pc world- compaq computer dead-1 week after yr warranty ends

[jubaxt]

hi-my son paid £599 for a compaq computer on 1st september 2006-low and behold it died on 10th september this year-hard drive corrupt-pc world not interested and neither are compaq.-we were away from august 27th so it may be argued that fault occured whilst in warranty-please advise-surely-a £600 computer should last longer than 53 weeks!??

[vandermerwe]

Hi jubaxt.

 

You have my sympathy - you really do. But, in effect it's sod's law in action.

 

I am no expert on SOGA (sale of goods act) - but I'm sure you will get advice in this regard.

 

My instinct tells me this is a case for a goodwill settlement, i.e. replacement, repair, or contribution to repair, all of which need a softly-softly approach to a senior person by name, either at PC World or Compaq.

 

Whether it should come from you or your son depends on your individual circumstances.

 

The weekend columnists in the quality press frequently achieve amazing results, but at this stage I suggest the humble approach keeping the full broadside for later.

 

Not much help I feel, but do please keep us posted. Do remember this is a "Three Musketeer" site - one for all and all for one.

 

Regards.

 

Vandermerwe

[davethorp]

No expert on SOGA but I believe it states that goods have to be sold as fit for purpose.

 

So the question becomes can you reasonably expect a computer to last longer than 53 weeks. I think we all know the answer to that one

[Bookworm]

Going to move you to the PCW forum, then I'll answer you. ;-)

[Bookworm]

Ok.

 

The one year warranty is in addition to your statutory rights, not instead of.

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) says that goods should be as follows:

• Of satisfactory quality. This means the goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information. In some circumstances, the retailer may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer about the goods.
  

Satisfactory quality includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects (including minor faults)

 

• Fit for the purpose that goods of this type are generally sold. They must also be fit for any specific or particular purpose made known to the seller at the time of the agreement.
  
• As described - goods should correspond with any description applied to them.
  

Have a read of my thread about the Toshiba Hard Drive, and you'll see that as long as you stick to your guns and show that you do know yoour rights, PCW usually caves in. You will have to be able to rattle off the relevant SOGA bits as if you did this every day, though, and be confident that it is not acceptable for them to say it isn't their problem.

 

Go to one of the advisors, but the moment he starts trying to tell you that it is nothing to do with them, there's nothing they can do, politely but firmly ask to speak to one of the managers and explain things fully to him. Don't say "I want this or that", say "You have responsabilities under SOGA, what are you prepared to do?", leaving it to him to offer you a solution.

 

When you say "hard-drive corrupt", what do you mean by that? How do you know?

[spikeachu]

Take note that corrupt data and a faulty hard drive are two different animals. I say this only because you have not made clear the issues that you are experiencing. A hard drive with corrupt data may not load up your PC, but is not faulty and can usually be resolved through the recovery method supplied with your PC.

 

If it is a faulty drive, in all honesty, PC World usually ask for an independent report to confirm the fault. If it is hard drive, the report should confirm this and the quote should be in the region of £60-£80. They will usually tell you to have it repaired and they'll send a cheque to reimburse.

[ForestChav]

Take note that corrupt data and a faulty hard drive are two different animals. I say this only because you have not made clear the issues that you are experiencing. A hard drive with corrupt data may not load up your PC, but is not faulty and can usually be resolved through the recovery method supplied with your PC.

 

If it is a faulty drive, in all honesty, PC World usually ask for an independent report to confirm the fault. If it is hard drive, the report should confirm this and the quote should be in the region of £60-£80. They will usually tell you to have it repaired and they'll send a cheque to reimburse.

This is pretty standard - and perfectly legal.

[Bookworm]

Take note that corrupt data and a faulty hard drive are two different animals.

 

Yes, that's why I asked for the clarification.

[spikeachu]

Yes, that's why I asked for the clarification.

 

Sorry, just skimmed over the posts. Didn't mean to steal your thunder. (Especially since reading another thread it seems you are the producer of lightning and I assume the associated bang that goes with it )

[Bookworm]

No thunder stolen. I think with the (very) odd exception, we are more or less all of the same mind around here, which is nice.

