Underhand PC World???

[Hunger]

Please take time to read my post under currys I mistakenly posted my thread there.

The short of it, is in note form.

1 Bought Compaq presario m2000 from PCW on 24th Dec 2005
2 Said computer broke down on Sat 3rd Feb 2007
3 Took computer to PCW Leeds and was told it needed a new Power lead and transforme at a cost of £80.
4 Bought Universal laptop charger from Maplins for £25, which when plugged into the laptop had the same effect as the old one ( Nothing)
5 Took Laptop to an independant engineer who stripped it down and diagnosed a faulty component on the motherboard, She did in fact manage to get the puter to boot up and run for a minute or so before it powered off again.
6 Took laptop back to PCW Leeds 24/02/07, and explained the above, the manager said that as it was thirteen months and one week old it was not covered by any warranty.
7 PCW manager stated that it would have to be sent away to be examined, a quote obtained for its reapir etc. However I would be liable for all costs.
8 After being disgruntled and reading threads here decided to write a letter of complaint to the Manager and handed it to him on the 25/02/07.
9 Face to face negotiations took place and the manager of PCW Leeds said that he would get one of his instore engineers to take a look at it and that he would ring me with his findings, he did however state that I was liable for all costs if the laptop had been water damaged or dropped.
10 Today recieved a phone call from PC World Manager stating that there where signs of water ingress in the laptop, but could not confirm that this had catagorically caused the power problem on the motherboard.


So there we have it.

This laptop was bought as a christmas/birthday present and has never left my daughters bedroom, she hasnt used it in the bath, she hasnt dropped it down the toilet, it has been permanantley docked on her desk.

What the manager has failed to remember is that an independant engineer stripped the laptop down the week previous and found it to be in Tip top condition apart from its motherboard fault with no signs of water ingress.

Without prejudice, I wonder if the fairies have paid a visit to PC World Leeds and sprinkled magic fairy water around the worshop in the night and carfully dried things up with a hairdryer???

Or perhaps the over zelous Store manager has been taken short and peed in the coms port of the Laptop.

Whatever!! I intend to take this the whole way so be warned PC world.
Dons watching you.

If any other folks out there are having problems with PC world Try ringing
The BBC, they are currently preparing a TV program to be shown in March.
I have phone numbers and e mail addresses for those who are interested.
I for one have agreed to be filmed, interviewed and helped along by the BBC.


Hunger

[ManOTheWorld]

While I sympathise that you have a problem, I don't think you are going to do yourself any favours if you go to PC World insinuating that they have deliberately caused further damage to your laptop. It already didn't work, why would they bother? I've worked in customer services a few years ago and while I'm sure this seems close and personal to you, but unless you've verbally assaulted a member of staff, you are just one of many people with a problem and they just aren't going to care enough about you to be vindictive. Why would they have to anyway, from my limited understanding, the burden of proof that a defect was present at purchase would be on you after this length of time. There would be several ways that the fault you described could have been introduced after purchase so I don't think you will get very far.

As to how a liquid might have got into the laptop, while I'm sure you are correct that it hasn't been swimming in any lakes recently, are you telling me its never been near a cup of tea or a can of soft drink? Maybe Its just me who is sad enough to occasionally have a drink next to me while I'm working on my computer.

I look forward to what will undoubtedly be an amusing episode of this BBC show where you try to argue that you are special enough that PC World employees felt like victimising you by carefully crafting evidence showing that a fault that already occurred outside of the warranty period was your fault.

[rippedoffagain]

No disrespect hunger but this is the second thread on the same subject, people come on here for practical advice, it seems a bit pointless to ask for advice, and then ignore it.

Originally Posted by rippedoffagain

Write to them, outlining your complaint, don't forget you can sue them also. They can charge back to PCW if needs be.

[kabukiman]

With all retailers they would have weighed the pros and cons of customer service. Their service isn't that good, but what the hell there's enough of you buying their products not to have a rethink to justify their behaviour.

[blacksheep1979]

Originally Posted by Hunger

10 Today recieved a phone call from PC World Manager stating that there where signs of water ingress in the laptop, but could not confirm that this had catagorically caused the power problem on the motherboard.

Write to them and ask for this report in writing - if they are stupid enough to state that the water had not def caused the problem you've got them.

[yourbestfriend]

Water vapours, stains or whatever may have been spotted inside which would normally suggest a spillage.

but didn't you take it to a indepentant repairer who opened up the laptop and told you it was a motherboard fault, then done something to sort it out.

could she have spilled something while she was inspecting it, could she have soldered something together such as the power port to the motherboard and the heat from the soldering iron caused a vapour stain.

or your daughter after receiving such a expensive gift would not like to admit she spilled her cola on the laptop.

