Other FTC Warns Video Game Companies about Warranty Violations

Demon_Skeith

Demon_Skeith

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Warranties, they are in place to make sure you don't walk out with a defective item. Though these days if you happen to tamper with your item, that voids your warranty and the FTC has something to say about that.

The Federal Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it issued a warning to six automobile, mobile phone, and video game system companies, with two warnings in particular appearing to point to Sony and Nintendo.

The warning pointed to questionable language in the companies' statements regarding consumers voiding warranties when breaking stickers on the product, or when using parts or products not sold by the companies themselves. The FTC cautioned that such language is prohibited by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, unless the companies themselves provide such parts or services for free, or are waived by the FTC.

Thomas B. Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, clarified: "Provisions that tie warranty coverage to the use of particular products or services harm both consumers who pay more for them as well as the small businesses who offer competing products and services."

Failure to do anything may result in law enforcement action by the FTC.
 
One question, what 6 companies have been notified exactly?
You said among them are Sony and Nintendo, but I can't find this anywhere, not on the post you linked to, neither of the post you get to when you click "for busineses".

Reading the comments, you can see I'm not the only one questioning:
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Yes, I could as well just make permalinks, but I screenshotted it in case they get butthurt and decide to delete those.
 
This is a good law since it is sometimes difficult to prove that you did not peel the sticker off, and the sticker came off on its own because of bad glue, an insect peeling it off or moisture or a very dry environment in the air cause the sticker to fall off on its own.
 
テクニカル諏訪子 said:
One question, what 6 companies have been notified exactly?
You said among them are Sony and Nintendo, but I can't find this anywhere, not on the post you linked to, neither of the post you get to when you click "for busineses".

Reading the comments, you can see I'm not the only one questioning:


Yes, I could as well just make permalinks, but I screenshotted it in case they get butthurt and decide to delete those.
Click to expand...

I referenced it from Anime News Network, though I should have just kept it at simply companies instead of actually naming anyone.
 
It confirms it indeed, though I don't understand what's illegal about warning your users about voiding a warranty if you remove a sticker required in order to repair something by yourself.
I mean, the warning is crystal clear, and located in a spot that requires you to remove it if you ever want to open it.
Therefore, people who open up their devices to repair automatically accept their warranty has been voided, because they have been warned about it.

It's like declaring "WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES" illegal because you actually show disturbing images when you proceed despite the warning is clearly there.
So in this sense, the users are in the wrong.
It would only have been illegal if that sticker hasn't been there, and then refuse to provide support after opening it.
 
テクニカル諏訪子 said:
It confirms it indeed, though I don't understand what's illegal about warning your users about voiding a warranty if you remove a sticker required in order to repair something by yourself.
I mean, the warning is crystal clear, and located in a spot that requires you to remove it if you ever want to open it.
Therefore, people who open up their devices to repair automatically accept their warranty has been voided, because they have been warned about it.

It's like declaring "WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES" illegal because you actually show disturbing images when you proceed despite the warning is clearly there.
So in this sense, the users are in the wrong.
It would only have been illegal if that sticker hasn't been there, and then refuse to provide support after opening it.
Click to expand...

Not everyone opens up their devices to mod them, most of the time they just needed to be dusted out if nothing else. It's wrong to get a warranty void because you need to clean it out.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
Not everyone opens up their devices to mod them, most of the time they just needed to be dusted out if nothing else. It's wrong to get a warranty void because you need to clean it out.
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In rare cases, owners may need to remove a sticker to tighten a screw because the worker did not tighten the screw enough, and other body problems like reinstalling a crocked panel on a case to make it straight again.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
now that, I never heard of needing to happen.
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Most loose case defects related to loose screws and panels may not be reported online or on the tv news because console buyers can exchange the console for a non-defective console without a loose panel.

But, I did find a YouTube video of an Xbox One having a lose case/shell.

 
Just read on Sony's response to FTC's threat, changing its warranties.
  • Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the product is used with a peripheral that is not supplied or licensed by SIE. Our updated warranties state that the warranty does not apply “to damage caused by” use of the product with an unlicensed peripheral.
  • Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the warranty seal on the product has been altered or removed. Our updated warranty states that the warranty does not apply “to damage caused by” opening the product or to damage caused by service performed by someone other than a representative of SIE or an SIE-authorized service provider.
Sony also added clauses promising “free return shipping for in-warranty consoles in the U.S. and Canada, and free return shipping for repaired (or factory-recertified) consoles to the customer.”
 
cm2 said:
Just read on Sony's response to FTC's threat, changing its warranties.
  • Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the product is used with a peripheral that is not supplied or licensed by SIE. Our updated warranties state that the warranty does not apply “to damage caused by” use of the product with an unlicensed peripheral.
  • Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the warranty seal on the product has been altered or removed. Our updated warranty states that the warranty does not apply “to damage caused by” opening the product or to damage caused by service performed by someone other than a representative of SIE or an SIE-authorized service provider.
Sony also added clauses promising “free return shipping for in-warranty consoles in the U.S. and Canada, and free return shipping for repaired (or factory-recertified) consoles to the customer.”
Click to expand...

It is good that Sony is providing free shipping. Paying for shipping to have a consoled repaired or exchanged can become expensive.
 
I wonder on how Nintendo and Microsoft are going to respond.
 
It's what happens with political pressure on companies.
In this case, being clear was apparently 'illegal', so changing words around to make it sound more vague but still mean the exact same thing would make it 'legal'.

Results: consumers are confused, companies are left alone, and in the end nothing changes.

Just consider this for example:
Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the warranty seal on the product has been altered or removed.
Click to expand...

Our updated warranty states that the warranty does not apply “to damage caused by” opening the product or to damage caused by service performed by someone other than a representative of SIE or an SIE-authorized service provider.
Click to expand...

I am by no means a native English speaker, but by applying a bit of common sense here, I can certainly see the core meaning of both sentences is the exact same thing.
It's like you would change "you smashed my window" to "I am certain that you have most likely smashed my window"; wording is less direct (and sentence is much longer), but the actual meaning remains unchanged.

Because to SIE, "product was opened by" is the same as "the product was damaged because it was opened by", because at the moment you open the product, it's no longer in its original state, and not being in its original state = damaged.
To consumers on the other hand, it means you can open the console, but make sure you're careful with the insides.

So now you'll cause an even bigger debate when it's time to send your console to repair to SIE than it was before this change in policy.
Problem solved on paper? Yes.
Problem solved in the real world? No, the problem actually only got bigger.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
Yeah, I see the game companies are now playing around with their warranty wording. It just can't be good for the consumer.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, game companies will still honor their warranty, or make it more fair. I bet, if many gamers or populular game streamers/vloggers complain on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and online, game makers may re-word their warranty to make it easier to understand.
 
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