Lenovo Repair under warranty - who pays postage?

big_boss

I bought it as a consumer.

big_boss

Here's an update:

I contacted Citizens a Advice service, and this is the reply I got:

Thank you for your enquiry to the Citizens Advice consumer service dated 28/04/14. Your reference number for this case is XXX and should be quoted in all further correspondence regarding this case.

We understand from your email that you are looking to establish your legal position in relation to a laptop that you have purchased which is defective.

To clarify our role: The Citizen Advice service is now responsible for providing consumers in the UK with a telephone and online service offering information and advice on consumer issues. We work in partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Services. Although we cannot act on your behalf or offer an opinion, we can offer legal and practical advice on your civil position in relation to current UK legislation regarding consumer issues.

Based on the information you have provided the key legal points in response to your enquiry are as follows:

Your rights against this trader would be governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (As amended), which states all goods supplied by a trader to a consumer must be of a ‘satisfactory quality’ which means the goods should be free from faults, last a reasonable time, be fit for the purpose they were made for, and should not be unsafe.

Therefore, if you can demonstrate that the laptop you purchased does not meet these requirements; you may hold the trader in breach of contract and ask them to provide a suitable for of redress.

The law suggests that if you make the trader aware of any issues within a short time of purchase, you can attempt to have the goods returned to the trader and ask for a full refund. Once this initial period has elapsed you can expect a repair or a like-for-like replacement; or if neither of these are possible, an appropriate level of refund taking into account the time you have had to use and benefit from the laptop.

In addition, if you will allow the trader a chance to repair or replace before considering a refund the ‘burden of proof’ would be on the trader. To clarify, the law suggests that any faults which occur within the first 6 months are assumed to have been present at the time of sale, and have only just become apparent.

To reject the goods the burden of proof would be on you to provide a reasonable argument that the goods do not meet the above requirements.

A consumer would also be within their rights to expect all return postage costs to be reimbursed, if they can provide reasonable argument that the goods supplied failed to comply with the requirements detailed above.

Please note that the trader does have the right to inspect the product to determine the cause of the fault(s) before offering any redress. If the trader is able to demonstrate that the fault(s) is due to fair wear and tear, misuse or neglect, the trader would not be obliged to provide any form of redress.

You may want to consider paying the return cost under protest and stating to the trader that if the fault with the laptop is due to a manufacturing fault then you would expect to be reimbursed for that amount as you should not be at a loss as a result of faulty goods.

Therefore at this stage, you could try to discuss the matter further with the trader, with reference to the above information. However, if you are unable to reach an amicable compromise, you could take a more formal approach and send the trader a recorded delivery letter. The letter should outline any relevant events regarding this issue and make it clear, what you expect from the trader and why. It should also give the trader a reasonable timeframe in which to respond to your claim(s) e.g. 14 days. It is also worth retaining a copy of the letter and the recorded delivery receipt provided by the post office.

Template letters can be found at -http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_making_a_complaint_e/consumer_sample_letters_e/list_of_sample_letters.htm (if the link does not work when you click it, please copy and paste it into your browser address bar). In this case, the letter named ‘Letter complaining about faulty goods’ would be most suitable.

When using the template letters it is important that you follow the online instructions carefully. In addition, once the letter has been generated it may also require further editing, in order to make it clear to the trader what the nature of your complaint is.

The reason we suggest sending the trader a letter is just in case you are unable to reach an amicable resolution. Having a record of your correspondence would help you demonstrate how and when you attempted to resolve the dispute yourself, should you need to escalate your claim.

In addition, sending letters by recorded delivery would allow you to use the ‘Recorded Signed For’ label the post office will supply you with to confirm that the trader has received the letter.

In addition, where goods or services have been paid for using a form of credit such as a credit card or a credit agreement, you may hold the credit provider equally liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (providing the purchase amount is over £100 and under £30,000) if there is a breach of contract.

It would be advisable to send a separate recorded delivery letter to the credit company, enclosing copies of all correspondence sent to the trader to date, with a full outline of events. You will need to state that you are holding the credit company jointly liable for any breaches of the contract, and request their assistance in bringing about a satisfactory conclusion to the matter.

We will inform Trading Standards of the trader's activities in this situation. Whilst this would not help with your own civil complaint, Trading Standards can take into consideration such complaints when prioritizing their activities.

