Laptop died after 3rd attempt to repair USB-C fault - any rights?

Supernova

Hi all,

I bought an expensive laptop in 2017 with a desktop CPU. I didn't own any USB-C devices until 6 years later and they didn't work with audio devices (USB-A was fine). I returned the laptop and the supplier sent it back untested with the same fault.

My mum died the same week so I didn't follow up until the next year and videoed the fault but only had time to spare my working machine this year, having bought another PC from them.

They confirmed the fault and that it was still a viable machine. The manufacturer quoted £320 to fix with a new motherboard.

It came back with the same fault plus a few others (cut out with battery at 44% and not showing on the main display).

Sent it back and the supplier confirmed the faults. The manufacturer replaced the motherboard again but now say that the CPU is faulty and won't power up at all. The CPUs are no longer available new. My hunch is that the motherboard had a design fault all along.

Do I have any rights to any refund or replacement?

Thanks for any help!

Kind Regards
S

screech_78

After 8 years, you won’t be able to enforce any consumer rights. 

You’ll be completely reliant on any warranty provide with the laptop. Even so, a replacement or refund after this long is almost certainly not going to happen. 

Alderbank

You bought the computer in 2017.

In 2023 you sent it to the manufacturer for work to be carried out (new motherboard) for which you paid £320.
It has not worked properly since that work was carried out, in fact it now has several new faults which were not there previously.

In your position I would complain to the manufacturer that they did not carry out that work 2 years ago with reasonable care and skill. You gave them another chance to fix it but that also was unsuccessful, so I would tell the manufacturer that under your consumer rights in Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act you now require a refund of your £320

Supernova

Alderbank said:

You bought the computer in 2017.

In 2023 you sent it to the manufacturer for work to be carried out (new motherboard) for which you paid £320.
It has not worked properly since that work was carried out, in fact it now has several new faults which were not there previously.

In your position I would complain to the manufacturer that they did not carry out that work 2 years ago with reasonable care and skill. You gave them another chance to fix it but that also was unsuccessful, so I would tell the manufacturer that under your consumer rights in Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act you now require a refund of your £320

Thanks, actually in 2023 the supplier did not bother to test it properly. It's only this year that I paid £320 (plus £60 for a new SSD) and the manufacturer failed to repair/test and the supplier failed to test it adequately also...

The new motherboard failed to fix it...and now they are blaming the CPU.

S

LightFlare

 Can you clarify your first sentence - did you buy a laptop and a separate PC CPU or a laptop with a PC CPU installed?

If the latter then I wouldnt be surprised if the CPU had failed 

However:

The conspiracist in me suggests that they damaged the CPU whilst swapping the motherboard.

Have you asked for a price to have a new CPU fitted ? (I know you say that one is no longer available, but a newer one might actually be an improvement over a 7 year old one anyway)

born_again

Supernova said:

Alderbank said:

You bought the computer in 2017.

In 2023 you sent it to the manufacturer for work to be carried out (new motherboard) for which you paid £320.
It has not worked properly since that work was carried out, in fact it now has several new faults which were not there previously.

In your position I would complain to the manufacturer that they did not carry out that work 2 years ago with reasonable care and skill. You gave them another chance to fix it but that also was unsuccessful, so I would tell the manufacturer that under your consumer rights in Chapter 4 of the Consumer Rights Act you now require a refund of your £320

Thanks, actually in 2023 the supplier did not bother to test it properly. It's only this year that I paid £320 (plus £60 for a new SSD) and the manufacturer failed to repair/test and the supplier failed to test it adequately also...

The new motherboard failed to fix it...and now they are blaming the CPU.

S

Perhaps start again with a timeline of dates & who has done exactly what. 

Supernova

LightFlare said:

 Can you clarify your first sentence - did you buy a laptop and a separate PC CPU or a laptop with a PC CPU installed?

If the latter then I wouldnt be surprised if the CPU had failed 

However:

The conspiracist in me suggests that they damaged the CPU whilst swapping the motherboard.

Have you asked for a price to have a new CPU fitted ? (I know you say that one is no longer available, but a newer one might actually be an improvement over a 7 year old one anyway)

It was a custom high performance laptop supplied with CPU installed.

They say that no other CPU (i7-7700) will fit the motherboard - a new one is on Amazon for £135.

I'm a conspiracist too! I suspect that the motherboard has a design fault. It came back to me with the screen not working, cutting out at battery 44%, and the USB-Cs still not working, all documented on video.

S

Ergates

Supernova said:

Hi all,

I bought an expensive laptop in 2017 with a desktop CPU. I didn't own any USB-C devices until 6 years later and they didn't work with audio devices (USB-A was fine). I returned the laptop and the supplier sent it back untested with the same fault.

My mum died the same week so I didn't follow up until the next year and videoed the fault but only had time to spare my working machine this year, having bought another PC from them.

They confirmed the fault and that it was still a viable machine. The manufacturer quoted £320 to fix with a new motherboard.

It came back with the same fault plus a few others (cut out with battery at 44% and not showing on the main display).

