Should I pay?

Jordan777

I bought a custom built pc off a UK based company around a month ago, after recieving it I had constant blue screens (Critical errors) I was In contact with them trying to diagnose the issue for a couple weeks to no avail and they eventually issued a return merchandise authorisation, after a week or so they concluded it as a faulty operating system (which they installed) and because software isn't under warranty trying to make me pay for repairs and delivery. Is this not a statutory right because it seems like faulty goods to me, some advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

m0bov

Send them a LBA, did they supply the OS? How did you pay?

Leo2020

What is a "faulty operating system" exactly? What did they actually say was wrong with it?

Not blaming you but problems with a PC can be caused by user error and there is nothing actually wrong with the PC. If user error then they don't have to provide a repair for free. More details please, if you have an email from them copy and paste it.

Jordan777

They just said it was something I installed, however I'm sure Google chrome wont mess up the OS, i also did a soft reinstall myself which wiped any installed programs and the problem still persisted.

bris

Viruses aren't easy to remove a soft reinstall would not do it.


I assume it was working until you installed the software, so to me it also looks like you installed something nasty, easy thing to do really but not their fault.

Fosterdog

People trying to download google chrome is one of the most common ways I've seen for viruses getting on machines. So many people download it from the wrong place where it comes bundled with loads of nagware. Direct from google it is just chrome with nothing else but the other sites can have all sorts. Quite a few people even end up with chromium instead of chrome (logo is the same except in greyscale instead of multicoloured).

If however it really is a problem with the OS not caused by something you have done/installed then no you shouldn't have to pay. If it is caused by a virus then they don't have to sort it for you free of charge.

steampowered

If the problem arose because the PC was faulty, they have to pay.

If the problem arose because of something you did, you have to pay.

Even if software problems are not covered by their warranty, if they supplied the system with a pre-installed OS, they are still liable for ensuring that the overall system is satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.

I think we would need to know more about what the software issue actually was. If they supplied the OS and it was an OS issue, that's their responsibility. But if the OS failed because you installed something dodgy, that's your problem.

To be honest I wouldn't expect a blue screen of death on a system that is only a month old. You should ask them to explain what the issue was.

AndyPix

bris wrote: »

Viruses aren't easy to remove a soft reinstall would not do it .

Very very very (yes three) unlikely. Boot sector viruses are very rare these days


OP I would be amazed if you had managed to install something that would produce a BSOD unless you went mad installing all kinds of stuff.


Blue screens these days are almost always driver or hardware issues and with this being a custom build I would bet my bottom dollar that this is the case here.


What was the OS ?


If it is W10 then an update could have borked one of the specialist drivers that the build company installed.


I would want to know exactly what fault they are diagnosing (OS problem doesnt cut it).
It's a shame you didnt take note of the stop error on the blue screen because that would have told us what the issue was.

Jordan777

Stop codes I didn't jot down but they were kernel 64s I believe, also re me getting a virus i scanned with AVG full and malwarebytes alike. I also have it qualifications so I'm not dumb regarding internet security and always have downloaded trusted programs from the software manufactuers website, to put a long story short, It wasn't me

CoolHotCold

AndyPix wrote: »

Very very very (yes three) unlikely. Boot sector viruses are very rare these days

A soft reinstall does not remove user data, it only restores the windows operating system and apps. If the user is talking about this option then it is entirely possible to keep the infection.

During the Windows 10 Restore, it asks if you want to keep files, or remove everything.

Remove everything is usually the one sure way to determine if it is a hardware of software as it puts it back to how it came out of the box.

AndyPix

^^ keep files is not the same as keep installed programs.


The files it refers to are documents (pictures etc) . Programs (ergo viruses/malware) will be removed.


So yes the install exe (or .js or whatever) could still be there, and the user could reinfect by running it again