> These laws were made to protect regular consumers when they buy a washing machine to ensure that the manufacturer could not screw them over over the last few decades:

That didn't work out very well. They just found different, more insidious ways of screwing people over.

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buying-advice/washing-ma...

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buying-advice/washing-ma...

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buying-advice/washing-ma...

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buying-advice/washing-ma...

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