Section 75 claim for defective laptop repairers won't return?

Mr_Crabbs

Hi all, I'd like to understand my options and chances of success for an S75 claim for a faulty laptop.

I bought this in August 2024 but it was never right, partly because it was not fit for purpose, probably not because of a defect but because of an inherent design issue, and partly because of a number of manufacturing faults and defects.

After multiple discussions with retailer and manufacturer I returned it for repair via the retailer in August 2025 while it was still under warranty. I did use it until I returned it, but was never able to use it for its intended purpose - which manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for.

The manufacturer did not repair it until outside the warranty period, then first said it was a chargeable repair, then that they would investigate, and have now stopped communicating with the retailer and aren't returning the laptop.

Retailer has offered an exchange up to full purchase price, but don't have anything in their range that's suitable. I haven't directly asked for a refund but it doesn't sound as though they want to give one.

I'm thinking this might be a S75 claim. What are the chances I would be successful, roughly how long might it take, and would I be refunded in full? Thanks.

born_again

Mr_Crabbs said:

Hi all, I'd like to understand my options and chances of success for an S75 claim for a faulty laptop.

I bought this in August 2024 but it was never right, partly because it was not fit for purpose, probably not because of a defect but because of an inherent design issue, and partly because of a number of manufacturing faults and defects.

After multiple discussions with retailer and manufacturer I returned it for repair via the retailer in August 2025 while it was still under warranty. I did use it until I returned it, but was never able to use it for its intended purpose - which manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for.

The manufacturer did not repair it until outside the warranty period, then first said it was a chargeable repair, then that they would investigate, and have now stopped communicating with the retailer and aren't returning the laptop.

Retailer has offered an exchange up to full purchase price, but don't have anything in their range that's suitable. I haven't directly asked for a refund but it doesn't sound as though they want to give one.

I'm thinking this might be a S75 claim. What are the chances I would be successful, roughly how long might it take, and would I be refunded in full? Thanks.

S75 is a how long is a bit of string time frame.

All you can do is speak to your card provider.
But given retailer has offered a exchange up to purchase price, which is very generous, given over a year since purchase.
I think CC would say there is no breach.

partly because it was not fit for purpose

In what way was it not fit for purpose?

Grumpy_chap

Mr_Crabbs said:

I bought this in August 2024 but it was never right, partly because it was not fit for purpose, probably not because of a defect but because of an inherent design issue, and partly because of a number of manufacturing faults and defects.

What is the basis of your claim?
 - Not fit for purpose?
 - Inherent design issue?
 - Manufacturing faults and defects?

Mr_Crabbs said:

 I did use it until I returned it, but was never able to use it for its intended purpose - which manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for.

What is the mystery intended purpose that you were never able to use the laptop for, but which the manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for?

Was that a specific confirmation of suitable for a purpose, or had you simply said "I want to be able to run software which requires XXX hard drive, YYY processor, ZZZ RAM" and the retailer confirmed that the laptop met those minimum specifications?

If you had these detailed discussions about the intended application for the laptop, was this a business purchase? 
Most consumer IT retailers I have ever dealt with would not get into such conversations.

Brie

does S75 apply if it was a business purchase?

Mr_Crabbs

Hi all, thanks for your thoughts, and apologies for the long delay replying; things have been hectic due to family issues.

Grumpy_chap said:

If you had these detailed discussions about the intended application for the laptop, was this a business purchase? 

Brie said:

does S75 apply if it was a business purchase?

 I'm not sure S75 does apply to business purchases, but this was a private purchase for home use.

born_again said:

partly because it was not fit for purpose

In what way was it not fit for purpose?

Grumpy_chap said:

Mr_Crabbs said:

 I did use it until I returned it, but was never able to use it for its intended purpose - which manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for.

What is the mystery intended purpose that you were never able to use the laptop for, but which the manufacturer and retailer had both confirmed it was suitable for ... 

Apologies, I hadn't intended to be mysterious; I was trying to be concise and the detail didn't seem directly relevant. I'd asked both manufacturer and retailer in detail about suitability for specific aspects of image editing that rely on display sharpness, and directly about sharpness. Both had responded and confirmed suitability but it turns out OLED displays have an inherent problem in that area, and the Asus display was / is particularly affected.

Grumpy_chap said:

What is the basis of your claim?
 - Not fit for purpose?
 - Inherent design issue?
 - Manufacturing faults and defects?