Also by the non certified engineer (not autherised by manufacterer) opening the laptop the chances of proving it was unfit from purchase reduce significantly as the retailer does not know what was caused prior her inspection/ during her inspection or after her inspection. For instance it could have been that the laptop battery was not locked into system properly and so it did not power up. she ripped open laptop and damaged the motherboard.

even if it is not the water that caused the fault.. a surge from the consumers dodgy electrics.. over charging the laptop causing heat can also be the cause.

i can go on and on and on with possible faults but getting shirty with a manager is not the way to get things rectified.

retailers do not design, manufactuer, test or use the laptops. they just sell them. so unless you personally seen the manager drop the laptop or pee inside it. dont insult them.

the SOGA (sale of goods act) does not mean when it stops working its the retailers fault. it means when its not working the retailer are the closest and fastest way to get it rectified.

i have a little shop of my own.. i have a sign behind where i stand it says

"treat me with respect and ill treat you like a god"

reemmber that when you next want to complain. a smile can get u further then an angry voice

[nevos]

I don't like PCW at all, bought a new laptop from them years ago and it was nothing but trouble. One day I watched the transformer melt before my eyes, it had only been running 2 hours.

I'm with kabukiman, why buy from them at all.

[rosiecotton]

Originally Posted by yourbestfriend

the SOGA (sale of goods act) does not mean when it stops working its the retailers fault. it means when its not working the retailer are the closest and fastest way to get it rectified.

Your SoGA rights are only against the retailer; you may also have a manufacturers warranty but this may be weaker, certainly will not last as long and by choosing to follow this path you may lose your future SoGA rights. Personally I would only recommend going direct to the manufacturer if the trader is out of business or otherwise impossible to pursue.

I agree of course that people should always be calm and reasonable when dealing with these sorts of problems - aggressiveness won't get you anywhere. There's a huge difference between aggressive and assertive

You do have to be careful when getting other parties to look at the product because as YBF says there may then be an argument that this other repairer has done something wrong. Generally I would only get an independent report done when you have reached stalemate with a trader and they are refusing to accept it is faulty. In this case, an independent report may be the only way to establish who is in the right, therefore it would be reasonable to arrange for one to be carried out.

[blacksheep1979]

Originally Posted by yourbestfriend

over charging the laptop causing heat can also be the cause.

actually anything akin to that would come under faulty goods.

[Kingsmill]

Interested to read of your problems with the Compaq M2000. I bought exactly the same model from PCW in Dundee on 26th December 2005, used it sparingly while I was overseas for the next eight months ( and I do mean sparingly), then when I came back I put it away and didn't use it for five months as I had my home PC (bought the same day from PCW). At the end of January 2007 when it was thirteen months old I went to use it. Same problem as you. Wouldn't power up. I called a local company over the phone who told me that it would be the battery as I hadn't used it for so long. Ordered a new battery the same day on the internet, had it delivered next day and it wasn't the battery at all. 70 quid wasted. The company I called took it away, had a look at it and managed to get it working only by pressing the on/off button, removing the battery, reinserting the battery and pressing the switch again. Bizarre, of course, but its the only way it would power up. The guy had no idea what the problem was and it cost me another 50 quid, but it still wasn't fixed. I needed the laptop in a hurry though as I was leaving for Poland. I had been in Poland for four weeks and it was still working although I had to go through all this nonsense every time I wanted to power up and had resolved to get it properly looked at when I got back to UK.
Anyway, after four weeks it died on me completely. I took it to a computer shop here in Poznan in Poland where I'm working and they had to send it to Warsaw to find out what the problem was. I just heard today that its going to cost the equivalent of 260 quid to repair it. Apparently its the motherboard but they can't get another board here so a repair is the only answer but it would be another two weeks before its ready and I'll be going back to UK in about two weeks so I'm reluctant to go ahead in case its not ready by the time I leave. Also, if I pay that kind of money for a repair, what if something else goes wrong with the motherboard? Its an absolute disgrace. The laptop has hardly been used. My two children also have Compaq laptops which I bought for them when they went to uni and they have had no problems at all with them. I've been checking the internet today and they are a lot of complaints on the net about problems with the motherboard on this model so its not just us.
I don't know what to do. I can't afford the time or the hassle to get embroiled in a big deal fighting over this as, legally, the guarantee period is over but I don't like getting turned over either. I don't know if its worth spending that sort of money to repair what may be a dodgy motherboard anyway and then have something else go wrong with it. Would a new motherboard be any more reliable, especially with the other complaints surrounding them? Is it worth putting a new board in anyway or bite the bullet and buy another laptop? Yes, I know when this one has been hardly used! It certainly wouldn't be another Compaq, that's for sure.
Any feedback, advice from anyone would be helpful.

