Gaming laptop broken - less than 3 years old

jackh123

So back in Nov/Dec last year, my gaming laptop fried itself and one of the chips inside has burnt through the motherboard and cannot be repaired - sent off to a computer specialist who's written a report and included pics.
I've been in contact with Lenovo who appear not to be helpful at all and have only offered to look at the laptop if I pay them to inspect it and to allow them to then quote for the repair. I purchased it in June 2019.

I'm going along the lines of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the device has a warranty of 6 years if its reasonable for the device to still be working, which it should be for the price and specification! I've told them I would like it repaired and not made any unreasonable requests, but again, it comes back to "we won't do anything unless you pay".

Has anyone had this before, do you have any advise?

Thanks in advance

TadleyBaggie

Who did you purchase the laptop from? If it wasn't Lenovo then quoting the CRA 2015 is a bit pointless.

The CRA 2015 doesn't give you a 6 year warranty, it just says that you can take action against the retailer if the item fails due to a fault that was inherent when you bought the item.

Sandtree

jackh123 said:

I'm going along the lines of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the device has a warranty of 6 years if its reasonable for the device to still be working, which it should be for the price and specification! I've told them I would like it repaired and not made any unreasonable requests, but again, it comes back to "we won't do anything unless you pay".

If you have a 6 year warranty why not just claim on that rather than messing about with the CRA?

The CRA entitles you to a "reasonably durable" item which is often rephrased as a reasonable life span. Contract law has a limitation of 6 years from the breach of contract but that doesn't mean that every item would reasonably last for 6 years. Your CRA rights are also against the retailer not the manufacturer.

What does the report state the cause of the damage is? Was it a faulty chip? Had you overclocked it and so it burnt out early? Is it mute on the why?

Assuming you don't have a warranty and instead are relying on your CRA rights then you must deal with the retailer and hope your report is clear enough. Assuming they don't contest the report then they have the right to decide between repair, replace or refund, you can state a preference but they don't have to go with it. If they decide to refund then they can reduce the refund to reflect the amount of use you've had out of the device.

Its been a long time since I've been into gaming kit but gaming + laptop do not make for happy equipment and I would strongly suggest a reasonable lifespan is below 6 years, particularly on higher powered devices (burn bright, burn fast). As such any refund is likely to be well under 50% if its about 3 years old.

jackh123

Thanks for your replies.

I think I phrased it badly in my first post - I don’t have a 6 year warranty, I was meaning the CRA 6 year warranty.

@TadleyBaggie it was purchased directly from Lenovo’s website using PayPal on a credit card. I don’t think this will give me much now from credit card company.

@Sandtree yes, it’s one of the chips that’s blown. Never been overclocked, just kept as a standard build. Annoying as I’m far from a heavy gamer, usually an hour or 2 every other day kind of thing, but I get they still get hot.
At the moment, they aren’t asking anything about the report or anything other than repeating their same we want you to pay.
The lifespan of a laptop in general I’d say is less than 6 years, but when it costs over £1000, i expect not to be buying another less than 3 years down the line.

Sandtree

The CRA gives you statutory rights not a warranty... unfortunately lax wording can add a lot of time and effort to the process. If you email the retailer about your warranty they will rightfully say you don't have one.

Some companies will simply ride roughshod over your rights so its not a magic bullet to quote your rights but you can't do much more than present your case accurately with your supporting evidence. If that doesn't get a favourable response then send a letter before action. If that doesn't solve it then Money Claim Online to go to the small track court. In practice most large companies will settle before the day in court. 

cx6

I do not think it is normal for a chip on an unmodified laptop to fry this way, even if the system is being heavily used.

I think you definitely have a case for complaint.

macman

If you already spent money on a report, then send an LBA to the retailer. If no positive response, then use the small claims process, with your report as evidence, for a civil claim.
Nothing to do with your non-existent 6 year warranty. under CRA 2015.
PS: if you paid with a credit card, then you can do an S75 claim up to 6 years later, but there's no chance your card provider will refund you in these circumstances.