Sent it back and the supplier confirmed the faults. The manufacturer replaced the motherboard again but now say that the CPU is faulty and won't power up at all. The CPUs are no longer available new. My hunch is that the motherboard had a design fault all along.

Do I have any rights to any refund or replacement?

Thanks for any help!

Kind Regards
S

In terms of the original purchase - very little.

In terms of the paid for repair carried out last year - yes, if they've not done the job properly then they should refund some/all the money for that.

Supernova

Ergates said:

Supernova said:

Hi all,

I bought an expensive laptop in 2017 with a desktop CPU. I didn't own any USB-C devices until 6 years later and they didn't work with audio devices (USB-A was fine). I returned the laptop and the supplier sent it back untested with the same fault.

My mum died the same week so I didn't follow up until the next year and videoed the fault but only had time to spare my working machine this year, having bought another PC from them.

They confirmed the fault and that it was still a viable machine. The manufacturer quoted £320 to fix with a new motherboard.

It came back with the same fault plus a few others (cut out with battery at 44% and not showing on the main display).

Sent it back and the supplier confirmed the faults. The manufacturer replaced the motherboard again but now say that the CPU is faulty and won't power up at all. The CPUs are no longer available new. My hunch is that the motherboard had a design fault all along.

Do I have any rights to any refund or replacement?

Thanks for any help!

Kind Regards
S

In terms of the original purchase - very little.

In terms of the paid for repair carried out last year - yes, if they've not done the job properly then they should refund some/all the money for that.

OK thanks, but what if they have effectively written off the PC during the repair and can't guarantee being able to fix it, even with a new CPU? And who should pay for the CPU?

S

Jumblebumble

Supernova said:

Ergates said:

Supernova said:

Hi all,

I bought an expensive laptop in 2017 with a desktop CPU. I didn't own any USB-C devices until 6 years later and they didn't work with audio devices (USB-A was fine). I returned the laptop and the supplier sent it back untested with the same fault.

My mum died the same week so I didn't follow up until the next year and videoed the fault but only had time to spare my working machine this year, having bought another PC from them.

They confirmed the fault and that it was still a viable machine. The manufacturer quoted £320 to fix with a new motherboard.

It came back with the same fault plus a few others (cut out with battery at 44% and not showing on the main display).

Sent it back and the supplier confirmed the faults. The manufacturer replaced the motherboard again but now say that the CPU is faulty and won't power up at all. The CPUs are no longer available new. My hunch is that the motherboard had a design fault all along.

Do I have any rights to any refund or replacement?

Thanks for any help!

Kind Regards
S

In terms of the original purchase - very little.

In terms of the paid for repair carried out last year - yes, if they've not done the job properly then they should refund some/all the money for that.

OK thanks, but what if they have effectively written off the PC during the repair and can't guarantee being able to fix it, even with a new CPU? And who should pay for the CPU?

S

Too many questions
Why is anyone in the remotest surprised that a 7 year old Battery (or indeed Laptop no longer works properly
Who confirmed that the Machine was Viable to spend £320 on?
Who did you contract with for  the repair?
Do you know for sure that the Manufacturer did all that has been suggested or are you just taking the suppliers word for it?
How does a faulty motherboard work properly for 6 years?

Supernova

Jumblebumble said:

Supernova said:

Ergates said:

Supernova said:

Hi all,

I bought an expensive laptop in 2017 with a desktop CPU. I didn't own any USB-C devices until 6 years later and they didn't work with audio devices (USB-A was fine). I returned the laptop and the supplier sent it back untested with the same fault.

My mum died the same week so I didn't follow up until the next year and videoed the fault but only had time to spare my working machine this year, having bought another PC from them.

They confirmed the fault and that it was still a viable machine. The manufacturer quoted £320 to fix with a new motherboard.

It came back with the same fault plus a few others (cut out with battery at 44% and not showing on the main display).

Sent it back and the supplier confirmed the faults. The manufacturer replaced the motherboard again but now say that the CPU is faulty and won't power up at all. The CPUs are no longer available new. My hunch is that the motherboard had a design fault all along.

Do I have any rights to any refund or replacement?

Thanks for any help!

Kind Regards
S

In terms of the original purchase - very little.

In terms of the paid for repair carried out last year - yes, if they've not done the job properly then they should refund some/all the money for that.

OK thanks, but what if they have effectively written off the PC during the repair and can't guarantee being able to fix it, even with a new CPU? And who should pay for the CPU?

S

Too many questions
Why is anyone in the remotest surprised that a 7 year old Battery (or indeed Laptop no longer works properly
Who confirmed that the Machine was Viable to spend £320 on?
Who did you contract with for  the repair?
Do you know for sure that the Manufacturer did all that has been suggested or are you just taking the suppliers word for it?
How does a faulty motherboard work properly for 6 years?

I know, it's complicated... ☺

£320 was for a new battery and motherboard inc labour & carriage...was deemed viable by supplier and manufacturer, contracted to them. Seemed better than spending £2500+ on a new laptop.

The USB-Cs had never worked properly. - impossible to know exactly what happened in the repair.