Right To Repair or R2R as we refer to it has been gaining a bit of traction in recent years and whilst we have always supported and promoted R2R and some legislation has been passed on it, we’re not done and neither should anyone else that wishes to see true rights in this area.
We are looking at this here from the perspective of an owner of an appliance although, it could just as easily be a laptop, a car, a phone, a boiler; more or less anything at all that may, at some point, need a repair.
The first questions that people should really ask are:
- Can it be repaired at all or replacement the only option?
- Can I get information to assist in that?
- Can I get spare parts?
- Can I choose who repairs it for me if I want a professional repair?
If the answer to any of those is “no” then we would argue you either have no right to repair or, you have diminished rights.
We will explain our thinking for each but, we are publishing this openly and publicly as members have been reporting that their customers can’t understand why, in light of there being some sort of top Right To Repair legislation now in force, why members cannot repair and in some cases won’t even take on a repair for certain brands or models.
The reason is that the R2R legislation is, in our view, not comprehensive enough, not far reaching enough and appears to be poorly enforced, if enforced at all.
Throwaway Products
Our first question was: Can it be repaired at all or replacement the only option?
There are products and, we see this a lot on small appliances and have done for many years, that the products were never designed to be repaired at all. With sealed in, irreplaceable parts that you cannot buy even if you wanted to.
But we’ve seen this happening on large appliances as well or at least, things in a similar vein.
Complete assemblies, unavailable components for larger items and so forth so that, whilst the maker is still perfectly correct in stating that the machine can be repaired and the part/s are available, it’s not economic to repair.
These practices, in practical terms, make many appliances throwaway products as even if they can, technically, be repaired, nobody would do so due to cost.
Technical Information
Next we have: Can I get information to assist in that?
This is a topic that we have covered extensively and, we’ve campaigned for more openness from many manufacturers for almost two decades.
We can understand and see the argument for withholding technical information from a safety standpoint but, we don’t accept it. We do not think this is a valid argument given the level of technical information you can get online for many things way more complex and dangerous than a washing machine.
There’s even less validity in this argument when applied to professional repairers but, many manufacturers simply refuse to allow access to their technical information. To anyone.
If you cannot get access to that, test routines and so on then you have no right to repair, it is an illusion that the maker might be paying lip service to but, they’re not honouring the spirit of the legislation.
Many manufacturers seem stuck in the 1970’s on this topic or, too motivated by self serving interests to allow others access.
No Spare Parts
Can I get spare parts?
There are a few brands where you will not get spare parts for the products. Period.
As in, shockingly, they have none, have no way to get any and offer no support in this respect at all.
Most reasonable people would think that flies in the face of R2R legislation and it’s a very reasonable assumption to make. Sadly though some are getting away with it.
Then there are those that “restrict” access to parts. They can have it so that only “approved” or “authorised” people have access to parts or indeed, even the systems to look parts up.
The R2R legislature and enforcement as it stands, has done little to nothing to solve these issues.
Free Market Repairs
Can I choose who repairs it for me if I want a professional repair?
In a great many cases, no. You will have no choice at all.
Having no choice but to use the manufacturer’s own service (in whatever format that comes) is not a free an open market, it is a micro-monopoly that is stifling competition and forcing owners to pay higher costs for repairs.
Perversely, also casing more people to scrap perfectly repairable machines due to those higher costs and any other restrictions.
We argue that, if consumers are to truly have a Right To Repair, they should be free to choose who repairs the product for them and not be forced into any choice be that, they repair it themselves, they pay the manufacturer or they employ a third party repairer. That choice should be a right the owner is free to make without restriction or hinderance.
That is a free market. Not a illusionary one with little to no choices.
Botched Legislation?
Discussing this with people they often ask if all this is the case, isn't the R2R legislation botched then?
Maybe.
But lawmakers in various countries and the EU have to pass laws that can be applied, enforced and are practical. And, they rely on all interests in the area being served within reason, at least, the best they can be.
The trouble here, we think, is that whilst what’s been done is progress and is moving forward it’s like a tentative baby step with little in the way of teeth that fails to address many of the real issues that consumers face out here in the real world.
Our suspicions are that a lot has been diluted by lobbying on behalf of manufacturers so as this legislation didn’t impact them too badly.
Meanwhile, it is galling to see many a manufacturer, including some of the worst culprits for not playing nice, advertise how “environmentally friendly” they are, how much progress they are making on environmental issues and performance of the products whilst at the same time hampering repairs. But, we guess they can sell that.
Not all manufacturers are bad in these areas, far from it. In fact, we work with some that have given members a lot of assistance and we are grateful for their support.
If you ask WTA members, they will recommend products based on that among other factors because they only want their customers to be happy, they don’t much care about industry politics.
And there’s the rub in that question of the legislation being botched and why we can only answer “maybe”, because some manufacturers get it and try to go with the law and the spirit of it, others not so much and do all they can to stymy it or, so it would appear.
Changes That Are Needed
We set out our stall with; if consumers are to truly have a Right To Repair, they should be free to choose who repairs the product for them and not be forced into any choice be that, they repair it themselves, they pay the manufacturer or they employ a third party repairer.
If consumers do not have this, they have no true right to repair. As things stand right now, this is the case with many products and owners do not have a right of repair or, freedoms in respect of repairs.
Blame Manufacturers
It is easy to blame manufacturers for making things “difficult” and in a few cases it could be argued that this is the case with things like it’s built in obsolescence, it’s withholding information to prevent third party repairs and so on but there is, to a degree, some blame that can be apportioned to consumers.
People need to ask for change and, vote with your wallet as to who you will or will not support.
That means researching what you buy and a lot of people don’t do so, only find out all this stuff years down the road when it’s too late.
And that’s if many people even care as, in real terms, most appliances are cheaper today than they have ever been and many are no longer viewed as being a major purchase. Lots of people seem not to care and when many appliances stop working they just replace them, giving no thought to a repair. The financial penalty is too low compared with the perceived inconvenience and potential cost of a repair.
Our point being, it’s not always the manufacturer that’s the barrier to repair and it is unfair to simply lay the blame solely at their door.
But putting barriers in place that only serve to make the consumer perception of repairs being a hassle in any way will only feed that mentality of replace rather than repair.
What We Are Doing
In our own way, we try to inform our members and the public about these matters as best we can.
For some years, as many will know, we have been in contact with Right To Repair Europe and this is a relationship that we want to grow and develop further and to work with similar groups.
There is more power in the various groups coming together to highlight these issues to lawmakers across Europe and specifically in the UK than just us on our own trying to get the attention of politicians and the public.
Our view is that a lot of these practices are not in the interests of consumers as it reduces choice and increases costs to them.
To that end we seek to work with manufacturers to try and ensure that our members can access spare parts, information on parts and technical information such as fault codes, test sequences and so forth so that machines, that might otherwise be scrapped, can be repaired.