Right to repair legislation

[FatAlan]

At the end of the day in response to the OP. It’s a great idea. Fed up with unrepairable disposable rubbish. May have cost implications though if it means they won’t sell as many... but me thinks environmental issues are now very high on the priority list to put it mildly!

 

[Zerax]

My grandparents didn’t even own a car or a washing machine

They walked or buses everywhere and used the local launderette

How times have changed

Wow... they were posh ! My grandparents used to use a 'copper' outside... then put the washing through a mangle !

 

[static zap]

...
They walked or buses everywhere and used the local launderette

..
The way Bo-jo was going on today , a fuel shortage will put us back there !

 

[pirate]

JK, thanks for that link...I watched and enjoyed...albeit, it told me what I already knew.
I have given up buying expensive printers, as the cheap ones use the same engines anyway, and the ink costs get you in the end! Why spend a day tearing your hair out, when £20 will get you back on the road?
Still, it's much more a question of employment. If we went back to the days of no Sunday shopping, how many people would be unable to pay the rent/mortgage?
I will not subscribe to the idea of always buying the latest gadget, but I am old...try telling the average consumer that a new iPhone is a waste of money!
It's a losing battle, sadly...and won't be solved in my lifetime...
Our parents bought the best they could afford, and I still use some of the tools my father bought...but I am, of course, seduced by new tools that weren't available to him. That's progress. To throw away beautiful hand-tools though...that's just madness!
However, as the video shows, people want the latest gadgets, thus we have folks buying a TV for £3k five years ago, and the latest version is £399. What do they do?
They bin the old one, get the latest, cheaper one, and as as soon as the HP is paid, out it goes.
The advent of credit played into the hands of the manufacturers of almost every commodity, thus the prices rose. We now buy stuff we can't "afford". Oh, we can "support" the payments, as long as we have the income, but when the income dies, we can no longer afford such stuff.
I am in danger of going on a rant, folks...sorry!
Truth is, in the main, society loves built-in obsolescence! Why? Because it serves their ego to have new stuff all the time.
Thatcher's government abolished the crime of "usury"...just look at the APR figures in some money-lending adverts, and ask yourself, is this right?
We have allowed the monster to grow, and we are afraid to kill it.

 

[Zerax]

...
Thatcher's government abolished the crime of "usury"...just look at the APR figures in some money-lending adverts, and ask yourself, is this right?
...

My research tells me that the "Usury Laws Repeal Act" was enacted in 1854... I don't think Thatcher was born then ?? This reminds me of the oft quoted claim that she also closed all the coal mines... when in fact more mines were closed under Harold Wilson !

...just sayin

 

[Marvo]

'Right To Repair' goes a lot deeper than stopping manufacturers building obscelence into products. It came about because of companies like Apple who unnecessarily embed software into their hardware like iphone screens which causes the device to fail if the replacement screen isn't supplied by Apple themselves. This ties customers into using only the manufacturers approved service agents which is obviously a large revenue stream for them.

Also companies like John Deere who use a tractors built-in software to stop farmers doing even the most basic repairs themselves.

For a closer to home example most main car dealerships won't honour a new car warranty unless they perform all work and servicing during the warranty period.

Nowadays there's more and more electrical products with built-in software. It used to be only industrial hardware such as drives, PLC's etc but with items like arc detection devices which are becoming the norm for domestic installations and obviously NEST devices and other app-controlled systems you could see it creeping into the domestic market where manufacturers build in protections to stop electricians repairing systems unless they pay to become 'authorised' and purchase non-generic spares.

There's also a possibility an entire NEST system is simple shutdown by the manufacturer because they consider it obscelete or maybe go bankrupt.

Consumers fight for the right to repair their devices

To fix or to replace was once the choice of the consumer. Over time, manufacturers have chipped away at the ability to repair. Now, independent repair firms and frustrated consumers are fighting to reclaim that right

www.theneweconomy.com

 

[pirate]

Zerax, you are quite correct, and my terminology was loose. In practical terms, the hands-off approach with banks, which started in the Thatcher era, allowed for higher and higher interest rates to be applied, without the caps favoured by other countries. A major change was when it no longer became mandatory to put down1/3 of the price, when buying, say, a car on HP. Many dealers got round this by falsely increasing the actual price, stating the 1/3 had been paid, and securing finance on the whole of the "balance".
It is not really correct to say that an APR of 1400% is usury, but in my mind it is just that...the charging of exorbitant interest rates...but not illegal, as you rightly said, and not "abolished" by Thatcher, as I wrongly stated. It's also fair to point out that pay-day loan rates have to be stated as APR, which has the effect of "inflating" the rate, as most of these loans are designed to be repaid within a month or so. Nevertheless, in my humble opinion, it is morally wrong to allow the charging of such high rates as we often see nowadays. I regret having pulled this thread off-topic, sorry!

 

[DPG]

Absolutely correct - the APR on a short term loan will always look bad.

 

[Dan]

EU brings in 'right to repair' rules for appliances

The rules will make household appliances longer-lasting and easier to fix.

www.bbc.co.uk

What do you think of this 'right to repair' legislation coming in/being considered?

