!!!HI FOLKS!!! CForum virgin needs advice re DSG extended warranty

[summers]

Hello everyone!

 

I have a small problem and wonder if anyone else had similar experiences...

 

 

I purchase a top of the range laptop for around 4yrs ago from pc world, and bought a 5 yr extended warranty which is held by DSG retail.

 

At the time of purchase I was told that if anything went wrong with the laptop they'd repair or replace for a new one. It sounded like the sensible thing to do considering I was paying one and a half grand for the system alone!

 

Well over the years, it has needed repairs which have been carried out, but this time they were unable to patch it up any more than it already had been so sent me replacement product vouchers. the only problem is that the replacement vouchers only amount to just less than 1/3 of the original price. They tell me in their letter that this is the amount for an equivalent replacement. the insurance has also been refunded pro rata but i can ONLY spend it on another warranty with them!

 

Anyway, I've searched high and low for an equivalent and cant see how they concluded this. I can find systems with general spec that is faster and better such but they lack the hardware and additional facilities of my laptop.

 

Anyone know what to do??? I'm really annoyed.

 

Thanks folks !! :smile:

[ForestChav]

Well, that is what the warranty does - allows you to replace the product with an equivalent specification.

 

If you are disputing this you need to write to Coverplan in Sheffield (?) explaining why you think the value is inferior (which parts of the spec?) and asking if they could cover the difference.

 

I'd imagine the spec they would cover would be things like CPU, RAM, gfx, HDD, etc etc etc. There's not much else on a laptop anyway.

[big blue one]

not sure if its the same now, but when i worked there just under a year ago you could go into a branch and fine an equivalent spec laptop. i.e pick a particular feature on your laptop that is only a more expensive laptop, then a helpful member of staff can call and request a voucher upgrade, wich is done straight away over the phone and a special code was given to write on the voucher.

 

for example buy tv a few years ago with say, a component input. 4 years later its still not a standard feature but it's something that you need and the only tv that has it cost £300 more, 9 times out of te i used to get the vouchers upgraded

[summers]

Thanks v much for this info guys.

 

At least i now have somewhere tangible to start!

 

Well my laptop had harmon kardon speakers and nvidia graphics card plus power saver function. may be nothing 2 some, but these additions were something to me, especially since i was coming from a mac background. if it was going 2 slum it with a pc-it had 2 b the best! lol!

 

but on a serious note... do you think these types of things are justifiable for a voucher upgrade??

[Delta-NC]

I would say yes to both, but especially if you cannot get an equivalent video chip. A downgrade in video will be a significant performance hit, and make the system useless for a range of tasks that your older model was perfectly capable of.

[summers]

yeah. thats exactly my argument.

 

oh well, looks like i'll be going to pc world in the next few days.

 

hope i have something good 2 report. hope they let me use the insurance voucher towards the cost of a laptop. i dont fancy taking out another insurance with them...

 

wish me luck!

[ForestChav]

I'd say you'd just be looking at the speakers then. I'd imagine all laptops have come on in terms of graphics a lot in five years so even the low end laptops would now have more graphics power than yours did.

 

They all have power save features and have done for years unless you're looking for something specific.

[summers]

yeah i agree, they do mostly have more ram and ghz than mine but even 4 yrs on, the quality of my then top of the range toshiba is still hard to find at a low budget. sure i can get faster machines with more memory, but the build quality, speakers, and like i mentioned nvidia card dont seem to come in the cheaper models. even down to the touch of the keypad, and the weight of the laptop. the slimline design etc. even in todays market there are some things that they dont seem to focus on when building budget machines. wish id have stuck to a mac now. wouldnt have been such an issue.

[summers]

plus, why shoud i be forced into buying an emachine or an acer when i went out of my way to buy a better name in the first place???

[Delta-NC]

I say screw them for everything you can. You paid for the warrenty after all. Get a short list of things about your laptop, that only comes with paying good money, and make sure you get equivalent.

 

If your laptop has a good video chip, you need a good video chip. If your laptop is slim and compact, that is what you paid for because you carry it around a lot. If you paid out for good speakers, you expect good speakers.

 

If we where talking about a cheap laptop you had bough, fair enough, but if you paid the premium for a quality system, you should expect to get at least these features in return.