Broken Laptop - 7 months old - Retailer and Manufacturer Denying Responsibility

bris

It's not just Asus or Hughes you will never get any manufacturer or retailer to admit a cracked screen is anything other that user damage.

Ergates

tightauldgit said:

m0bov said:

Need to get a report that says, on balance of probability, its an inherent fault.

That's what CAB more or less said but 

1. That's not going to be free - might end up costing as much as just doing the screen repair myself. 
2. I don't see how anyone can conclude that other than taking my word for it that I didn't misuse it
3. I'm not even aware of who would do such a thing nearby me, we're kind of rural 

So I'm more and more thinking that I just have to eat **** on this one and make a mental note not to buy from Asus or Hughes again in future. 

1.  *IF* the report can show that the fault was inherent then the cost of the report should also be included in the refund.  However, obviously, if it doesn't, then you'll have spent the money for nothing.   There's no getting around this unfortunately, if you want to proceed that's the risk you have to take.

2.  That is the essential problem you face here - laptop screens mostly don't just crack, it's usually as a result of an impact of some sort.  This isn't a murder case, so you don't have to prove "beyond all doubt" just "on the balance of probabilities"  - but unless an investigation can find some inherent fault, the most likely reason is that the laptop was dropped, or something was dropped on it.

3.  Google laptop repairs.  There's usually a shop or two in most reasonable sized towns.

sheramber

The damage shown  on the screen may indicate stress from twisting- which could be caused by opening is from the corner rather than the middle.

Fosterdog

Where do you store your laptop when not in use and do you have any pets or children? In my years of computer repairs I've seen thousands of cracked screens and they are almost always not caused by an inherent fault, (the two exceptions being a fault with the hinges or casing, or an extreme heat problem, both having a very specific crack pattern) I can count on my hands the number that were caused by inherent faults.

The screens can be cracked with the laptop lid closed, the outer shell will flex under pressure and it doesn't take a lot of pressure to crack a screen. I've seen it from laptops being used as coasters, dogs tennis ball bouncing off the case, a cat jumping from the sofa onto a table landing on the laptop, people leaving a usb pen on the keyboard/armrest area and closing the lid, and hundreds of other scenarios. People often deny that anything has happened to the laptop but out with the two mentioned inherent faults, the only way for a screen to crack is if it's had some sort of external physical damage, they don't just spontaneously crack for no reason. If you post a picture of the crack I can tell you whether it looks like a heat or hinge problem, or if it is caused by an non-inherent fault just by looking at it because the break patterns are so unique.

tightauldgit

Fosterdog said:

Where do you store your laptop when not in use and do you have any pets or children? In my years of computer repairs I've seen thousands of cracked screens and they are almost always not caused by an inherent fault, (the two exceptions being a fault with the hinges or casing, or an extreme heat problem, both having a very specific crack pattern) I can count on my hands the number that were caused by inherent faults.

The screens can be cracked with the laptop lid closed, the outer shell will flex under pressure and it doesn't take a lot of pressure to crack a screen. I've seen it from laptops being used as coasters, dogs tennis ball bouncing off the case, a cat jumping from the sofa onto a table landing on the laptop, people leaving a usb pen on the keyboard/armrest area and closing the lid, and hundreds of other scenarios. People often deny that anything has happened to the laptop but out with the two mentioned inherent faults, the only way for a screen to crack is if it's had some sort of external physical damage, they don't just spontaneously crack for no reason. If you post a picture of the crack I can tell you whether it looks like a heat or hinge problem, or if it is caused by an non-inherent fault just by looking at it because the break patterns are so unique.

I used the laptop and set it down on the floor (not in an area that I walk on) and then i picked it up the next day and the screen cracked (i think during opening it up) - no pets, no impacts, nothing. I don't use excessive force to open it and I'm not the Hulk.

ASUS also say it probably happened during opening but their position is that any time a screen cracks it must be customer-induced damage. They seem to be saying that it's impossible for a screen to crack with normal usage which just seems unreasonable - nothing is perfect. Plus I can find plenty of stories online of people who have had mysterious cracking on their screens on laptops, phones and tablets.

A policy of insisting that their products can't fail in this manner just seems completely unreasonable. As is the regulation that the burden of proof lies with me.