Currys and manfacture warranty

rossiboy1

My daughters laptop went bang all on its own while sitting idle.It went back to currys"s under the 1 yr man warranty. Currys promise to repair or replace in 28 days.So far they have had it over a month. Went into shop today,they say they dont know whats wrong with it.But there warehouseman relayed that they suspect it to be damaged! Of course it damaged what would be the point in sending a fully working laptop for repair.Also to point out that this laptop has not been dropped nor any other household misshap has come to pass like spilling coffee ect.However they cant replace because they cant say whats wrong with it and the store manager needs that comfirmation.As to when he will get that.The storemanager says he has no idea. even though all this is now outside the 28 days.Meanwhile nothing is done and the only advice currys offered was to return it to me un repaired.My daughter still has no laptop and i feel conned just as if i bought it of the back of a lorry!

AndyAndyAndy

Regardless of their own policies the law stipulates that if you claim a product was sold in a faulty condition within 6 months of purchasing that product the onus is on the retailer to prove otherwise. A formal signed letter stating that you require either a repair or replacement within a reasonable period (14 or 21 days should be plenty). Unfortunately this time period will begin from the date of reciept of your letter not the month or so ago. It is also worth stating that you have a right to cancel the contract (therefore returning their goods and receiving a full refund) and you may take up this option either immediately or upon the possible failure of the retailer to comply. Upon non-compliance you can report to trading standards and/or go to small claims. You can quote the Sale of Goods act 1979 relevant sections HERE.

I know that some of this is drastic (going to court especially) but I feel it's best to know what you can do if the worst happens before you begin it might also help fashion your letter.

I hope that helps strengthen your position and you manage to get your problem resolved speedily

rossiboy1

Thanks for your help.Unfortunatly the laptop was purchased last august so it is near the end of the 1 yr warranty. Does all still apply?

AndyAndyAndy

It applies but the onus is on you to prove that the laptop was inherently faulty when it was supplied to you, much trickier to do. If you can prove it more likely than not then you still have rights of replacement repair or refund. I misunderstood before and assumed it was new when it broke, appologies

rossiboy1

Thanks again for your reply,No worries. The laptop had to be returned only recently few weeks before due to broken key,Where was informed they had to replace the whole keyboard.!! couple weeks later it blows up lol.
My onus is the fact that the goods should last longer than the warranty as warranty is basically a bet between you and the the retailer,esp with these extended warrantys,They betted that it would last a min of one year and lost.After the year then i would have no complaints that i lost the bet so to speak lol.Also the 1 yr warrenty thought meant but it was gauranteed for 1 year,So really my argumaent is that the product was not fit for purpose,rather than inherantly faulty! if u see where im comin from many thanks again m8

Also Just to add that in realterms what u actually suggest is that a years manifacture"s warranty is infact in real terms only a 6 mnth warranty in all purpose.
If that is the case im quite shocked and will consider my options confronted with any major purchase.If that is the case i might as well look for second hand options,And things what fall of backs of lorries, or from m8"s of m8"s in pubs.ect lol. Since that seems to offer me more or less the same level of consumer protection,For maybe considerably less money,than a so called reputable retailer. Thanks again though for your help please excuse me rant lol

Esqui

The manufacturer's warranty exceeds your rights (it's not a 6 month warranty - it's completely separate to the SoGA). But it still doesn't cover deliberate damage, which is what's being claimed here. Then you must fall back on the law.

rossiboy1

Esqui wrote: »

The manufacturer's warranty exceeds your rights (it's not a 6 month warranty - it's completely separate to the SoGA). But it still doesn't cover deliberate damage, which is what's being claimed here. Then you must fall back on the law.

