Colinjb Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 (edited) Ok, A friend has bought a laptop from PC World and it is suffering from a fault when charging the battery. It will only charge when the plug adapter is not pushed all the way in and at a certain angle. It means it is dying every few minutes and so she cannot take it to uni with her. PC World say it is a motherboard issue, and it has been away and been 'changed,' yet the fault has reccured. She is fed up and wants it swapped for something that works, but they refuse to do this, she and her parents have spoken to various managers, yet they are seemingly appathetic and will only offer repair. What can she do? Edited 5 November, 2008 by Colinjb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 Ok, A friend has bought a laptop from PC World and it is suffering from a fault when charging the battery. It will only charge when the plug adapter is not pushed all the way in and at a certain angle. It means it is dying every few minutes and so she cannot take it to uni with her. PC World say it is a motherboard issue, and it has been away and been 'changed,' yet the fault has reccured. She is fed up and wants it swapped for something that works, but they refuse to do this, she and her parents have spoken to various managers, yet they are seemingly appathetic. What can she do? How long has she had it? If it's not too long then she can demand a refund and buy from a decent retailer. If I were her, I would take it down there with all the packaging and demand a refund very loudly, refusing to leave until she gets one, they will cave in very quickly when other customers leave the shop empty handed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 5 November, 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November, 2008 How long has she had it? If it's not too long then she can demand a refund and buy from a decent retailer. If I were her, I would take it down there with all the packaging and demand a refund very loudly, refusing to leave until she gets one, they will cave in very quickly when other customers leave the shop empty handed She has had it a year and 4 months. So I can see why they may now be so stubborn. It is however covered by insurance. They tried the scene making, no result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 She has had it a year and 4 months. So I can see why they may now be so stubborn. It is however covered by insurance. They tried the scene making, no result. When was it repaired before? Presumably before the 12 month warranty was up. If it is the same issue coming back, then the repair MUST have been warrantied for a further 12 months, thus they are obliged to sort the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 5 November, 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November, 2008 She says: it was repaired 2 hours ago and it's still not working even though i checked instore and it was then but now not. it's covered by insurance not warranty and on the back of the repair thing it says if the fault occurs again within 3 months repairs are free but the repairs were free anyway because of the insurance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 The easiest way to cut through all the crap is to say to PC World that since they have failed to resolve the issue, they have 48 hours to issue a full refund or be issued with a County Court summons for a full refund and compensation for expenses incurred. If you use the 'small claims' procedure, taking out a summons costs about £25, which is fully refunded by the defendant either when they lose or when they settle beforehand. (and by the way, lawyers are barred from the small claims system, so big guns like PC World can't make the process expensive) I'd be amazed if she didn't get a full refund within minutes of threatening court action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 5 November, 2008 Author Share Posted 5 November, 2008 She again says: i don't have time to take them to court and if threatened them i'd probably fail. the insurance paper said they have 6 weeks to repair a product or if it is unable to be repaired they will give a refurbished product (no thanks) or vouchers to the equivalent of original price so i'm going to try saying that it's obviously unable to be repaired as they haven't managed it so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 Hmmmmmmmm There's always the old drop it on the floor trick - foot got caught in the power cable - beyond repair, and needs replacing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted 5 November, 2008 Share Posted 5 November, 2008 Courts aren't interested in insurance documents, which often flout the law. In a case like this, they're only interested in the Sale of Goods Act. It's an open and shut case in my view, and she'd get a complete refund instantly so long as she demanded to talk to the manager - or someone who can actually make a decision. I've used this tactic in the past and it has never failed. Just needs a polite but firm approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Agree with Roman,this is nothing to do with insurance,and may even be outside of the extended warranty.After 16 months usage though it may be difficult to demonstrate it is a manufacturers defect. I had similar problems with Evesham btw,after less than a couple of month use of a computer.They proved to be a fairly obdurate bunch of arseholes to deal with as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Every manager is going to dig their heels in unless they represent a very good company [note my opinion of PC World then]. She's within her rights to demand a replacement as the previous action by PC World has not cured the problem. The machine has not been fit for purpose. Don't be put off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Take a fold up chair, the laptop and perhaps a megaphone Use some imagination for the rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnet Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Why dont you just by a new power supply? You could probably get one of Ebay for £15 job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesaint sfc Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Not fit for purpose surely could be said here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyFartPants Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 Silly question, but has she checked the cable hasn't got a dodgy connection or break in it that requires this angle you mentioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 The moral of the story is don't buy your PC from PC World. I went in for a new PC and found myslef in negotian with an Asian salesperson for a Dell Inspiron 530. I offered £50 less than the marked price and after him to-ing and fro-ing with his manager would only reduce it by £40 - so i politely told him to ram it. Went into Currys (who own PC world) and got the same PC for £120 less than PC World. My old fail safe tactic of asking whether they sell insurance (as i like to protect such a valuable thing) during the initial enquiries did the trick and i got a £60 reduction on the marked price - the salesman always reduce if they think the're gonna get comission for selling insurance. Then once i was at the till said "nah, i'll leave the insurance thanks all the same". The look on their faces is priceless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyFartPants Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 The moral of the story is don't buy your PC from PC World. I went in for a new PC and found myslef in negotian with an Asian salesperson for a Dell Inspiron 530. I offered £50 less than the marked price and after him to-ing and fro-ing with his manager would only reduce it by £40 - so i politely told him to ram it. Went into Currys (who own PC world) and got the same PC for £120 less than PC World. My old fail safe tactic of asking whether they sell insurance (as i like to protect such a valuable thing) during the initial enquiries did the trick and i got a £60 reduction on the marked price - the salesman always reduce if they think the're gonna get comission for selling insurance. Then once i was at the till said "nah, i'll leave the insurance thanks all the same". The look on their faces is priceless. Might have to remember that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red&white4life Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 My brother in law had an "issue" with a PC from PC World a couple of years ago. He only got any action when he e-mailed the chairman dirctly. He got a full refund within a week. If you want i could ask him if he still has the e-mail address? Let me know. Col. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 My brother in law had an "issue" with a PC from PC World a couple of years ago. He only got any action when he e-mailed the chairman dirctly. He got a full refund within a week. If you want i could ask him if he still has the e-mail address? Let me know. Col. I always find a letter sent recorded delivery to the Chairman / Chief Executive gets the desired result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 6 November, 2008 Share Posted 6 November, 2008 How long has she had it? If it's not too long then she can demand a refund and buy from a decent retailer. If I were her, I would take it down there with all the packaging and demand a refund very loudly, refusing to leave until she gets one, they will cave in very quickly when other customers leave the shop empty handed On a Saturday afternoon when there will be a lot of people in the shop. they'll do anything to stop you blabbing about their crap merchandise to all and sundry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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