Chargeback on faulty PC

sheramber

ANGELFLOWER said:

It was a prebuilt so everything should be compatible. It crashes during games, even Roblox which he was using on his Laptop before without a GPU, so not just high end games. By crashing, he has had blue screens, but usually the PC just switches off, sometimes the game crashes but the PC stays on. The crashes are random, in that he can play for a bit then it crashes. It also crashes when using Adobe graphics software when doing his Uni work, which is why he needed a PC with a GPU. Event Viewer showed VOLMGR Errors and Kernal errors around times of crashes. We haven't been offered any other replacement parts as it could be the power supply? I don't know enough about computers to know exactly what is wrong but we have lifetime support and the company should know as we did send them the Event Viewer files. We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, it is just frustrating all this work we have had to do and the uncertainty if there is a fault that can't be fixed. We have now rolled back the GPU driver on the merchants advice which may actually be a fix, as he was able to use the computer yesterday for a few hours with no issues, but he needs to test it more to be sure. Fingers crossed

We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

ANGELFLOWER

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

MattMattMattUK

ANGELFLOWER said:

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

Just for clarity, the BSOD error you are getting is a storage issue, you can play with drivers and it may go away for a while, but it will come back.

What is the spec and what are you trying to actually do with the PC? You mention Adobe and graphic design then talk about the GPU, but there is only very marginal gain from a higher end GPU for most Adobe programs. As an example it helps with video encode, it does nothing during the editing process, which is based on CPU and RAM, in Illustrator and Photoshop a top end CPU can make zooming in and out smoother, but that is literally it. Can you link to the PC you bought? 

ANGELFLOWER

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

Just for clarity, the BSOD error you are getting is a storage issue, you can play with drivers and it may go away for a while, but it will come back.

What is the spec and what are you trying to actually do with the PC? You mention Adobe and graphic design then talk about the GPU, but there is only very marginal gain from a higher end GPU for most Adobe programs. As an example it helps with video encode, it does nothing during the editing process, which is based on CPU and RAM, in Illustrator and Photoshop a top end CPU can make zooming in and out smoother, but that is literally it. Can you link to the PC you bought? 

The one we purchased isn't on sale anymore, but it is very similar to this one, but ours cost less.
https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/ultra-85-next-day-pc
It may not have the best specs but it is enough, and better than the laptop we have which wasn't good enough.
The error you mention when I have looked it up can be related to drivers, so not necessarily a storage issue? The error relates to not being able to save the dump file. They haven't offered us a new drive yet anyway as we are still testing the roll back of the driver. My son wanted it for Uni but also for gaming.

Jumblebumble

ANGELFLOWER said:

My son purchased a PC in September for Uni with his student loan. He is doing Graphic design so it has a graphics card to run the Adobe apps he needs. It worked OK for about a month then started crashing. Contacted the merchant who said to run some tests, which told us the RAM was faulty. The merchant sent out new RAM which we installed. We then had to reinstall Windows as it wouldn't just work after installing the new RAM. Computer still crashes. They asked us to run the tests again which showed no errors, but we have crash reports in Windows Events. They then told us to update the graphics card driver which hasn't solved the issue. They have now told us to use DDU in Safe Mode to uninstall the driver and install an older driver. The keyboard and mouse don't work in Safe Mode. Tried another mouse and keyboard and same issue. Windows is up to date. This computer was a build from a company that also sells through Argos and Very, but we bought it direct. It is a complete headache as my son needs it for his studies and it isn't stable. Wondering about a chargeback. Do I have to keep letting them try and tell us how to fix it, or can I start a chargeback? Thanks for reading.

My view is that if a PC with a brand new RAM chip  and a new installation of windows which was needed because changing the ram broke startup and does not recognise a wired keyboard and mouse in safe mode  then it is likely that  the motherboard /GPU is faulty
It looks like the motherboard has an HDMI and vga ?
 If it does you should remove the GPU and see if the kbd and mouse work In safe mode with an hdmi or old vga monitor  monitor plugged in

Also be aware that faulty motherboard can make a pigs ear of diagnostics  because of course it may well not be able to diagnose its own faults

MattMattMattUK

ANGELFLOWER said:

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

Just for clarity, the BSOD error you are getting is a storage issue, you can play with drivers and it may go away for a while, but it will come back.

What is the spec and what are you trying to actually do with the PC? You mention Adobe and graphic design then talk about the GPU, but there is only very marginal gain from a higher end GPU for most Adobe programs. As an example it helps with video encode, it does nothing during the editing process, which is based on CPU and RAM, in Illustrator and Photoshop a top end CPU can make zooming in and out smoother, but that is literally it. Can you link to the PC you bought? 

The one we purchased isn't on sale anymore, but it is very similar to this one, but ours cost less.
https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/ultra-85-next-day-pc
It may not have the best specs but it is enough, and better than the laptop we have which wasn't good enough.

