faulty HP Laptop (Comet)

DjMack25

Hi Guys & Gals.

I had my house broken into at the start of 2009 and received a pre paid card from the insurance in order to replace some of the goods one of which was an HP laptop from comet.

I bought the laptop in Feb 2009 for £389 (it was a re-conditioned laptop, it came with comets 12 month peace of mind warranty)

The laptop was used for home use until november 2009 where it started to overheat (to the point you couldnt touch it) so i called Comet customer care to report the fault and get it repaired. I was told the laptop would have to be picked up from my home address as it would need to go to a different service centre to get repaired as it was re-conditioned (at this point i had been on the phone for over an hour) it was agreed to would be picked up from my work a few days later. They never turned up to pick it up so when i got home that night i called them again (on the phone for over an hour and a half this time) I was told that i could drop it in to the local store, i said thats not what i got told as it was a re-conditioned laptop the adviser apologised and assured me that i could (i live less than 2 mins walk from the local store)

The next day i went into the local store in handed the laptop in with the charger (2nd December) the adviser took notes of the problem and said that it would lake a couple of weeks.

I returned just before christmas to be told that it had been sent back UNFIXED as they had sent it to the wrong repair centre as it was re-conditioned and that i would have to phone up and arrange to get it picked up from my home address!!!!! After a while arguing with the manager they agreed to send it away to the right repair centre

I got a phone call on the 4th Jan 2010 to say that the laptop was back from repair, when i picked the laptop up there was no charger. the adviser called the repair centre to try and find out where it was ( they said they would look for it that day and if they couldnt find it they would send out a new one, next day delivery)

I took the laptop home and booted it up to find that whoever had been fixing it hadn't finished (was still installing stuff when i switched it on) they had left one of their disc's inside the machine (so they never tested the unit)

i let the install finish by that time the battery was just about dead!! A few days later i still had not heard about the charger so i returned to the local store to complain ( they gave me a temp replacement charger until i got sent a new one) i returned home and put the laptop on charge and switched it on, it would not go passed the windows loading screen!!

Over the next week i was working away so couldnt take it back, when i got home a week later i received a call asking if i could hand the charger back as it was actually another customers charger who's computer was in getting repaired (i was told it was the managers charger when given it. also i still had not received this charger that was ment to be next day delivery and this was 2 weeks later)

At this point i explained i would hand it in that day along with the laptop as it was not working at all and that a disc had been left inside the computer from the service centre. the laptop was sent away for repair AGAIN in mid jan.

I called up Comet Customer Services to log a complaint and was told that a manager would call me back the next day! i'm still waiting 6 weeks later!!!!

i hadn't heard nothing till the start of last week when the local store called to say that the computer may be written off!!! the assistant who was dealing with it said he would call me back before today to advice me, he never did so i called the store tonight to be told he went off on holiday yesterday for a week and would have to wait till he comes back!!!

What can i do about this whole mess?

Can i get a refund? Demand a replacement?

If the computer is not written off can i demand extended warranty as it has been away for a quarter of it's warranty getting repaired!

is there anywhere i can log a complaint and actually be heard!

Thanks Scott

Esqui

Best bet is to ask for a replacement, they've been faffing around too long and messed up too often.

DjMack25

hi thanks for the reply!!

would i be entitled to a replacement?

Esqui

Under the law, the answer to that would be complicated to prove - but they do have to carry out repairs without causing you significant inconvenience. A laptop that has been faulty for over two months sounds rather inconvenient.

I'd probably rate your chances higher if you went and asked for a replacement out of goodwill due to the excessive delay, rather than get into a legal argument. If they refuse, maybe get them to agree to "If your laptop isn't fixed by X-date, they'll replace it"

DjMack25

sounds reasonable! i'll pop in tomorrow and speak to the manager!

thanks very much

clippy_girl

as esqui says, they are required to repair the item if it is reasonable in terms of time and convenience to you and i would say that 6 weeks is not reasonable. you are entitled to a refund or replacement if repair is not reasonable if it is faulty but it would only be a partial one to take into account the use you had before it was faulty. best bet would be to ask for a replacement as would prob be chaeper than buying another one! good luck!

jambosans

If they've stated the laptop's being written off, then they should replace it.