Computer fault

raw1

I purchased a computer on line last June,this was a custom built machine where you select components from a drop down list effectively custom building to your specification
The company state that to validate the warranty you need to send a picture of the computer showing that you have affixed a no tamper seal within 48hrs
I overlooked to do this straight away and only did this in October
The machine has now developed a fault and I have returned it at my expense as required by the company
They are saying that the warranty is invalid and that the normal sale of goods act does not apply to custom made products
I need the computer for my degree course so need it fixing they want £200+ to fix and have only offered a £25 discount on labour
So to summarise
Am I covered by the Sale of goods act?
If I pay to have the machine repaired can I make a claim afterwards on the company?
I do not want to start action straight away as I feel there is a risk that any repairs may take a long time and the whole saga becomes very drawn out
How should I proceed
Thanks for any input

visidigi

It is not a custom made product if the selection of components are from a fixed list, with nor personalisation of those components involved.

The sales of goods act very much applies.

vuvuzela

raw1 wrote: »

The company state that to validate the warranty you need to send a picture of the computer showing that you have affixed a no tamper seal within 48hrs

What a disgraceful term. There's only 1 reason they don't do this in the factory and that is to catch people out and then pretend their warranty is invalid.
You certainly do have rights under the SOGA and you should definitely name the company concerned, as if what you say is true, other people need to know about this so they can make judgements about whether to trust the company with hundreds of pounds of their cash...

bris

visidigi wrote: »

It is not a custom made product if the selection of components are from a fixed list, with nor personalisation of those components involved.

The sales of goods act very much applies.

Of course it's still a customised item, just because it still qualifies for DSR reasons doesn't make it not customised, a customised item is something built to the buyers spec which this is.

It doesn't over rule your statutory rights though, but as far as this is concerned because it's now been over 6 months you now need to prove the fault was inherent at time of purchase, something you will find very hard to do. You would need to get the computer back to let someone else in this area of expertise to look at it and write a favourable report, present it to them and if they still refuse take them to court.

For warranty purposes they can set the terms, but have a look at their T&C's and see if customised items are excluded, I would doubt they would be. However it looks like you didn't complete the security tag clause to action the warranty, so SOGA is your only option.

ThumbRemote

Further to the above answers, the retailer are comitting an offence by misleading you about your statutory rights.

Name them here so others can avoid them!

Nilrem

Definitely please name the company, I'm looking at a new PC soon and would love to know who to avoid.

IIRC "tamper proof" or "no tamper" seals on computers are considered not to affect warranty by most/all decent companies now, as computers by their very nature tend to have user replacable/upgradable parts (IIRC even DELL and the likes of Medion don't invalidate your warranty for opening the case).

It sounds like a bunch of cowboys, especially as they expect the user to affix the seals after delivery (a great way to get out of warranty obligations as I suspect a lot of people would forget to do so, or they could claim not to have received the "proof").

visidigi

bris wrote: »

Of course it's still a customised item, just because it still qualifies for DSR reasons doesn't make it not customised, a customised item is something built to the buyers spec which this is.

It doesn't over rule your statutory rights though, but as far as this is concerned because it's now been over 6 months you now need to prove the fault was inherent at time of purchase, something you will find very hard to do. You would need to get the computer back to let someone else in this area of expertise to look at it and write a favourable report, present it to them and if they still refuse take them to court.

For warranty purposes they can set the terms, but have a look at their T&C's and see if customised items are excluded, I would doubt they would be. However it looks like you didn't complete the security tag clause to action the warranty, so SOGA is your only option.

My understanding (and im happy to be proved wrong) is that it isn't customised if it is assembled from a fixed list of part options - the fact the lists of options are fixed means that its considered a variation of a standard configuration, not specifically customised specifically for you (unlike say, a word being printed on the back of a football shirt which could be anything at all).

Like I say, that's my understanding, I could very well be wrong (and if I am it means nearly every PC from Dell, HP, PC Specialist etc is customised based on the package you buy which I think is unlikely).

visidigi

Nilrem wrote: »

Definitely please name the company, I'm looking at a new PC soon and would love to know who to avoid.

IIRC "tamper proof" or "no tamper" seals on computers are considered not to affect warranty by most/all decent companies now, as computers by their very nature tend to have user replacable/upgradable parts (IIRC even DELL and the likes of Medion don't invalidate your warranty for opening the case).

It sounds like a bunch of cowboys, especially as they expect the user to affix the seals after delivery (a great way to get out of warranty obligations as I suspect a lot of people would forget to do so, or they could claim not to have received the "proof").

Depends if it ships with transport foam inside the PC, this would need to be removed before use, resulting in the need to open the case, therefore the attachment of warranty stickers prior to do this would mean they were instantly invalid just by setting it up for the first time.

musicmaker29

I would say that the term regarding you affixing a seal within 48 hours is an unfair term and would, in my opinion, be struck out if tested. Not that it is much help to you.

As you are over 6 months, you need to prove the fault was inherent at the time of purchase. I see very few ways that you could do this, however ultimately only a court can decide.

I'm confused as to why the soga would not apply? If I bought a car and requested a combination of different components (heated rear window, sunroof, different colour), and then the car broke down as I drove it off of the forecourt, the SOGA would still apply.....?

raw1

Thanks for all the replies
I will name the company and list there terms and conditions once I have my machine back!

keyser666

raw1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies
I will name the company and list there terms and conditions once I have my machine back!

You might fins by putting their details here they might move a bit quicker, after all the law is on your side