The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued formal warning letters to ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte for violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA). Per the FTC press releases, MMWA specifies that it is illegal to “use stickers containing “warranty void if removed” or similar language that are placed in locations on products that hinder consumers’ ability to perform routine maintenance and repairs on their products”. By placing these stickers on their products, ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte broke the law. The FTC warned all three companies that they must “review its promotional and warranty materials to ensure that such materials do not state or imply that warranty coverage is conditioned on the use of specific parts or services”.
The FTC has given ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte 30 days to comply or face law enforcement action.
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BELOW THIS LINE IS MY OPINION.
I’m going to be very blunt here so let the cursing begin: Fuck around and find out. Companies, of all types, have been abusing warranty protections of US consumers for years, and it’s about time they get punished for doing so. In this instance, ASRock, Zotac, and Gigabyte continued to put “warranty void” stickers on their products despite reviewers calling them out for it for years. The exact reason for this is of course conjecture. Regardless, rights are being violated, and consumers are being intimidated.
In my experience as a reviewer, when you question a company rep about warranty info, they are not happy. I’ve called out questionable warranties before and had reps get upset. I’ve even had reps effectively black list me for doing so. Why? In my experience it comes down to two reasons: Having a shit warranty means you probably have shit customer service, or you don’t have the money to fix your fuck ups. Neither is acceptable.
Now the excuses will start. The one that really pisses me off to no end is that some will claim that Asian based companies simply don’t understand US laws. I call bullshit on that. The people that run these companies are not fools, and they have plenty of US based lawyers who are paid to tell them when they break the law. What they count on is that people won’t have the ability to fight back, and that it’s cheaper to settle with one or two people than actually have a single moral fiber make up the backbone of their company.
Also, in my personal experience, it’s not limited to the three companies above. I don’t think there is a mainstream tech company now that I haven’t had a problem with their warranty at some point. This is why it’s critically important to support the independent journalists who take these companies to task and expose their abhorrent and greedy behavior. I don’t claim to be one of those journalists, but Steve Burke of Gamers Nexus is. Please consider supporting him and the GN team by picking up something from their store. Another excellent consumer advocate is Louis Rossmann. Please consider supporting him as well.
Finally, report every violation you encounter to the FTC.
