“We should all be able to install genuine parts in to adevice that we’ve paid for”

Have you ever noticed the link between technology and officiality? It’s akin to brand snobbery. I’ve watched people declare that using LibreOffice is inconceivable; it has to be Microsoft Word and nothing else. Similarly, we’re conditioned to believe that the professional dealer must service the car because an independent garage might use non-authorised parts. The electronics industry takes these insecurities to another level: it has a track record of actively shutting out independent repair.

Some governments are fighting back. In another move for right to repair (R2R) legislation, the EU has introduced “ecodesign” measures to ensure that electrical appliances will be easier to repair and last longer. Part of the legislation states that producers will make spare parts and manuals available to professional repairers only, which sounds wholly sensible until you stop to ask: how do you define professional?

Our shop opened in 2003 and, if we strip out weekends, holidays and levy an understated average of three fixes a day, it equates to over 12,000 repairs. We are experienced but don’t possess anything