Re: is my $3,000 lcd tv dead?

"Ivan" <ivan'H'older@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Ayy4j.56516$c_1.32992@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here in the UK I'm pretty certain that something costing that amount of
money which only lasted for three years could well attract the attention
of our trading standards people, the argument being for that amount of
money the expectation would be for it to have a lifespan of longer than
three years, irrespective of the manufacturer's guarantee.
Just a thought, but would it be worth investigating to see if anything in
the U.S. consumer protection legislation incorporated something similar?

It's called the warranty of implied merchantability, and is derived from
English common law. (The "warranty" in any user manual is not protection
for the customer, but an attempt to weaken or circumvent this implied
warranty.) Among other things, it says that a product must be of "average"
quality for that sort of product.

Clearly, any TV receiver should last rather longer than 3 years before
suffering a major breakdown. But you're going to have to twist Sharp's
corporate arm very hard to convince them they should provide a "reasonably
priced" repair. The law is on your side, but getting any company to
acknowledge it without a lawsuit is almost impossible.

The best approach is to discuss the issue with Sharp in a quiet but
insistent manner, emphasizing that the cost of repair is out of line with
the cost of the set and the amount of time you've owned it. If Sharp still
refuses to adjust he cost of repair to something more reasonable, tell them
they've lost a customer. And then make sure you never buy a Sharp product
again, not even a mechanical pencil. (That's where the company's name comes
from.)

I've had good luck recently. When a Silverlit X-UFO failed and the importer
had no replacement parts, I pointed out that they were legally obliged to
carry service parts, and they quickly replaced the entire unit. This is not
quite the same thing, but it shows what you can do when know how to protest.
I'm currently trying to convince Ryobi of the same thing, with respect to
battery packs..

My understanding is that, over the last 20 years, legislatures have watered
down the warranty of implied merchantability so that customers have fewer
protections.

One other point... What do service techs currently make? Given the high cost
of service, you'd think they were paid $25 to $30 an hour. Are they? (I can
hear the loud guffaws.)


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