I haven't read all the thread. But I think it's a brilliant move in the right direction. The product being sold these days are terrible. Many are built to break soon after their warranties run out.

I heard of a local 'bring your own' club where people could take broken items, people would teach you how to fix them, encourage you to bring other family members items (radios, phones, TV's etc) and they'd do the testing for you and make sure they conform to regs, where possible etc.

If it helps get products made better, and last longer, it has to be better for the environment and better for the consumer / end-user.

From a 'how much profit will I make out of doing repairs the homeowner could really do themselves' point of view, I can see it as been a step in the direction of damaging that. As it stands, still apparently has to be an actual professional (if those exist for washing machine repairs etc - usually never actual electricians I've found).

IMO I like it. Need less waste from the manufacturers. They're the ones costing us a fortune in 'green' taxes everywhere. Yet they dodge them if they plant a tree in scandinavia one year. lol

 

[Deleted member 105166]

most peoples logic is they can buy and use till it blows up a £200 WM then just scrap it after 18 months , then rinse and repeat...
The thought of having the same WM for 20 years and keep repairing it would be totally alien now to anyone under 40

I bought our first washing machine, a Miele, in 1996 and replaced it earlier this year.
It cost circa £1,200 and during its life, was used 3-4 times per week and had just two or three service visits/repairs by Miele and survived being relocated when we moved in 2001. 23 years service equates to £1 per week. Whether its (actually less expensive) Miele replacement will still be working in 2042 of course is another matter, indeed if I'm even around to know or care!

 

[Midwest]

I bought a ‘state of the art’ LED tv circa 2005. Bought a ‘state of the art’ LED tv in 2015. The 2005, is/has been put up the kitchen, where the 2015 is in the living room. Waiting for the 2005 one to pack in, so I can move the 2015 into the kitchen, and buy a ‘state of the art’ new one for the living room. The 2005 one is thwarting my plans though.

 

[James]

years ago, you might have bought MK switches for your house, A Yamaha motorbike, A honda lawn mower, etc.
it was because these brands had a reputation for being well built and will last the test of time.

now the standards are,
hmm amazon... what washing machines can I buy, this has an A+ rating for energy so must be good. wow, the price is only 2/3 the price of a bosch or zannusi. its a winner.
as a society we care not how long it lasts, just what the monthly payments will be.

therefore,
the environment looses
the customer looses
but
the credit company wins
the manufacturer in china wins ( or any other cheep labour country)
the government wins (vat on everything sold, keep selling, keep winning)

it's a sad world, very hard to sell quality because most customers want price not quality.

moan over!!!

 

[Edtwozeronine]

EU brings in 'right to repair' rules for appliances

The rules will make household appliances longer-lasting and easier to fix.

www.bbc.co.uk

What do you think of this 'right to repair' legislation coming in/being considered?

I follow a guy on YouTube called Louis Rossman and he helped kick off the "right to repair" bill/legislation in America. He and a lot of his friends repair Apple products and they think it stinks that they can't just call up Apple parts and get the chips, screens, etc necessary to repair their products.

Personally I hope it brings this era of planned obsolescence to and end.

 

[telectrix]

on a similat note. we had a dyson vac. ( don't blame me, mrs. Tel bought it.) after a couple of years it stopped. after a horrendous stripping down job (no screws, all clipped together, found that 1 of the carbon brushes was goosed. rang dyson for a set of brushes ( say £3?). no chance, we can sell you a new motor for £90+VAT. WHAT?????

 

[freddo]

I love repairing electronic, electrical and mechanical things! High up on the to-do list is this awesome Murphy A40C from 1937. After I've sorted the house that is...

 

[Zerax]

I love repairing electronic, electrical and mechanical things! High up on the to-do list is this awesome Murphy A40C from 1937. After I've sorted the house that is...
View attachment 52915

Nice one... do we get a look inside ??

 

[freddo]

Nice one... do we get a look inside ??

Click the link in my post above! The upper chassis is very heavy!

 

[Dustydazzler]

Busted fridges still leaking...

Millions of fridges sent for recycling still release damaging gases which cause pollution equal to 100,000 family cars, study reveals

 

[Marvo]

I follow a guy on YouTube called Louis Rossman and he helped kick off the "right to repair" bill/legislation in America. He and a lot of his friends repair Apple products and they think it stinks that they can't just call up Apple parts and get the chips, screens, etc necessary to repair their products.

Personally I hope it brings this era of planned obsolescence to and end.

His YouTube channel is worth checking out although it's more electronics, not electrical. It's Louis Rossmann with a double s and double n. Also Jessa Jones who has a YouTube iphone repair channel, both have been active promoting right to repair.

 

[AVpro]

So I ended up here while looking for something totally unrelated ...... as you do ..... and the mention of Les Lawry-Johns hit me as a real blast from the past. His collected works are here:

Les Lawry-Johns stories in Television magazine | Vintage Radio Info

www.vintage-radio.info

Enjoy!