Repairs of smartphones and electronic devices are often expensive compared to the new price. A lot is thrown away. A “right to repair” is intended to remedy the situation.
Defective mobile phones and other devices should be easier to repair in the future. Consumer Protection Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) had already announced this – the consumer centers are now pushing the pace with the planned “right to repair”. The head of the Federal Association of Consumers, Ramona Pop, is hoping for “real progress”, as she told the German Press Agency in Berlin. As a survey shows, many mobile phone users shy away from repairs because of the high costs.
The project of a “right to repair” is anchored in the coalition agreement of the traffic light parties and includes several points. Lemke had announced this as an “important step out of the throwaway society”. From the point of view of pop, certain conditions must be met. The service life of a product must be foreseeable when purchasing it.
Mobile phone repairs are often expensive
In a survey, the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations underpinned the impression that cell phones can often only be repaired at great expense. For common repairs, users have to dig deep into their pockets, especially for cheaper models, as the survey, which is available to the German Press Agency in Berlin, shows.
For the study, 345 repair offers were checked. For a display replacement, 42 percent to 73 percent of the new price is due for inexpensive models. For models over 600 euros, this costs less than half of the new price.
In fact, many do not have their defective cell phone repaired. According to a Forsa survey commissioned by the consumer advice centers, 47 percent of the smartphone owners surveyed whose device had developed a defect in the past 24 months said they would not have it repaired. Almost half of them stated that this would have been too expensive.
Repairability Index
Like Lemke before, Pop named a repairability index as central to a “right to repair”. The consumer advocate said: “Other countries like France are leading the way.” With the French repair index, consumers can judge devices by how well they can be repaired. “That would not only be conceivable for Germany, but also desirable.”
Because many wished that the devices last longer, said Pop. The products should not break down shortly after the end of the warranty, as is often the case. “More and more people are saying: I don’t have to buy a new one right away just because something broke,” said Pop. “But we also see that relatively high repair costs put many people off.”
repair bonus
Pop has another suggestion. “It would be conceivable that a right to repairs could be combined with a repair bonus in order to offset the sometimes high costs,” she said. Of course, when it comes to devices that may not have been quite as expensive, you think about whether you shouldn’t rather buy new. “With a repair bonus, the repair would be supported,” said Pop. “It would then be paid out for certain repair services.”
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A “right to repair” is more up-to-date than ever, Pop said. “Due to the disruption of supply chains, not every product is always available.” Repairing instead of buying new can also bring considerable financial relief in times of high inflation.
(bme)