Right to Repair: the fight for fair repair goes on | Euroconsumers
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With the EU’s new Right to Repair legislation about to come into force, we reflect on Euroconsumers’ contribution to this major milestone.

My Beko washing machine died. I have a multimeter and need to test the various components but I have no idea what the voltage and resistence measurements should be on each component. MediaMarkt sells Beko parts but they were helpless when I asked for a service manual. They said go online. The Beko website is useless.

The EU has be discussing and negotiating a right to repair law for like 10 years now. And this law still has not been implemented. Hence why I’m screwed.

The question is, would I still be screwed even after the right to repair gets enacted? There is some vague mention that manuals will be obligatory, but no mention if that refers to user manuals or service manuals. Service manuals are always hard to get because manufacturers do not want amateurs repairing stuff. And suppose service manuals will be liberated. Will the law retroactively require docs on existing products, or only on new products going forward?

  • late_night
    3·
    2 months ago

    The right to repair is not so much the right for you to repair your own appliances but more a series of obligations for manufacturers.

    This is what the European Parliament says:

    After the legal guarantee has expired, the manufacturer is still required to repair common household products, which are technically repairable under EU law, such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and even smartphones.

    And a little further:

    The rules aim to strengthen the EU repair market and reduce repair costs for consumers. Manufacturers will have to provide spare parts and tools at a reasonable price and will be prohibited from using contractual clauses, hardware or software techniques that obstruct repairs. In particular, they cannot impede the use of second-hand or 3D-printed spare parts by independent repairers, nor can they refuse to repair a product solely for economic reasons or because it was previously repaired by someone else.

    I would encourage you to get in touch with Beko directly and see what help they can offer. And if you really want to find a service manual, try other websites such as www.manualslib.com or beko.co.uk, and even possibly archive.org.

    • ciferecaNinjo@fedia.ioOPM
      1·
      2 months ago

      Codified right to repair means different things in different jurisdictions. It started in some states in the U.S., where the policy is narrowly true to the title. Thus artificial hinderances to repair are prohibited there.

      The EU’s policy is much broader because it comes under the green initiative. It not only gives consumers a right to repair but also creates mfr obligations to facilitate the exercise of that right. People without the skills to repair are served by a rule that ensures they can get something repaired at a reasonable price. But it doesn’t stop there… the law is also expected to give consumers the info they need to make a repair (documentation and where to buy parts [which must be reasonably priced]). If it were true that the law only intended to serve unskilled consumers who would have someone else do the work, then there would be no reason to obligate suppliers to sell parts alone at a reasonable price.

      My question remains: exactly what info & docs will consumers be entitled to? I found one source mentioning user manuals, which is nearly useless. Though it was speculative. Perhaps I need to track down whatever latest version of the legal text is being worked. I’ve read many summaries over what to expect but they are all too vague on doc requirements.

      I would encourage you to get in touch with Beko directly and see what help they can offer. And if you really want to find a service manual, try other websites such as www.manualslib.com or beko.co.uk, and even possibly archive.org.

      One of my expectations is that when manufacturers have an obligation to provide docs, I will no longer be forced to traverse the enshitified profit-driven 3rd party distributors manuals who make you dance and go through various hoops like solving captchas, and disclosing email address. I gave up on Beko’s website. I had to enable a shit ton of nested cascading javascript just to navigate, only to find they want to impose a broken chat room. I might give it another go. Otherwise getting their Belgian address might require going through moniteur belge or something.