By Ian Wright
When a corporation starts to concentrate on shareholder value, year-over-year profits, and regenerative income, at some point, it leads to customers getting milked dry. In this case, the milked dry cliché is apt, because the famous tractor company John Deere has made it hard for farmers to diagnose and repair the vehicles they own for a long time. That holds true for independent repair shops as well.
The result was farmers had to turn to John Deere specifically for help, which isn't always convenient when you have a 50,000-pound tractor sitting dead in the middle of a cornfield. It isn't necessarily inexpensive, either, but there was no choice in the matter... until now.
A $99 million landmark court case has John Deere paying out over its actions, and the implications could spread beyond farm equipment. Automakers may want to check themselves when it comes to forcing customers to use dealerships for diagnosis and repair.
Farmers Won The Right To Fix Their Own Stuff
John Deere doesn't admit to wrongdoing as part of this $99 million settlement, but the extreme amount of money involved could easily set a standard for class-action lawsuits like this in the future. Essentially, the money will go towards paying out for dealer overcharges that occurred as far back as 2018. The lawsuit accuses the farm equipment giant of monopolizing repair services by withholding diagnostic and repair software. And this wasn't a federal case – it took place in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“As we continue to innovate industry leading equipment and technology solutions supported by our world-class dealer network, we are equally committed to providing customers and other service providers with access to repair resources. We’re pleased that this resolution allows us to move forward and remain focused on what matters most – serving our customers.”
- Denver Caldwell, vice president, aftermarket & customer support, John Deere.
The case accused John Deere of conspiring with authorized dealers to force farmers to use them for repair services when farmers could fix tractors and other equipment themselves, or use independent alternatives. On top of that, the allegation is that John Deere and its dealers could then charge higher, “supracompetitive” prices and reap the benefits of an “unlawfully restrained” market. As such, we suspect some bean counters at automakers will have been watching this closely, regarding John Deere as a canary in a coal mine.
Sources: AP News / John Deere
Read the full article on CarBuzz
This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
