Problem with 4 month old laptop from pc world

miss_haggies

Hi first post here 😄
Having a problem with pc world on Chester road, Stretford - they are refusing to replace or refund my HP laptop which I 'know' under consumer law say they have to do so as its under 6 months old. It's an inherent fault with the laptop - they didn't even turn it on and were more bothered if I bought extended warranty. They didn't even offer to test it instead it's we'll send it away for repair can take upto 28 days to come back. I know what the problem is and it's the battery (it is a chip in the battery that reports to the bios how much charge it's holding - it's randomly turning off - if they had bothered to turn it on in store they would have seen that and they wouldn't even order me in a replacement battery OR remove one from a laptop in store to test it with. I'm fuming. I paid on visa debit - wish I'd paid by credit card as Id do a chargeback and get it sorted that way.
I phoned customer services and they just kept quoting store policy and said they can't override the store - ??
I would have been happy for a replacement laptop instead they were quite arsy and kept basically saying it's store policy - errr so they overwrite my rights as a consumer?
Can anyone help me with this as I am at my wits end with it.

wealdroam

miss_haggies wrote: »

Hi first post here 😄
Having a problem with pc world on Chester road, Stretford - they are refusing to replace or refund my HP laptop which I 'know' under consumer law say they have to do so as its under 6 months old. It's an inherent fault with the laptop - they didn't even turn it on and were more bothered if I bought extended warranty. They didn't even offer to test it instead it's we'll send it away for repair can take upto 28 days to come back. I know what the problem is and it's the battery (it is a chip in the battery that reports to the bios how much charge it's holding - it's randomly turning off - if they had bothered to turn it on in store they would have seen that and they wouldn't even order me in a replacement battery OR remove one from a laptop in store to test it with. I'm fuming. I paid on visa debit - wish I'd paid by credit card as Id do a chargeback and get it sorted that way.
I phoned customer services and they just kept quoting store policy and said they can't override the store - ??
I would have been happy for a replacement laptop instead they were quite arsy and kept basically saying it's store policy - errr so they overwrite my rights as a consumer?
Can anyone help me with this as I am at my wits end with it.

Of course store policy does not override your consumer rights.

The store does however have the right to check that the problem is not due to misuse or fair wear and tear... in other words they have the right to check that the fault is inherent.

Having decided that the fault is inherent, they must provide a remedy, which could be either a refund, replacement or repair.

You can choose a remedy, but you cannot force the seller to provide a remedy that is either impossible or disproportionately costly. That effectively means that the seller chooses the remedy.

miss_haggies

They have a repair bench in store and they didn't even turn it on.
First words out of his mouth were did you buy a extended warranty. They didn't even look how old it was I only bought it on the 10th June.
I know what the problem is - the battery chip isn't reporting to the bios -but they could have put another hp battery in from one in store and see what error (if any) it would give or boot up normally. I can't be without my laptop for up to 28 days as I do work on it. It was we will send it away I was like test it here, they were like NO.

SuperHan

They're not qualified to test that sort of thing in store.

The in store benches are more for software related issues that they can fix there. They have no training etc etc to start playing with BIOS and trying to figure that out. What's more, even if they did, they won't have a new battery to put in (4 months later, it's unlikely they still stock the identical model, and they won't open up new boxes to see if it may be the cause) or any way of fixing the chip, so it would still need sending off.

All they have to do is fix the machine under law and under your extended warranty. They ask if you have the warranty as there is a slightly different process if you do.

You have no right at all for a refund or a replacement, so they are doing their bit under the law by repairing. As you are claiming under consumer law, they do not have to consider that you do work on your laptop, as you didn't make a B2B purchase. They just have to fix it without significant inconvenience to you as a consumer.

Given 15 years ago, nobody had a laptop and got on just fine, it's probably safe that 28 days isn't unreasonable to survive without one without significant inconvenience.

George_Michael

miss_haggies wrote: »

Hi first post here ��
Having a problem with pc world on Chester road, Stretford - they are refusing to replace or refund my HP laptop which I 'know' under consumer law say they have to do so as its under 6 months.

If you went in demanding that they replace or repair the laptop, this might explain why they are not being too helpful.

What you think you "know" is actually wrong. They can choose to refund, replace or repair.

wealdroam

miss_haggies wrote: »

I can't be without my laptop for up to 28 days as I do work on it.

Tell them you bought it for business use then, and watch your consumer rights evaporate.

Invoke your business disaster recovery plan.

Imdaewen

You might be better off just dealing with HP directly.

I wouldn't let PC World touch my tech with a barge pole.

AJXX

Hang about OP. This is a big load of BS.

they are refusing to replace or refund my HP laptop

No they aren't, you've just said they've offered to send it away to be looked at. The fault/problem will need an official diagnosis before they'll do anything. They can't do that in store. They don't HAVE to replace or refund you, they're allowed to try and repair it first.

It's an inherent fault with the laptop

Says you? Let me tell you something, working in tech support myself, everything is a common problem/inherent fault according to customers.

I would have been happy for a replacement laptop

Why would you be entitle to one? They're doing a repair under warranty and nothing else. You admitted yourself you have no extended coverage (which usually includes a loaner).

they were quite arsy and kept basically saying it's store policy

I can't be without my laptop for up to 28 days as I do work on it. It was we will send it away I was like test it here, they were like NO.

So they've told you many times that they don't do it in store. Why do you think all these people are telling you NO? They can't do it in the store! If they could then they would, I'm sure they don't want to argue with someone for the sake of it!

errr so they overwrite my rights as a consumer

Well, yes actually. If you use it for business or purchased it for business then you've got no consumer rights as such.

They've offered to send it away for repair. You've kicked up a massive fuss because you are under some delusion of entitlement.

Take it back to the store, let them send it away to be repaired, get it back working. Easy isn't it?

If you need a computer on a daily basis for work then have a bloody cheap backup PC to use. Especially if you don't take out a business level maintenance contract or buy a laptop designed for home/consumer use in general.

Much ado about nothing

greatgimpo

Imdaewen wrote: »

I wouldn't let PC World touch my tech with a barge pole.

I wouldn't even walk into the shop knowing what their reputation is like.

Esqui

Have you made sure the battery is locked in place, with the clips on the back? I get weird battery errors when one of them is not locked

artbaron

I know it's not helpful but for the life of me I can't understand why anybody would buy anything from PC World, ever.