HP Notebook Failure Court Case Help

holcey

I purchased a HP Pavilion DV9703ea notebook that worked fine for 19 months before dying on me completely. I will not bore you with the full details but basically HP said tough you didn't buy the extended warranty. Now I thought that paying £600 for a notebook that only lasted two years was a bit off.
After getting an Independent Computer Engineer to look at it he declared the motherboard was fried and HP had a problem that they would not admit to and even went on to say that he will not stock HP computers.
I have now issued via Money Claim On-line and the lawyers for HP have submitted their defence which is stating that two years is the normal period of time before a notebook needs repair! Surely this cannot be right? Can anyone help me as I seem to recall a court case where under the sale of goods act a judge ruled that although out of warranty, electrical goods should have a life expectancy of five years?

neilmcl

Can we assume that you purchased the notebook from HP?

There is no fixed period for how long an item has to last, just a reasonable period. It'll be up to the judge on the day, taking into account a number of factors, that'll decide but I very much doubt he'll agree 2 years is reasonable, despite what HP may say.

stugib

holcey wrote: »

Can anyone help me as I seem to recall a court case where under the sale of goods act a judge ruled that although out of warranty, electrical goods should have a life expectancy of five years?

I'd very very much doubt any verdict was that clear cut or so wide ranging.

shaun_from_Africa

The first and most important question is where did you buy the laptop from?
If it was from a retailer, it is them that you must take to court and not HP, and your contract was with the retailer.

as I seem to recall a court case where under the sale of goods act a judge ruled that although out of warranty, electrical goods should have a life expectancy of five years?

All the SOGA actually states is that goods (electrical or otherwise) must be durable and last a reasonable time (this time period isn't defined any further), and that you can take action against against the seller within 6 years of buying the goods.
It doesn't state or imply that all goods must last 6 years, and what is a reasonable time depends on the type of goods, their purpose, price etc.

For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

Do you have a written report from the engineer stating that the fault was due to a manufacturing defect?, as you must be able to prove that the problem arose due to an inherent fault that was there when you purchased it.

holcey

Thanks for that.

I bought the notebook direct from HP and yes the Engineer has done a report stating there is an inherent flaw with this motherboard and graphics chip.

Don't get me wrong I am not after a full refund but having had my work laptop for over 4 years and travelled the world with it I just think this HP notebook should last longer than 2 years when it hasn't moved off the dining room table!

shaun_from_Africa

In that case, I would think that you have a fairly good chance of getting something back from HP.
I always thought that moneyclaim was for claiming a fixed sum of money and not for an amount that could vary as in this case (although I may be wrong).

If this is the case, are you claiming for the full cost of the laptop or for the estimated repair cost?

holcey

I am claiming for three fifths of the original purchase price as I believe that it should last five years and it only lasted just short of two.
The bit I find unbelievable is HP have stated in their defence that it isn't unreasonable to expect to have to repair a notebook computer after two years!! You don't see that in their adverts.

neilmcl

I think you have a strong case going forward. Keep us informed of the outcome?

Techhead_2

Hmm, this may not be as clear cut as you believe. There is a difference between something being unusable, being faulty and needing repair/servicing. For example, Any mechanical parts (eg drives ) could well fail due to wear and tear not because of an inherent fault.

Secondly £600, whilst not cheap, is at the lower end of mid-price and could be argued to have an expected life of 2 or 3 years.

Anyway, it would cost them more to defend the case. So they are likely to make you an offer as a "go away" payment.