Govt tells big firms to ensure consumers can get products repaired to extend life

New Delhi: The Centre’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has asked companies in the automobiles, electronics, smartphone, consumer durables and farm equipment sector to be fair with consumers in matters of repair of products that have been sold to them.

At a high-level meeting chaired by DoCA Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, the major companies in these sectors were told that they should ensure that in case of repair of products, the consumers are not deceived by withholding relevant information.

In the interest of consumers, it was emphasised that in sectors where availability of spare parts, genuine reparability, exaggerated conditions of warranty is not addressed clearly, it also affects the consumers right to be informed.

The stakeholders were called for the meeting on the basis of grievances registered at National Consumer Helpline.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that a product that cannot be repaired or falls under planned obsolescence i.e. designed to have an artificially limited life, not only becomes e-waste but also forces the consumers to buy new products for want of any repair to reuse it.

Singh emphasised PM Modi’s vision of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for the Environment) for replacing ‘use-and-dispose’ economy -- with a ‘circular economy’ promoting ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ in place of mindless and wasteful consumption. It also incorporates R3 concept i.e. Reduce, Reuse (repair) and Recycle.

It was pointed out that over a period of time it has been observed that repair is getting severely restricted because not only there is a considerable delay in repair but at times the products are repaired at an exorbitantly high price and the consumer who has once bought the product is hardly given any choice to get repair of their products. Often the spare parts are not available which causes consumers great distress along with monetary burden.

A prominent company of water purifiers against which a large number of complaints were witnessed and were directed to furnish the average lifespan of their candles and other consumables based on specific geographies and water alkalinity.

The companies were also asked to onboard the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) Right to Repair Portal India (https://righttorepairindia.gov.in/). The portal provides consumers information to avail repair associated information for their products and reduce e-waste.

The information on the portal includes: Access to product manuals/ repair videos (by linking the websites and youtube channels of the companies); Address the concern on the price and warranty of spare parts; Explicit mention on differences in liability covered guarantee, warranty and extended warranty; Details of Companies Service Centre across India and Recognition third-parties repairers, if any, by the companies and Information on country of origin to be explicitly mentioned.