Laptop nightmare - What are my rights?

swaize

I bought a Sony laptop from dabs.com 14months ago.

After 11 months or so it developed a few minor faults:
1. DVD drive broke
2. Card Reader Broke
3. A few keys were sticking

These things weren't major problems, but not great considering the age of the laptop. As it was coming to the end of it's warranty it prompted me to send it away to get fixed.

I went to the website and went through the returns procedure. It only gave me the option of refund or exchange as the line was dis-continued. I actually wanted a repair as less hassle transferring files etc. I even confirmed exchange was the only option via their on-line chat feature.

So, I sent the laptop off. Over a month later the same unit was returned to me. As I was unpacking it I noticed a screw was wedged between the screen and the keyboard, a panel on the bottom had not been replaced properly & 2 screws were missing out the chassis. Also enclosed was an engineers note saying no faults were found and no work had bee carried out. On testing the laptop I found all the reported faults had been fixed!

I bought this to the attention of Dabs, and included photos of my findings. They flat denied they had repaired it, taken it apart for testing, or sent it away to be inspected/repaired by a third party.

In the end I got them to send me replacement screws for the two missing, and left it at that. I reasoned that despite the shoddy servicing, it had after all been repaired, which is what I had wanted initially. My personal theory is they sent it away to get fixed to avoid having to refund/or replace the discontinued line.

Now a further 2 months later, the returned laptop has developed a serious fault. I believe it the main board or the graphics chip that has gone, which is a non-replaceable part.

It is now 2months out of warranty so I am confused how to proceed. The laptop cost £670 and is out of warranty, but has only lasted 14months. This is obviously not a reasonable life span for a Sony laptop, so...

1. Do I go after dabs.com or Sony?
2. What would be the best way to go about arguing my case?
3. Does the phantom repair job complicate this? Should I not mention it as they denied they did anything to it anyway?

All advice much appreciated.

Thanks.

vikingaero

Your contract is with Dabs so I would pursue them.

Does your Sony have a Nvidia 9600 MGS graphics card as there is a known fault with this card and Nvidia have set aside millions for repair and replacement.

swaize

Quite possibly, I know it is NVidia, but not sure of the model. I will check this out for a start!

Thanks.

Edit - It's a NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT - But looks like it might have the same issue. See thread on here - showthread.html?p=12407399
Sorry, won't allow me to post the full link.

vikingaero

I think whole production of GeForce cards were affected including the 8400MGT.

Google "8400M GT overheat" for loads of threads. It's one thing having loads of threads about a problem and another to persuade Dabs/Sony to repair or replace. It cost me £200 to repair my laptop. The laptop supplier, Zoostorm, and Nvidia, both fobbed me off. I went out and bought my next laptop from different companies and with a ATi Radeon graphics card. NVidia - never again.

swaize

Has anyone had any success getting a free repair or replacement, when a purchased item has just gone finished it's standard warranty?

4743hudsonj

swaize wrote: »

Has anyone had any success getting a free repair or replacement, when a purchased item has just gone finished it's standard warranty?

yes i have

i helps to have the known fault in the nvidea cards

RosyP

Have you checked what the manufacturers guarantee is? I bought an Acer Laptop from Comet and with a 12 month guarantee. I had a minor problem and contacted Acer and found out that their guarantee was 18 months so I was covered.

swaize

RosyP wrote: »

Have you checked what the manufacturers guarantee is? I bought an Acer Laptop from Comet and with a 12 month guarantee. I had a minor problem and contacted Acer and found out that their guarantee was 18 months so I was covered.

The website suggests it is 12 months.

Jaffa.

Same problem here, apart from it's a HP for me... Same Nvidia though. Best thing you can do it replace the motherboard yourself if you can buy a new motherboard or you can get it repaired for about £250, same problem will occur though eventually.

4743hudsonj

Jaffa. wrote: »

Same problem here, apart from it's a HP for me... Same Nvidia though. Best thing you can do it replace the motherboard yourself if you can buy a new motherboard or you can get it repaired for about £250, same problem will occur though eventually.

could it possible be a dv series:P

scullster

I wouldn't have described the faults you originally had as minor but you may have more patience than me.

I'll give my usual response; you're covered under the Sales of Goods Act where you can expect the goods to last a reasonable amount of time for their intended purpose. As its more than 6mths since purchase, the onus is on you to demonstrate the faults are inherent and not as a consequence of wear and tear - in the case of computers, this can be fairly straightforward as PC mechanics are ten a penny but the widely reported graphics fault will also provide weight.

Don't feel that because it is out of warranty, you're at a loss. Write to DABs and remind them as to your statutory rights under SOGA, and the widely reported fault suggesting an inherent fault and that you are seeking a repair by a Sony authorised repairer (given your previous experience). Give them 14d to respond otherwise you will pursue an independent engineers report (costs to be claimed from them) to support a claim against them in the small claims court. Send the letter recorded delivery to their head office.

Providing the laptop isn't dog eared, I'd expect small claims to settle in your favour.