Faulty HP Laptop

LPChamberlain

Thank you for all the responses, I appreciate you taking the time to consider my post. 

Exodi

tightauldgit said:

if the laptop isn't working I fail though to see how returning it to the manufacturer could be classed as a significant inconvenience, I think anyone trying to take that argument to a court would be laughed at. 

To be honest, this was my first thought also. It would just be seen as being difficult for the sake of it.

tightauldgit

Okell said:

@RefluentBeans -  for clarification for the OP, you're saying that what the OP has termed "an attempted repair" by HP Tech support over the 'phone wouldn't count as a "first repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, yes?

If so you might be right and I might be wrong...   

It sounds more like 'tech support' than an attempted repair. To put an extreme example in if they'd said 'turn it off and back on again' and that fixed it for an hour before the problem reoccurred  I don't think that would be classed as an attempted repair. 

I'm not sure there really is any definition of what constitutes a repair so you can always chance these things but you have to consider the likelihood of convincing a judge. It wouldn't convince me to say that a phone tech trying a few things is a repair. 

tightauldgit

RefluentBeans said:

Okell said:

@RefluentBeans -  for clarification for the OP, you're saying that what the OP has termed "an attempted repair" by HP Tech support over the 'phone wouldn't count as a "first repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, yes?

If so you might be right and I might be wrong...   

I’d say it’s a more technical ‘turn it off and on again’. I think it’d likely be a diagnostic not an attempted repair. Changing the bios is as simple as pressing F12 on startup and entering a settings program. Lots of options in there and can do some proper damage to your system by wrongly applying settings, but I wouldn’t consider it a repair. It’s the same as just applying a different setting from the control panel. 

I think the only option is to send it away or ask HP to come to the OP but if the engineer comes to the OP it’s highly unlikely they’ll be carrying the specific part anyway and instead would need to send off for it (or send the laptop off to a central repair location). I also don’t think that constitutes the ‘major inconvenience’ term in the CRA. 

Given that send it back to us and we will fix it constitutes about 99% of how any small product repairs are going to work I don't see how it could ever be consider a significant inconvenience to ask for it. If they said you have to deliver it by hand to our warehouse in Somalia that would be one certainly. I don't think lack of a timescale is an issue either since they haven't diagnosed the problem yet. 

This feels like one of these issues where the consumer has talked themselves into a corner and become entrenched to be honest. 

RefluentBeans

tightauldgit said:

RefluentBeans said:

Okell said:

@RefluentBeans -  for clarification for the OP, you're saying that what the OP has termed "an attempted repair" by HP Tech support over the 'phone wouldn't count as a "first repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, yes?

If so you might be right and I might be wrong...   

I’d say it’s a more technical ‘turn it off and on again’. I think it’d likely be a diagnostic not an attempted repair. Changing the bios is as simple as pressing F12 on startup and entering a settings program. Lots of options in there and can do some proper damage to your system by wrongly applying settings, but I wouldn’t consider it a repair. It’s the same as just applying a different setting from the control panel. 

I think the only option is to send it away or ask HP to come to the OP but if the engineer comes to the OP it’s highly unlikely they’ll be carrying the specific part anyway and instead would need to send off for it (or send the laptop off to a central repair location). I also don’t think that constitutes the ‘major inconvenience’ term in the CRA. 

Given that send it back to us and we will fix it constitutes about 99% of how any small product repairs are going to work I don't see how it could ever be consider a significant inconvenience to ask for it. If they said you have to deliver it by hand to our warehouse in Somalia that would be one certainly. I don't think lack of a timescale is an issue either since they haven't diagnosed the problem yet. 

This feels like one of these issues where the consumer has talked themselves into a corner and become entrenched to be honest. 

Yeah I thought the same in all honesty. If the repair is classed as inconvenient then it would be mean any repair could be challenged. Also I agree - I think even a technophobe wouldn’t consider pressing F12 by the user an attempted repair. 

Out of curiosity - something I thought of when reading this post and a few other posts - suppose that two distinct faults (not related) occurred after 1 month but before 6 months - would the consumer be entitled to a refund then as they’ve already repaired the product once? I know it’s a purely hypothetical - just curious to the extent of the ‘one attempt at a repair’ and whether that’s for the product or for the fault…

Exodi

tightauldgit said:

RefluentBeans said:

Okell said:

@RefluentBeans -  for clarification for the OP, you're saying that what the OP has termed "an attempted repair" by HP Tech support over the 'phone wouldn't count as a "first repair" under the Consumer Rights Act, yes?

If so you might be right and I might be wrong...   

I’d say it’s a more technical ‘turn it off and on again’. I think it’d likely be a diagnostic not an attempted repair. Changing the bios is as simple as pressing F12 on startup and entering a settings program. Lots of options in there and can do some proper damage to your system by wrongly applying settings, but I wouldn’t consider it a repair. It’s the same as just applying a different setting from the control panel. 

I think the only option is to send it away or ask HP to come to the OP but if the engineer comes to the OP it’s highly unlikely they’ll be carrying the specific part anyway and instead would need to send off for it (or send the laptop off to a central repair location). I also don’t think that constitutes the ‘major inconvenience’ term in the CRA. 

Given that send it back to us and we will fix it constitutes about 99% of how any small product repairs are going to work I don't see how it could ever be consider a significant inconvenience to ask for it. If they said you have to deliver it by hand to our warehouse in Somalia that would be one certainly. I don't think lack of a timescale is an issue either since they haven't diagnosed the problem yet. 

This feels like one of these issues where the consumer has talked themselves into a corner and become entrenched to be honest. 

I just assumed the 'significant inconvenience' thing was probably intended by legislature as in being without a faulty fridge-freezer (whereby the consumer might be forced to live off takeaways) or a faulty shower unit (where the consumer doesn't have any other way to wash themselves except with the taps and a sponge) or a faulty component of a stairlift (where an elderly couple can't get up or downstairs) or a faulty thermostat (in the middle of winter), etc, etc.

I can't imagine it applies to sending off a laptop that doesn't work. Otherwise, as you say, 99% of consumer electronics would have to be refunded without repair.