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FTC Makes Clear 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers Are Illegal

posted by chromas on Thursday April 12 2018, @03:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-peel-it dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow9228

Those stickers on gadgets that say you'll void your warranty if they're removed? You've probably come to expect them whenever you purchase a new device. The FTC has just made clear, however, that those warranty notices are illegal when it fired off warning letters to six companies that market and sell automobiles, mobile devices and video game consoles in the US. It didn't mention which automakers and tech corporations they are, but since the list includes companies that make video game consoles, Sony and Microsoft could be two of them.

[...] Thomas B. Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement:

"Provisions that tie warranty coverage to the use of particular products or services harm both consumers who pay more for them as well as the small businesses who offer competing products and services."

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/11/ftc-warranty-warning/

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @05:05PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 12 2018, @05:05PM (#666025)

    Companies can still claim the warranty is void if they can demonstrate that the not-official service caused the damage.

    But ESD damage is almost always invisible. It does not take much to fry the microscopic features on a semiconductor, and they are usually encased in epoxy making it essentially impossible to inspect after encapsulation.

    Being incompetent and destroying your shit should void your warranty, opening your device to replace a broken part should not.

    Is it sufficent to say that the warranty is void because the customer did not take adequate precautions against ESD?

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