Amazon Customer Care

sasquatch2011

Hi all,

This is my first time posting. I'm currently having problems with a laptop power lead.

I purchased the lead in February 2011 through Amazon. It was actually bought from E-Trade Tech, but I chose to purchase from Amazon to get some buying protection. It was advertised with a 12 month warranty.

The power lead failed last month (August 2011) so I e-mailed E-Trade Tech asking how I go about replacing the item under warranty. Over the space of 2 weeks I sent 3 e-mails without receiving a reply.

I then contacted Amazon Customer Care asking them to act on my behalf and get E-Trade Tech to reply to me about warranty replacement. They replied basically advising it is nothing to do them and I need to contact the seller, trading standards or the manufacturer of the power lead.

After numerous e-mails to them and the Managing Director Team at Amazon I am still no further forward.

I have questioned Amazon and they are batting me off with it's outside of their A-Z warranty period therefore nothing to do with them! :mad:

Please can I get some advice on how I can go forward with this. I've now had to buy another power lead elsewhere so I can use my laptop again, so understandably would now like a full refund.

I, rightly or wrongly, presumed buying through Amazon would give me consumer protection and that they would have some duty of care!

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

arcon5

I don't think most warrantys cover power cables.

shaun_from_Africa

I'm not sure arcon, but I think that the OP might be referring to a power unit for a laptop instead of just a cable.

£$&*"($£&(

I don't think Amazon provide any service to pursue problems with marketplace sellers.

vyle

with many laptops, the warranty covers the laptop itself, while you will usually have 6 months warranty on the battery, and if you're lucky, some form of cover for the power cable/transformer, but that's not very common.

Read the terms of the warranty in the instruction manual, or enclosed warranty leaflet. They will explain what it covered and for how long. For fastest response, it'd be better to contact the manufacturer directly.

If you are persuing the seller, that would be E Trade Tech. See if you can find some form of postal address for them. Now, your initial attempts to contact them commenced in August and may just have been within six months. This is important, because if you are persuing the seller, you will be claiming on the Sale of Goods act, not the warranty.

The SOGA requires that items be suitably durable and fit for purpose for a reasonable length of time and be free from any faults at the time of purchase.

The six months is important, because if you do send a letter to the seller now, they will likely point out that youre notifying them after six months have passed and that the onus is on you to prove that the fault was present at the time of purchase -- which would involve you paying for an engineer's report.

However, if you had sent them emails prior to the six months elapsing, and you have proof of this, then there is a good chance that THEY will have to prove that the item WASN'T faulty. This is more difficult and the cost of them doing so is usually enough that they'd rather just give you a new power adaptor, or pay you the cost of the adaptor you bought.

The SOGA doesn't entitle you to a full refund, but instead entitles the seller to put the situation right. It is their choice as to what remedy they offer.

neilmcl

The OP hasn't mentioned anything about the laptop warranty. He stated that the power lead itself was supposed to come with a 12 month warranty.

OP, are they still advertising the cable, can you post the url please?

vyle

Oops. My mistake.

Most of that is still relevant though.

Oliver14

sasquatch2011 wrote: »

I have questioned Amazon and they are batting me off with it's outside of their A-Z warranty period therefore nothing to do with them! :mad:

Which it is as you dealt with a different company that just used Amazon as a venue. your dealings need to be with them as Amazon now have nothing to do with it. Its the company that have the duty of care not Amazon.

sasquatch2011

Hi vyle,

Thanks for the details in your reply, very helpful and answered everything. The item is inside 6 months, purchased 25th Feb and e-mailed E-Trade Tech 16th Aug. I have e-mailed them again stating I'm rejecting the item under the SOGA.

It was just a power lead, the laptop is older and the original power lead failed.

Just another question. If they don't respond to me, what's my next stop from here?

Cheers,

Simon