PC World: laptop failed after six weeks

dafranmo

I bought an HP laptop from PC World in Poole for my daughter on January 4th. She is a student in Nottingham and the laptop is essential for her course.

On February 19th she phoned me to say it wouldn't boot up but displayed a disk error, offering a utility to run. She did this three times without success so (on the 20th) took it in to PC World.

They offered to repair it under warranty, which they said would take three weeks (fifteen working days). They also offered to retrieve her data to a hard disk for £80, plus £45 for the disk. Since she hasn't got £125 to spend on this, she elected not to use this service.

This leaves her unable to properly pursue her course for the next three weeks, and she will lose previous notes, essays etc.

My questions are: since we had owned the laptop for less than seven weeks should PC World have done better? Would we have been within our rights to demand an immediate replacement?

Jakg

You wouldn't be entitled to a replacement (as you've accepted the product after 6 weeks) - but you can certainly ask for one (but the retailer can refuse).

mattyprice4004

It's the retailers choice to repair, replace or refund.

They've chosen to repair, so you're stuck with that.`

wealdroam

As well as the above, it is every computer user's responsibility to make their own adequate backup arrangements to safeguard their data.

dafranmo

Thank you for your input.

At what point does it become the retailers choice, or rather up to when can the product be rejected? For the first six weeks it was fine, but it should last more than six weeks and does such an early failure suggest it falls foul of the "not of merchantable quality" rules?

Do take point about backup etc. I've preached about it, just not done it!

CoolHotCold

All the SoGA states is reasonable time for acceptance which can vary depending on the thing you've brought.


A 2 to 4 week period is what I'd consider ample time to inspect most electronics for faults and reject if faulty.

Fire_Fox

She should be backing up her files, if she does not have an external hard drive she can e-mail stuff to herself or to you or use a USB pen. Can't she just use the university computer facilities for the next three weeks?

TryAgain

go to the bbc website and add this text /blogs/theoneshow/consumer/2009/07/03/sale_of_goods_act_letter_downl.html

CoolHotCold

TryAgain

The arguable fact is PcWorld are fulfilling their obligations under the SoGA by repairing the item.

That letter add's nothing to solving the problem, and if the OP does write that out and hand it in, it will be pointless and just waste time.


Read the original problem and the SoGA first before giving information.

markybaby

It is very unlucky to have something go wrong in this short time but remember PC World like most retailers are re-sellers. The manufacturers will not give them credit for faulty goods after a set period (usually 28 days, sometimes only 14). If the store gave you a replacement the manufacturer would repair the original unit and send it back to them. They would then have to sell that as a customer return with a shorter warranty. This would mean they make a big loss on the sale. It is unlucky but no matter what we think of some retailers we cannot expect them to run at a loss. Manufacturers will not budge on these things. Be nice and friendly and see if they will give you something for the inconvenience. You never know. Hope it gets back soon.

Handsome90

As others have said, the retailers have fulfilled their obligation by choosing to send the laptop for repair. Have you or your daughter tried dealing with the manufacturer directly? If not then you could ask whether they can send a replacement laptop instead of repairing it. I know some manufacturer allows this (but not sure whether PC manufacturer does).

I guess you got to know that PC World/Curry's have appalling customer service. In my case, Amazon have always sent me a replacement unit the following day (they don't wait for you to send off the faulty unit first; you have 1 month to return the faulty unit).