 

Yes, being named as God came as a bit of a shock to me too!

[patdavies]

 

Yes, being named as God came as a bit of a shock to me too!

 

Now, now. Don't forget who it was that informed you of that.

[jubaxt]

thanks for your help folks-i can tell you where a liver or kidney is..............but when it comes to computers-well..

 

my son is in the forces and so i ran compaq on his behalf-they had me switch on the computer and press f10 continuously.they then asked me to click on specific instructions but it wouldnt do anything just said task failed.originally it wouldnt reboot-just came up wih some corrupt message-will speak with son tomorrow and update my thread-thanks

[fred_2009]

[personal comments removed.]

 

anything over 6 months from puchase requires the customer to prove fault. going to zit face steve is not proving it as he is not qualified to examine. get an independant report made out and contact techguys engineers on 0870 901 3000.

 

that number will give you options about in guarantee or out of guarantee. i would suggest you give the 'in guarantee' option a try. state that you have an independant report which proves its not software or maliciously caused.

 

then they should act including refundung the independant report costs. spikeachu if you know of a better number to call to get swifter action i suggest you reply to help out

[ForestChav]

[personal comments removed.]

 

anything over 6 months from puchase requires the customer to prove fault. going to zit face steve is not proving it as he is not qualified to examine. get an independant report made out and contact techguys engineers on 0870 901 3000.

 

that number will give you options about in guarantee or out of guarantee. i would suggest you give the 'in guarantee' option a try. state that you have an independant report which proves its not software or maliciously caused.

 

then they should act including refundung the independant report costs. spikeachu if you know of a better number to call to get swifter action i suggest you reply to help out

 

You are misunderstanding SOGA - as per.

 

An independent [NB spelling] report proving it is not SW or MD is not sufficient. The report also has to prove that the fault was there when purchased, as SOGA does not cover wear and tear.

[spikeachu]

[personal comments removed.]

 

anything over 6 months from puchase requires the customer to prove fault. going to zit face steve is not proving it as he is not qualified to examine. get an independant report made out and contact techguys engineers on 0870 901 3000.

 

that number will give you options about in guarantee or out of guarantee. i would suggest you give the 'in guarantee' option a try. state that you have an independant report which proves its not software or maliciously caused.

 

then they should act including refundung the independant report costs. spikeachu if you know of a better number to call to get swifter action i suggest you reply to help out

 

Calling The Tech Guys isn't going to get you very far. They are primarily a warranty repair agent. If it's not in warranty, they can repair it at a charge of £120 plus components and labour. As a repair agent, they did not sell you the product, they are not bound by the Sale of Goods act and probably couldn't care less about any report you have.

 

If you want to discuss Sale of Goods act and remedies, discuss it directly with the retailer. My personal choice of numbers would be 0844 561 0000 and select options for complaints. Make sure that the complaint is logged and request a complaint reference number and an approximate turn aruond for a resolution.

[fred_2009]

sorry spikeachu but techguys are DSGI employees right?, you know the company entity.

 

isnt a agent someone subcontracted. like a external company contracted in.

 

they are not a separate entity under contract of DSGI they actually are employee's of DSGI,

 

just trying to get my head more around the DSGI infrustructure.

 

 

ok so maybe calling the complaints department may get some action too. but would highly recommend getting a engineers report to co-oberate the fault. so if zit face steve not trained and techguys only deal with guarantee faults. who do pcworld use for SOGA issues. spikeachu. your an employee of DSGI so advice us all. tell us all who we should be calling if it is not techguys.

 

your an employee so you should have the answers.

[ForestChav]

Normally address it to customer services or the branch itself.

 

The manager should know, or at least have a route to escalate it to ie branch support.

[fred_2009]

You are misunderstanding SOGA - as per.

 

An independent [NB spelling] report proving it is not SW or MD is not sufficient. The report also has to prove that the fault was there when purchased, as SOGA does not cover wear and tear.

