Faulty computer motherboard

jemball

2 months ago my son bought a new £80 motherboard from a large online supplier. (who he has used a lot before) It was faulty and they replaced it fairly promptly. The replacement motherboard was also faulty and he tested it according to their instructions to confirm this.

He returned the board and, after some delay, the supplier claimed that their tests showed no fault. My son said that the fault must be intermittent (fairly logical?), but the supplier asked him to advise what test he suggests to prove an intermittent fault!

Obviously he can't do this and they say that they will not replace the second board until the fault appears. He has asked them to advise of a suitable test but they have not yet replied.

He can't prove that the fault existed or that their test really showed no fault!

Is there any provision in the 'sale of goods act' to help him out?

Leo2020

Within 6 months of purchase the burden of proof is on the retailer. Which means if you claim there is fault with a product and the retailer disagrees with you then they need to prove it isn't faulty. If they can't prove it's not faulty then they have to provide a remedy, i.e. repair, replacement or refund.

However, they have tested the motherboard and found no fault so they have acted correctly. Proving an intermittent fault is very difficult by it's nature. Could your son provide them with details of when the fault occurs, if he hasn't done so already? This could help the retailer with finding the fault.

Also, do you know what the fault is? What tests have been done by your son?

CHR15

I've had this problem with Ebuyer before. I had a defective graphics card.

I returned it and Ebuyer sent it back with a "no fault found" message.

I raised it again and listed everything I had done to test it, tried on THREE different machines, two different PSU, listed the specs of the PSU.... basically, as much info as I could possible give.

They accepted the return then changed it with a "it was found to be faulty" message.

I remain absolutely convinced Ebuyer did nothing to test it. It was defective from the start.

jemball

Thanks to both of you for very helpful replies. The 2nd board never worked at all at home and yet miraculously repaired itself when the supplier tested it! We also tried it with components from another PC including a PSU with no success.

The test which we carried on the suppliers advice was:

Remove the motherboard from the case, remove everything from the board apart
from the CPU + heat sink and then clear the CMOS (refer to your motherboard
manual for how to do this). Place the board on a non-conductive surface, plug in
the main power connector (usually 24 pin) and any extra power connector
(4pin or 8 pin) the case speaker and the power button, and power the system up.
Depending on the board, you may receive a series of POST beeps. Make a note
of these. Add a single stick of memory and power the system again, noting the result.
Finally, add the graphics card (if using one) and again note the resulting POST beeps.
Additionally, try swapping as many components as you can with other compatible
components (PSU, motherboard, CPU, RAM, graphics card) to try to pinpoint the
problem. If you receive no POST beeps at any point or the POST beeps don't
change when you add a component, then please contact us.

Needless to say it failed the above procedure, and we even tested the case speaker on another PC.
So we suspect that the supplier wants to return the 2nd board to us and will then refuse to do anything when it miraculously stops working 'again'?

If either of you can suggest any effective phrases which we can use when we next contact them I would be very grateful.

Blacksheep1979

Leo2020 wrote: »

Within 6 months of purchase the burden of proof is on the retailer. Which means if you claim there is fault with a product and the retailer disagrees with you then they need to prove it isn't faulty. If they can't prove it's not faulty then they have to provide a remedy, i.e. repair, replacement or refund.

nope. The burdon of proof lies with the retailer that the item wasn't faulty at point of purchase, not that it isn't currently faulty - you still have to be able to prove it doesn't do the job it was sold for.

OP - are all the components new? As if the retailer is saying the board works for them with different components it hints that something else your son bought may not be functioning.

pendulum

Although it is possible to get two faulty motherboards in a row, it's very unlikely, even less so now that the supplier has tested the motherboard and claims it is working.

It's most likely to be a problem elsewhere, e.g. with one of the components or items that had a presence on both motherboards, e.g. CPU, power lead (fuse?), PSU... or incorrect fitting/grounding.

Very unlikely to get two faulty motherboards in a row, especially as the supplier claims to have tested the second one and it is working...

woody01

jemball wrote: »

2 months ago my son bought a new £80 motherboard from a large online supplier. (who he has used a lot before) It was faulty and they replaced it fairly promptly. The replacement motherboard was also faulty and he tested it according to their instructions to confirm this.

He returned the board and, after some delay, the supplier claimed that their tests showed no fault. My son said that the fault must be intermittent (fairly logical?), but the supplier asked him to advise what test he suggests to prove an intermittent fault!

Obviously he can't do this and they say that they will not replace the second board until the fault appears. He has asked them to advise of a suitable test but they have not yet replied.

He can't prove that the fault existed or that their test really showed no fault!

Is there any provision in the 'sale of goods act' to help him out?

1. It is perfectly reasonable for the retailer to request the details such as how the problem can be replicated.
2. It is perfectly reasonable for the retailer to do nothing until they have indeed replicated the issue.
3. The retailer, although you are not satisfied, are doing what they are supposed to.

Not trying to sound rude, but if you had any idea about electronics, you would know that an intermitent fault can be very difficult to replicate. It could even be something that your son is doinf (a short in the case/incorrect fitting/poor spacer adjustment).

Why also ask about SOGA when it clearly has no use or application in this case?

jemball

woody01 wrote: »

1. It is perfectly reasonable for the retailer to request the details such as how the problem can be replicated.
2. It is perfectly reasonable for the retailer to do nothing until they have indeed replicated the issue.
3. The retailer, although you are not satisfied, are doing what they are supposed to.

Not trying to sound rude, but if you had any idea about electronics, you would know that an intermitent fault can be very difficult to replicate. It could even be something that your son is doinf (a short in the case/incorrect fitting/poor spacer adjustment).

Why also ask about SOGA when it clearly has no use or application in this case?

Thanks Woody 01. I thought it was clear that the supplier told us how to test the board. Every component which we used in the test came from another working computer (which is still working). We even tested the 'case speaker' which is central to the supplier's test' on another working PC, and it was OK.

It is obvious that the supplier knows full well that an intermittent fault is very difficult to replicate, and I presume that he is claiming that the board gave the right 'posts' when he used the test that he asked us to use. I think that it is the unlikely event of two faulty boards which is influencing his attitude.

Actually my wife has a degree in electronics so we do understand intermittent faults. However this was not a true 'intermittent' fault as the board never worked at all at home but somehow 'recovered' in the supplier's test facility.

What we now plan to do is to follow Chris's advice and list/photograph every component used in the test at home and to copy back to him his test instructions plus any extra tests which we did. We will also give him the option of returning the board but we will advise him that we will immediately put it into our working PC and if then doesn't work we will seek a refund plus compensation for inconvenience and time wasted (probably via the small claims court).

But thanks for your interest, I appreciate it.