Consumers' right to repair defective electronic products

Currently, the manufacturers attempt to restrict the owners and third-party repair shops from repairing electronic products, such as specifying the terms under warranty and limiting spare parts. Therefore, the consumers have been forced to receive authorised service only. When the consumer’s product got a defect made by themselves or others, the manufacturer will not be liable, and the consumer has four choices: 1) requiring the original equipment manufacturer or authorised provider to repair the product; 2) using the service of a third-party repairer; 3) attempting to repair it by themselves or 4) discarding and replacing. Under this condition, however, the manufacturer will not provide the spare parts and essential information to be able to repair by owners and third-party repair shops. So, there are only two choices left, requiring the original equipment manufacturer or authorised provider to repair the product or trashing it. The consumers’ right to repair seems unobvious in Thailand because Thai Civil and Commercial Code and Thai regulations relating to Consumer protection do not specify the right to repair. Consumers have to spend more money on repair services of the manufacturer. This thesis aims to study the consumer protection law in Thailand and extensively acknowledge the background, purpose, and scope of consumers’ right to repair in foreign countries. The study mainly analyses relevant laws of the United States: the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Fair repair Act. This thesis discovers that the Fair Repair Act of the United States introduced into Congress will enhance the consumers’ right to repair by forcing the manufacturer to provide their consumers and repair shop with spare parts. In Thailand, the right to repair seems alien to consumer protection law. The study finds that Thailand should adopt the right to repair to protect consumers from unfair practices. Therefore, the author would like to propose the new regulation and provisions which protect the consumer from the unfair practice of manufacturers. Firstly, the regulation should mandate the manufacturers to distribute the spare parts, equipment and information at “the equitable price”. The manufacturer has to consider the ability of users and repair shops to afford the parts, equipment, or documentary. Secondly, the regulation shall provide a specific provision to prevent consumers from unfair terms. For example, the manufacturer shall not specify the warranty clauses that compel the consumer to receive only the manufacturer’s service.