Sony laptop/Marks and Spencer

arsenalboy

I purchased a Sony laptop from Marks 13 months ago. It is outside the 12 month Sony warranty but within the M & S 2 year warranty.
A screw near one of the hinges started to work loose a couple of months ago and through repeated tightening I think the casing has lost its ability to hold the screw. The hinge is now getting loose and liable to break.
I rang M &S and the reaction was "fair wear and tear". After me quoting sale of goods act/fit for purpose etc they agreed (and presumably recorded?) that this should not happen after 13 months.
They said they would ring Sony for advice as they were not sure what to do.
I have now got a message from M & S on my ansaphone saying that Sony would class it as fair wear and tear and therefore M & S take the same view and it is not covered under my 2 year warranty.
Before I go back to M & S I would welcome peoples view. The screw working loose can only be caused by the opening and closing of the lid over a period of time. The screw in question is situated by the processor and is the part of the case which is continually hot.

Thanks in advance.

Esqui

Under Sale of Goods Act, after 6 months from purchase, the burden of proof is on the consumer. If you can get an independent report detailing the fault and its causes, and confirmation that a part failed prematurely, M&S would be obliged to remedy the problem.

You may want to run this by M&S and ask for or agree on who should produce this report for it to be acceptable by both you and them.

arsenalboy

Thanks for that, doesn't that just relate to an inherent fault being proved when something is out of warranty. My laptop is still within warranty but has developed a problem, it is a fact.
Not disagreeing with what you are saying but don't understand?

KeithP

Yes you are right Arsenalboy.

The problem is that Sony say it is fair wear and tear, and M&S agree with them.
Fair wear and tear generally is not covered by any warranty or guarantee.

So to get them to change their mind you need to prove to them that it isn't fair wear and tear.

arsenalboy

I understand what you are saying but want to play devil's advocate to help my thought process and way forward.
If I purchased a brand new car and after 13 months I had a problem with the door because the hinge was working loose, if the manufacturer turned around and said fair wear and tear everybody would immediately disagree. This is because you cannot drive a car without opening and closing the door numerous times.
I don't see a lot of difference in my situation with the laptop. You need to open and close the lid to use the laptop and over 13 months the scews are working loose.
If it can be classed as fair wear and tear the manufacture surely should provide an economic repair which it cannot. If it cannot then the item can only be classed as disposable item. Is a laptop disposable after 13 months? I certainly think not.

KeithP

arsenalboy wrote: »

I understand what you are saying but want to play devil's advocate to help my thought process and way forward.
If I purchased a brand new car and after 13 months I had a problem with the door because the hinge was working loose, if the manufacturer turned around and said fair wear and tear everybody would immediately disagree. This is because you cannot drive a car without opening and closing the door numerous times.
I don't see a lot of difference in my situation with the laptop. You need to open and close the lid to use the laptop and over 13 months the scews are working loose.
If it can be classed as fair wear and tear the manufacture surely should provide an economic repair which it cannot. If it cannot then the item can only be classed as disposable item. Is a laptop disposable after 13 months? I certainly think not.

Well that's exactly the sort of argument that you need to put to M&S.

Explore 'durability' and 'sale of goods act'.

arsenalboy

Have spoken to Marks again today and insisted they listen to the recording of my original phone call when they "agreed" the laptop problem shouldn't happen after 13 months (they are now saying fair wear and tear). They came back to me and said they had a transcript and they could find no reference to this. I asked for a copy and they said £10 admin charge, but then lo and behold they found that they had said that!!!!!
The person went off to check with a supervisor and came back and said "we still maintain this is fair wear and tear even though the opinion of one of our employees is that it shouldn't happen"
This is not the Marks and Spencer I know they are behaving like a very dodgy etailer in the manner that they are dealing with this. They say they are going to look at this again and get back to me tomorrow. I wonder what they will say then??

oldagetraveller

If the other hinge is alright, both have had the same amount of use, then how can they wriggle out using the fair wear and tear argument?
Surely both hinges should have the same durability and both worn and torn equally.
However, I suppose they could also argue the screen/top has continually been opened and closed by pushing/pulling one side only causing uneven wear.
Possibly you should have returned the laptop when the screw initially became loose rather than repeatedly tightening it. It will be marked/damaged accordingly as witness to this too.
The hinges should last longer than 13 months anyway, I'd take it further.
As a comparison, my 3 year old HP laptop hinges are still as good as the day it was bought and I suspect are many others, even older!