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Oregon should follow suit promptly! Bring Right to Repair to Oregon

6/5/2022

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Today, the New York State legislature passed an electronics Right to Repair bill: As of mid 2023, manufacturers who sell “digital electronic products” in New York will have to make parts, tools, information, and software available to consumers and independent repair shops. We still await a final signing by the governor, but advocates don’t expect a challenge. . . .

For independent repair shops, this news is huge: Independent shops will finally be able to compete with manufacturers, resisting the repair market consolidation manufacturers have created by restricting access to parts and tools. In a recent California survey, 59% of independent repair shops said they might have to close their doors without the passage of Right to Repair. 

For the rest of us, the passage of this bill means that repairs should become less expensive and more comprehensive: People who want to fix their own stuff can. And your repair experience should improve even if you’re intimidated by the thought of cracking open your laptop or phone (Don’t be! You’ve got this! We can help!). Where before, manufacturers could push consumers to use manufacturer-authorized shops, now they’ll have to compete. Independent repair shops are often able to do repairs the manufacturer told a customer were impossible. Every day, microsolderers like Jessa Jones’s crack team of former stay-at-home moms breathe life back into devices authorized repair shops had written off as dead.   
Gay Gordon-Byrne, Executive Director of the Repair Association, said, “Every consumer in New York is going to benefit from this landmark legislation. We’ll all be able to fix the stuff we like,  stop being forced to buy new things we don’t want, and make it possible for the secondary market to provide high quality options for reuse.”
This bill covers most products containing electronics, but has some notable carve outs. It does not include motor vehicles (these are already handled by a national Right to Repair agreement between the automakers and the aftermarket), home appliances, medical devices, public safety communications equipment like police radios, agricultural equipment, and off-road equipment. We expect to see future legislation address these sectors.

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Outstanding Idea: Stop Auto Dealers From Using Yo-Yo Sales Scams

4/29/2022

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Friend of John Gear Law Office and outstanding consumer attorney Young Walgenkim, along with a stellar cast of other consumer protection experts, has filed a petition with the FTC to stop one of the worst abuses in the entire US market system, the yo-yo sales scam that auto dealers use.

The yo-yo sale is so bad it reminds you of the old saying that "If you think the illegal stuff is bad, take a look at what's legal."

Basically, a yo-yo sale is where you are stuck with the bargain you made but the dealer gets to revoke it … in other words, they get you psychically invested into and committed to the car you bought and often into sinking money into the car, and then they pull it back (the yo-yo) and demand that you, the consumer accept a worse deal or give the car back. And, believe it or not, today, that's legal.

It’s absolutely a shocking and abusive predatory practice that ought to be outlawed in auto sales just like all other forms of consumer contracts. If the deal isn't binding on them, it shouldn't be binding on you.

Read the rulemaking petition below and then contact your congressional rep and your Senators and tell them you agree:

If an auto dealer isn't bound by the contract, the consumer shouldn't be either. 
If a deal's a deal, then it should be binding on both sides or neither side. End Yo-Yo Auto Sales!

2022-04-29_request_for_rulemaking_yo-yo_grppetition_yo-yo_financing_ftc_04-29-22.pdf
File Size: 404 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Veterans: Get Your Free Federal Parks and Recreational Lands Pass

4/27/2022

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Regular Annual Parks Pass cost $80
Cost for Vets: $10 ($5 processing/$5 delivery)

Get it here: https://store.usgs.gov/MilitaryPass

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Tell Congress: Stop Companies from Preventing Do-It-Yourself Repairs!

2/4/2022

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Right to Repair 

The Freedom to Repair Act Will Make All Electronic Repairs Legal


Article by:
Elizabeth Chamberlain @elizzybeth
  • February 2, 2022
Restoring our right to repair what we own is being considered in the US House of Representatives right now. Today, Representatives Mondaire Jones of New York (D) and Victoria Spartz of Indiana (R) introduced the Freedom to Repair Act. The bill would permanently fix an important aspect of copyright law, making almost all electronic repairs legal by default.
Copyright law shouldn’t prevent repair, but the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 made it illegal to circumvent technological protection measures for any purpose, repair included. More and more products have technological protection measures, to the point where fixing your Xbox or Keurig has become illegal. Every three years, we fight to get the Copyright Office to grant specific repair exemptions to the DMCA. We’ve had some success, but the limited exemptions we’ve received don’t allow people to  share the tools or software necessary for these repairs.


The Jones-Spartz bill would simplify all of this. It would clarify that working around digital locks when fixing things isn’t a copyright violation. Making tools and software for those repairs would become legal. All products with embedded electronics are included, with the exception of medical devices. (We’re not thrilled about this exception.)


Nathan Proctor with US PIRG weighed in, “Manufacturers have gone too far by locking repair functions. Congress never intended to outlaw repair. It’s no surprise that fixing this oversight is bipartisan. It’s common sense.” 