[Hunger]

Sorry, I have been sworn to ultimate secrecy right now, I am not allowed to make further comment on this problem.
I will however be able to make further comment once an outcome between myself and pc world has been resolved which should be next week Thursday 5th April.
Keep your eyes peeled folks looks like this is going to be fun.

Hunger

[franchile]

I have the same problem, same model, also got it from PCW but i do not blame them, as i have been told and read myself on the internet that the model was built faulty, which means that it will be a mather o time for all to get F****D.

Mine turned off a few days before the warranty was due to finish, but i tried to extend it via HP website, well... the thing is the option wasnt available for my model, because they dont make it no more! same thing with the parts, if you do decide to fix it you wont be able to do so, because the part is not available (DUH! its faulty! thats why!!) the thing is that after about a million emails and calls to hp helpcentre, still nothing, i have sent an email to watchdog on the BBC so maybe they can get another response.

I dont know about you, but i paid £750 for a laptop that lasted 1 year.

IM SO ANGRY! IF PEOPLE WANTS TO FIGHT FOR THIS PLZ LET ME KNOW!

BECAUSE I DO WANT TO.

[rosiecotton]

It's PC World that are liable to you for these goods franchile, regardless of how they were manufactured. That's where your contract is. The manufacturer is only liable to the consumer for any warranty they give and any terms and conditions that are within the warranty.

You'll need to go back to PC World under the Sale of Goods Act, state that the laptop is not of satisfactory quality and tell them why, and ask for a repair or replacement (whichever they choose to offer, you cannot demand a replacement if they are planning to offer a repair).

Edit: It's always best to start your own threads if you have an issue as otherwise they can get lost or risk hijacking the OP's issue.

[nevos]

How about a PC World dissatisfaction rally outside one of their flagship outlets and invite the press. They are masters of evading the responsibility for sub standard products made in PROC.

[franchile]

I had no idea about that, as the warranty run off i though PCW had nothing to do with it, but now that you mention it, it does make sence, at the end of the day i paid them for it.

[lv23]

I have had loads of problems with PC World Leeds - found all the managers I dealt with to be incomptent idiots with do idea of what decent customer service is.
There was 1 in particular that irritated me - forgotten her name, could have been Esther or something... she was a jumped up little so and so who treated me with no respect

I rung up to complain and all I got was a stupid discount voucher for my next shop there... well I wouldnt go back if you paid me!!!!

[yourbestfriend]

i see lots of complaints blaming PCWorld that the product went wrong in the first place. Just to clarify, the retailer do not design products. The posts on here where they say the managers refuse to help or treated with disrespect have a reason to post but please dont post blaming retailers for something they did not know prior.
Some clarification now.. Sale Of Goods Act says that in the first 6 months the onus on the retailer/ manufacturers agent to prove fault was not caused by manufacturing, shipping process IE prove it was a customer spillage, drop or vandalism. After that and upto 6 years in england the onus is on the customer to prove they have not caused it. in the 6 years if a fault is proved to not be caused by the customer then the item should be repaired or replaced within a reasonable time. The SOGA does not state what reasonable time is but most retailers have a policy on this so ask. although the manufacturers warrenty is one year this means the speedy method that the retailers uses by getting the manufacturer to deal with it is no longer viable. as the manufacturer will not beyond 12 months. BUT the retailer still has to deal with it by other means taking them longer and costing more money. In my retail store a customer purchased a PC 3 years ago and used it just once. by looking at the dates on the files of the computer and the condition (no scratches) on it i had to agree it was not customer caused. because the manufacturer no longer supported it (outside the 12months) i (the retailer) had to employ a specialist and get the required part to cause the fault from another source. costing me alot of money, but it hasd to be done.
PCWorld have a policy but most customers dont follow it. If it is under £100 it can be dealt with instore, over £100 it can be dealt with but requiring shipment to manufacturer etc taking alot longer. I suggest calling their support lines on 0870 242 0444 if over £100 as they can get things sorted faster then the local store can. Local stores dont have specialised engineers or even quickdial numbers of manufacturers they call their head office who arange shipment.
I asked the people at the 'techguys' desk in PCWorld and they told me this. its all legal and it makes sense. if over £100 dont go to the store first save your £5 in petrol and call a 7p a minute telephone number. its cheaper.

[blacksheep1979]

or save yourself even more money and call one of these numbers

SAYNOTO0870.COM - Non-Geographical Alternative Telephone Numbers

Most people aren't blaming pc world regarding things going wrong - they are blaming them for their poor product knowledge and often unlawful actions where they refuse to rep