Laptop screen packed in flextronics want £200 quid to fix it.

patman99

In my opinion, many laptop makers (inc. HP and Acer) have no IQA Inspectors (or if they do, they work to extremely slack tolerances). Because the hinges are not matched by friction-resistance, you quite often get a laptop with one hinge stiffer than the other. This will always lead to the plastic casing flexing and the screen cracking.

As for screens, there are only 4 manufacturers of LCD panels in the world. All you need to know is the screen size and you just order one to fit. I had the job of replacing a broken screen in an Acer Travelmate. The only 15" screen I could get came from a busted Vaio. It worked a treat (and is still working 2 years on). Changing screens is no more than a 15 minute job and can be undertaken by anyone capable of wielding a screwdriver. Before doing the screen on the Acer, I'd never undertaken such a job before.

prettypennies

Thanks for your reply.

I have had a call from ISME this morning in repsonse to my SOGA claim letter sent on Monday. The guy I spoke to reiterated that any instance of 'cracked screen' is not covered as is is always caused by customer misuse.
I explained that my complaint was covered by the terms of the SOGA for items less than six months old and it was for the retailer to show that the product was not faulty when it was supplied not for me to prove that is was.

I asked him to supply a copy of the engineer's report which outlines that the fault was not an inherent fault and for him to put in writing that the fault with the product was not covered by the SOGA. He said he didn't want to put that in writing in case it was wrong! And that he would send me a letter stating that the 'cracked screen' would not be covered by the warranty because it is deemed by the supplier as customer misuse - not what I was requesting.

I have sent a reply to the email above sent from ISME the day before reminding them of their obligations under the SOGA.

cit_k

patman99 wrote: »

In my opinion, many laptop makers (inc. HP and Acer) have no IQA Inspectors (or if they do, they work to extremely slack tolerances). Because the hinges are not matched by friction-resistance, you quite often get a laptop with one hinge stiffer than the other. This will always lead to the plastic casing flexing and the screen cracking.

As for screens, there are only 4 manufacturers of LCD panels in the world. All you need to know is the screen size and you just order one to fit. I had the job of replacing a broken screen in an Acer Travelmate. The only 15" screen I could get came from a busted Vaio. It worked a treat (and is still working 2 years on). Changing screens is no more than a 15 minute job and can be undertaken by anyone capable of wielding a screwdriver. Before doing the screen on the Acer, I'd never undertaken such a job before.

There is a bit more to it than just ordering a same size screen, you are risking trouble if you simply purchase a 14 inch or 15 inch screen at random...

For example, are the connectors the same? Is it XGA, WXGA, etc? What about inverter? Does it have the inverter fixed to the screen like many dell panels do? Is the connector in the right place for the ribbon cable to fit etc etc....

Mista_C

Prettypennies, if you can tell me the exact model of the laptop I will do a bit of digging and find out if there are any known problems that could be related to this.

As I posted previously there have been known issues with some HP Pavillions having weak aluminium hinges and arms. If this happens to be one of those particular models I may be able to provide you with some evidence to fight with.

Also if you could throw in some photos of the damage to the screen and of the hinge areas both sides that would be helpful.

prettypennies

Mista_c Thank you for your reply.

The notebook is a HP Pavilion DV6 3119sa entertainment notebook.

I took pictures before it was sent off to flextronics which I will try to add.

Before I sent it off there was some vertical and horizontal lines extended from a point near the bezelled edge of screen. Right at the top there was tiny splinter of light smaller than an eyelash.



When the notebook came back, there was a very definite internal crack down most of the screen. I would take pictures off this but don't really want to keep turning the notebook on and off without booting it up properly.

On speaking to consumer direct they suggested it would be helpful to get 'a free verbal report from an independent engineer' to support my claim that the screen was inherently faulty.

Mista_C

Unfortunately I have no documentation relating to this kind of problem with this particular model. Nothing obvious stands out although from the photos I wouldn't personally assume the problem was through misuse. While not this particular brand and model I have come across similar style laptops that have identical damage through the lid snapping shut during closure. Admittedly it's rare but not unheard of.

I wouldn't expect to be paying £200 for a screen replacement for this model. For a genuine Grade A replacement screen you should be looking at no more than £90 +fitting (10 - 15 minutes at most).

ETA: What the photos do show is it is very unlikely something was shut in the lid. This usually leaves a very obvious mark in the screen. It also shows the screen wasn't damaged by being closed from a corner as the pattern of lines doesn't consist with that type of damage. It's difficult to tell from the photos but it looks like the damage is behind the 'glass' which could indicate pressure on the lid itself or inside the lid shell, maybe even thumb pressure from closing the lid but again it's difficult to tell without seeing the strength of the lid plastics, brackets and so on.

cit_k

from the pic it does look like there is a white pressure mark on screen which may indicate excessive pressure has been put on the screen, but im no screen expert, just used to pressure marks, where the screen goes white where it has been pressed to hard.

louise74

I had a similar problem brought a HP-G56-105 Laptop from PC World @ Currys in December 2010, in August 2011 used laptop and closed down and put away as normal, next day opened up laptop to find half the screen had gone white.

Took it back to currys, man in store was very helpful, said it was obvious it had not been droped and was not physical damage but he warned me that when it was sent for repair they might say it was damage caused by myself.

A week later and surprise surprise they come back and say its not under guarantee as I must have caused the problem. Was told I either had to pay for repair or go and collect laptop, I was in no way intending to pay as I had not caused any damage to the laptop, so went and collected from the store.

After several very strong emails to there customer services, who are probably the most awkward and unhelpful people I have ever come accross, I eventually spoke to a gentleman who said that they would repair under warranty.

Again off I go to the store taking the laptop back, the store say the original man who had been dealing with it was off work for several days so would have to wait until his return as they didn't know what to do with it. A week or so later I email to find out what is happening and the response I get is basically quite a rude email back saying at no point have they agreed to repair under warranty as they don't cover any damage to the screen.

By this point I am almost at boiling point! when I phone I again get told the same with them completley denying saying that they would repair under warranty.

I then thought i'll check on google to see if this is a common probelm with HP Screens which is when I came accross this posting, after a quick read I decided that i'd give HP a ring and have a moan saying as this seemed to be a common problem surley they should be replacing faulty screens.

To my surprise when I rung HP they told me without any quoting other problems that the screen would be repaired under warranty if it was an internal crack (as mine was) not external, they then went on to say that currys had purchased the right to the warranty so would have to be dealt with through them, but if currys contacted them they would confirm this to them.

So back on again to currys customer support, who basically tried to tell me that again they did not cover screens and that there warranty was different to HP.

Finally after managing to speak to someone who was helpful they did contact HP and have now 2 months later finally fixed the screen under warranty! but it does make you wonder how many people they are ripping off that don't stand there ground and arguee the facts with them.

I hope this can be of help to someone else.

Hammyman

The HP G series are notorious for failing hinges. They're lucky to make it a year.