Laptop warranty: can a store pass responsibility to the manufacturer after 7 days?

MarkBargain

A friend of mine bought a laptop which he kept in a box for a couple of weeks while his broadband was being set up. When he used the laptop he noticed a fault with the screen going strange quite often, so I suggested he contact the online store when he bought it from to arrange a replacement. I checked their returns policy and it says:

What if my unit is over 7 days old?
If your unit is over 7 days old from the date of purchase until the date you register the fault with the manufacturer, you will need to contact the relevant manufacturer at the number below:
They will arrange to bring your unit into one of their service centers where it will be assessed, repaired, and then sent back to you. If your product features a ‘collect & return’ warranty, there will be no charges associated with this procedure.

There is no way I'd be happy for a 2 week old laptop to go off for repair! Don't the store have a legal duty to sort it out? Surely a replacement machine should be given if a fault is proved so soon after purchase?

vax2002

A warranty is an addition of your rights, not instead of.
Demand a refund.
If you used a credit card and they refuse request a refund from the credit card

bazster

can a store pass responsibility to the manufacturer after 7 days?

No.

MarkBargain

vax2002 wrote: »

A warranty is an addition of your rights, not instead of.
Demand a refund.
If you used a credit card and they refuse request a refund from the credit card

Good advice I think. I was really surprised that the online store differentiated between the first 7 days and afterwards. He hasn't contacted them yet and maybe they will be helpful, but their published returns policy (www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/returns) is certainly harsh.

bazster

To be honest letting the manufacturer deal with it may well be the quickest solution - but he certainly shouldn't be paying anything for this, including delivery either way, so if the manufacturer wants any payment then back to the retailer it is.

But he can certainly keep bashing away at the retailer if he's more comfortable with that - after all, that is where the contract lies, not with the manufacturer. If he gets nowhere then, if he paid by credit card, he can ask the credit card company for his money back. They will probably squirm a bit, but they will cough up if he stands his ground and quotes the Consumer Credit Act to them.