What are my rights with a 16 month old PC

smittenkitten

Hello

I brought a HP pc from Pc World in June 2008 I now have problems with my hard drive - which basically I need a new one

I have phoned PC world and they say the warranty is for one year only, i tried to say that i dont expect a PC to break down after 15/ 16 months but didnt continue as wasnt too sure if the sale of good act covered a PC

I have looked after my pc, made sure its virus protected, well ventilated etc etc and didnt expect i have to change it quite so soon

does anyone have any advice, quite happy to continue to follow this up if the law is on my side

many thanks

BaileyB

Find out the make of the Hard Drive and contact them as normally Hard Drives come with a good warranty on them, 3-5 years etc.

sco0ter

The sales of goods act will cover you if you can prove that the fault was there when you bought the PC.

yorksrabbit

smittenkitten wrote: »

Hello

I brought a HP pc from Pc World in June 2008 I now have problems with my hard drive - which basically I need a new one

I have phoned PC world and they say the warranty is for one year only, i tried to say that i dont expect a PC to break down after 15/ 16 months but didnt continue as wasnt too sure if the sale of good act covered a PC

I have looked after my pc, made sure its virus protected, well ventilated etc etc and didnt expect i have to change it quite so soon

does anyone have any advice, quite happy to continue to follow this up if the law is on my side

many thanks

HP's quality control is probably no better or worse than that of other industry majors but the failure of the hard drive (which won't have been manufactured by HP) after so relatively short a time is unfortunate.

You were well advised to proceed cautiously on this one because the computer, as a totality, doesn't need replacing, only that particular component.

As BaileyB correctly points out, many hard drive manufacturers provide longish warranties, so if you know the make of the hard drive (if not, it's easy enough to find out: run BELARC or Everest Home freeware to analyse your system -- assuming, your drive is still capable of some operation) send a Signed For letter to the PC World store manager, explaining your situation and asking if the company would kindly take the computer in for repair and swap the faulty hard drive for a new one.

Such a swap-over is not time-consuming or labour intensive (even for PC World) and the company may well be able to claim back on manufacturer returns arrangements where the hard drive manufacturer is concerned. The cost of the hard drive (to PC World) isn't going to be astronomic, either.

As for proving that the hard drive was faulty at the time of purchase, I don't see how any such proof is remotely possible: either the thing worked as it should at the time of purchase, or it didn't.

* It may not be easy to get through to the store itself by phone -- it certainly isn't with some of these retailers, who have one contact number for all stores. However, a quick visit to the store should yield you the name of the manager there -- again, just ask politely.*

Good luck.

moonrakerz

Read, read again, then read again.........

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html#

Lewie

At this early stage the sale of goods act doesn't come into it.
That is fine if we are talking about a solitary item like a toaster or something.
We are talking about a HDD (hard disk drive), perhaps. (One of many components that make up the workings of a pc)
I say perhaps because no details have been given.
Why does the OP think it is the HDD that is at fault?
smitten, have you tried a diagnostic test?
Do you know what make the HDD is? (If so go to their website and look for a diagnostics test).
If not go to http://www.majorgeeks.com/EVEREST_Free_Edition_d4181.html and this util will tell you almost everything you need to know about what you have on your computer.
What has happened to make you think the HDD has suddenly stopped working?
You may be right, i can't tell from here but usually it is user error that causes the problem.
Can you give more details of the problem?
I know, if you are not used to them, that it may seem that the 'damn computer' is at fault but it could be one of a hundred things.

stebiz

Had a similar thing happen with PC world and a motherboard. That too was 16 months. The guy in store laughed me out when I said it wasn't 'fit for purpose'. The manager was slightly more understanding, but I was no better off. Spoke to head office. They asked for an independent report, which I got. I received a refund, minus 16 monhs usage.

Stebiz