Sony Laptop - What do we do?

[MikeChandler]

Hi,

My wife bought a Sony Vaio laptop from Comet.co.uk around 6/7 months ago. Unfortunately, the laptop died yesterday - no lights coming on, not charging, not booting up etc. We have the box but unfortunately cannot locate the receipt. She phoned Coment yesterday who confirmed they could trace the sale (she paid by credit card) but she would need to speak to Sony about the laptop. Is this correct? If not, can we go to our local Comet store? If so, how do we go about getting them to rectify the issue or replace the unit? Do they have a time limit to deal with this matter?

Thank you in advance,
Mike

[JonCris]

No it's not correct & they know it - You have no contract with Sony only Comet & its unlawful (though not unusual) for them to suggest otherwise.

If they still try & claim you have contract with Sony because you have a 12 month manufacturers warranty that still doesn't get them off the hook.

As any warranty should state "This warranty does not affect you statutory rights" which means it's up to Comet to sort it out not Sony

Suggest phoning them asking for the manager & stating you have checked & found they are liable under the Sale of Goods Act not Sony & you want to know what they are going to do about your less than 1 year old now defunct laptop.

If they still refuse to cooperate tell them you will report them to Trading Standards as well as sue them in the county court

[JonCris]

Forgot to mention if Comet do agree to sort it by claiming they need to send it back to Sony request a loan laptop & under no circumstances pay for PP or delivery charges - such charges are, despite what they might claim, down to them - period

[MikeChandler]

If they refuse to take the laptop and look at what is wrong with it and I issue court proceedings would I need a report on what exactly the fault is with the laptop or would their refusal to honour the sales of good act entitle me to recompense?

[MikeChandler]

Originally Posted by JonCris

Forgot to mention if Comet do agree to sort it by claiming they need to send it back to Sony request a loan laptop & under no circumstances pay for PP or delivery charges - such charges are, despite what they might claim, down to them - period

Am I entitled to a loaned laptop for the duration of the investigation?

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by MikeChandler

If they refuse to take the laptop and look at what is wrong with it and I issue court proceedings would I need a report on what exactly the fault is with the laptop or would their refusal to honour the sales of good act entitle me to recompense?

Yes you would need to have competent engineer confirm it is faulty & if possible identify the fault - although I have to say anyone including a judge can see it doesn't work if when you produce it in court & you try & switch it on & now't happens

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by MikeChandler

Am I entitled to a loaned laptop for the duration of the investigation?

It depends on what you use the laptop for??

[Bookworm]

When you say 6/7 months ago, can you confirm whether it is more or less than 6 months after all? If it less than 6 months, the laptop is deemed to have a fault from the start, and the onus is on them to prove otherwise (if they wanted to), after the 6 months, the burden of proof falls on you, so that if there is a dispoute, it will be up to you to prove the fault, so VERY important to make a note of the date at which you first contacted them if you are close to the 6 months mark.

[JonCris]

BW is of course correct

If the fault occurred within 6 months of you purchasing it & you reported it then the onus of proof that it wasn't damaged, when supplied, is on the seller. It's known as the 'reversed burden of proof' Otherwise after 6 months from purchase the burden of proof lays with the buyer

[ForestChav]

Originally Posted by JonCris

BW is of course correct

If the fault occurred within 6 months of you purchasing it & you reported it then the onus of proof that it wasn't damaged, when supplied, is on the seller. It's known as the 'reversed burden of proof' Otherwise after 6 months from purchase the burden of proof lays with the buyer

Yes, but they are still entitled to take it away to inspect it if they dispute it wasn't damaged when they sold it for example. (If that makes sense.)

Just because a fault occurred in six months doesn't alter the remedies available. It does mean that you don't have to prove it was there when you got it though, but when you arrive at that conclusion the course of action is the same - and usually depending on costs and the goods, Repair > Replacement > Refund.

[stardust_john]

When I sent my laptop off I did little video recording of screen, connections as in no breakage or scratches, just in case it came back worse than went off and it came back with cracked screen join. They tried to say it was like that and I said I could produced dated camera film, a bit over top but showing it packed etc and I got it sorted as a result, but they do try to shift transit damage blame. It shouldnt happen hopefully but just in case. With comet I noticed they didnt want the responsibility of carriage of the laptop in case of damage and jested I'll probably get a new one quicker by sending it myself. So dont let them insist you do the work, they are just lazy.