Govt directs 4 sectors to provide detailed info on warranty, service centres

Amid consumer complaints regarding problems in repairs of goods purchased, the government on Friday directed four major industries, including automobiles and electronics, to provide information about products, service centres and warranty conditions in the best interest of consumers. The direction has been issued to ensure that consumers who are seeking repair of products are not deceived in the absence of relevant information, an official release said.

To address the new as well as emerging concerns affecting consumers regarding the repair of their products, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh held a meeting with the major stakeholders of four sectors -- Automobiles, Consumer Durables, Mobile and Electronics, and Farming equipment -- to onboard on the Right to Repair Portal India.

The portal has been set up to facilitate and work as a catalyst for providing relevant repair-associated information to consumers.


Leading water purifier makers have been directed to furnish the average life span of their candles and other consumables based on specific geographies and water alkalinity, the statement said.

The government also asked the industry to standardise product warranty forms in four sectors to foster consumer rights and to address the new as well as emerging concerns affecting consumers for the repair of their products.

"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," the release said.

Often the spare parts are not available which causes consumers great distress along with monetary burden, it noted.

The secretary also highlighted that if such issues are not addressed by the companies, it raises a matter of concern as to how to safeguard the rights of consumers.