Sandtree

macman said:

PS: if you paid with a credit card, then you can do an S75 claim up to 6 years later, but there's no chance your card provider will refund you in these circumstances.

In normal circumstances in theory there is the same prospects with the credit card as the merchant as the liabilities are identical however the OP stated that they paid with a credit card via PayPal which almost certainly means no S75 (unless they didn't log in to make the payment)

pinkshoes

jackh123 said:

So back in Nov/Dec last year, my gaming laptop fried itself and one of the chips inside has burnt through the motherboard and cannot be repaired - sent off to a computer specialist who's written a report and included pics.
I've been in contact with Lenovo who appear not to be helpful at all and have only offered to look at the laptop if I pay them to inspect it and to allow them to then quote for the repair. I purchased it in June 2019.

I'm going along the lines of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the device has a warranty of 6 years if its reasonable for the device to still be working, which it should be for the price and specification! I've told them I would like it repaired and not made any unreasonable requests, but again, it comes back to "we won't do anything unless you pay".

Has anyone had this before, do you have any advise?

Thanks in advance

As you bought it from Lenovo, your consumer rights are through them.

The CRA is not a warranty. It just gives you rights for UP TO 6 years should something fail due to an inherent fault.

As you have already got an independent report stating that the laptop has failed due to an inherent fault and not due to mis-use, then you need to ask Lenovo for a remedy.

It is up to Lenovo whether THEY choose to repair, replace or refund. A refund would be a partial refund to reflect the 3 years of use you have already had.

If they refuse to repair, replace or refund, then you will need to send a letter before action giving them a deadline to offer a remedy before you take court action.

Manxman_in_exile

pinkshoes said:

jackh123 said:

So back in Nov/Dec last year, my gaming laptop fried itself and one of the chips inside has burnt through the motherboard and cannot be repaired - sent off to a computer specialist who's written a report and included pics.
I've been in contact with Lenovo who appear not to be helpful at all and have only offered to look at the laptop if I pay them to inspect it and to allow them to then quote for the repair. I purchased it in June 2019.

I'm going along the lines of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the device has a warranty of 6 years if its reasonable for the device to still be working, which it should be for the price and specification! I've told them I would like it repaired and not made any unreasonable requests, but again, it comes back to "we won't do anything unless you pay".

Has anyone had this before, do you have any advise?

Thanks in advance

... As you have already got an independent report stating that the laptop has failed due to an inherent fault and not due to mis-use, then you need to ask Lenovo for a remedy...

Apologies if I've missed it, but I don't think @jackh123 has actually said that, have they?  Just that they have a "a report and included pics"?

But given that he insists on talking about a 6 year CRA warranty even when told there is no such thing, it's possible he's one of those posters that simply omit relevant information in favour of including inaccurate information ...

Sandtree

Manxman_in_exile said:

pinkshoes said:

jackh123 said:

So back in Nov/Dec last year, my gaming laptop fried itself and one of the chips inside has burnt through the motherboard and cannot be repaired - sent off to a computer specialist who's written a report and included pics.
I've been in contact with Lenovo who appear not to be helpful at all and have only offered to look at the laptop if I pay them to inspect it and to allow them to then quote for the repair. I purchased it in June 2019.

I'm going along the lines of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the device has a warranty of 6 years if its reasonable for the device to still be working, which it should be for the price and specification! I've told them I would like it repaired and not made any unreasonable requests, but again, it comes back to "we won't do anything unless you pay".

Has anyone had this before, do you have any advise?

Thanks in advance

... As you have already got an independent report stating that the laptop has failed due to an inherent fault and not due to mis-use, then you need to ask Lenovo for a remedy...

Apologies if I've missed it, but I don't think @jackh123 has actually said that, have they?  Just that they have a "a report and included pics"?

A question which I raised earlier and was ignored by the OP... sounds like the report covers the "what" but not the "why" so could be rebutted