RIghts concerning a laptop purchased from Argos

Irish_Steve

Hi all

I had originally posted this message in the credit card section as I was trying to see if charge back was an option but I couple of posters pointed me in this direction.

Here's the slightly amended message I posted there:

I have a Visa Debit card with Asda Money and I used it to buy a laptop (£400) from Argos on 16th January and picked it up on 19th Jan. Last night (4th March), the left hand hinge broke as I was closing down the screen. I didn't drop it or anything, it just broke basically.

I took the laptop across to Argos today but they said because I hadn't taken out their own warranty, there was nothing they could do as the purchase was outwith their 30 day policy. And they agreed with me that the hinge had failed and there was no evidence that the laptop had been dropped ie, no dents in it!

To be fair, they rang Acer on my behalf but Acer said I would have to pay for a repair as the fault wasn't mechanical. Not only would I have to pay for that, I would also have to costs for a courier to pick up my laptop!

I have only had the laptop for slightly over six weeks.

Can anyone advise on my consumer rights with Argos or whether I can apply for charge back on my Visa Debit card?

Any information will be greatly received, surely this comes under Martin's SADFARTS rule?

Irish_Steve

Hi All

I hope this is in the correct section.

I have a Visa Debit card with Asda Money and I used it to buy a laptop (£400) from Argos on 16th January and picked it up on 19th Jan. Last night (4th March), the left hand hinge broke as I was closing down the screen. I didn't drop it or anything, it just broke basically.

I took the laptop across to Argos today but they said because I hadn't taken out their own warranty, there was nothing they could do as the purchase was outwith their 30 day policy.

To be fair, they rang Acer on my behalf but Acer said I would have to pay for a repair as the fault wasn't mechanical. Not only would I have to pay for that, I would also have to costs for a courier to pick up my laptop!

I have only had the laptop for slightly over six weeks.

Can anyone advise on my consumer rights with Argos or whether I can apply for charge back on my Visa Debit card?

Any information will be greatly received, surely this comes under Martin's SADFARTS rule?

born_again

No chargeback rights I'm afraid.
Faulty goods via Visa, has to be faulty when purchased & not something that has developed.

So you are down to your consumer rights here.

MorningcoffeeIV

A chargeback won't work as Argos will simply point out that they gave you a laptop in return for your payment.

Go to the Consumer Rights board for advise on your consumer rights and how to best enforce them.

DullGreyGuy

Its over 1 month old and under 6 months old so you are in the area where its the retailers choice if its a repair, replace or refund but a "fault" is assumed to be a problem at purchase unless the retailer can show otherwise. After 6 months it becomes your problem to prove the fault is inherent. 

In the first step you need to push back on Argos saying you are claiming your rights under the Consumer Rights Act and you can specify your preference between repair/replacement/refund.  

It depends if they come back and deny your rights or inspect it and then state you've caused physical damage. 

A chargeback right now maybe a touch early else they may just contest the chargeback both on the grounds that you have the goods and its looking like customer damage (I think thats what you mean Acer said)

Irish_Steve

THanks all - I'll put the message on the consumer's rights board.

And I didn't damage the laptop, the hinge literally gave way as I was closing it

DullGreyGuy

born_again said:

No chargeback rights I'm afraid.
Faulty goods via Visa, has to be faulty when purchased & not something that has developed.

So you are down to your consumer rights here.

If we accept its a fault and not user damage then CRA says it was faulty when purchased if less than 6 months old it just hadn't presented yet. 

born_again

DullGreyGuy said:

born_again said:

No chargeback rights I'm afraid.
Faulty goods via Visa, has to be faulty when purchased & not something that has developed.

So you are down to your consumer rights here.

If we accept its a fault and not user damage then CRA says it was faulty when purchased if less than 6 months old it just hadn't presented yet. 

Thats the CRA, not chargeback rules. 👍

Irish_Steve

DullGreyGuy said:

born_again said:

No chargeback rights I'm afraid.
Faulty goods via Visa, has to be faulty when purchased & not something that has developed.

So you are down to your consumer rights here.

If we accept its a fault and not user damage then CRA says it was faulty when purchased if less than 6 months old it just hadn't presented yet. 

And wouldn't Argos just deny it was faulty?

It is definitely NOT user damage, all I did was close the thing and the hinge popped off along with part the border that goes round the screen.

Can you point me to the correct part of the CRA legislation please

Okell

The legislation is here:  Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

s9 of that Act states that at purchase goods must be of satisfactory quality - which means among other things that they must be free from faults** and defects, and be "durable".

If it broke within a couple of months and Argos agree that there is no evidence of misuse on your part or that you caused the damage then it clearly wasn't of satisfactory quality.

Because it broke within 6 months it isn't up to you to prove that it wasn't of satisfactory quality or free from defect when you bought it - the law presumes that it was faulty.  In order to overturn that presumption Argos would need to prove that it wasn't faulty** when they sold it to you.  Them just denying it was faulty wouldn't be good enough - especially if they have already accepted that the hinge has failed.  See s19(14) and (15).

Argos has one opportunity either to replace or repair the laptop.  If it fails a second time within 6 months of purchase you are entitled to a full refund.  After 6 months Argos would be entitled to reduce your refund to reflect the use you've had of the laptop.

You need to emphasise to the instore staff that you are exercising your rights under the above legislation and that you are NOT attempting to rely on any warranty or their own returns policy.  You may need to speak to the manager or make a formal complaint.


**In this context "faulty" doesn't mean the hinge was already broken when you bought it.  It simply means that there was an inherent fault in the hinge when you bought ti that caused it to fail.  eg poor material, fault in the manufacturing process etc

DullGreyGuy

Irish_Steve said:

DullGreyGuy said:

born_again said:

No chargeback rights I'm afraid.
Faulty goods via Visa, has to be faulty when purchased & not something that has developed.

So you are down to your consumer rights here.

If we accept its a fault and not user damage then CRA says it was faulty when purchased if less than 6 months old it just hadn't presented yet. 

And wouldn't Argos just deny it was faulty?

It is definitely NOT user damage, all I did was close the thing and the hinge popped off along with part the border that goes round the screen.

Can you point me to the correct part of the CRA legislation please

They'd need to substantiate it, in principle, a cashier can't just say no without even taking it out the box.