Eschewing unnecessary lock-outs also supports technology education, too, as cybersecurity expert Tarah Wheeler pointed out at a right to repair hearing in Washington recently. When “manufacturers restrict the right to poke around in their devices,” she said, it damages the opportunity for “curious minds to explore” and makes it harder for her, as an employer, to find employees with knowledge and skill.


Momentum for Right to Repair is growing. Yesterday, Senator Tester (D) introduced a Federal agriculture equipment right to repair bill. And state bills have moved out of key committees in Washington and Massachusetts this week.
Making more devices repairable will empower recyclers and refurbishers to reduce e-waste by extending the useful life of these products.


“We shouldn’t have to beg permission from the Copyright Office every three years for the right to fix our stuff. Repair isn’t piracy and it’s not how copyrights are infringed. This bill helps make repair practical again,” said Gay Gordon-Byrne, Executive Director of Repair.org. “When passed, this reform will improve choice in repair markets, which means better service at lower costs for consumers.”

Let your congressional representatives know that you support the bipartisan Freedom to Repair Act and the legal right to repair.
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Oregon Consumer Justice grants available for groups helping tenants access or apply for rent assistance

9/1/2021

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Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) is making money available to community-based organizations working to support tenants in accessing rent assistance payments or making applications for rent assistance.

There's more information and a link to the application here: https://lnkd.in/gu7JBAzz

Many organizations, community leaders, and individuals are hard at work trying to help prevent evictions, which are traumatic and have far-reaching impact on people's well-being.

Spread the word about this resource which might help reach community members who don't know there's help available or don't have the ability to access that help.

If you have questions, please direct them to either Janet Byrd at jbyrd@oregonconsumerjustice.org or
Joseluis Maldonado at jlmaldonado@oregonconsumerjustice.org


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Are you behind on your rent or utilities?  Website directory shows the rent and utility assistance programs you may be eligible for where you live.

8/4/2021

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The federal Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) has a website where you can see if there is rental assistance money available that you can access in order to help you avoid eviction for failure to pay rent.

Check it out if you are behind in your rent or utility payments.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/renter-protections/find-help-with-rent-and-utilities/

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Cool:  Apple offers year-round 10% off Apple products for Vets/Active-Duty + immediate family members

7/16/2021

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Check and See -- Does Oregon Have Your Unclaimed Property?

6/14/2021

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Oregon has an unclaimed property registry, currently in the Department of State Lands but moving to the State Treasury Office on July 1.

You should check it once in a while - it's quick and easy.

Just click https://unclaimed.unclaimed.oregon.gov/oregon.gov/ and enter your name.
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Great Idea -- a public credit bureau

12/13/2020

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thehill.com/opinion/finance/529675-after-5-decades-of-private-credit-reporting-its-time-for-a-change?rnd=1607626407

After 5 decades of private credit reporting, it's time for a change | The Hill
Amy Traub and Chi Chi Wu, Opinion Contributors

* * *

Credit reports contain far too many errors for something so vital to our economic well-being, with one in five consumers having an error, and one in 20 having a serious error that would affect their ability to obtain credit or its pricing. Consumers are frustrated by the Kafka-esque system devised by the credit bureaus to process disputes, which often blocks them from getting relief. Credit reports and scores are used for inappropriate purposes, such as employment, insurance, and even immigration (their use is required as part of the Public Charge Rule.) Most critically, credit scores reflect and perpetuate thorny racial disparities, playing a role in financially entrenching America’s original sin.
* * * 
Many of the problems with credit reporting stem from its very nature. An oligopoly of three private companies governs our financial reputations, trading in and profiting from our data. We are captives because we cannot opt out of the system. Instead, creditors and other companies are the credit bureaus’ customers and constituency. There’s not much incentive for credit bureaus to create a system that works better for consumers, including disadvantaged communities. We can see the upshot of this dysfunction where credit reporting issues are often the number one source of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including during this pandemic.

But there is a way forward. Among President-elect Biden’s economic proposals is an innovative plan to establish a public credit reporting agency, based on policy developed by Demos. This solution recognizes that access to consumer credit is a public good and would promote that public good by establishing a public institution to replace the private companies that now control credit reporting. A public credit reporting agency or registry would also be an effective way to build economic power for Black and Brown households by putting equity at the center of its decisionmaking and enabling them to exercise greater control over their economic lives. . . .

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Oregon's Gov. Brown bars creditor garnishments of CARES checks

4/18/2020

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The Governor has wisely ordered that any Oregonian's CARES check be free from garnishments by creditors (except for restitution garnishments for criminal justice debts) during the COVID-19 emergency. The top picture is the key provision. If you want the full text and all the details and definitions, the full order is shown below that and you can download it by clicking on the down-facing arrow.

Kudos to Gov. Brown for acting to help Oregon families survive this crisis in this critical period.
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John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

Our attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so you should not interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, we are not representing you and we are not your attorneys unless you have hired us by entering into a representation agreement with me. While we do want you to consider us when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.  All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2022.

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