After the criticism lodged by UFC-Que Choisir against Nintendo France final September, the Association joins the European Bureau of Consumers’ Unions (BEUC) to set off the European mechanism of “external alert”, and make clear on this recurring breakdown that goes past our borders.
Testimonials collected in 9 European nations
With greater than 9,100 testimonials from shoppers testifying to the defect of their Switch console controllers, the UFC-Que Choisir filed a criticism final yr against Nintendo for deliberate obsolescence. This failure was not particular to the French market; nonetheless, it remained to be demonstrated.
This is what client associations in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece, members of BEUC, launched their very own name for testimonies final December.
A failure that happens very quickly after buy
The consolidated outcomes of those requires testimonials weren’t lengthy in coming, since practically 25,000 European shoppers confirmed having encountered this similar failure, the well-known “Joy-Con Drift”. To the shock of shoppers, the controllers have, typically, suffered this malfunction after barely 1 yr of use (for about 60% of shoppers questioned, and even lower than 6 months for 25%)!
Launch of a European exterior alert
On behalf of the UFC-Que Choisir and the opposite collaborating associations, BEUC launches an alert with the European Commission and nationwide client safety authorities (DGCCRF for France), through the exterior alert mechanism, for misleading, aggressive and unfair industrial practices.
This European action intends to:
- That an investigation be launched at European and nationwide stage into this recurring failure;
- That a binding and joint choice be taken by the buyer safety authorities involved, particularly these to require Nintendo to treatment the untimely failures of those controllers, to restore faulty controllers freed from cost and to tell shoppers concerning the lifespan restricted joysticks.
In addition, the UFC-Que Choisir as soon as once more invitations shoppers who’re victims of those practices to request free restore of their controllers from Nintendo. Our affiliation printed final September a guide accompanying them in this process. Consumers may also share their restore expertise with UFC-Que Choisir via this form.
