Consumers demand ‘end-of-life service date’ disclosure: Survey

Consumers demanded that said disclosure be made mandatory for all high-value serviceable products like automobiles, white goods and gadgets

More than 80 per cent of household consumers demanded an upfront ‘End of Life Service Date’ disclosure to be made mandatory for all high-value serviceable products like automobiles, white goods and gadgets, revealed a survey by LocalCircle, a community social media company.

Timely availability of spare parts and accessories for high-value products like automobiles, gadgets and white goods has been a consistent complaint, the company said in a statement.

“Imagine an expensive car being in a not usable state, waiting for a spare part for 45 days or a three-year-old smartphone model, outside of warranty where a consumer cannot find a replacement for their cracked screen. Thousands of such instances have been cited on LocalCircles from consumers across the country,” it said.

About 47 per cent of household consumers surveyed have one or more high-value products but no spare parts/accessories support from brands, as per the survey.

The findings of the report also revealed that at least 75 per cent of the respondents wanted the government to mandate end-of-life service support for a minimum of five years.

Unlike Europe, which has a policy that mandates a minimum service period for each of their products, India lacks one, said Sagar Gupta, Director, Ekkaa Electronics, an LED TV designing and manufacturing company.

“There is a need for an exit policy in India. The government should put safeguards to protect the customers,” Gupta said.

In other high-value goods like automobiles, too, India has seen numerous customers raise complaints when top companies including Ford and General Motors shut their businesses in the country.

Besides customer dissatisfaction, the current aftersales model also led to increased waste generation in cases of gadgets. In 2018-19, an estimated 7.71 lakh tonnes of e-waste was produced by India, which rose to 10.14 lakh tonnes in 2019-20, an increase of about 31 per cent, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the report said.