Media sources say that European consumer organisations have released a study on how companies plan products’ obsolescence and are calling for a law giving people information on the longevity of goods and longer guarantee periods.
The study came to light as the French Senate prepares to debate a bill by Green senator Jean-Vincent Placé which will transform consumers’ rights by extending the minimum life span of electrical and electronic products and create a minimum two year fault guarantee. It is a common misconception that there is a legal requirement to provide a two year warranty when there actually isn’t as people would think, there is a European equivalent to our UK six year rule (five years in Scotland) but this does not cover buyers for faults or wear and tear.
The plan before the French Senate would extend the legal minimum life of products from the present two years to three years by January 1, 2014 and up to five years on January 1, 2016. Companies will also have to offer replacement parts for 10 years after manufacture and repairs within a month. The minimum fault guarantee would also be extended from six months to two years.
There i currently no legislation on the time that companies must provide spare parts in the UK at all nor any European requirements that we or various government and legal bodies could find. Meaning that if a part does become no longer available people are afforded no protection and many companies offer no compensation when this happens, better companies will offer some rebate on a replacement product or a partial refund.s
Similar legislation is wanted across Europe by France and highlighted some products they say do not last as long as they should and some examples have been highlighted by the study that include not only appliances but also other higher profile products.
iPods
Early iPods had non-removable batteries which failed after about 18 months so the iPod had to be replaced. Apple has started offering replacement batteries after unhappy US owners launched a class action court case. Users also complain operating system updates on iPads and iPhones make older versions run slower.
Rapid product launches such as three iPads in 18 months mean technological change makes older models obsolete, which is a theme that we see echoed in the appliance industry as some models have a very short shelf life before being deleted.
Cars
This one is particularly interesting as it would appear that a lack of spare parts for some vehicles can mean that they become unusable and consigned to the scrap heap. Which is a phenomena that we see becoming more and more common in the appliance industry as well due to the large variation in models and features to suit different people’s needs.
Printers
The study found that many printers will tell users that they are either out of ink or toner or running very low and to replace the cartridges, even though they will continue to print for some time.
Some manufacturers use a chip on the cartridge to count the number of prints and halt printing once the pre-set limit is reached.
Yet again we see this in our industry with water filters for fridges and other similar replaceable items that use consumable spare parts.
Mobile Phones
Several types of obsolescence affect mobile phones according to numerous studies, whether it is a failed battery or a lost charger and a problem in finding replacements; updated applications needing more memory than is available, or application updates no longer being available.
Mobile phones also go out of fashion with each new version launch and many are changed every 20 months.
Studies have found that the replacement cycle for mobile phones is often described as “horrific” in terms of waste and environmental impact.
Televisions
Older TVs with cathode ray tubes would commonly last for 10 or 15 years, but now the CEC says they are programmed to work for 20,000 hours – or at most nine years. On LCD or plasma TVs common faults include the condenser failing due to a power surge or excess heat.
Washing Machines
The study believes that many washing machines are programmed to do only 2,000 to 2,500 washes.
Eight out of 10 use plastic instead of steel for some components, such as the drum, which means they are more liable to fail if damaged by a coin or too high a temperature in a dryer. The bearings have also been integrated, so a failed bearing means a complete new drum assembly.
In this respect, the study carried out has found exactly what we have found and highlighted over the past ten years, almost to a word.