"Last a reasonable length of time"

scarletjim

I wonder if anyone can advise on this, as having read various articles in the sticky, I'm not quite sure where we stand.

My girlfriend bought a laptop about 17 months ago, online, from John Lewis. It seemed fine for the first few months, then after about 8 months it crashed and we couldn't restart it. She called technical support, who talked her through, which worked - for a while. A few weeks later the same happened again, she asked John Lewis for a refund, they refused and said to call technical support, so she did, and again they 'fixed' it. In August it happened again, but that time technical support were not able to fix it, so she had to send it back to Lenovo for repair. That took several weeks. After that it seemed fine for a few months, but recently it has happened again. This time again technical support can't fix it on the phone so she's had to send it back. She wrote to John Lewis basically saying that it's ridiculous having to have it repaired (either by phone or by sending it back) every few months, and so wants a refund, and here was their response:

********
Thank you for your most recent e-mail in relation to the Lenovo Yoga 500 computer.! Its disappointing to learn of the trouble you have had with the computer.! I appreciate its frustrating and I am eager to assist. !
I appreciate you are not satisfied with!the continuos repairs of the computer, and you are trying to claim for a breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
!
Let me firstly begin by addressing the points with your e-mail, you firstly!state about the computer!not being fit for purpose, however we as the retailer were not made aware of this at the time!of you taking delivery of the item.! Whilst I can appreciate these problems did not develop until sometime after taking receipt of the item, they were not found to be an inherent issue with the computer.
!
Therefore the term not being fit for purpose, is only something you are associating with the item currently being inoperable.! We have made sure from the most recent repair, that various additional checks/tests are performed to prevent the problem re-occurring.
!
I must highlight however that the Consumer Rights Act does not state that goods must remain fault free during the guarantee period or any time during the six years that a claim can be made.! It simply states that issues from the point of sale are dealt with in a timely manner and with sufficient evidence to support the claim.
!
It is possible that the item could develop a fault, but if that is the case as done so many times before we will look to repair and provide a resolution.! If we are unable to repair a fault on the computer, an alternative resolution will be provided.
!
Please let me do reassure you that if the computer is continuously going away for repairs, there will as you can imagine be a point in which a repair is just not going to provide a resolution.! Once we have hit that stage and the item is deemed un-reparable we will look into this for you.
!
Prior to responding to this e-mail, I have contacted the servicer who has since confirmed the repair is currently undergoing its final tests (parts have been changed).! Once completed and found to be fully functional, they will send the unit back to John Lewis so it will be available for you to collect.! Please do await a call from store on confirmation the unit has arrived back.
!
Kind regards,
******

The laptop is still being repaired, it's been just over 2 weeks now. Does she have any rights to insist on a refund or even a replacement? Is there any point in her offering to pay the difference to get a replacement that is better? What should she do next, just use the Resolver on this website? What are the chances of getting anywhere pursuing this? If it's likely to be a waste of time, we'd probably just suck it up and save up for a new laptop.

Thanks in advance,
James

neilmcl

scarletjim wrote: »

Please let me do reassure you that if the computer is continuously going away for repairs, there will as you can imagine be a point in which a repair is just not going to provide a resolution.! Once we have hit that stage and the item is deemed un-reparable we will look into this for you

I find this interesting considering they're quoting the CRA. Remind them that under the CRA you only have to allow them one attempt at repairing the laptop, after this you are entitled to another remedy, either a refund (albeit a partial one in your case) or a replacement.

wealdroam

It is also worth noting that under the CRA, after six months from the sale the onus is on you to show that the problem is due to an inherent fault.

That might not be too important at this stage, as I imagine JL are dealing with this under their two year guarantee.

scarletjim

neilmcl wrote: »

I find this interesting considering they're quoting the CRA. Remind them that under the CRA you only have to allow them one attempt at repairing the laptop, after this you are entitled to another remedy, either a refund (albeit a partial one in your case) or a replacement.

Thanks - I think this will be her next move...

Fosterdog

Were any parts replaced first time it went away? If so what parts?

If not then it sounds like all prior issues have been software related so not actually faults and they have been very good to rectify the issues for you free of charge. Certainly the over the phone tech support can only sort software issues so at most it has only had one prior fault if there were parts changed when it went away.

Gavin83

What is the actual problem with the laptop?

scarletjim

We're not sure what the problem was, or what parts were replaced, they never said. When she mentioned to John Lewis that the repair company never said what they had done last time, she says the JL guy laughed and said 'Yeah that's normal, they never say what they've done'.

The problem in layman's terms is that the laptop will suddenly do a 'Blue Screen Of Death', then will not reboot, or to be more precise, when it tries to reboot, it will attempt to fix itself, but will eventually say that it has failed to do so. After which it is totally unusable until they repair it. Each time this happens, she loses all her files (obviously backed up from time to time, but never completely up to date).

takman

scarletjim wrote: »

We're not sure what the problem was, or what parts were replaced, they never said. When she mentioned to John Lewis that the repair company never said what they had done last time, she says the JL guy laughed and said 'Yeah that's normal, they never say what they've done'.

The problem in layman's terms is that the laptop will suddenly do a 'Blue Screen Of Death', then will not reboot, or to be more precise, when it tries to reboot, it will attempt to fix itself, but will eventually say that it has failed to do so. After which it is totally unusable until they repair it. Each time this happens, she loses all her files (obviously backed up from time to time, but never completely up to date).

She should use an online storage site such as Onedrive or Dropbox then all files will automatically be backed up and she will never lose anything.

Agricolae

It's very difficult to know what the problem is. Issues which have arisen as a result of how the computer has been used (i.e. "software" related faults) don't mean the computer itself is defective.

Computers tend to follow a "bathtub curve" failure timeline. If there's an inherent hardware fault then this will usually manifest and cause a problem within a few weeks or months of purchase. Later faults tend to be either random ones which occur due to bad luck, things wearing out over time, or due to accidental damage of some kind.

The OP mentioned the purchase was around 17 months ago. This was around about the time the Sale of Goods Act was replaced by the Consumer Rights Act. The same essential standards of what is and what is not "satisfactory quality" are pretty much the same, but the remedies the OP may be entitled to have different emphases. I think it's important to know which legislation applies.

bris

The same legislation applies, as it's over 6 months then with the warranty they are getting it repaired. If they want anything else well you know the hoops they have to jump through.

scarletjim

Agricolae wrote: »

I think it's important to know which legislation applies.

Apparently it's actually only 14 months, as she bought it in January 2016. Apologies for getting that wrong earlier, I must have misunderstood what she had told me, I'm sure she'd said Oct/Nov 2015 previously.

Anyway I've helped her to write a response to JL seeking at least a credit with which to purchase a new laptop if the issues persist - we'll see how they respond (although given that her laptop is apparently now undergoing checks after being repaired before it will be returned to her, I expect they will insist on her at least trying out the repaired one for a while).

Thanks to all for your input so far.