[B Grace]

Have you looked at the recourse routinely available without resorting to a lawsuit in many (most) other countries in the Western world? We have a thread here about poor warranty service and months long delays for parts. In the US there is nearly no recourse for the consumer, but in many countries the company is obligated to repair or replace under warranty within a specified time limit and if they do not there are severe penalties. The US is NOT consumer friendly compared to Canada, UK, Germany, France, etc., etc., etc. when it comes to claims of inferior product, poor performance, etc.

It's true that some countries have specific laws in place protecting consumers with defined requirements for the manufacturers but many of those countries also include requirements for and restrictions on the consumers. No class action lawsuits. No unwarranted free gear replacements.

One result from the Nikon D600 action here in the US is that I, the original owner of a D600 which has never had any problems, am entitled to one free shutter assembly replacement for my camera for any reason for as long as I own the camera regardless of how many shutter actuations it has recorded. Is that something which could happen anywhere but in the US?

[Docrwm]

It's true that some countries have specific laws in place protecting consumers with defined requirements for the manufacturers but many of those countries also include requirements for and restrictions on the consumers. No class action lawsuits. No unwarranted free gear replacements.

One result from the Nikon D600 action here in the US is that I, the original owner of a D600 which has never had any problems, am entitled to one free shutter assembly replacement for my camera for any reason for as long as I own the camera regardless of how many shutter actuations it has recorded. Is that something which could happen anywhere but in the US?

Took thousands of dollars, lawyers, and many months to get what would have been mandated elsewhere. Consumer protection is not the US's strength. All I am saying is that many warranties by multinationals are written with full awareness that they MUST provide more to the consumer than is in the warranty. Thus the warranty does several things - it limits their liability if the owner goes outside that locale, puts a false limit on those unaware of their legal rights outside the warranty, and helps protect their own authorized dealer network Maximum Assurred Pricing scheme by somehow implying that even though they manufactured the units all at the same factory they are not liable for repairing faults in their units if they were sold outside their desired channels. How do you think "Grey Market" items become "Grey"? Are they stolen? Almost never. They are sold out the back door by ADs and official importers because the manufacturers requirements to be "official" are abusive. So, a real, genuine item is an orphan even though the consumer did nothing wrong, bought from a legitimate business (licensed, pays taxes, etc. - not necessarily an AD) because the company is looking to minimize its exposure. This is a huge issue for luxury watch ADs. Omega, as an example, has been the subject of many articles on this topic.