Those specs are largely fine for anything Adobe related, sure you could spend more but you do not need to, it is a gaming PC primarily though, the GPU will not benefit work, neither will the RGB stuff. 

Cyberpower do have a pretty good reputation though, their warranty service is pretty solid. All their PCs come with a year's collect and return, they pick it up, fix it and deliver it back, usually in less than a week, I really cannot see why you have not just used that as it appears neither you or your son are into the technical side of PCs. You certainly will not need to use chargeback with them and from what you have said even thinking about it is incredibly premature. Send it back, they will fix it, or even replace it with a new unit if they cannot rebuild it.

ANGELFLOWER said:

The error you mention when I have looked it up can be related to drivers, so not necessarily a storage issue? The error relates to not being able to save the dump file. They haven't offered us a new drive yet anyway as we are still testing the roll back of the driver. My son wanted it for Uni but also for gaming.

The inability to write the dump file almost always relates to issues with the drive, there can be other reasons, a driver error can cause a drive to dismount, there was also an issue with the 24H2 Windows update that messed up some NVME drives with a specific controller, BIOS and that update but that has now been resolved, though it could have caused temporary issues. There was also the chip rot in 13th and 14th gen Intel Core chips but you are on AMD so safe there. Driver rollbacks are rarely the way to go, they can help diagnose an issue but also one cannot stay on an older driver indefinitely, especially if gaming.

They probably will not offer a new drive as for a non technically competent person replacing a drive and reinstalling Windows would be a bit of a task, RAM is an easy switch and is one of the top few part issues. The other thing to check is if PBO is turned on, as well as if the motherboard has automatic overclocking, it would be worth turning off both if they are on, whilst trying to diagnose things.

ANGELFLOWER

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

Just for clarity, the BSOD error you are getting is a storage issue, you can play with drivers and it may go away for a while, but it will come back.

What is the spec and what are you trying to actually do with the PC? You mention Adobe and graphic design then talk about the GPU, but there is only very marginal gain from a higher end GPU for most Adobe programs. As an example it helps with video encode, it does nothing during the editing process, which is based on CPU and RAM, in Illustrator and Photoshop a top end CPU can make zooming in and out smoother, but that is literally it. Can you link to the PC you bought? 

The one we purchased isn't on sale anymore, but it is very similar to this one, but ours cost less.
https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/ultra-85-next-day-pc
It may not have the best specs but it is enough, and better than the laptop we have which wasn't good enough.

Those specs are largely fine for anything Adobe related, sure you could spend more but you do not need to, it is a gaming PC primarily though, the GPU will not benefit work, neither will the RGB stuff. 

Cyberpower do have a pretty good reputation though, their warranty service is pretty solid. All their PCs come with a year's collect and return, they pick it up, fix it and deliver it back, usually in less than a week, I really cannot see why you have not just used that as it appears neither you or your son are into the technical side of PCs. You certainly will not need to use chargeback with them and from what you have said even thinking about it is incredibly premature. Send it back, they will fix it, or even replace it with a new unit if they cannot rebuild it.

ANGELFLOWER said:

The error you mention when I have looked it up can be related to drivers, so not necessarily a storage issue? The error relates to not being able to save the dump file. They haven't offered us a new drive yet anyway as we are still testing the roll back of the driver. My son wanted it for Uni but also for gaming.

The inability to write the dump file almost always relates to issues with the drive, there can be other reasons, a driver error can cause a drive to dismount, there was also an issue with the 24H2 Windows update that messed up some NVME drives with a specific controller, BIOS and that update but that has now been resolved, though it could have caused temporary issues. There was also the chip rot in 13th and 14th gen Intel Core chips but you are on AMD so safe there. Driver rollbacks are rarely the way to go, they can help diagnose an issue but also one cannot stay on an older driver indefinitely, especially if gaming.

They probably will not offer a new drive as for a non technically competent person replacing a drive and reinstalling Windows would be a bit of a task, RAM is an easy switch and is one of the top few part issues. The other thing to check is if PBO is turned on, as well as if the motherboard has automatic overclocking, it would be worth turning off both if they are on, whilst trying to diagnose things.

Cyberpower so far have not offered to collect it to repair. They sent us the RAM, told us to reinstall Windows, do more tests and roll back the GPU driver. I have read there was an issue with a recent driver and the GPU we have. Just got to see what happens now and if it is fixed. I agree that it would be good to get it fixed rather than a chargeback, but just concerned that it is difficult to diagnose and want the best outcome of a PC that works without all the messing about and it dragging out. 
I have installed new fans, and SSD and reinstalled Windows on an old Laptop where it was overheating and the drive failed. But I wouldn't want to do it in a new PC as it is under warranty and they should be doing it to diagnose the issue.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

LightFlare said:

whilst I fully agree with @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head and their obvious expansive knowledge - I do have an "issue" with laptops and PCs

Typically on receipt, a customer will switch them on, set up user accounts and install all their software/games etc. They might update a few drivers and install peripherals (along with their software) and THEN discover that they are getting crashes,freezes, BSOD etc

I would argue that a return based on faulty goods would not be quite as clear cut.

