FTC Gives Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo 30 Days To Get Rid of Illegal Warranty-Void-if-Removed Stickers (vice.com)

Matthew Gault, reporting for Motherboard: The Federal Trade Commission put six companies on notice in early April for illegally telling customers that getting third-party repairs voids the warranty on their electronics. You've seen the stickers before and read the messages buried in end user license agreements. Plastered on the back of my PlayStation 4 is a little sticker that says "warranty void if removed." That's illegal. Motherboard has obtained copies of the letters via a Freedom of Information Act request and has learned the names of the six companies that were warned. They are Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Hyundai, HTC, and computer hardware manufacturer ASUS. The letters were sent by Lois Greisman, the FTC's associate director of marketing practices, on April 9; the FTC has given each company 30 days to change its official warranty policies and says that it may take legal action against the companies.

Comments

A few years ago

[pem]

A few years ago I bought a really nice ASUS desktop from Fry's. I scraped off Windows and loaded Linux.

But after a day and a half, the fan got really loud and stayed that way. (Not the CPU fan; it sounded like the chassis fan was rubbing on something.)

So I unplugged everything, hefted the desktop up onto the work table, and.... encountered the sticker.

Rather than opening it up, I took it back to Fry's and told them there was a problem with it. When I entered the store with it, they logged it and gave me a receipt I could use to take it back out of the store when I was finished at the service desk.

At the service desk, I explained that since the sticker disallowed me from opening the computer up, I was contemplating bring it back for a refund, but that even if I kept it, it needed to be quited down. The dude booted it up, and told me that Linux was unsupported, so of course I couldn't bring it back -- I'd already voided the warranty by scraping Windows off.

After a couple of minutes of fruitless conversation with him and his boss, I just left (having proof in my pocket that I had taken the machine in). I got Fry's registered agent's information from the secretary of state, and emailed them, explaining that, if I needed to, I would explain to the credit card company that I returned the machine at the store since it was malfunctioning, and then they could sue me in small claims court for whatever damage they claim I did to it. They caved and issued a full refund after a couple of weeks.

Re:A few years ago

[Xenolith0]

I love the amount of effort some people put into returning defective items. Anytime I purchase something that breaks within it's warranty or return period, I'll make a half-hearted attempt to get it fixed through "proper channels". I'll take it back to the store, I'll contact customer service.

But as soon they tell me, "You have to pay shipping and send it back to us, and if we can confirm it's defective we'll issue a refund.... yada yada yada". Then, then answer is "Nope." And I login into American Express's website, click dispute charge. Done problem solved.

As a company, you have two options:
1) Replace the defective item, and get the dead one back to deal with the manufacturer.
2) Bullshit me, and then you can eat the cost of the dead item and not get it back.

Re:Fine.

[thegarbz]

If I was Sony, I'd remove the sticker and the warranty along with it. If you can't guarantee the hardware hasn't been fucked with, you don't warranty it. Problem solved.

This is an everyone wins scenario.

Sony will feel like they did something. Corporationists will cheer at the triumph of corporations over evil governments. Americans will get someone to sue. And the rest of the world with mandatory warranties will be unaffected.

Have at it.