Thanks, Yes there is damage,That burning smell when something has blown,When the comp was sitting idle.No other damage was ever done by myself not so much as a scratch.However im wondering If they themselves did the damage as When they had it before they replaced the keyboard and imagine u have to open the laptop in order to do that,Now I think of it we only had it back about 2 weeks before this thing happened! Is there any connection i wonder??? Where would i stand if it were them that caused the damage...How should i proceed ??? cheeers m8 as im up the creek here wondering what to do next. all v best thanks again

Esqui

It really would be a case of proving that the damage was either caused by the repair to the keyboard, or that it was caused by a manufacturing fault.

Or, did anyone in store actually phone up the repair centre to find out what was going on with it? That might be a first point of call.

rossiboy1

The assistant spoke on the phone,From her i gathered that it has not been even looked at and she apologised.After expressing it was not satisfactory the manager interviened and tried the i can only apologise approach before apparantly trying to help me by suggesting i take it back broken,and seek independent inspection. The usual stuff it seems as he seemed well versed in his fobb off aproach which big companies send there managers off to seminars with so called customer liason experts armed with a perm markers and a whiteboard!lol So when the Robot/Manager could not get round me with his speech,then came the statement that the engineers seem to think it is DAMAGED! but he is not an engineer and dont know when they will know,By now i imagine its in a million pieces after being kicked around to be sure,I do not trust them one bit,Esp if u upset them and dont conform! After going round in circles for some time i then advised him that it was pointless continuing,I will be speeking to a solicitor also reporting this to the police and am considering demonstrating outside the store,As i notice i was sucsessfull in completely emptying the store of customers many people heard my situation and decieded to walk along to comet instead.Wonder how many mornings they could take of that. In the meantime i am also persuing HP who are the manafacturer and have always found there after care service first class till now.Plus am now looking into county court action.

OlliesDad

rossiboy1 wrote: »

The assistant spoke on the phone,From her i gathered that it has not been even looked at and she apologised.After expressing it was not satisfactory the manager interviened and tried the i can only apologise approach before apparantly trying to help me by suggesting i take it back broken,and seek independent inspection. The usual stuff it seems as he seemed well versed in his fobb off aproach which big companies send there managers off to seminars with so called customer liason experts armed with a perm markers and a whiteboard!lol So when the Robot/Manager could not get round me with his speech,then came the statement that the engineers seem to think it is DAMAGED! but he is not an engineer and dont know when they will know,By now i imagine its in a million pieces after being kicked around to be sure,I do not trust them one bit,Esp if u upset them and dont conform! After going round in circles for some time i then advised him that it was pointless continuing,I will be speeking to a solicitor also reporting this to the police and am considering demonstrating outside the store,As i notice i was sucsessfull in completely emptying the store of customers many people heard my situation and decieded to walk along to comet instead.Wonder how many mornings they could take of that. In the meantime i am also persuing HP who are the manafacturer and have always found there after care service first class till now.Plus am now looking into county court action.

Anyway, it is up to you to prove that the item has failed due to an inherent fault, and not due to wear and tear or damage (dropped/slammed etc). To do this, it would normally be necessary to get an independent engineer to confirm the fault and produce a report.

If the report is in your favour, then you can then approach Comet to repair/replace/partial refund under Sales fo Goods Act. If the report states that it is not an inherent fault, then you would have to pay for any repairs/replacements.

Not too sure what you expect the police to do as this is a civil matter, but if you start protesting outside the shop, i'm sure comet will happily call 999 for you.

DCodd

If Curry's (or more likely the Manufacturer) can not find the fault then how can they say it has been damaged? There is no point in getting an independant engineers report if Curry's can not provide one themselves. if the laptop is not working or is smoking (?) and their engineers can not find any damage (which would be the fault e.g customer induced damage) then it must be an inherent fault and should be replaced.

They have to quantify their findings with a reason why any damage is deemed as customer induced or repair or replace.

The 1 year warranty will be with the Manufacturer and as such it should be the Manufacturer or an approved service engineer that inspects the laptop and a report will have been issued with what type of damage / faults they found.

I would demand to know exactly what they are claiming is or has been damaged.