You can’t trust LG Electronics

There was a time when buying a television meant owning a television. You turned it on, it worked, and unless something physically broke, it stayed that way, and even then your local TV repair man could likely fix it. Today, that assumption is quietly being dismantled.

My experience with LG Electronics isn’t just about a faulty TV. It’s about what happens when companies no longer see products as finished goods, but as platforms they can continue to control long after you’ve paid for what you thought was ownership.

“You’ll own nothing and be happy” …. until you realize you’re definitely not happy and it will be too late!

From Ownership to Ongoing Permission

Modern “smart” devices are no longer static. They receive updates, change behavior, introduce new advertising, new AI features, new privacy implications, and new terms you must accept to keep using functionality you already bought.

As YouTuber and consumer advocate Louis Rossmann has repeatedly warned, this erodes the concept of ownership itself. When refusing updated terms disables core features, consent stops being voluntary. It becomes coercion.

When Updates Break

I bought my LG television in 2020, specifically for its ability to run third-party apps. I don’t watch broadcast TV; the smart functionality was the product, but not even LG, third party apps such as YouTube, Amazon, and JellyFin (an app for playing my local media).

LG regularly pushes software updates that often time blocked all apps unless I accepted their new blanket terms and conditions. I hated this, but at least I could read them, however, really there is no excuse for this behavior. There is no granular control or ability to reject certain changes, such as non-critical alterations.

Years later in 2025, those terms were presented in a foreign language, despite the TV being set entirely to English. In this case there can be no informed consent. Accepting was mandatory to restore functionality I had already paid for. Including apps already installed, including those specifically for my own local media and content. Refusing rendered the TV effectively crippled. This was the straw that broke the camels back for me.

This was not a hardware fault. It wasn’t wear and tear. It was a unilateral post-purchase change imposed by the manufacturer.

The Real Problem Wasn’t the Bug

Companies make mistakes, software breaks, has bugs, but what matters is how they respond, and this is where LG failed. LG’s response was appalling, their primary aim appeared to be to deflect, delay, and deny:

I was repeatedly fobbed off with generic replies.

• They made blatantly false claims that their product was compliant.
• Responsibility was pushed onto the retailer, despite LG having sole control over the software.
• The issue was misrepresented as a warranty problem.
• No meaningful attempt was made to fix or reverse the change.

They offered me no alternative or resolution, they didn’t even offer a copy of the terms in English! After many emails back and forth the best they could offer me was to talk to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Knowing the case was in my favour I took the matter to the small claims court to obtain a refund.

LG even failed to respond to the court case and so lost by default. Even after they defaulted, when I spoke to their legal team they protested they were compliant. They claimed their court response somehow got lost, which is odd given it is easily filed online. Sure, you’ve got a rock solid defense that your entire legal team some how failed to make? What non-sense!

My suspicion is that rather than lose the case on evidence, they allowed the case to default to give them some vague notion of “oops we forgot” because their actions were impossible to defend and would set a precedent for future cases.

Even then after the court ruling it took two months for LG to pay up despite calls, SMS, emails and written demands. I was literarily about to pay the court fee for enforcement action when the money money finally landed in my account.

They didn’t even bother to acknowledge my suggestions about a gap in the market for privacy centric devices, granular consent or “dumb” devices. Perhaps my email with “I assume you are aware of Louis Rossmann” with a YouTube link irked them.

A Broader Pattern, Not an Isolated Case

If a company is willing to ignore clear data protection and consumer rights, fail to engage with legal proceedings, and still claim compliance after losing, why should anyone trust them to respect users when it comes to products, features, privacy, advertising, or AI-driven changes?

Why would you trust them to believe that the product you buy today will be the same tomorrow?

This isn’t just about LG. It’s about an industry moving steadily toward a world where:

• Features can be removed after purchase
• Terms are rewritten unilaterally
• Advertising increases on devices you already own
• Privacy expectations shift without meaningful choice

As for longevity and the future … who can really know?!

Conclusion

Products that once would have lasted decades, were repairable, predictable, and user-controlled are becoming mutable, conditional, and increasingly hostile to the people who paid for them.

“You will own nothing and be happy” isn’t a conspiracy theory, it’s a fact and happening right now. It’s a business model. And LG’s handling of this case shows exactly how little regard some companies have for the legal and ethical boundaries that are supposed to protect consumers.

Televisions still work, but ownership is an illusion and there is little to no market choice.

References

One of the key proponents in the broader dialogue around consumer rights, particularly in relation to repair, data protection, and similar issues is Louis Rossmann. He runs a YouTube channel where he discusses many of these topics in depth. The video below is a good place to start.

• “Change your profile picture to clippy. I’m serious” - Louis Rossmann
• My LG Electronics Small Claims Court Submission
• YouTube Video of the problem
• “UK Small Claims Court”
• ICO - What is valid consent?
• Your rights and legal support