PC world - ASUS - who should return my faulty tablet

Rzjj

Hi, I am a newbie and after some advice/guidance.

At the end of November last year I bought my daughter an ASUS T100 transformer tablet as a Christmas present.

Its been working perfectly fine then a few weeks ago, when I was trying to dock the tablet into the keyboard, a crack appeared right at the point where the keyboard connector is as I clicked it into place. I'd used it before and done this lots of times without problems and now have an unhappy daughter who blames me.

on 18 March I took it into my local PC World, where I purchased it from and explained how it happened etc. The KnowHow lady was helpful and could not see any physical damage so she agreed it should be a warranty repair. They kept the tablet and said they would send it away for repair.

On 2 April we had a call from PC World saying that I needed to go and collect the tablet and send it back to ASUS myself, something to do with paying a charge. I went down today and asked what was going on and was told by the assistant and a manager that it was normal procedure, even though I thought it had been sent away two weeks ago. Apparently ASUS believe it may be physical damage that caused the crack, it was not, this despite PC world sending over photo's of the crack showing where it eminates from and confirming there is no other damage.

I hope ASUS can take it away, inspect it and repair under warranty but I've read a few horror stories about their repairs and service.

Where do I stand if they claim it was caused by physical damage when I know it was not?

Surely it should be PC World who send this back to them?

Please help.

JJ_Egan

The SOGA warranty is from the vendor.
They in all probability either repair or send to the manufacturer for repair.
Looks like the fault is indicated as probable user damage .
Usually that just gets rejected as chargeable non warranty damage .

Go back to the store speak to a manager and ask for the repair to be carried out under the sale of goods act .
Presumption is that PC World send the machine to be repaired at an Asus service centre . Asus may of course reject a warranty repair claiming user damage .
You would then need an independent report to proof its not user damage .

Esqui

If it gets to Asus and they say it is user damage, they will charge you to get it returned (about £45).


Does the crack cause any loss of operation, or is it purely cosmetic?

Rzjj

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately it's complete loss of operation because it's touch screen. The crack started off about an inch long, but since it's been at PC World and handled it has now spread across the whole screen.

We've been told about the £45 fee for return of the item (if they say customer damage) which is why PC World are refusing to return it for us, even though PC World have confirmed they can see no impact damage and have provided ASUS with photographs of the damage.

My worry is that ASUS will say it's user damage no matter what - I have seen a few comments on forums where they say ASUS never pay out or replace for this sort of thing and always put it down to user damage. How can we then prove it wasn't??

I still don't understand why PC World are refusing to deal with this as they are the retailer - and the item was bought less than 6 months ago...

Rzjj

I thought I would update on my progress with this.

I collected the item back from PC World and returned to ASUS after raising an RMA, ASUS use a company they use called LetMeRepair.

LetMeRepair (LMR) contacted me to say that it would cost £280 to replace the cracked screen. I wrote back confirming that it was not caused by misuse or accidental/purposeful damage so should be under warranty. LMR said they would contact ASUS and see what they said but ASUS still refused to cover under warranty claiming customer induced damage.

I wrote back to LMR asking if they could see any other damage and they confirmed in writing that there was none other than the crack above the keyboard dock connector.

I phoned ASUS to complain and escalate this issue and they still believe this to be customer induced damage. I have asked them to take the unit to their assessment team to investigate further but have not yet had a response from them. They claim it is not a known fault, however I have found a couple of other forums where other people have had the same problem.

Any ideas what I should do next?

frugal_mike

You have no legal right to a warranty from the manufacturer so they are free to have pretty much any terms and conditions they want if they do offer one. Do you gave the warranty terms and conditions to hand, and if so does it indicate anything about suspected user-induced damage?

Your legal rights are against the retailer, and as it is less than 6 months since purchase they will have to prove the crack was caused by you.

McKneff

This is what you said in your original Post.


Its been working perfectly fine then a few weeks ago, when I was trying to dock the tablet into the keyboard, a crack appeared right at the point where the keyboard connector is as I clicked it into place. I'd used it before and done this lots of times without problems and now have an unhappy daughter who blames me.


You were 'trying' maybe trying a little too hard and you did indeed cause the crack because you say that that is when it appeared. ????

Rzjj

I wasn't trying hard at all, all I did was line up the connectors and as it clicked into place the crack appeared. No more pressure than usual was being used and there was no resistance.

The crack literally starts at the corner of the docking point.

I've been on transformer forums and can see a number of posts, which I've now forwarded to ASUS, where others have experienced similar issues. I can only hope they see sense.

At worst if ASUS don't play ball I'll get it delivered back to me and go back down to PC World and get it sorted under the sale of goods act (as suggested by Frugal Mike).

magpiecottage

PC World is a trading style of DSG Retail Ltd, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7TG. That is who your claim is against (Currys is also DSG Retail btW).

You should also complain to DSG about the costs you have incurred as a result of its "error" in refusing to take responsibility for the fault.

If you bought the item on a credit (rather than a debit) card and it cost over £100 (even if you paid less than £100 on the credit card) then the card issuer will be jointly and severally liable. i.e. you can force them to pay up for the whole lot!

That may seem unfair on the card provider but you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (free to you) if it does not play ball.

Jakg

frugal_mike wrote: »

Your legal rights are against the retailer, and as it is less than 6 months since purchase they will have to prove the crack was caused by you.

Beware, though, that the manufacturer (an "expert" in the product) has told the retailer they believe the damage has been caused by the customer.

wealdroam

magpiecottage wrote: »

If you bought the item on a credit (rather than a debit) card and it cost over £100 (even if you paid less than £100 on the credit card) then the card issuer will be jointly and severally liable. i.e. you can force them to pay up for the whole lot!

But do remember that the credit provider, just like the seller, will have access to the manufacturer's report stating that the damage is not due to an inherent fault.