In the following paragraphs I hope that you will find some old-fashioned common sense and insight to a growing problem. If you do find logic and insight then let that be your inspiration to move forward on these issues and take action. As you can see, I have addressed this letter to all of my federal and state legislators in hopes of inspiring some of you to rise to the challenge presented in this letter. In the last few years my colleagues and I have noticed a disturbing trend in the repair business. What I refer to is a deliberate policy on the part of electronic manufactures to cease manufacturing replacement parts after the warranty expires. These items may include replacement modules (circuit boards) and other items specific to their product that can not be obtained from generic producers. This practice can make repairs impossible to complete. This not only affects me as a repair facility but it has a direct and frustrating effect on consumers. If "Mr. Smith" were to purchase an expensive television today and require service after the warranty expires he may well find that it can not be fixed simply because parts can not be obtained from the manufacturer of the product. He is then forced to throw away the item and purchase a new one. Most folks, as you know, do not have that kind of expendable income and whether it is an expensive television or not he should have the opportunity to have it repaired. As you well know, there are no longer any U.S. manufactures producing televisions. All television-manufacturing companies are now owned and operated by foreign companies and they seem to be dictating the "rules of the game" to the American consumer. I am not willing to accept this as a consumer or a repair facility. Most other people and I can not afford to run out and buy another television every time our TV develops a problem especially if it is an $8,000.00 plasma TV or any of the other developing technologies. This appears to be a blatant attempt by manufacturers to cut costs by not investing in replacement parts. Recently I have found this problem to occur even in sets that are still in warranty. In the end the manufacturer has replaced the broken product with a new one but only after the consumer waits months for the parts or some sort of concession. This is not what the public wants or should be forced to endure and it is most certainly not what I want or expect as a person who is employed in this field. After all this is how I feed my family! There are other issues that may be considered. Service literature is now available in electronic formats but only to those service centers that are authorized by the manufacturer for its products. In many cases this vital literature is not available to the independent service center at ANY PRICE. We need this information available to all Servicers regardless of authorization status but it has not been forthcoming. We need to force this practice to change. The same situation applies to technical support from the manufacturers and needs to be changed if we are to survive in this trade. America can not afford to lose more jobs. We have already given up the art of developing and manufacturing electronic products in this nation. Now we are going to lose the ability to repair the products we buy from other nations. This is not right! I am sure that something can be done about this. What I am suggesting is a law that would require manufacturers to provide replacement parts for a reasonable period of time. Perhaps 7 to 10 years would be appropriate but I leave that decision to you. Perhaps a good place to start would be to examine a California law known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Protection Act. It is also possible that manufacturers are getting around the Moss-Magnuson warranty act by quietly settling one on one with each individual when a parts problem exists. I (We) need your help! As a Legislator you have no obligation to foreign interests but you do have an obligation to me, and other Americans like me. I am very good at what I do and I know that you are an expert in your field. After all this is how YOU feed YOUR family! As an American citizen I am proudly exercising my right to solicit your efforts on my behalf. I feel confident that you can come up with a solution to this problem. I am counting on you to address and resolve this issue at either the state or federal level to the benefit of American consumers and the television repair trade and not to the benefit of foreign big business. Please feel free to contact me for clarification or just to chat about this issue. I will be most happy and grateful to discuss this further with you or your staff. You may find that much useful information can be obtained from NESDA. I am quite sure they would be honored to speak to you about the concerns of their members. To get a feel for what NESDA is all about please visit their web site at NESDA. Stephen H Phillips
Fixing TVs, Digital TVs, and HDTVs in the Pensacola Florida area.
Factory Warranty Authorized Service Center--TV Service and TV Repair
Omega Electronics TV Repair Center is your Factory Warranty Authorized ServiceCenter for RCA TVs, RCA HDTVs, RCA Scenium TVs, RCA Scenium HDTVs, , GE TVs, and ProScan TVs.
Omega Electronics TV Repair is your Factory Warranty Authorized Service Center for JVC TVs and JVC HDTVs. Omega Electronics TV Repair is your Factory Warranty Authorized Service Center for Sony TVs and Sony HDTVs.
02/12/2006