Latest on this. I sent a further letter with email copy to the company threatening legal action and they performed a complete volte-face and said they would credit my card immediately and collect the laptop at my convenience. Although an hour later when I rang with card details they then changed their tune and said they would credit when they had the laptop back Instead of them collecting I took it back to the shop with a view to buying another one but the staff were so rude to me that I didn't. The money has now been credited to my card in full. I can't understand why they have to put customers through this hassle other than playing the bluffing game which they must sometimes win. Thing is, I have dealt with this company for years and recommended them to others but I don't feel inclined to do so any more. I have written regarding their rude member of staff and depending on their reply (if I get one) I will reveal who this company is. Thanks everyone for your help.

Latest on this is that I received a letter to wrong name and partial address from the second debt agency saying that they are going to issue a county court summons and having got judgement they will have me made bankrupt, turf me and the family onto the street and ruin my life forever. When I have summonsed people in the past I hadn't realised it was so easy, I thought I had to prove my case to get judgement, give them the opportunity to pay and then get bailiffs in if it came to it and even then, they only had to pay the debt and costs. This debt agency must take us for mugs if they think we are intimidated with all this hot air.

I know for a fact that I haven't damaged this machine. I don't think that the damage has been caused by forcing a usb plug in the wrong way either. Only a complete moron would do that as it would require considerable force and would break the plastic lugs on the plug and the port making it imposible to then fit one in properly. As it is, a usb fits in comfortably, it just doesn't work because one of the pins inside is bent and so not all the contacts are meeting. It would have been pointless to damage it deliberately in order to secure a refund, as cynically suggested earlier, as the retailer is obliged to make such a refund anyway under DSR and I didn't want a refund anyway, I want a computer that works properly.

Sorry I haven't commented for a week but I've been on holiday (without laptop). Thanks for your interesting comments but I really need to know how to proceed further without tying myself up in too many legal technicalities and risk tripping myself up. Since I last posted, a third of the four usbs has stopped working and this does not appear to have any physical damage. Bizarrely one of the faulty ones did work for a brief period so this could change things somewhat. This tends to indicate there is a fault inside the machine. Another issue which occurred to me was that I purchased an extended warranty with this computer which I have not yet registered at the suggestion of the retailer (who I still haven't heard from further) and I feel I should get a refund for that too since it seems pretty worthless as it doesn't cover accidental damage. I pointed this out when I was at the retailers complaining the other week. It is my intention to write to the retailer again on Monday and turn the pressure up, how should I word it please?

Thankyou for all your interesting contributions. I haven't made empty threats, it is my intention to prosecute them over this but I need to dissect your information in order to make some sort of case, I think that between you, you have given me enough to throw at them, it certainly hasn't put me off. It is now more than 7 days since I wrote to them giving them 7 days to reply and thus meeting my obligations under DSR, I have not had the courtesy of such a reply. I will give them a few more days after the hols and then tell them it is going to have to go further.

Thanks for taking the time to write that amusing, though if I may say, somewhat cynical post. I have taken these types on before and they usually back down at the last minute. Fortunately this problem is not really inconvenient and so I may take it to the bitter end purely as a matter of principle. If a judge goes their way, so be it but they won't be getting any more business from me or my acquaintances which will cost them more than this laptop. I'll tell you who they are when/if it gets to that point.

I have taken reasonable care of it and it is still in it's sticky protective film. I did check it over when I opened it but not with a magnifying glass. When I put the usb peripherals in I initially thought the problem was with the peripherals and certainly not the sockets themselves. I don't think it is possible to check all the ports, it has all kinds of other ports on it as most computers do, they may be faulty too, I can't check them as I don't have anything to fit them. Yes I can manage without the ports as I have a hub but that isn't the point and like others on this site I am not inclined to lie down and let companies do this sort of thing with impunity. Had I damaged it myself I wouldn't have asked for advise on this forum.

The company do not have the laptop in their possession, I still have it. They refused to take it back under DSR rules as they said I had damaged it. I took it away but told them that as I had attempted to return it under DSR rules, I couldn't be held within their timescale any more. I have written to them about it and gave them 7 days to respond. I wrote by email and registered post, they have acknowledged the email but made no comment as yet.

It was just the sales number I have used before.

I ordered it over the phone, no visit or internet. Ironically I didn't originally intend to buy a laptop, I was buying some monitors. I told them I wanted to return laptop under DSR but they wouldn't do it. They do however have it on record that I returned after 6 days and I have written to them to that effect.

Yes, I do understand their point of view and I'm sure people try it on with them all the time but the fact is, I know I haven't damaged it and no one else has had their hands on it (since it was delivered). Somewhere down the line it has been damaged amd it seems that the retailer assumed it was ok when delivering it despite admitting not checking it themselves and put the onus on me to prove otherwise. To turn things around, how can they prove it wasn't damaged? They used their 72 hr rule against me which implies that had I pointed this out within that time, they would have done something about it and therefore this sort of thing is possible but it makes life easier for them if they can plant the problem on the buyer through the (unenforceable) terms and conditions. I can get it mended btw but that would probably invalidate the warranty and I don't see why I should have to.

The laptop was in a box within a box, a perfect tight fit. The first box was sealed but not the second, that could be repackaged now and would look the same. the games are from Oberon Media, not sure if there is a tie up with Acer there. I wasn't paying great attention to the finer points when I first booted it as I wasn't expecting cross examination and forensic tests against me by the supplier or to play games trying to catch the other out. Fact is that I know I haven't damaged this thing and I feel that the burden of proof should be on the retailer, I have done everything in good faith.

Neither of us can prove it, it is my word against theirs, that's the problem. The damage was not obvious at all as the usb plugs went in easily, they just didn't work. It was only when the guy in the shop looked with a magnifying glass that I could see some of the contacts were bent. I don't see how it is possible to break these unless something like a screwdriver is put in, it certainly wouldn't be possible to do it with a usb plug the wrong way round, that would require considerable force and would completely break both ends. I took the usb peripherals with me and they accepted they were not damaged at all. I have just tried to force an old plug the wrong way round into a scrap device I have and it isn't possible and is designed for that reason. Acer have told me that it won't have been them and that the only way to repair it is by replacing the motherboard as these ports are an integral part of it.

The laptop was in a brown sealed box from the supplier which had an Acer box inside which wasn't sealed. These boxes were in a bigger box with the other stuff I ordered. It doesn't say Acer on the outer box and the laptop itself was not in a sealed bag. When I looked at the programs there are some game programmes which were installed last September, there is no mention of whether or not these are part of any package.

Yes it will but, who has to prove it and how? If I had pointed this out within their stipulated 72hrs, what difference would it make? Incidentally I bought several hundreds of pounds of other stuff at the same time, this was less than half of the total sale, had I known they would take this stance, they would have got the lot back within 7 days.