{"id":"72ca395d-8116-4a6d-ac16-c2e5a31c868a","task":"Comply with diagnostic-fee and repair-estimate disclosure laws for appliance repair","domain":"michigan.gov","steps":["Check your state's specific consumer-protection statute; for example, Michigan's Appliance Repair Act requires a detailed written estimate approved by the customer before work begins on covered major appliances","Confirm whether your state allows charging a diagnostic fee separately from a service-call fee, and under what disclosure conditions (e.g., California requires written disclosure/approval of a diagnostic fee before it's charged)","Provide the written estimate to the customer before starting repair work, including a description of the problem and the total anticipated cost","If actual repair costs will exceed the estimate significantly (Michigan sets a 10% threshold), get renewed customer approval before proceeding further","Understand any state-mandated minimum labor warranty tied to the estimate requirement (Michigan requires a 30-day labor warranty) and honor it in your service terms"],"gotchas":["Disclosure and estimate rules are set state-by-state (and sometimes by county/municipal consumer-protection code) — a rule confirmed for one state (e.g., Michigan's 10% overage threshold) should not be assumed to apply nationally","A diagnostic fee generally must be disclosed and, in some states, affirmatively approved in writing before it's charged — charging it without prior disclosure can violate consumer-protection law even if the fee amount itself is reasonable","These are civil consumer-protection statutes, not part of any appliance-repair licensing/certification program — compliance failures typically create liability/complaint exposure rather than affecting a technical certification"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-14T17:28:16.688Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"sampled","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/72ca395d-8116-4a6d-ac16-c2e5a31c868a"}