In this case - the OP states that the PC worked fine for a month and then started experiencing issues - to me, this would indicate something the user has done as opposed to the item being faulty

I have to say I do have a lot of sympathy for sellers of such items as I'm sure (without passing any comment on the OP as my knowledge on PCs is zero) in most cases it is likely user error.

I think in this case them telling OP the RAM is faulty and sending them new RAM, yet OP is still having issues means, beyond any helpful troubleshooting, ultimately the trader needs to accept they are going to have to take the PC back and inspect it as that initial 6 month period places the burden of proof upon them rather than OP. 

Generally speaking, technically were it to be found that the goods had nothing wrong with them I don't see any reason the trader can't recover their direct costs (minimum of return cost and sending back out again cost) from the consumer, although I'd imagine in most cases it isn't practical. 

OP it's worth a note you don't have to reject, you can certainly accept another repair (or replacement) if you are able to agree such with the company. The final right to reject is there to cover you for 1) should you not wish such 2) to stop such things going on indefinitely shouldn't an agreement not be achievable. 

Jumblebumble

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

MattMattMattUK said:

ANGELFLOWER said:

sheramber said
We don't really want to return it for a refund as it was a good price and the specs are right for what he needs, 


What do you want?

If a chargeback succeeded you get your money back but what then?  That does not fix the pc.

However, to get a chargeback you usually have to return the goods.
You cannot keep the pc and get your money back

We just want a working PC. We obviously would prefer to fix it and for it to just work, but it has been taking time and is inconvenient. Every time we are offered a fix we hope that that will be it.  If it continues to crash and does not function as expected we will obviously want to return it for a refund.  We just can't keep trying to fix it indefinitely. It is a shame as the computer meets the specs but isn't functioning right. My son is currently testing it to see if the driver roll back we did is a stable permanent fix, as it did seem to be working OK yesterday after doing this. If it works then we will keep it and there will be no need to return. 

Just for clarity, the BSOD error you are getting is a storage issue, you can play with drivers and it may go away for a while, but it will come back.

What is the spec and what are you trying to actually do with the PC? You mention Adobe and graphic design then talk about the GPU, but there is only very marginal gain from a higher end GPU for most Adobe programs. As an example it helps with video encode, it does nothing during the editing process, which is based on CPU and RAM, in Illustrator and Photoshop a top end CPU can make zooming in and out smoother, but that is literally it. Can you link to the PC you bought? 

The one we purchased isn't on sale anymore, but it is very similar to this one, but ours cost less.
https://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/ultra-85-next-day-pc
It may not have the best specs but it is enough, and better than the laptop we have which wasn't good enough.

Those specs are largely fine for anything Adobe related, sure you could spend more but you do not need to, it is a gaming PC primarily though, the GPU will not benefit work, neither will the RGB stuff. 

Cyberpower do have a pretty good reputation though, their warranty service is pretty solid. All their PCs come with a year's collect and return, they pick it up, fix it and deliver it back, usually in less than a week, I really cannot see why you have not just used that as it appears neither you or your son are into the technical side of PCs. You certainly will not need to use chargeback with them and from what you have said even thinking about it is incredibly premature. Send it back, they will fix it, or even replace it with a new unit if they cannot rebuild it.

ANGELFLOWER said:

The error you mention when I have looked it up can be related to drivers, so not necessarily a storage issue? The error relates to not being able to save the dump file. They haven't offered us a new drive yet anyway as we are still testing the roll back of the driver. My son wanted it for Uni but also for gaming.

The inability to write the dump file almost always relates to issues with the drive, there can be other reasons, a driver error can cause a drive to dismount, there was also an issue with the 24H2 Windows update that messed up some NVME drives with a specific controller, BIOS and that update but that has now been resolved, though it could have caused temporary issues. There was also the chip rot in 13th and 14th gen Intel Core chips but you are on AMD so safe there. Driver rollbacks are rarely the way to go, they can help diagnose an issue but also one cannot stay on an older driver indefinitely, especially if gaming.

They probably will not offer a new drive as for a non technically competent person replacing a drive and reinstalling Windows would be a bit of a task, RAM is an easy switch and is one of the top few part issues. The other thing to check is if PBO is turned on, as well as if the motherboard has automatic overclocking, it would be worth turning off both if they are on, whilst trying to diagnose things.

The OP has previously reinstalled windows so presumably could do so again
It is trivial using Rufus
Changing a drive is no more difficult than changing RAM