All of the above, really. Not fit for purpose, both because it inherently did not meet requirements the manufacturer and retailer said it would, and because other issues meant it couldn't be used properly; manufacturing defects, such as fan and paint coat failure; and design defects that also affected fitness for purpose.

born_again said:

S75 is a how long is a bit of string time frame. All you can do is speak to your card provider. But given retailer has offered a exchange up to purchase price, which is very generous, given over a year since purchase. I think CC would say there is no breach.

Thanks; I thought that was probably the case, and when I spoke to the CC company they didn't want to commit, but hoped someone might be able to give some indication.

I'm inclined to agree about the retailer offer, though the whole process has been very lengthy, time consuming and costly, but the issues when I posted were that the retailer was unable to offer a suitable alternative, which made their offer fairly meaningless, and it was conditional on the actions of an unresponsive manufacturer; hence my considering S75.

However, all my investigations suggest the S75 process will be lengthy and difficult, even with a positive outcome, I was struggling without an up to date laptop, and the retailer subsequently added a suitable alternative to their range, so I've taken their offer and have a new laptop that seems pretty good so far.

MEM62

You may find that a S75 claim will require an independent examination and report on the equipment.  Somewhat difficult to arrange if it is not in your possession.  I would keep pushing for a refund.    

Woodstok2000

Does the retailer sell any laptops that are suitable now you know about the OLED issue? Instead of an exchange, they may be willing to offer a partial credit against a more expensive model if you pay the difference.

SiliconChip

To @MEM62 and @Woodstok2000

The OP has already accepted the retailer's offer: "I was struggling without an up to date laptop, and the retailer subsequently added a suitable alternative to their range, so I've taken their offer and have a new laptop that seems pretty good so far."

Hopefully the new laptop has a sharp enough display, but if it doesn't I wonder whether any laptop screen would be suitable, perhaps a larger external monitor would be the final answer.

MattMattMattUK

Mr_Crabbs said:
Apologies, I hadn't intended to be mysterious; I was trying to be concise and the detail didn't seem directly relevant. I'd asked both manufacturer and retailer in detail about suitability for specific aspects of image editing that rely on display sharpness, and directly about sharpness. Both had responded and confirmed suitability but it turns out OLED displays have an inherent problem in that area, and the Asus display was / is particularly affected.

This seems odd because OLED displays are the top end displays for nearly all image work now, are incredibly sharp, with excellent RGB colours representations and infinite contrast. 

I use OLED monitors for work, both at home and in the office and my Laptop. At work I have the Asus Pro-Art OLED monitor, my laptop is the Pro-Art book, my home monitor is an MSI OLED, similarly sharp but lower RGB as it is a gaming monitor.

One usually needs to set things up slightly different though, by default Windows might not be on 100% or more of RGB and TrueType can make text blurry on OLED as Windows does not handle the sub-pixel structure properly.

From your post it sounds like you might have a ProArt laptop and it is odd that you have an issue with image quality as they are consistently rated the top laptops for graphics work, tied with MacBook Pros for those who like Mac ecosystem.

MEM62

SiliconChip said:

To @MEM62 and @Woodstok2000

The OP has already accepted the retailer's offer: "I was struggling without an up to date laptop, and the retailer subsequently added a suitable alternative to their range, so I've taken their offer and have a new laptop that seems pretty good so far."

Hopefully the new laptop has a sharp enough display, but if it doesn't I wonder whether any laptop screen would be suitable, perhaps a larger external monitor would be the final answer.

Ah!  OK....

Mr_Crabbs

MattMattMattUK said:

This seems odd because OLED displays are the top end displays for nearly all image work now, are incredibly sharp, with excellent RGB colours representations and infinite contrast ...

Thanks, that's interesting. We're going well off topic now, but that might be the difference between pro and consumer level displays, though that idea maybe doesn't quite fit with your gaming laptop.

Agree on the colour gamut and contrast ratio, and you may well be right about sharpness on the Pro-Art - I've never used one - but there does seem to be a known, inherent issue with OLED, not just with Asus; when looking for a replacement I saw the same problem with Lenovo.

It is partly the sub-pixel layout and partly Windows not playing nicely with it as you say, and though I mention imaging I struggled just with text clarity at times.

SiliconChip said:

Hopefully the new laptop has a sharp enough display, but if it doesn't I wonder whether any laptop screen would be suitable, perhaps a larger external monitor would be the final answer.

I got an MSI with a good quality IPS display in the end, and I'm pleased with it so far; clear, sharp, easy to read, less tiringand I can tell whether an image is focused or not! There were reasons to go the laptop direction particularly for portability but it's likely we'll also get an external display in due course.