LloydsTSB Section 75 Claim

[MPH2k9]

Sent this letter to Lloyds TSB today, seeking a full refund of a faulty PC...

 

What are the chances of a hassle free refund? Are there any recommendations or tips - Alienware UK are actually based in southern Ireland for info.

 

I am writing to request that you reimburse me the value of £2651.93 as full payment for an Alienware Area 51 X58-EU computer system that I paid for with my Lloyds TSB Mastercard no: xxx credit card to Alienware Ltd on 29.04.2009.

 

My claim is made on the grounds that the item purchased was faulty and I have been unable to resolve my complaint with the supplier and that you are jointly and severally liable for any misrepresentation or breach of contract with the above supplier under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

Supplementary Information

Since purchase, this expensive system has displayed a number of faults that are detailed in the attached report. Initially, response from Alienware was to request that the system was returned to them in Ireland for repair. This would involve a turnaround time of 4 weeks minimum, so we refused this option.

 

My son, a trained IT Engineer, traced the initial fault to faulty cabling. He removed a cable clamp that was excessively tight and trapping the cable. This produced a temporary fix. He requested a new cable from Alienware, this request was ignored.

 

The next fault was failure of the solid state hard drive, which made the system unusable. This was diagnosed by Alienware, who offered to send a replacement if they could first debit my credit card with the replacement cost. We negotiated an agreement to return the faulty drive – they would check it, and if faulty return a ‘new’ drive. They did this, however, the new drive was blank, and had no system software installed, as it should have under the terms of the initial purchase agreement, to match the as ‘new condition’ of the system and allow normal operation.

 

Software was installed – the system then functioned briefly, but kept crashing at time periods of 30 minutes to 2 hours usage (please see attached report). The cause of this defect is hardware related.

 

My son, and then my wife, contacted Alienware seeking a refund for faulty goods. These requests were refused.

 

Alienware stated that they had two opportunities to rectify the defects under their goods return policies, and that they would not offer a refund. They refused to comply with Eire or UK law.

 

They refused to provide an RMA number for return of the goods.

 

They stated that if the goods were returned to them, they would not accept delivery and the goods would be returned to us by the carrier, who would then demand additional charges.

 

I have a written record of this telephone call.

 

I enclose printouts of emails to Alienware, copy of invoice, and an Expert Report comprehensively detailing the multiple system defects.

 

At present, the system is unusable, and is absolutely NOT of merchantable quality, nor is it fit for purpose.

 

I request that you place a ‘hold’ on the amount of £2651.93 paid to Alienware, as applied to my account, and l request that you make a refund of this full amount under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, in order that I can purchase a working computer system that is of merchantable quality. I cannot afford to waste this amount of money on a supposed ‘high end system’ that does not work; and would, if I was to comply with the unreasonable request made by Alienware, spend more time in their workshop than in my home.

 

For your assistance, the computer system was purchased from a link on the Dell website; Alienware being part of the Dell group of companies.

 

The system is available for collection from my home address with reasonable notice. As stated above, it is a pointless act to attempt to return the system to Alienware at this juncture, after they have explicitly stated to me that they will refuse acceptance upon delivery and immediately ‘Return To Sender’.

 

My email address is xxx my home telephone number is xxx. Please contact me if you need further details or information.

 

I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter within 14 days.

[Valueadded]

Cannot imagine that this bank will do anything 'hassle free'.

Section 75 has been resisted by this bank and others for many years, so do not expect an easy ride on your claim, despite the fact that the law has now been fully recognised after many years of dispute by lenders.

[MPH2k9]

They have acknowledged receipt of the letter via phone, so will await their reply.

Edited October 12, 2009 by MPH2k9