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575 points gausswho | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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pjmlp ◴[] No.44507998[source]
The consumer protection laws are so bad the other side of Atlantic.

Most European countries, have their own version of consumer protection agencies, usually any kind of complaint gets sorted out, even if takes a couple months.

If they fail for whatever reason, there is still the top European one.

Most of the time I read about FTC, it appears to side with the wrong guys.

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mrtksn ◴[] No.44508884[source]
True but generally speaking American companies usually have much better customer service and better refund policies than European ones. The issues usually stem when a company corners the market or has no viable alternatives.

So maybe the American way of doing things can also work if a healthy competitive environment is preserved.

The problem lately is that American companies have become monopolies and the formula firms extracting profits or stock hikes for the shareholders dictate that they screw the user up until barely legal territory.

So maybe America can roll without consumer protection laws and agencies if they can fix the business environment.

They just need to find a way out of enshittification, a process US companies perfected.

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mokash ◴[] No.44509221[source]
>True but generally speaking American companies usually have much better customer service and better refund policies than European ones. The issues usually stem when a company corners the market or has no viable alternatives.

this does not track with my experience

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mrtksn ◴[] No.44509287[source]
Any examples of American company having worse customer experience than European ones?

I will give you 2 for the opposite: Amazon and Apple do no question asked refunds all the time. Much higher bar than European regulators require.

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1. makeitdouble ◴[] No.44509866{3}[source]
Isn't it best if you don't need refunds all the time ?

Ordering on French consumer shops I got exactly what I asked for, at a reasonable price in a reasonable time.

Product descriptions are actually helpful and there is little risk to get some fake product instead.

Amazon's customer support was incredibly helpful, but that's not what I want to pay for.

FWIW, I moved to AliExpress for the stuff I'm ok to gamble with.