to fix devices in perpetuity?

Only the US based manufacturers are crying...

 

[turbineseaplane]

Good!

I love this

More and more of this EU .. please!

 

[TechnoMonk]

this will cost companies extra $$$ for each model they release.

and I'm sure companies will eat the costs and totally not charge more to customers for every new product they release.

why stop there? go for free 10 year warranty for all yeah!! make companies pay for everything! throw in free accidental damage coverage too!! let's gooooo

you just played yourselves. 👏

Not sure why this got downvoted. Prices in EU are ridiculously higher compared to US. It’s gonna only get worse, companies will just pass the cost to consumers.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

not really. stop buying the products and apple will listen to the problems.

By that time they don’t have to because people are buying something else. If they want to trade in our markets then they have to follow the same rules and guidelines as other companies. They are not bigger than the countries they sell to and aren’t owed anything.

 

[Apleeseed84]

some might have to purchase analog headphone parts again

 

[ninecows]

apple has had less failure rates on average for notebooks compared to PC manufacturers.

Then I guess it’s not a problem for them? There’s nothing to repair right?

 

[TechnoMonk]

Then I guess it’s not a problem for them? There’s nothing to repair right?

Doesn’t work like that, repair costs are liabilities, which includes risks from regulations and local laws. Apple or any other company will factor the additional burden, not just failure rates, which are small part of the equation. They will average out the risks and factor in additional costs. Just like how insurance companies have different prices for different locations.

 

[vindanya]

EU: You can no longer charge overprice for repairing people's devices.
Apple: Well we still have planned obsolescence.
EU: Not for much longer. Oh and by the way your stocks are soon under $100.
Apple: Oh %&&%&$$$$%&&$$$$!!!!

So happy that Apple can no longer screw their customers.
Instead, Apple's shareholders will get screwed, well they already are

 

[TechnoMonk]

EU: You can no longer charge overprice for repairing people's devices.
Apple: Well we still have planned obsolescence.
EU: Not for much longer. Oh and by the way your stocks are soon under $100.
Apple: Oh %&&%&$$$$%&&$$$$!!!!

So happy that Apple can no longer screw their customers.
Instead, Apple's shareholders will get screwed, well they already are

Apple:

New iPhone in us: 999
New iPhone in EU:1699
EU users: oh crap, iPhone is damn expensive in EU.
Same will apply to Google, Samsung ..

 

[vindanya]

Apple:

New iPhone in us: 999
New iPhone in EU:1699
EU users: oh crap, iPhone is damn expensive in EU.
Same will apply to Google, Samsung ..

No one will pay that much for a phone.
This time, Apple and the other companies must adapt or lose their customers in Europe.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

EU's stance on this stuff is getting mighty close to the Soviet Union days of old.

Mighty close.

 

[chmania]

EU's stance on this stuff is coming mighty close to the old Iron Curtain.

Excellent!

 

[TechnoMonk]

No one will pay that much for a phone.
This time, Apple and the other companies must adapt or lose their customers in Europe.

Yeah I am sure companies weren’t rushing to do business in Soviet Union back in the day either. They will sell cheaper dumbed down phones like they do in Africa.

 

[David1964]

There are at least two reasons:

1) The iPhone will become thicker
2) The iPhone will become heavier

2) is extremely negative to me, but also 1) is pretty negative.

iPhones aren't that heavy 🙄 Maybe you need a gym membership?

 

[TechnoMonk]

EU's stance on this stuff is getting mighty close to the Soviet Union days of old.

Mighty close.

Exceeded in some aspects. Unelected bureaucrats running the show.

 

[vindanya]

Yeah I am sure companies weren’t rushing to do business in Soviet Union back in the day either. They will sell cheaper dumbed down phones like they do in Africa.

I still have a 2009 Nokia N900 running it's original OS Maemo (Linux-based).
It has not once failed, it always runs flawless, I still use it for calling and texting on the go.

How has Right to Repair requirements and quality standards anything to do with the Soviet Union?
Apple's greed, anti-consumer, and device lock-down practices is way closer to the Soviet Union.