Warranty for 18 month old laptop, must they repair?

t8769

Laptop broke after 18 months, both seller and manufacturer Acer say it only has 12 month warranty.
However, I seem to remember, under the Sale of Goods act 1979, that I can insist on this being repaired after 1 years, if I have a letter form an IT person to say that this has constantly or always had this fault.
Can anyone help me with this - do I have the right to go to Acer and insist that they repair this?


Thank you

y3sitsm3

The Sale of Goods Act was largely replaced by the Consumer Rights Act.

You are roughly correct that an independent report from an expert may be required if the company asks for it.  An "IT person" probably isn't going to be qualified for that, as that covers the entire industry.  They'd also need to confirm it's an inherent fault.

However you only have rights against the retailer, so unless Acer sold you the laptop you have no rights against them and whoever you do have rights against can choose the remedy, which could be a partial refund due to the 18 months usage you've already had.

t8769

Thanks for the info. Will go back to the retailer. 
They told me only 12 month warranty, but will try again.

visidigi

What have ACER Confirmed has failed on the laptop? - as per above, 'constantly' isn't a reason, it has to be inherent. Something could be constantly happening due to configuration or your personal usage pattern.

A letter would have to be from a qualified (likely registered) business which confirms in writing that its inherent.

The_Fat_Controller

If it has "always had this fault" why has it not manifested itself from day 1 or within the warranty period ?

Sounds a bit suspicious to me.

Manxman_in_exile

t8769 said:

Thanks for the info. Will go back to the retailer. 
They told me only 12 month warranty, but will try again.

If you went to Acer and just said something like:  "Can I get this fixed under warranty?" then they would be correct in saying "No" if the T&Cs of the waranty say it only lasts for 12 months.

But if you went to them and said something more like "I think this machine is faulty and under my statutory rights given to me by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, I want you to remedy it" then you ought to get a different response.

After six months from purchase they will be entitled to ask you to provide evidence that the fault you complain of was "inherent" at the time of purchase.  You would normally do this by getting a written report from an expert diagnosing the cause of the fault.

Manxman_in_exile

The_Fat_Controller said:

If it has "always had this fault" why has it not manifested itself from day 1 or within the warranty period ?

Sounds a bit suspicious to me.

I don't think the OP has actually said (or at least I don't think they actually meant) that it has had this fault from day 1.

t8769 said:

... I seem to remember, under the Sale of Goods act 1979, that I can insist on this being repaired after 1 years, if I have a letter form an IT person to say that this has constantly or always had this fault.

I took the "if" to be introducing a hypothetical - rather than the actual - situation.  But if I'm wrong, I agree it seems very odd that it hasn't been a problem in the first 18 months or that the OP has done nothing about it...

sheramber

Did the IT  person what the fault was?

How does he know it has 'always had it if it only 'broke'  after 18 months?

t8769

Thanks

I'll get an IT engineer's letter and hope Acer fix it.

Chromebooks usually last a long time, this one's been at home for 18 months and treated gently, it'll be a pity if it does so soon.

y3sitsm3

t8769 said:

Thanks

I'll get an IT engineer's letter and hope Acer fix it.

Chromebooks usually last a long time, this one's been at home for 18 months and treated gently, it'll be a pity if it does so soon.

You need a report from someone who fixes electronics, not an IT engineer.

unforeseen

Being a Chromebook, it's not a case of it expiring and the lack of updates causing a problem?