Help Needed with possible rogue seller

s30jok

Hello

Bought a home computer (nov 2007) from a guy who trades as www.quality-computing.co.uk and asked for it to be overclocked (basically the processor & various components ramped upto their fastest settings)I paid over £1400 with my tesco credit card.

when i got the pc it wouldnt work so spoke to the guy on the phone, it couldnt be sorted at home by me so it had to go back. I mentioned then that i wanted to reject the pc as their was loads of problems and some stuff missing that should have been there when i paid for it.

Basically i was talked out of it by the seller who promised to repair it and upgrade some of the components this was fine and i got the pc back just before xmas. it then failed again and had to go back 2 further times i tried to reject the pc but again was talked out of it with the promise of new and improved bits of kit which were fitted. The seller also pointed out on his website that i couldnt reject the pc because the pc was specially built for me ie it was tailor made different to the normal specs ie customised.

Finally on september 8th this year the hard drive failed and i lost everything all my photos music files etc (some of them were backed up) sent the hard drive back to the seller who admitted in email that it was indeed faulty and would send it back to the manufacturer. I have had one email since explaining that western digital were looking at the drive this was on the 15th september. I have heard nothing since.

I have tried ringing his freephone number on the website on the cached version on google ie 0800 043 1190 also have tried to send numerous emails but to no avail.

what is my next step as i really want to reject the whole thing and get some sort of refund, also does anyone have templates or ideas for a letter i will be writing this weekend to the seller. i have his home address but no phone number he is ex directory

many thanks

Crabman

It's good you paid with your credit card as that entitles you to Section 75 protection. You'll find details on how to make a claim along with full details in the following article:

Protect all purchases for free with Section 75

s30jok

Hello

Many thanks for the info above, is their a time limit on any of these claims, ie i am still within the years warranty for the computer, but from the lack of response from the seller i assume he has folded. I rang tesco (credit card) and they said they only deal with purchases/claims within 4 months, when i mentioned the consumer credit act their pitch changed.

i will fire off some letters this weekend and see what happens

Crabman

There's no time limit (well, there's a limit of 6 years, known as statute of limitations, but don't worry about that yet!) - the key point is that the credit card company are jointly liable, so any claim you make against the manufacturer (e.g. asking for replacement/refund) is also made against them.

If you're right in thinking he's gone bankrupt then this is where the credit card company has to take the place of the retailer in terms of liability.

You could contact Consumer Direct for advice and template letters for the retailer and card company (don't assume they've gone under unless you know for sure)

Stuball_2

The only thing that would worry me is that you asked for the components to be overclocked. Manufacurer warranties are void on any componenets that have been overclocked.