TECH NEWS – What the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) doesn’t like is that the ability to repair under warranty is lost if the sticker(s) on the product are removed…

It’s not easy to enforce product warranties on computer parts these days, but the FTC’s action may bring change to Europe as well, as the commission has named ASRock, Zotac and Gigabyte. The FTC, citing the US Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA), believes that the “warranty void if removed” sticker on the products is not very consumer-friendly.

“These warning letters put companies on notice that restricting consumers’ right to repair is against the law. The Commission will continue our efforts to protect consumers’ right to repair and independent dealers’ right to compete,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The FTC press release adds, “The letters to five of the companies warn that FTC staff has concerns about the companies’ statements that consumers must use specific parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact. Unless the warrantors provide the parts or services free of charge or obtain a waiver from the FTC, such statements are generally prohibited by the MMWA. Similarly, such statements may be deceptive under the FTC Act.

The MMWA requires manufacturers to clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms of the warranty in writing, and also prevents the warranty from being voided if the consumer repairs the product himself. However, this has not been the practice in the industry at all, and for this reason, the FTC is indeed right to criticize the trio of ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte.

In 2018, the FTC did the same against the Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo triumvirate. It will be interesting to see how PC component manufacturers react. In any case, in the case of a graphics card, for example, an experienced user should be allowed to make repairs (repainting, replacing fans, cleaning, and so on).

Source: WCCFTech, FTC