Comet issue

reuben23

Hello, I bought a vaio note book from comet 18 months ago for £900. In that time the unit has required repair twice and is now in need of a third repair as the motherboard is faulty.

It is out of warranty by 6 months. however, there is a warranty in place for one specific component in the notebook which is the graphics card, this is offered by Sony, although is not the cause of failure.

I have written to Comet investigations team and have received the following reply.

We require £60 to inspect the laptop. We can offer a repair, but this would void any manufactures warranties and would be chargable, we do offer a sliding scale of charges, taking into account the units age"

I have had an inspection performed by sony which states the motherboard is faulty and will cost £740 to repair.

I am aware of the sale of goods act and believe I have a case for the durability, satisfactory quality and the free from defect at time of sale part, but could really do with confirmation that I definitely have a case for court proceedings.

*I have to offer comet chance of repair----this I have done but they will void a warranty I wish to keep in place, as the unit has a component inside which is liable to failure. they have offered no further resolution and have left the ball in my court.

*My options I think are the following,

Issue the report to Comet that Sony produced detailing the repair at £740, and seek that figure as damages in small claims. But am sure I need to have paid it before I can claim it.

Pay comet £59 for their inspection. Then haggle for a discounted repair which will void the warranty I wish to keep, possibly going to small claims if not repaired for free. But again I am sure they can offer a discounted repair legally.

Trash the laptop, put it down to experience and shop in a reputable store like JL.

If anyone has ideas then please post, I very much require usefulopinion. Thanks

Welshwoofs

Bought 18 months ago? Even if fixed, it's edging towards obsolete. I'd chalk it up to experience and next time, don't pay over the odds for a badge. Sony's are vastly over-priced and when all is said and done, it's not the badge it's the componants inside that matter...and a no-name badge is quite likely to be using the very same componants Sony does.

ukbill69

Always dell.

reuben23

Thanks for your replies, so the SOGA is effectively a waste of a consumers time?

makapo

reuben23 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies, so the SOGA is effectively a waste of a consumers time?

I don't think so. I've read that the Sale of Goods Act gives consumers better protection than in many other countries.

Whether it's a waste of time for a consumer to take a retailer to court on SOGA grounds, depends on the circumstances.

You could bring a case under SOGA, but you would have to spend money to have any chance of winning, and if you did win the right to a repair you'd still have to decide whether you were willing to have the warranty voided. And you might lose the case, and then you would be out of pocket even further.

Because of those considerations, and the age of the laptop, you might decide to put the money towards a new laptop instead. It doesn't make the legislation a waste of time. You just haven't got a very good case.

MothballsWallet

I'm with Welshwoofs: I'd never buy a Sony laptop. My friend's daughter has one, and it's awful: theirs has keys missing, which makes it difficult to use, and the network adapters (wired and wireless) are from companies I've never heard of.

When I tried to help them clean the viruses off it, the network drivers stopped working, and I was never able to fix it, even though I was able to clean the viruses and malware off it.

I tried everything I could think of, short of wiping the hard drive and reinstalling everything, but they had tons of documents and some other stuff on it that I didn't want to risk losing, plus I didn't have their Sony Windows CD to reinstall from.

My NZ-bought Compaq's a better piece of kit than that, imo, and it's something like 3 and a half years old!

Sol00

Under the SOGA Comet should be repairing this without any cost. Write to their head office advising them of their obligations.

My friend is having problems with Comet as well. He bought an Acer just under 2 weeks ago and it slows down severely after 20 mins use. He has went into the store and has been told he needs to contact Acer; they can't replace the unit or refund his money.

I would avoid Comet.

makapo

Sol00 wrote: »

Under the SOGA Comet should be repairing this without any cost.

Only if it wasn't of satisfactory quality when it was bought.

Independent report needed to confirm that. Or so I understand.

makapo

Sol00 wrote: »

My friend is having problems with Comet as well. He bought an Acer just under 2 weeks ago and it slows down severely after 20 mins use. He has went into the store and has been told he needs to contact Acer; they can't replace the unit or refund his money.

It's Comet's responsibility, under the warranty AND under the SOGA. They have to show it's not faulty. But if they can't show that it's not faulty, they get to choose whether to repair, refund, or replace.

KeithP

I would expect a £900 laptop to last significantly longer than 18 months.

More importantly, I think most Small Claims Court Judges would probably agree.

You already have a statement from Sony confirming the motherboard is faulty. Clearly the product is not durable enough to last a reasonable length of time.

I would be writing to Comet, Recorded Delivery, enclosing a copy of Sony's letter or email, stating that you expect them to arrange for the repair at their cost. Give them say 14 days to respond positively, and tell them that if they don't do this that you will start legal action.

This letter is know as a letter before action. Google it for many sample letters.

Have a look at the Money Claim Online website too.

This other component warranty obviously clouds the issue.
I would include in your LBA something like...
"It is not acceptable that your repair will void the graphics card warranty. If you cannot arrange with Sony for their warranty to continue, then I expect you to provide an replacement warranty for that component for a similar period."

Optimist

makapo wrote: »

It's Comet's responsibility, under the warranty AND under the SOGA. They have to show it's not faulty. But if they can't show that it's not faulty, they get to choose whether to repair, refund, or replace.

Mmm no they don't. The item is 18 months old.

Under SOGA after 6 month the onus is on the consumer to produce evidence that the item had an inherent fault.

That said I agree with Keithp and If I had spent £900 on a laptop which had all the faults described I would be getting rather annoyed and thinking of start action via the small claims route as any reasonable person would expect it to last longer than it has