Currys laptop.. went back to serious investigations department

giz1972

Lets get this straight before people think im on here just for a blow out, i ve bought from Dixons group for many years and had from average to excellent service from all departments and being a typical customer i spread the news to friends a family if i have good experiences but if i get bad then everyone knows.

I bought my son a Advent (currys own) laptop costing £399 and 3 year whatever happens cover ( £169), this was back in Dec 2008.
Main spec it was bought for - 4gb ram- blu-ray drive-17" plus screen. Sold on the blu-ray as this would be the next big thing.

Forward to 4 weeks ago, while we was having dinner, the casing to the battery compartment had started to swell up, so within a hour this compartment had swelled to a point where the casing had split in 5 plus different places exposing the inside battery and the laptop was wobbling all over the place (hunchback laptop to describe it).
We phoned currys and was told to switch off the computor (had already done this) and take the battery out, well i was a little bit unsure doing this as i didnt know if it had leaked or caused damage to the inside of the laptop, anyway it hadn't lucky enough.
i had a phone cal the next day from serious investigations department for a pick up so they came thursday. Now im going to go into number explanations ect...

1. After 10 days i phoned and asked for a update as in the past ive had a turn around in a week. Asked to phone back next day.
2. Day 11... was told it was being tested and being left on to see what the main fault was..battery or unit. told to phone back friday.
3. Day 15 (fri) no further update and was passed from customer services to coverplan to tech guys but not to serious investigations.
4. Day 18 (mon) was passed around again and eventually told that their system said for me to phone back thurs to generate the 21 day rule on return back from repair.
5. Day 2. went into a Currys store to speak to a manager on this issue and was given some advice on what they should offer from like for like and sales of goods act and coverplan.
6. Day 21. Phoned and was given a call back at last from serious investigations department to be told that they were writing it off due to the nature of the problem ( health & Safety) and was being sent back to the manufacturer (them!!!!!????) for further investigations and it wasnt a coverplan issue but currys writing it off. They told me verbally that they would offer me a pro rata refund on the insurance and £500 in vouchers for a new one. " GREAT !!!!!!!!" more than the computer and enough to buy a new 3 year warranty. NOT SO GREAT!!!! THOUGH
This is were it gets a bit tricky, you may be thinking now that 20 months down the line that technology as moved on and my son would be getting a better computer on the spec that i bought it for as above. NOT SO!!!! my son done his homework on their websites and said that the nearest was about double in price, i dont know why but this isnt my problem or fault that dixons group prices for this spec as gone up. I explained to the serious investigatons rep this and said i would only be happy with like for like and a new three year cover as this was not your normal situation were they couldnt get a part or it was accidental damage or the motherboard stopped working and also i could of brought it back even if i hadnt had coverplan because of the nature of the problem.
I was then told that he would have to speak to a senior member and for coverplan to authorise this???? I said you told me previous that it want a coverplan issue. Anyway i was told that they would get back to me straight away that day. Phoned back about 6 pm to be told that it was on the system that it was a write off from 3.15pm. told to phone back next day.
Day 22. Phoned customer services and put through to coverplan again to be told no further progress but they was emailing serious investigations to phone me back.
Day 23. Phoned customer services again with them saying a pro rata on the coverplan was going to be issued.....i went through all what i explained above about like for like and i would like new 3 year coverplan ect..ect.. ect... and for it to be concluded asap as my son is back at college and needs a laptop asap.
i was also told that technology actually gets more expensive !!!! and if they offered me more than the cost of the laptop and when i went to buy like for like at the stores that the shop would up it to that amount??? ( i dont believe), coverplan issue the rep wouldnt budge on and the customer service rep just didnt get the implications of what could of happened to my son ect.. if it had exploded and what would this rep would like if this was her case...At this point i wasnt in my favourable tone of voice as i felt that protocal was just being played and was even told that the serious investigations rep was two seats away and would speak to them.... really!!!!!! i think they wanted a breather from me i guess to get their wits back... 3mins later i was told i was going to get a call back that day from serious invetigations department and also for me to phone monday (or shall we call serious investigations department the ..you cannot directly contact these people by phone and when we do phone the customer we just follow protocol anyway and just make it up as we go along to make the customer feel like we are doing something department).
Today... No phone call... awaiting tomorrow to be phobbed off again, ive asked to speak to someone senior yesterday but was told they were too busy on anther call, i dont know what to do when they do make me an offer and i feel its not going to be enough for like for like and new three year cover as even if i did get like for like, the amount for cover would be alot more than what i paid before because they up the price on the cost of the item by about £10 for every hundred extra.
Am i being greedy asking for like for like on the above spec and a brand new 3 year cover? Seeming the nature and the H & S aspect of this case. its none of my fault in any of the issues from the cost of the spec being higher when normally you get a better deal or that the computer was going to blow up.
As anyone got any advice or been in a similar situation.

thanks if you got this far reading this.

Esqui

Slightly confused here, some punctuation would work wonders... but:

1) Have they issued a product voucher for the same specification? If yes, great. If not, go into the store, and the manager has authority to over-ride the price to the same spec.

2) The WEH is given as a pro-rata refund for the unused portion. While I can quite see your point (and to be fair, I'd never thought about it before) that a much higher price laptop will increase in price, it's unlikely you'll get any extra, but it doesn't hurt to try. All I could suggest is using the voucher, and then paying off the rest monthly (you can spread over 10 months, interest free).

