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Hiro_Protag0nist's avatar
Hiro_Protag0nist
MVP
8 years ago

Warranty Void if Removed - Illegal?

An interesting article and step by the Federal Trade Commission in the US:

Stickers on gadgets warning "warranty void if removed" are deceptive and likely to be illegal in the US, its consumer watchdog has said.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it had written to six companies to warn them about using misleading language.

Ordering customers to "use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact" was also prohibited, it said.

The companies have 30 days to respond to the FTC.

The commission did not name the companies it had written to, but it said the list included video games companies, smartphone-makers and car manufacturers.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43724348

1 Reply

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    8 years ago
    Yea people forget about  the Right to Repair Ac that we have in the US.

    One thing to note tho - if you did change a part and something else breaks - that isn't up to the company to repair if you put in the wrong part that wasn't regulated to their specs to handle that situation. Simply because you can - doesn't always mean you should attempt to repair a device on your own. Yes they have to show it wasn't the device that had fault - but when you do open up the device - now it becomes your responsibility you didn't break anything either while opening the device. If you damage one part of a motherboard - doesn't mean a warranty can be claimed if a component burns out on the other side. Or if you do damage the product because it should never be open and still result in losing your warranty as well in the case of hard drives where dust is enough to cause damage to the inner workings.