Laptop just broke out of warranty

Chrisffxiv

I've had my laptop for just under a year and a half. It's worked fine all that time until today when it wouldn't turn on. I smelt burning so opened it up and some of the chips appear to have burnt. I checked on Reddit and it seems that it is broken without hope of repair.

The laptop came with a standard 1 year warranty but 18 months doesn't seem like long enough for the lifespan of a laptop. I've checked on dells website and you can purchase an extended warranty for up to two more years on top of the basic one year.

My wife thinks I should just do this as it seems to be a faulty product, but I'm worried it'll clearly show that I knew it was broke when I took the policy since it's been out of warranty for almost six months.

Do I have any rights in this situation? Thanks

Petriix

A laptop should be expected to last longer than 18 months and certainly shouldn't catch fire so you have reasonable grounds for a claim under the consumer rights act. The emphasis is on you to prove that it was defective, but that should be fairly straightforward given the circumstances. I'd be contacting the retailer you bought it from. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

if no luck retailer/Dell, is it covered by your home insurance?

sammyjammy

Wen you say you opened it up I assume you mean accessed the internal workings of the laptop in which case you would have broken the warranty terms anyway.

Please don't commit insurance fraud, its not worth it.

coffee_cake

My laptop stopped working 3 months after the 12 month warranty expired.  Took it to an expert who couldn't repair it.  Had to bite the bullet and buy a new one, this time purchasing extended warranty.  Not sure about your laptop brand, but with Asus you have to purchase the extended warranty within a certain timeframe of buying the laptop.

rollingmoon

sammyjammy said:

Wen you say you opened it up I assume you mean accessed the internal workings of the laptop in which case you would have broken the warranty terms anyway.

The warranty has expired, so OP opening it (assuming they can put the screws back in) is hardly a problem.

An expensive appliance like a laptop should last considerably longer than a year and a bit, which is what the Consumer Rights Act (2015) is all about... have a read of this:

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act-aKJYx8n5KiSl

There are even template letters there to help you start a claim against the retailer.

tightauldgit

No, you cant buy an extended warranty to make a claim on an item that's already broken. 

But you should go back to where you bought the item from and tell them that you consider that the item wasn't of satisfactory quality since it only lasted 18 months and that you would like a repair or replacement. 

Jumblebumble

sammyjammy said:

Wen you say you opened it up I assume you mean accessed the internal workings of the laptop in which case you would have broken the warranty terms anyway.

Please don't commit insurance fraud, its not worth it.

I am sure you mean well but you would be better off not giving advice about things that you don't understand

Dell do not void the warranty if you open up the case as for example batteries generally only have a 1 year warranty and they sell spare batteries  on their website
Dell warranty is not an insured product so it is not possible for anyone to commit insurance fraud
Dell are perfectly happy for one to renew the warranty and then claim
When you extend a warranty Dell do not  ask if the product  is working and they don't care either way