Pc problems within warranty and Comet

laurieabc

Apologies if this is in the wrong section but was not sure where to post.

In April 2009 I purchased a pc for my son from Comet, the pc purchased was sold to me specifically for gaming the tower itself cost me £599, everything was fine with the pc until June 2009 when the pc would shut itself off no warnings or any error messages and it would then have to be manually restarted.

I got in touch with comet who told me I had to contact the manufacturer which I did and they arranged a repair, ten days later the pc returned with a new motherboard and harddrive, apparently the ones removed where faulty.

Pc was running fine from June to beginning of December 2009 when out of the blue the same problems started occurring again it would switch itself off and have to be manually restarted, it seemed at first to do so when any game was being played, now its doing it with just adobe flash running which is needed by my son for his college course. ( bear in mind this pc was sold as a gaming pc, it does have a really good graphics card and memory installed in to it which was in the machine when purchased). Again I ring Comet and again they tell me its the manufacturer I should speak too so today I have done this and they are picking the PC up again tomorrow for another repair,

I spoke a couple of weeks ago to trading standards regarding Comets attitude to this problem with the pc, and they told me that having two repairs should be enough for if the problem occurs again that I should be entitled to either a full refund or a replacement machine, the years warranty is up in april and to be honest I am expecting it to do the same again as the second occurrence of problems is identical to what it was doing before the first repair.


Does anybody have any idea where I stand with this and what should be my next move if this happens again? Sorry for the long post and hope it makes sense to you reading it.
Thanks

timberflake

Well firstly, you can't ask for a replacement or refund because it might happen again. However, if it does happen again, I would contact Comet as the onus is on them (as the retailer) to recify any problems, not the manufacturer.

Even when you're out of warrenty, you may have grounds to claim under the sales of goods act, however, you will have to be able to show that there is an inherent problem with the system, which you should be able to do if the same problem occurs for a third time.

isplumm

laurieabc wrote: »

now its doing it with just adobe flash running which is needed by my son for his college course.

Hi,

Have you thought of putting this on the technical board here .... cause it sounds like Flash is forcing it to crash .... do you have the latest patches for it?

Mark

laurieabc

Hi yes all the latest adobe flash software patches are up to date its not just flash though its games also, when it was sent back the first time they bench tested it for ten days and said the problem was because of a faulty mainboard and also the harddrive, its being collected again tomorrow so I shall see once returned if it is the same faults again, to be honest with you though if it is the same problems again I will be seeing legal advice on this because whilst I understand certain problems can occur to have mainboards failing in such a short space of time is a bit much, and the pc was in fact sold to me as a gaming pc - specwise it should have no problems at all with any games but I think its more of defect in these particular machines. shall let you know what the outcome will be with this.

letters being written now to Comet headoffice and the particular store to see what they say!

laurieabc

timberflake wrote: »

Well firstly, you can't ask for a replacement or refund because it might happen again. However, if it does happen again, I would contact Comet as the onus is on them (as the retailer) to recify any problems, not the manufacturer.

Even when you're out of warrenty, you may have grounds to claim under the sales of goods act, however, you will have to be able to show that there is an inherent problem with the system, which you should be able to do if the same problem occurs for a third time.

Yes I agree its definitely Comet that should be doing something about this, but they insist it has to go to the manufacturer, and they will not budge on this. I am now though as preciously mentioned writing letters and sending recorded delivery to Comet Store and their Headoffice to see if they will do a replacement machine, I know one thing for certain I wont be buying anything from Comet again!

chris024

Hey there

I saw that you posted in my thread about having the same issue with comet/Acer so I thought I would have a look to see what your thread was all about.

Snap! The tower which I purchased in late March 09 was an Acer and was brought from Comet and the price was £599. I can’t remember the exact model off the top of my head. But yes it has a decent graphics card and the case looks a bit flashy with orange markings around the outside and a touch screen media centre thingy on the case.

In October 09 my computer had the exact same problem as yours (random shutdowns for no specific reason)

Although I did not find it linked to Abode flash in particular. It seemed to occur after 30 minutes of gaming or so and an hour after general internet browsing.

So I rang Comet…got the same story ring the manufacturer. Which I did and I got the unit sent back to me within a week and a half with a note saying that they had updated the bios and reaseated the motherboard.

Ok. So I switch the computer on, no shutdowns but within 10 minutes one of the fans is going extremely fast (4,500rpm) and making a hell of a lot of noise!. The speed & noise was constant too and would not go back to normal unless I restarted the computer and had the same problem again.

So computer was sent back a second time, received back within 2 weeks saying that they had replaced the motherboard. I got the computer back and the exact same problem with the fan.

Computer was sent back again on the 11th December, (which I just received back yesterday after a month!) Stating that they have replaced the CPU & thermal module & that they have done VGA testing and ran it for 4 hours and the fan was ok

Now my monitor will not detect a signal from the DVI connection on the computer (think it is called that) but will do so via HDMI… which is weird. It looks like they have mucked around with the graphics on the computer as I have a 24inch screen and the pixel resolutions required for that are not available as an option anymore in the control panel.

I did not get much time to test the fan stuff but so far it still makes a lot of noise, not as much as before but still far more than when I first had the initial shutting down problem. It seems to change speed a lot. That was just with 10 mins of internet browsing though, not tried any games yet I will test it fully tonight & over the next few days.

So this might be the fourth time it has to be taken back, like I said in my other thread I will have to look at my options.

I have seen someone from Comet reply to posts on here. Maybe he can help both of us please?

I was told from Comet that they will only give you a replacement/refund if it has been taken back to Acer 4 times and escalated through them.

Good luck with your computer! I have completely lost my patience with the whole thing and will not buy anything from Comet again!

Freddie_Snowbits

One way to cure heat problems on a lap top. Place on a board or table, not a settee, carpet or bed as this clogs up the wir vents.

For a tower, if this is sat on a floor carpet or secluded in a corner, this may also cause problems.

Best remedy, get the hoover out with the dusting brush and go around all the vent holes etc. If you are up to it, gte the back of the darn thing, and wiz around in there. Does wonders. (DO NOT DO SO IF UNDER WARRANTY)

chris024

Thanks for the suggestions Freddie

My tower is not on a carpet but on a stand and yep it is still under Warranty but is past the 6 month mark and has the stickers on the back of the case. Which I am not touching!..as it will be any excuse from Acer/Comet

timberflake

laurieabc wrote: »

Yes I agree its definitely Comet that should be doing something about this, but they insist it has to go to the manufacturer, and they will not budge on this. I am now though as preciously mentioned writing letters and sending recorded delivery to Comet Store and their Headoffice to see if they will do a replacement machine, I know one thing for certain I wont be buying anything from Comet again!

They can claim its nothing to do with them as much as they want, but the law states that it is the retailer that must rectify the problem. Why not give trading standards a call to confirm.

All companies like this ie Comet, Currys, PC World etc are a bunch of jokers and are only interested in taking your money and getting you out of the door! Lesson learned for the future, don't buy from these clowns.