New Huawei Laptop

jgallcash

I purchased a new laptop as a gift for my wife, which arrived on xmas eve.  I set up windows and added MS office etc a few days later maybe around New Year but its not been used properly until the beginning of this week when my wife started up with work again.  She used it for a day or so with no issue but shortly after she noticed a very thin hairline crack in the screen.

Its strange because you cannot see it looking straight on at the screen, its really thin but when you look at an angle its really clearly there.  Additionally its not making the screen bleed or having any affect on the pixels in any way so I'm not sure if its a defect of the screen rather than damage per se.  It's also not affected the touch screen but clearly its no good having a crack in it which could develop further.

I've made contact with Huawei straight away, who have asked for it to be returned to them for review and if satisfied they will send a replacement (I requested this rather than a refund as we ant the laptop).  I do appreciate this is absolutely normal practice and they need an opportunity to review the item to ensure its not been bashed around etc.  I'll wait patiently for their response.

However, I'm a cynical soul, I don't have any reason to trust this company having never purchased anything from them before and I'm a little frustrated that I've shelled out £600 and now I'm going to be left without a computer for 2-3 weeks but it is what it is.  I hope they'll review and replace very soon.

I am interested to know what my legal position is here?  I don't think they could reasonably suggest the damage has been caused by us given how it cant be seen straight on and I would expect inflicted damage by misuse would be obviously worse but what are my options either way?  What options would I have if they refused?

I paid for it on a debit card rather than a credit card so I don't have section 75 protection.  I do have photos and can post if that helps, but didn't think it relevant 

TELLIT01

The fact that the crack isn't immediately visible doesn't really support an argument that the user couldn't be responsible for it happening, although I'm not suggesting that is the cause.  All you can really do is wait and see what the engineering report comes back with.

Aylesbury_Duck

Your consumer rights would be exercised with the retailer, not the manufacturer (unless Huawei is both in this case?)

If you bought directly from Huawei, you'll have to await their verdict.  If they believe the fault to be inherent, presumably they'll just replace it as you wish.  If they believe it was caused by misuse or accidental damage, you'll have to try and prove otherwise.

If you bought from elsewhere, then by sending it to Huawei, you're invoking the manufacturer warranty, so you'll have to see what that says about situations like this.  Ultimately, if they don't replace it you can ask for it back and then go to the retailer for a resolution, but the retailer will probably send it to Huawei for checking, anyway.

jgallcash

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Your consumer rights would be exercised with the retailer, not the manufacturer (unless Huawei is both in this case?)

If you bought directly from Huawei, you'll have to await their verdict.  If they believe the fault to be inherent, presumably they'll just replace it as you wish.  If they believe it was caused by misuse or accidental damage, you'll have to try and prove otherwise.

If you bought from elsewhere, then by sending it to Huawei, you're invoking the manufacturer warranty, so you'll have to see what that says about situations like this.  Ultimately, if they don't replace it you can ask for it back and then go to the retailer for a resolution, but the retailer will probably send it to Huawei for checking, anyway.

Item was purchased directly from Huawei but thanks Aylesbury.  See this is the bit that is frustrating, how on earth would I be able to prove that the damage was inherent? Or that there was not some level of damage done via delivery?

Would I have to ask for the item back and arrange an independent engineer to review?

I appreciate that we're talking hypotheticals, i'm sure they will deal with this reasonably.  

Aylesbury_Duck

jgallcash said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Your consumer rights would be exercised with the retailer, not the manufacturer (unless Huawei is both in this case?)

If you bought directly from Huawei, you'll have to await their verdict.  If they believe the fault to be inherent, presumably they'll just replace it as you wish.  If they believe it was caused by misuse or accidental damage, you'll have to try and prove otherwise.

If you bought from elsewhere, then by sending it to Huawei, you're invoking the manufacturer warranty, so you'll have to see what that says about situations like this.  Ultimately, if they don't replace it you can ask for it back and then go to the retailer for a resolution, but the retailer will probably send it to Huawei for checking, anyway.

Item was purchased directly from Huawei but thanks Aylesbury.  See this is the bit that is frustrating, how on earth would I be able to prove that the damage was inherent? Or that there was not some level of damage done via delivery?

Would I have to ask for the item back and arrange an independent engineer to review?

I appreciate that we're talking hypotheticals, i'm sure they will deal with this reasonably.  

I too suspect this is moot, because you're wanting a replacement rather than a refund and they'll probably want to keep a new customer happy.  

But yes, if it came to it you'd get it back and ask someone independent to give their verdict.  As you say, it'll never be conclusive and ultimately you'd consider taking it to small claims court where it would be judged on the balance of probabilities.

HillStreetBlues

Won't the burden of proof be on Huawei as it's less than 6 months old?
So they have to prove you caused the issue EG look at laptop to see if there are any markings to show it's been dropped.

jgallcash

HillStreetBlues said:

Won't the burden of proof be on Huawei as it's less than 6 months old?
So they have to prove you caused the issue EG look at laptop to see if there are any markings to show it's been dropped.

This was kind of what I was anticipating.  Clearly if there was brazen damage or other marks then it would show that the damage was likely done by the owner.  But a hairline crack in the screen on a brand new barely touched device within a few days of delivery.

HillStreetBlues

Before returning I would make sure I have filmed every inch of it and noted down the serial number, if you think they might play hardball.

visidigi

Its a glass screen then I take it. If the touch and the display isn't impacted then its the surface glass on top of the screen itself. especially if you can hardly see it head on but clearly side on. Replacing that glass will possibly be trick, depends how its bonded to the display - I don't know if they will replace your machine, replace the screen or send you a price to repair.

Its possible they could attribute this to opening the screen one handed/twisted. It doesn't need to have physical signs to indicate abuse/damage. It would likely require an independent report though if Huawei don't want to entertain replacement/repair on their cost.

Its possible they may attribute it to 'large glass' which a problem apple had with early mini ipad's which did similar as the tolerance cut on the glass was out - whereby it would crack as it was just too big of the space it sat in.

jgallcash

So an update - they received the item and it seems that in transit the crack had developed quite badly.  The picture they sent me had a very obvious crack in the screen, awful.  With that they refused to replace the item (understandably) and quoted for a new screen.  

Thankfully I'd taken a ton of photos before sending the item back as well as showing that it was packed securely and correctly.  When I sent them the photos they agreed to replace the laptop.

Appreciate your help