 

 

[edited].. you are not thinking.

 

by proving it was not caused by malicious damage rules out human factor such as destructive, agressive use and wear and tear.

 

if you have the qualifications and experience of diagnosing faults and have to write reports for a living then you will know when testing for malicious damage you automatically do checks which would come under the wear and tear tests. also checking lifespan of product such as checking seagate HD website for lifespan facts if HD is a seagate.

 

professionals who write reports dont just breathe on the product and say "yep its classed as hardware from production" they do test it fully. a independant report is unbiased and informative and shows true cause of issue.

 

it vital if retailers have to deal with SOGA issues as after some time (year manufacturers guarantee) it starts costing them mega bucks to repair products so they want it properly verified as fault before they start spending money on courior services engineers etc.

 

and if it goes to court then a independant report is very good evidence to use against retailer who refuses to act

[fred_2009]

ok many arguments here.

 

exactly what does everyone think a branch can do about a laptop.

 

spikeachu. answer this one.

 

laptops dont get repaired instore and zit face steve is not trained on SOGA or can calculate costs repair and weigh it against the financial benefit to replace it.

 

the manager from asking staff is just trained to sound convincing to agree with whatever is said and then pass the buck. more concerned with reducing instore refunds to maximise sales targets.

 

from what i have been reading and asking for laptops its this.

 

under 28days go to store

28days and over call techguys for repair.

 

laptops are not refunded instore unless repair fails or takes too long.

 

as for SOGA after asking the complaints department. they informed me that the techguys have a customer services department that take report and arrange shipping as they have engineers to repair and contacts to get parts.

 

pcworld customer services department is more about stock check, and if their are issues pass it onto the relevant party. customer service department dont repair laptops or diagnose faults. techguys do.

 

customers are getting fobbed off left right and centre. spikeachu your an employee give us some more detail in ur advice

 

spikeachu can u write a detailed guide as to the fastest solution for customers with faulty laptops, printers, etc.

[ForestChav]

[edited].. you are not thinking.

 

by proving it was not caused by malicious damage rules out human factor such as destructive, agressive use and wear and tear.

 

if you have the qualifications and experience of diagnosing faults and have to write reports for a living then you will know when testing for malicious damage you automatically do checks which would come under the wear and tear tests. also checking lifespan of product such as checking seagate HD website for lifespan facts if HD is a seagate.

 

professionals who write reports dont just breathe on the product and say "yep its classed as hardware from production" they do test it fully. a independant report is unbiased and informative and shows true cause of issue.

 

it vital if retailers have to deal with SOGA issues as after some time (year manufacturers guarantee) it starts costing them mega bucks to repair products so they want it properly verified as fault before they start spending money on courior services engineers etc.

 

and if it goes to court then a independant report is very good evidence to use against retailer who refuses to act

Please do us all a favour and quit the ill conceived waffling.

 

You've clearly misunderstood the point I was trying to make.

[fred_2009]

im only human maybe a more detailed explaination of your point is needed. legally you need a independant report and even retailers prefer an independant report.

 

do yourself a favour and realise over 6 months proof of fault is needed or customer has to accept they may have to pay retailers a inspection fee if no fault found. under guarantee retailers use manufacturer so no cost incurred to retailer. but after guarantee it costs retailer so they may charge customer if not proven faulty

[vandermerwe]

Couldn't Fred learn how do work a spell checker? Even an American one?

 

This is the sort of drivel that, in my humble opinion, denigrates the site.

 

Vandermerwe

[gyzmo]

Fred, why oh why oh why do you have to post this drivel and ruin these forums? The poor OP is probably trying to work out what is going on and is having to scroll through pages of your drivel to find a decent answer.

 

Stop this pollution now. Go away. Bugger off. Vamoosh. Comprende?

[patdavies]

It's a spell checker that he needs, it's the ability to write in English; use punctuation; use capitalisation.

 

Currently, his posts are just drivel

[gyzmo]

I dont think a spell checker would sort the drivel problem (unless it deletes all his text)