Return/refund rights for laptop from Argos

StephenK89

Dear All,
I've been a long-time reader of these very helpful forums and am now hoping to get some advice myself.
I bought a Lenovo laptop from Argos on 12/04/2020 online for my Mum.  It arrived a few days later, but unfortunately, despite trying several times and for a few hours, we couldn't get it to load up as it kept crashing and freezing.
I tried to contact Argos several times, but it kept saying on their website that they couldn't deal with returns queries until their standalone stores re-opened.  (It turns out that they have now started dealing with returns queries.) 
In the meantime, I bought another laptop from Dell for my Mum, as she needed one asap, which is working.
So I spoke to somebody from Argos today, who advised me to contact Lenovo Technical Support to obtain a returns number.  Lenovo went through some troubleshooting and we managed to get the laptop to load up, although I turned it back off again straight afterwards.  I no longer need this laptop as my Mum has another one and although it appears to be working now, I am still not happy with the fact that it wouldn't work for the first 2 months that we had it, before finally being able to speak to Argos to get their advice.
I contacted Argos again and they said that they can only accept a return for a faulty item with the returns number, but as it now appears to be working, Lenovo won't give me this.
I am very sorry for the long message.  Could somebody please kindly advise me what my rights are with regards to getting a full refund from Argos.  They said that their 30 day returns policy will start from 15/06/2020, but does that still mean I am legally entitled to a refund?  I have kept all of the original packaging and accessories and the laptop hasn't been used at all, apart from being turned on for a few minutes today.
I would really appreciate it if somebody could please help me with this, as Argos have had the £305 for the laptop for 2 months now and I really would like this money back.
Many thanks for reading and I look forward to reading any responses.
Best Wishes
Stephen

LadyDee

This is the wrong part of the board for this query - it should be in Consumer Rights.  
Since the "improved" format of MSE I have no idea how to ask a mod to move it - perhaps somebody else will do so for you.

StephenK89

LadyDee said:

This is the wrong part of the board for this query - it should be in Consumer Rights.  
Since the "improved" format of MSE I have no idea how to ask a mod to move it - perhaps somebody else will do so for you.

Thanks LadyDee, it's now been moved.

Manxman_in_exile

Where you say, "They said that their 30 day returns policy will start from 15/06/2020, but does that still mean I am legally entitled to a refund?  I have kept all of the original packaging and accessories and the laptop hasn't been used at all, apart from being turned on for a few minutes today" are you referring to their "change of mind" policy rather than returning a faulty* item?  If it's the former, then so long as you haven't loaded up any software etc and you haven't used or handled it more than you would have done before buying it from a shop (and it sounds as if you haven't), then I'd have thought you'd get a full refund.  But I'm no expert - see what others say.

*If I understand you correctly, it's not faulty, is it?

EDIT:  I suppose whatever you had to do to get it working might be relevant in deciding how much you used or handled it?

neilmcl

As it's not faulty then Argos are under no legal obligation to take it back for a refund. I know this doesn't help you much but that's just the way it is. I suggest you makes sure it's reset back to factory default and hope that they will take it back as part of their returns policy, which they may not.

This is their current policy regarding returns: "Any purchases made from 1 March 2020, can be exchanged up to 30 days from our standalone stores reopening. In line with our returns policy, these products will need to be unopened, unused and in their original packaging, with proof of purchase."

Please note the bit I've put in bold.

StephenK89

Thanks very much for your replies Manxman and Neil, it is much appreciated.
Yes it isn't actually faulty as it is working now, although this was only after several attempts and with the help of the Lenovo troubleshooting advisor.
I only spent about 5 minutes going through a few troubleshooting steps and we managed to get it to load up eventually.  The advisor said that it was a rare glitch with the installation.  
I understand now that Argos don't have to refund me, but I will take your advice and reset it to factory default.  The only thing that I actually did was create a log in and click a few yes/no boxes for sending Microsoft data etc, so do I need to somehow delete this profile?  
I will return it to store and explain the whole situation and see what they say.
I will keep this thread updated and many thanks again for your help.
Best Wishes
Stephen

neilmcl

Assuming it's a Windows 10 laptop, type in "Reset this PC" in the Windows search bar at the bottom of your screen, select it and follow the instructions to delete all your files and reinstall Windows.

StephenK89

neilmcl said:

Assuming it's a Windows 10 laptop, type in "Reset this PC" in the Windows search bar at the bottom of your screen, select it and follow the instructions to delete all your files and reinstall Windows.

Thanks very much for that Neil and sorry for the delay in responding.  I have fully reset it now and I'll return it to my local store asap.  I'll let you know what happens.  Many thanks again for your help!

theonlywayisup

StephenK89 said:

neilmcl said:

Assuming it's a Windows 10 laptop, type in "Reset this PC" in the Windows search bar at the bottom of your screen, select it and follow the instructions to delete all your files and reinstall Windows.

Thanks very much for that Neil and sorry for the delay in responding.  I have fully reset it now and I'll return it to my local store asap.  I'll let you know what happens.  Many thanks again for your help!

Good luck.  It may be worth taking in your receipt for the replacement, just to show that you were in need of a laptop urgently. 

StephenK89

theonlywayisup said:

StephenK89 said:

neilmcl said:

Assuming it's a Windows 10 laptop, type in "Reset this PC" in the Windows search bar at the bottom of your screen, select it and follow the instructions to delete all your files and reinstall Windows.

Thanks very much for that Neil and sorry for the delay in responding.  I have fully reset it now and I'll return it to my local store asap.  I'll let you know what happens.  Many thanks again for your help!

Good luck.  It may be worth taking in your receipt for the replacement, just to show that you were in need of a laptop urgently. 

Thanks very much for that theonlywayisup, I hadn't considered that.  I will let you know how I get on.

chrisgeller

StephenK89 said:

theonlywayisup said:

StephenK89 said:

neilmcl said:

Assuming it's a Windows 10 laptop, type in "Reset this PC" in the Windows search bar at the bottom of your screen, select it and follow the instructions to delete all your files and reinstall Windows.

Thanks very much for that Neil and sorry for the delay in responding.  I have fully reset it now and I'll return it to my local store asap.  I'll let you know what happens.  Many thanks again for your help!

Good luck.  It may be worth taking in your receipt for the replacement, just to show that you were in need of a laptop urgently. 

Thanks very much for that theonlywayisup, I hadn't considered that.  I will let you know how I get on.

Hey - how did this work out? I'm in a similar situation