Almost everyone we’ve ever come across has one of those things that “triggers” them, you know the kinda thing, the wrong politics, personality etc that when it comes up just sends them off on one. For us, that’s Right To Repair.
A short time ago a random user sent in an email about an old article that basically said makers could do what they wanted in regard to the supply of parts etc and customers were basically screwed. There was no legislation to protect them.
To be fair, the article was several years old and did badly need updated, which we’ve done but this chap was pointing out that due to new legislation that this was incorrect, new legislation meant makers had to supply part for ten years and so on. Buyers now enjoyed these new “protections” in law and all was now fine. Only, it isn’t.
What he missed was all the glaring loopholes in the legislation, so much so that we’d argue it offers consumers next to zero protection.
Legislators really need to get a grip and ask the right people about this stuff and how to really put a stop to the throwaway culture instead of the half-assed attempts they’ve been instituting thus far as, they’re a step in the right direction for sure, giving the attention yes but, they are simply not good enough.
This legislation, in our view, does not protect consumers to any real, practicable extent.
It only moves the goalposts on what makers can get away with.
Trust us, because we’ve seen them slip past legislation supposedly designed to protect consumers before, they will likely use all the glaring loopholes we point out and find more to avoid responsibility. If legislators expect that many makers will act in the spirit of the law, dream on. They will act in their own best interests or in middle management’s bonus interests.
We’d not be surprised to learn that there are small armies of lawyers looking for ways around or to defeat this legislation.
If and, it’s a big “IF”, there’s any real effort at enforcement.
So far we’ve seen none. No effort at enforcement at all.
Don’t believe us, fine. About all the new legislation says is that parts have to be available of ten years from date of sale, for products sold after 2023.
That’s it so, just off the tops of our heads round the office here’s ways around it we came up with and, most we see almost daily now:
- Make parts so expensive it’s not economically viable to replace them
- Make parts a “part”of a larger much more expensive item then, see above
- Have parts “available” but with massive lead times, so people won’t wait
- Unprogrammed modules, so you need a pro-repair
- No like-for-like part/s, changes requiring other parts to change one
- No like-for-like part/s, cosmetic changes, colour etc
And these are just what we can com up with off the cuff, makers will likely come up with yet more imaginative stuff. Though some will possibly see that as a “how-to” guide to beating the requirements, they’d figure it out anyway.
So anyone that thinks for second, that this legislation will be the saviour of them and it guarantees that tens of thousands of tonnes of waste won’t any longer be going to recycling or landfill, think again.
Until legislators actually listen, introduce legislation with real teeth and back it up with enforcement such as heavy fines or even criminal prosecution, things are the same, only different.
