Maplin item - not as advertised - return rights?

braun_2

Hi,

I bought a processor fan from maplin for £21.99. (code A18FF).

I could have got one from amazon for a quarter of the price but I picked this one from maplin as it stated "Ultra Quiet fan" in the description.

I got it home and fitted it and it is so loud that I can hear the buzzing over my headphones. I can even hear it from downstairs through the ceiling.

I have spoken with maplin and apparently I cannot return it as it is now in a used condition. Do I have any rights here? It is extremely loud and as such I am going to have to replace it.

earthstorm

When did you purchase this?

Was the purchase online through their website or instore?

braun_2

earthstorm wrote: »

When did you purchase this?

Was the purchase online through their website or instore?

Bought in store locally this morning.

frugal_mike

If it is not as described then you can reject it under the Sale of Goods Act. Whether you have used it or not is irrelevant. Obviously I can't hear the fan so I have no idea how it compares to any other processor fan.

Also the phrase 'ultra quiet' doesn't really mean anything, does the packaging quantify it at all? without qualification I imagine a judge would expect it to be quieter than an average heat sink fan.

What was your CPU doing at the time? Obviously it has to work harder when under load so the fan will be louder.

Can you tweak the BIOS settings or the chipset driver settings to make the fan a little less aggressive?

paddyrg

Return it as faulty as opposed to change of mind?

braun_2

My old heatsink/fan was the stock one that came with the cpu and was not quiet but not loud. This new one is what i would call extremely loud. It sounds like its going to take off just when sitting idle. I do not do anything heavy on the computer, just browsing MSE and online shopping etc.

It came in a plain box with no documentation, the box does not mention noise so not sure if this has just been made up on the maplin website.

braun_2

paddyrg wrote: »

Return it as faulty as opposed to change of mind?

Great idea, can't believe I didn't think of doing this already.

shaun_from_Africa

Personally, I think that you should complain to the Maplin head office, stating that the term "ultra quiet" is misleading.

In the questions section of the listing it states

Q. "What is the noise level for this fan?"
A. "Noise Level: 17.3 - 38.5 dB"

If you look at the left hand side of this page:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/buy-computing/pc-cases-and-cooling/processor-cooling
you will see that you can choose what options to use when searching for a processor cooler.
If you click on "Noise level", there is a list of all of the cooler noise levels from lowest to highest, the highest one being 38.5dB (which is the one you bought).
How can it be ultra quiet if it's the loudest one they sell?

visidigi

braun wrote: »

My old heatsink/fan was the stock one that came with the cpu and was not quiet but not loud. This new one is what i would call extremely loud. It sounds like its going to take off just when sitting idle. I do not do anything heavy on the computer, just browsing MSE and online shopping etc.

It came in a plain box with no documentation, the box does not mention noise so not sure if this has just been made up on the maplin website.

That sounds like its not fitted right.

The motherboard controls the speed of the fan on the basis of temperature as a result of system load.

What temperature readings are you getting on the CPU in the BIOS?

If high then you've fitted it wrong and the contact between CPU and HSF is not good enough (did you use your own compound or was it already pre-fitted to the bottom of the heatsink?