Faulty laptop - what is a reasonable time to repair and can I ask for money back?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Addlepate said:

One thing I haven't pinned down is whether I have the right to request a partial refund to cover the costs of repair, or whether that's the retailer's choice?

The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) doesn't prevent you from seeking an alternative remedy which includes claiming damages, whilst they should be mitigated (as little as possible) it would seem to me going to a local repair shop is probably cheaper all round compared to having the thing sent back and fourth to the manufacturer.

If you can show there is a fault (rather than user error/misuse/whatever) and (ultimately) send Currys an LBA for the cost of the report and fan repair I can't see they are going to defend that in court. 

OP you could look to the CEO email website and use the contact there to see if a higher up level of CS will be more accommodating without having to go down a more official route.  

GDB2222

As far as I can see, the only thing Curry’s have actually agreed is to send the machine back to the manufacturer for a warranty repair, which costs them practically nothing.

I think that if you want this dealt with  this under CRA you should get a report done, and at the same time work out how you want to deal with the prolonged absence of the laptop- borrowing one or buying a secondhand machine perhaps?

If you really need a quick repair, just pay a local engineer to replace the fan, and live with the faulty case.

Addlepate

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Addlepate said:

One thing I haven't pinned down is whether I have the right to request a partial refund to cover the costs of repair, or whether that's the retailer's choice?

The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) doesn't prevent you from seeking an alternative remedy which includes claiming damages ... going to a local repair shop is probably cheaper all round compared to having the thing sent back and fourth to the manufacturer ... send Currys an LBA for the cost of the report and fan repair I can't see they are going to defend that in court. 

OP you could look to the CEO email website and use the contact there to see if a higher up level of CS will be more accommodating without having to go down a more official route.  

Thanks. I was more thinking whether CRA (in practice) says I can request an alternative remedy, rather than prevents me from doing so. I'll have to have another read; I didn't find it clear but that might just be me. I don't know what an LBA is, but I'm really trying to arm myself for a discussion with Currys than escalating to court at this point. I hadn't thought of the CEO emails, thanks. I'd rather settle things as amicably as possible, because escalation and confrontation isn't what I need right now (or anytime, really!)

GDB2222 said:

As far as I can see, the only thing Curry’s have actually agreed is to send the machine back to the manufacturer for a warranty repair, which costs them practically nothing.

I think that if you want this dealt with  this under CRA you should get a report done, and at the same time work out how you want to deal with the prolonged absence of the laptop- borrowing one or buying a secondhand machine perhaps?

If you really need a quick repair, just pay a local engineer to replace the fan, and live with the faulty case.

Yes, that's absolutely it, they've offered nothing else (except the original misleading response, and one person more recently who had much the same attitude and was very confrontational).

I don't think I've changed my original view, that it would be difficult to do without the laptop for an extended period of time. I thought about borrowing (not an option) or buying but being put in a position where I have to spend more money, let alone all the extra work setting up profiles, loading programs etc., just to cover a repair is just silly and part of what makes it unacceptable, in my view.

The two functional issues are the fan and the display quality. Putting up with the defective paint might be the most practical solution, frustrating though it might be.

Incidentally, I should say I'm not just being opinionated in saying 'quality problem'; I'm a senior manufacturing engineer with experience of paint systems and the like, and I'd be pretty embarrassed to be putting out product that started failing in a few months - or even in a year - with very little wear. Appreciate that counts for nothing if it comes to formal opinions, though.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts, they are very much appreciated.

GDB2222

An LBA is a letter before action. It’s one of the steps you need to take before issuing court proceedings. 

I’m unclear what your desired outcome is here? Do you want to retain the laptop but get some cash compo? Do you want to return the laptop and get them to refund a proportion of the purchase price? Do you want them to fix it? 

To get curry’s to do anything worthwhile, you are going to need an independent inspection report. You need that before starting proceedings, and you probably need it to negotiate successfully. 

Addlepate

GDB2222 said:

An LBA is a letter before action. It’s one of the steps you need to take before issuing court proceedings. 

I’m unclear what your desired outcome is here? Do you want to retain the laptop but get some cash compo? Do you want to return the laptop and get them to refund a proportion of the purchase price? Do you want them to fix it? 

To get curry’s to do anything worthwhile, you are going to need an independent inspection report. You need that before starting proceedings, and you probably need it to negotiate successfully. 

Hi, thanks. Apologies for the intermittent replies, I've not been at all well the last few days.

To an extent this is about understanding my position so I can pin down my desired outcome. Originally I wanted them to accept and repair all faults without significant inconvenience, but that seems highly unlikely, so it's probably more about finding some compromise where Currys accept some liability and refund part of the purchase price to cover the cost of getting some repairs, the fan at least, done locally.

To be honest though I'm finding this all a struggle as I have a lot going on at the mo, so the fallback fallback might just be to sort it out myself, write to Currys and Asus raising my concerns without expecting too much, and live with it. Not very satisfactory though; the laptop wasn't cheap and I expect better.