Consumer Credit Act for Faulty Dell Laptop

CrazyChemist_2

I had problems with Tiny. Following 21 engineer visits I prepared a file and sent it to Computer Active, but Tiny went 'bankrupt' before it could be published. Then they came back as Tiny.com and claimed they were in no way related to Tiny despite having the same logo, phone number, showrooms, etc. :mad:. Then after three more name changes (Computer Shop, Computer World, The Computer Store) they went down again, hopefully for the final time.

Of course, I don't know why I'm typing this here but I suppose what I'm getting at is that you should send the facts to the magazines that Moglex contacted before something happens to Dell. I work at a University and we have recently switched our PC replacement programme away from Dell and over to HP/Compaq following around 80 faulty units out of a consignment of 500. Their customer service is pants so you may be better off with a refund...

Myosin

I couldn't print the invoices or letter to send to Barclaycard so had to fax it through to their Customer Services number. I haven't had any confirmation through yet so I'm hoping that the chargeback dept will eventually get the 12 pages of info and correspondence I sent through.

Does it matter which magazine I go to about this, i.e. is one better than the other? I really am fed up with this now and would like compensation on top of the refund as even in the sales there isn't anything similar spec at the same price :mad:.

Btw, in case I hadn't already mentioned it - DON'T BUY FROM DELL!!! :mad:

Epiphone

Myosin wrote:

The problem is if I get my £600 back, I'm not going to find an equivalent spec for that price meaning I am actually worse off because of Dell's incompetence. It's a Centrino 1.6Ghz, 40GB, 512DDR2 RAM, DVD-RW, 15.4" TFT, Wi-Fi. I'm not sure if it's possible to get one from anywhere else for that price.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-categories.asp?category_id=265

intel

Epiphone wrote:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-categories.asp?category_id=265

Whilst that link is Very helpful so a Big Thanks...

I would just say that I have had some experience of repairing Acer laptops
and there build is somewhat iffy so are the optical drives and customer
support is pretty well non-existent, and this is via personal experience
via carrying out repairs on them.

CrazyChemist_2

I was about to get an Acer laptop in the next couple of weeks!!

What kind of brand do you see as solid and with good customer service? I'm after an Athlon 64 CPU for a good price. I notice iqon sells in tesco with freephone 7-day tech support - are they any good? (Sorry Myosin; I'm not hijacking your thread I promise! )

Myosin

When I was looking into buying my laptop, the techie guys didn't have too good an image of acer. I didn't feel confident about buying from them so I bought from Dell. Great decision that was! :rolleyes:

I'm waiting for Barclaycard to contact me - they're investigating it atm. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen next but hopefully it will involve me getting a replacement and compensation or a refund. Can but try.

Myosin

OK, Now I am REALLY angry! :mad:

I just opened the Dell box to use the modem cable to connect my laptop to the net and found that the cable that they provided is faulty. If it moves by so much as a few mm, the connection drops, I know it's the cable because when it's connecting initially and I hear the noise, it makes a metallic squeaking sound when I just touch the cable.

It's pathetic I know but is it really by pure chance that on top of my problems with Dell I've now got this to put up with, not to mention the fact that tech support don't reply to emails at all? :mad:

Myosin

OK, I have received the following reply from Barclaycard regarding the Consumer Credit Act claim:

[...]

I refer to our previous correspondence concerning your dispute with DELL COMPUTER CORP.

May I advise that we have made written representations on your behalf to DELL COMPUTER CORP via their bankers in an attempt to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. However, as we are totally reliant on the goodwill of this retailer to respond, I am sorry but we are unable to guarantee whether the outcome will prove successful.

If we do not receive any response from the retailer, or their comments differ from your own, we are not in a position to arbitrate in such disputes.

May I assure you that your claim is receiving our attention and as soon as we have any further information we will let you know.

Yours sincerely,

[...]

So what's this about them relying on 'goodwill'? Isn't the Consumer Credit Act a law and thus legally binding?

Is this 'claim' referring to the refund from Dell or the fact that I am going to claim it back from Barclaycard? Please help!!

jonesMUFCforever

Write back in no certain terms giving them 14 days to refund you under Section 57 of the Consumer Credit Act!
Goodwill of Dell or their bankers is a red herring!
Advise them that the laptop can be recovered from your address at a time convienient to you both.
The person dealing with your query obviously has no incling of consumer law - address your letter to the CEO of Barclaycard and send by Registered post.

Lochranza

Barclaycard may wish to convey the impression to you that that they are somehow only a mediator in this dispute. They are not, they have a greater responsibilty under the Consumer Credit Act. They are equally liable with the supplier of goods which have been supplied and are faulty.

Where you have purchased goods with your credit card, at least for transactions within the UK, and the transaction is for a minimum of £100 up to £30000 this allows the purchaser to seek redress against the credit card company, where the goods supplied are faulty. In theory you do not even have to contact the supply company. However it is good practice to contact the supplier in the first instance, to at least allow them the opportunity to refund or replace the goods.As you have done this, I assume, I haven't read through all the thread, then you must write back to Barclaycard reminding them of their obligations under Section 75 of the CCA 1974. I think it is true in almost all occasions that the initial response from a CC company is to redirect liability away from themselves. If you write to them again and find that their response has not changed then inform them that will refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman. His decision is binding on the company.

There is a web-site for the Financial Ombudsman. The site has a facility for making a complaint. However I am fairly certain if you let Barclaycard know that you do not accept their initial response then you will find them more amenable to your complaint.
All the best.