Computer warranty

colbee

In March 2010 I bought a Medion desktop computer from Aldi which has a 3 year warranty from Medion.
In July 2011 the PC became faulty and unusable. Several calls to the (0871) helpline resulted in the machine being sent to Germany for repair.
The machine was returned two weeks later, allegedly repaired, but was still faulty and unusable. More phone calls, then Medion UK sent an engineer to my house nine days later. He managed to get it going but the next day it was again faulty and unusable. More phone calls and trying various fixes, none of which worked.
Next, it went to Medion UK at Swindon for another two-week holiday and came back with a clean bill of health (no fault found) although they did replace the Power Supply Unit for some reason.
The machine was OK when first powered up and seemed to operate normally........until I plugged in an HDMI lead and the screen went blank. Unplugging the lead restored normal service.
More phone calls to and from Medion and they want it for another two weeks rehab. I have had enough - two months without use of my PC and no certainty that they can sort it. I have told them on the phone that the machine needs to be replaced. No joy.
The terms of the Medion warranty state that Medion will make the decision between repair and replacement.
Am I stuck in a never-ending cycle of me-Germany-Swindon, or is there a better way of resolving this issue? Thanks for any help.

scheming_gypsy

colbee wrote: »

The machine was OK when first powered up and seemed to operate normally........until I plugged in an HDMI lead and the screen went blank. Unplugging the lead restored normal service.


Am I stuck in a never-ending cycle of me-Germany-Swindon, or is there a better way of resolving this issue? Thanks for any help.

from what you said about the HDMI lead, my money is on the motherboard shorting out when you plug the cable in (probably shifts slightly).
If you're sick of it going backwards and forwards and just want it sorting out, it might be better just bypassing the warranty and having somebody look at it for you... If it is shorting out, it probably doesn't need any more than some of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Computer-Motherboard-Insulating-Washers-Pk-10-/140327670420?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopComponents_RL&hash=item20ac2e5294

colbee

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

from what you said about the HDMI lead, my money is on the motherboard shorting out when you plug the cable in (probably shifts slightly).
If you're sick of it going backwards and forwards and just want it sorting out, it might be better just bypassing the warranty and having somebody look at it for you... If it is shorting out, it probably doesn't need any more than some of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Computer-Motherboard-Insulating-Washers-Pk-10-/140327670420?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopComponents_RL&hash=item20ac2e5294

Thanks for the advice. When I woke it from its sleep a short time ago it blue-screened then rebooted to normal (HDMI still unplugged). The blue screen disappeared too quickly for me to read what it said.

Zandoni

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

from what you said about the HDMI lead, my money is on the motherboard shorting out when you plug the cable in (probably shifts slightly).
If you're sick of it going backwards and forwards and just want it sorting out, it might be better just bypassing the warranty and having somebody look at it for you... If it is shorting out, it probably doesn't need any more than some of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Computer-Motherboard-Insulating-Washers-Pk-10-/140327670420?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopComponents_RL&hash=item20ac2e5294

I doubt the motherboard is shorting out anywhere unless it's obviously loose. The fibre washers in the link will not make any difference.

Your blue screen problems are more likely to be a driver problem, Google other peoples experience or ask the question on the Techie forum here.

wealdroam

Zandoni wrote: »

The fibre washers in the link will not make any difference.

Is that a guess Zandoni, or have you seen the problem computer?

That's quite an definite statement you have made.

scheming_gypsy

Zandoni wrote: »

I doubt the motherboard is shorting out anywhere unless it's obviously loose. The fibre washers in the link will not make any difference.

Your blue screen problems are more likely to be a driver problem, Google other peoples experience or ask the question on the Techie forum here.

you think? if the motherboard isn't fitted properly then movement when plugging in an HDMI cable (or anything else) can cause the motherboard to short out.. the reason you use fibre washers is to stop it shorting out.
You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't use the brass pegs and plastic feet and just screw boards straight into the case.

colbee

I really appreciate the tech advice offerred and maybe the different opinions are a good indication as to why Medion can't fix it.
However,...... I posted on this forum because I wanted to know my position relative to the warranty terms.
Today I spoke to Consumer Direct where I was told that Medion's warranty terms (repair or replace at their discretion) mean exactly that and I could indeed be stuck in a 'repair' cycle - unless I decided to take them to court for the matter to be decided under the Sale of Goods and Services Act.
On the other hand, my statutory claim is against Aldi under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, irrespective of Medion's warranty. So, I have spoken to someone at Aldi HQ. Apparently they have a 'Store Manager Helpline' to which my query is being referred. It seems to be something along the lines of the store manager contacting Medion and trying to resolve the matter. I will post progress.

visidigi

Phone medion once more, ask them how many times they would have to repair an item before its considered for replacement. I did this with Samsung when they took 9 weeks to repair a TV, I asked them how many times they would repair before replace and it was three, I asked what the traditional repair time was, two weeks, so I pointed out it's been in once, for 9 weeks, therefore over 4 repair attempts - replacement TV on my doorstep 48 hrs later.

All companies have a policy when they get the size of medion, its just a case of finding out what that is, until you do they can keep denying your option.

Zandoni

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

you think? if the motherboard isn't fitted properly then movement when plugging in an HDMI cable (or anything else) can cause the motherboard to short out.. the reason you use fibre washers is to stop it shorting out.
You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't use the brass pegs and plastic feet and just screw boards straight into the case.

If you don't use the brass/plastic stand offs the back of the motherboard will not line up with the I/O plate, so that would be very hard to do, not impossible but extremely hard.

The fibre washers are not insulators they are just used to cushion the screw, when you think about it they cannot insulate as the threaded part of the screw will touch the inside the hole.

Personally if a case supplies the washers I don't use them, you will also note that PC manufacturers don't use them either.

Zandoni

wealdroam wrote: »

Is that a guess Zandoni, or have you seen the problem computer?

That's quite an definite statement you have made.

It's not a guess at all, I know for a fact that fibre washers on motherboards are unnecessary.

visidigi

Zandoni wrote: »

you will also note that PC manufacturers don't use them either.

becuase they are used in the enthusiast market due to the number of times a board is installed and removed.

SI's such as Dell, HP, Apple, Acer, Lenovo etc (stands for system integrator - none of those companies manufacture PC's) don't use them as they intend to only ever install a motherboard once.

Zandoni wrote: »

It's not a guess at all, I know for a fact that fibre washers on motherboards are unnecessary.

Thats not a fact, thats your opinion, which doesn't match fact. If you remove your motherboard frequently (I used to repair PC's in my freetime) the raised contact points of the motherboard hole to isolate the screws wears down - and the fibre washers are there to ensure the cap of the screw does not touch any of the motherboard contact tracks - the reason they don't affect the shaft of the screw is there are no tracks in the hole of the board itself.

Shorting the tracks is what causes the motherboard issues - the fibre washers prevent this possiblity.