Laptop failed just out of warranty, but failed 3 times in warranty with same fault

drodbar

I bought a laptop for study just over a year ago.  It failed within the first 3 months and was sent away for repair.  It was returned to me and they said they had replaced one part, but it still had the same fault, so went back for repair again. Shortly after being returned to me for the 2nd time it failed again and had to be sent away once more.  At one point the laptop had been back at the manufacturers for repair more time than I'd had it in my possession.

At the third failure (still during the warranty period), I asked to return the laptop and have a refund, but this was denied and they told me that they could only offer a repair.

The warranty expired on the laptop a few days ago and almost instantly the same fault returned.  I have no confidence that this device is any good and I can't rely on it for any serious work.

The fault is that the screen starts flickering on and off, then this gets progressively worse over a few days, until it goes black completely.  Sometimes it'll be fine for an hour, other times it starts within moments of the OS starting.  I can plug an external monitor in and that works fine, but I shouldn't have to - it defeats the point of it being a laptop.  Also, I bought the laptop through an online retailer and not the manufacturer directly.  When I contacted the retailer, they told me that I had to deal with the manufacturer.  I have also done all of the manufacturer checks, such as resetting the OS/BIOS/driver updates etc.

Given that the fault is the same as before and one they haven't been able to fix, do I have any rights for getting it fixed (or better still, refunded, so I can buy another from a manufacturer that I trust)?

Aylesbury_Duck

Warranty rights are different to consumer rights, so if the warranty is no longer in effect, that's that route closed off.  You need to go back to the retailer to see what they say.  

JJ_Egan

What manufacturers do you trust ??

PS ,

Consumer Rights contact the retailer .

Unlikely to get a full refund .

Manxman_in_exile

What did you do when the laptop failed the first time?  Did you simply go straight to the manufacturer under their warranty, or did you complain to the retailer?  And if you complained to the retailer, did they do anything or did they just refer you to the manufacturer?

As others have said there is a very important difference between your statutory consumer rights (against the retailer) and any warranty rights (against the manufacturer).  You are probably always best to complain to the retailer in the first instance and to use your statutory consumer rights.  They may refer you to the manufacturer to satisfy those consumer rights.  It's probably not a good idea to go straight to the manufacturer first as it may make enforcing your statutory consumer rights more difficult later...