I would consider maybe seeing if they'll raise the voucher. Of course you won't get a brand new three year WEH, you only paid for 3 years initially, and part of that has been used.

giz1972

I've recieved no vouchers/codes as of yet, but they have hinted that it would be below the cost of a like for like and only pro rata insurance refund.
This isn't your normal case where they couldn't get a part or accidental damage.
I could of taken this laptop back even after the 12 months Advent warranty, this due to the nature of the problem. So i would of been £169 better off without the cover they sold me.

Esqui

If it is a Whateverhappens agreement you have, the voucher should be enough for a like-for-like spec (in general terms: having a blu-ray drive would count; having a USB port on the back wouldn't), and the store manager can raise the amount if it's not the same.

You were 20-odd months into the 36 month cover, so you wouldn't get a full refund. Nor would you get a brand new three year cover - as I said, people would just 'drop' their laptop after almost three years and get a free upgrade every three years!

Equally, you may not have got even a full refund on the purchase price outside of the warranty.

giz1972

It's nothing to do with dropping the laptop, accidental damage or because they couldn't replace a part.
This laptop was potentially dangerous, it could of blown up in my sons face if he had left it on any longer, it could of caused a fire, it was a ticking timebomb. They have already told me that it wasn't a coverplan issue but Dixons serious investigations department writing it off because it ws deemed DANGEROUS, coverplan just issue pro rata refunds on the remaining insurance.
What i'm asking for is like for like from Dixons group and extra to cover a new 3 year coverplan which will certainly cost more than the £169 i paid, because the new laptop would be more expensive.

Example being: New laptop is £699 because this is now like for like on the three main reasons and of buying old laptop (blu-ray, 4gb ram and 17" screen). New coverplan say is £199 then minus the pro-rata refund being about £59 which equals £140.
Voucher price of £839 covers everything.
This the least they could do seeming what could of happened with this dangerous laptop (NOT FAULTY OR DROPPED).
Normally spec goes down in price so more favourable to the shop but not in this case, it's not my fault this as happened.

dacouch

I'm not one for sticking up for Currys but if you claimed on any other type of insurance for a written off item (WEH is not actually insurance) eg your car you would not get any type of refund and would either have to see out the rest of the policy period or it some would cancel the policy with no refund. They do this as they have fulfilled their part of the contract by paying out for the insured item.

The laptop did not explode or cause any damage so should ofs and could ofs don't really come into it.

As Esqui has mentioned your best bet is to speak to a manager in a polite way and try and negotiate, but anything more than they are currently offering should be seen as a bonus. If you shout and lose your temper with whoever you are speaking with you have less chance of getting what you want

molerat

So they are offering more than the cost of the laptop plus a pro-rata refund on the WEH on a 20 mth old laptop. Take it to court and see how far you get.

fozmcfc

The offer from Dixons is a reasonable one.

Maybe I'm being militant here, but you could have possible got more from them, by actually taking the issue to the media as it might affect many of these laptops. They might not have fancied any negative press.

As for the price, the original laptop, must have been on special offer as blu-ray in laptops unless on special offer, at that price don't exist even now, let alone back at the end of 2008, even cheapo brands.

Could the voucher be used at any of the Dixon group stores, might widen the choice, although most of the time what's in one Dixon group store is in another.

Other than that, I think you might have to wait until just after Xmas, because I'm pretty sure in the sales, there will be several comparable laptops for under £500.

giz1972

So you guys are saying i should be thankfull for any offer off Dixons group?

I would be grateful but the whole issue is over the like for like, which Curry's normally would be in the favourable situation nearly 2 years down the line, not in this case.
Just check there site for the same spec... i would expect this spec would of gone down in price in nearly two years, so if i would of had like for like at a cheaper price i would have to pay for cheaper weh.
senario being, why should my son have to have a none blu-ray laptop because its more expensive now, after buying loads of blu-ray disks.
Then again, they may phone me with the like for like equivalent vouchers and we just get the computer and thank curry's for giving me a pro rata refund and my son pockets it.
Or if they don't give me enough, i beg nicely with the lovely manager of a store and don't throw my dummy out of the pushchair for a like for like pleasey weasey. Not that i'm a returning customer time and time again spending my thousands on products and extended warranty's, then again i'm just a little fish in a big ocean to Dixons group so if i shop elsewhere it wouldn't matter...no wonder there profits are down or there making losses, could it be that people are shopping elsewhere?

giz1972

fozmcfc..

I have contacted Dominic Littlewood.

They sold me a dud, dangerous laptop and everytime i asked them about the problem they were more interested in just quoting the default 21 day none fixed rule for replacement. Not that they may need reacalling this laptop or battery.
Then again, it was only a if or could as DACOUCH as rightly said that this laptop nearly caused damage, not that my son has been affected by all of this.

fozmcfc

On the face of it, you bought a £399 laptop and nearly two years down the line they are offering you £500 to get another one. That's a good offer.

BUT........if the deal is that you are given a voucher for a like for like product then I do feel they should be offering you are voucher to get a like for like spec, in which case the blu-ray drive is a key component.

Their argument will probably be, that for £500 you can get a more powerful laptop, but it still doesn't fit your needs.

So I would say it really is a tricky 50/50 situation.