This morning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it ordered Harley-Davidson and the maker of Westinghouse generators, MWE Investments, to amend their warranties after the companies allegedly illegally restricted customers’ right to repair.

According to the release: 

• “Both companies were imposing illegal warranty terms that voided customers’ warranties if they used anyone other than the companies and their authorized dealers to get parts or repairs for their products”
• The FTC also alleged that Harley-Davidson failed to fully disclose all the terms of its warranty in a single document, requiring consumers to contact an authorized dealership for full details
• The companies are ordered to amend warranty terms, inform customers of their warranty rights, and “direct authorized dealers to remove deceptive display materials, train and monitor employees, and not promote branded parts and dealers over third parties”

The FTC alleges that the actions by the companies harmed consumers and competition in multiple ways, including:

• Restricting consumers’ choices
• Costing consumers more money
• Undercutting independent dealers
• Reducing resiliency

The vote by the FTC board was unanimous, 5-0. 

To read the full release from the FTC click here.