If you require any further civil advice or information about this case, please do not hesitate to contact the Citizens Advice consumer service by return email or on 08454 04 05 06 quoting the case reference number.

Thank you for your enquiry.


Citizens Advice consumer service

Tel: 08454 04 05 06

Web: https://www.adviceguide.org.uk





Armed with this, I first contact Lenovo repair directly, who initially said they would consider my case as an "exception" but later refused to pay the postage. So I paid the postage of £27.60 under protest.

I then sent a recorded delivery letter to Lenovo. I got a response via email after 3 days:



We have received your complaint regarding your ThinkPad Yoga (20CD), serial number XXX.
I can understand that you have sent the machine for repair to our repair’s centre and would like us to refund the shipping costs for it.

I can see that your machine is entitled for the following warranty:

Base Warranty
Start Date:
2013-12-11
End Date:
2014-12-20
Warranty:
1EZ
Active
Description:
This product has a one year limited warranty and is entitled to depot repair service. Customers may call their local service center for more information. Dealers may provide carry-in repair for this product.

I have reviewed your case with our technical support team and I can see that they have proceeded with the repair of your machine within valid terms and conditions.

If you require more information or I can assist further in any way, please do not hesitate to reply directly to this email and I will be glad to assist you.

Kind regards,





This was my response:

Thank you for your email. Please note that since the defect occured within 6 months of purchase, it is considered as a manufacturing defect as per Sale of Goods Act, which further clearly states that the defect should be sorted at no cost to me (which includes postage).

I am aware of the warranty terms, but it should not affect my statutory rights as a consumer.

I have been in touch with Citizens Advice service, and I am forwarding you their email (please see below).

Kindly refund me £27.60 as per the terms of Sale of Goods Act.

Thank you.

Regards,





Finally, yesterday, I got this response:

Thank you for your email.
I have checked this situation with our legal department and was advised that you have a right to claim the shipping costs here from your reseller who in turn has a right to claim it from us.
Therefore we will refund you directly in order to speed this up.

Can you please provide me with the following?

Original invoice for the item to be refunded
Exact amount that needs to be refunded
Your bank name, bank account number, bank account name, IBAN and SWIFT.

I will be happy to assist you further when I receive this information from you.
Thank you very much

Kind regards,

ThumbRemote

Seems like a good result - well done.

shaun_from_Africa

I'm sure that one reason that the OP got the postage refunded without too much of a fight was due to the fact that the letters/emails sent were factually correct and well written, but more importantly, polite.

Whether it's dealing face to face with someone in a store or communicating at a distance, going in "all guns blazing" often doesn't yield the required result, something that a fair few posters on here don't seem to understand or agree with.

Ant555

I am glad this has worked out for the OP but I recently called Lenovo about a faulty Thinkpad under warranty that I purchased off Amazon (trackpad not working)

They sent DPD to collect it and take it to the Medion service centre in Germany. Returned to me after 6 days all working.

I wonder if different Thinkpad models are fixed at specific service centres.

jumpedtheshark

Given they offer different levels of warranty, I think you got lucky OP. I specifically paid for a next-business-day onsite warranty. They've been out twice since I bought it a couple of years ago, and collected it for repair once for something that apparently couldn't be fixed onsite.

I have to admit, my sense with this laptop the quality isn't what it used to be and, whilst I'm grateful for repairs with minimal fuss due to the warranty, I probably won't be buying a Lenovo next time.

visidigi

jumpedtheshark wrote: »

Given they offer different levels of warranty, I think you got lucky OP. I specifically paid for a next-business-day onsite warranty. They've been out twice since I bought it a couple of years ago, and collected it for repair once for something that apparently couldn't be fixed onsite.

I have to admit, my sense with this laptop the quality isn't what it used to be and, whilst I'm grateful for repairs with minimal fuss due to the warranty, I probably won't be buying a Lenovo next time.

Absolutely wrong. The OP got what they are entitled to under SoGA, you can buy whatever warranty you want, it doesn't matter. SoGA has correctly covered the OP here, he's been succinct, polite and timely, I have to say very patient too.

If you are going to direct channel sell Lenovo clearly need to understand the rights of the consumer better.

There was no luck here, what happened was what should have happened without all the wrong responses before it.

big_boss

Exactly. Whatever the warranty terms may be, it should not affect my statutory rights as a consumer (read that small print in all warranty terms).