Fault with my 16-month old £400 HP laptop - do I have any rights?

MarkBargain

The answer to this is probably no, but do we have any rights if our laptops break down shortly after the initial year's guarantee? I bought an HP G61 laptop in January last year for £400 from Currys and the keyboard has packed up (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3249522). I read on the internet (http://smidgenpc.com/2010/05/07/laptop-reliability-ratings-which-laptop-is-really-most-reliable/) that about a quarter of HP machines develop faults in the first three years, and my sister's laptop is 10 months old and has been returned with two faults already (fan and screen). Shouldn't HP be required to sell more robust machines that last more in line with what one would expect from a £400 purchase?

CHR15

Is it really worth the hassle when you could get a replacement keyboard for £15 (from your link)?

CoolHotCold

Yes they should be required to sell more robust machines. BUT that means better components which means a high price point.

You can demand they start manking more robust items but it will come with the conciquence of having a high price point.

Also, wrong forum, try the consumer advice board. But as I only visit the Consumer advice/Technie/Vent&Praise boards I'll say what you;d get from the Consumer Advice board.

You have the SoGA which protects you from inherent faults up to 6 years. This does not mean you have a 6 year guarantee, it means that within the first 6 months the retailer must prove it was you that borked it, outside of 6 months YOU must prove it was faulty since purchase date. (however most items come with 1 year guarantee by standard so outside of 1 year you must prove).

So if you wanted to take further action against the retailer you would have to pay for a engineers report to say it was faulty since purchase and the retailer will then decide to offer a repair/partial refund/exchange.


Now Currys and PcWorld are actually better in terms of the SoGA then most retailers, if you phone KnowHow and ask about claiming under the SoGA for your purchase you should be transfered to a department who deal with these types of calls. If its something well known they will offer a partial refund and you will get a BACS (you can even email them also). However if it is something that is fairly obvious wasn't faulty at DOP then they will refuse any comp at this time and advise you on how to go about getting a report done.

MarkBargain

CHR15 wrote: »

Is it really worth the hassle when you could get a replacement keyboard for £15 (from your link)?

£15 is for a US keyboard, a UK one is £35. Plus I am not that confident in installing a laptop keyboard.

MarkBargain

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Yes they should be required to sell more robust machines. BUT that means better components which means a high price point.

You can demand they start manking more robust items but it will come with the conciquence of having a high price point.

Also, wrong forum, try the consumer advice board. But as I only visit the Consumer advice/Technie/Vent&Praise boards I'll say what you;d get from the Consumer Advice board.

You have the SoGA which protects you from inherent faults up to 6 years. This does not mean you have a 6 year guarantee, it means that within the first 6 months the retailer must prove it was you that borked it, outside of 6 months YOU must prove it was faulty since purchase date. (however most items come with 1 year guarantee by standard so outside of 1 year you must prove).

So if you wanted to take further action against the retailer you would have to pay for a engineers report to say it was faulty since purchase and the retailer will then decide to offer a repair/partial refund/exchange.


Now Currys and PcWorld are actually better in terms of the SoGA then most retailers, if you phone KnowHow and ask about claiming under the SoGA for your purchase you should be transfered to a department who deal with these types of calls. If its something well known they will offer a partial refund and you will get a BACS (you can even email them also). However if it is something that is fairly obvious wasn't faulty at DOP then they will refuse any comp at this time and advise you on how to go about getting a report done.

Thanks for some excellent advice here.

I take the point about the price, although I did spend £400 (reduced from £550 in Currys' New Year Sale) on the HP brand rather than getting a cheaper make for around £300 to £350.

AirCooledHeaven

MarkBargain wrote: »

£15 is for a US keyboard, a UK one is £35. Plus I am not that confident in installing a laptop keyboard.

It's not so difficult, just take your time and follow the steps carefully.

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/replace-keyboard-compaq-presario-cq61-hp-g61/

asbokid

MarkBargain wrote: »

Thanks for some excellent advice here.

I take the point about the price, although I did spend £400 (reduced from £550 in Currys' New Year Sale) on the HP brand rather than getting a cheaper make for around £300 to £350.

If you allow Currys to examine the laptop, you should expect the company's repair engineer to find evidence of negligence in your use of the laptop. That is what he is paid to do.

He will discover dirt or signs of water ingress under the keys, however minimal, and this will be used to show that the failure of the keyboard was caused by you, rather than by a manufacturing defect.

Currys will charge you for the examination and for the report, perhaps offering to waive the inspection fee if you pay them to repair the fault. This work will be carried out at an uncompetitive rate.

Toxteth_OGrady

See this thread (particularly post # 20 onwards)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3011820

MarkBargain

Thanks, that other thread is interesting. The laptop has been looked after well and never even taken out of the house, and all I can see in the keyboard is a tiny bit of dust. If I wanted to try to take this further, would this be with Currys or HP? (maybe worth trying both?!) Yes, I could buy a £35 keyboard and try to install it, but it does annoy me that my £400 machine has only last 15 months.

CoolHotCold

It would be direct with Currys.

Like I said previouslly, contact them they will decide if its worth offering a partial refund or repair to get fixed without a engineers report done.

Toxteth_OGrady

MarkBargain wrote: »

If I wanted to try to take this further, would this be with Currys or HP?

It is the retailer (Curry's) who is in breach of the SOGA and your redress is with them.

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/returning-damaged-or-faulty-goods/