Collection of Laptop to Replace Faulty Charger?

[TeeSee]

After saving hard last year and with a little help from us at Christmas, my 14 yr old son (and I) was able to go down to PC World first thing Boxing day morning and buy himself a laptop which we'd specced out earlier on the internet.

The laptop itself is fine, but the charger at the jack end recently started becoming hot then melted the wire insulation at the jack. I've inspected it and found that there was a short between the +ve & -ve wires inside resulting in the outer -ve sheath burning away and rendering the charger useless.

So I took a quick trip down to the Kidderminster branch expecting a simple exchange since the laptop is still under 12 m warranty.

LOL. Guess what I was told by the young lad at the desk? 'The charger is not covered since it's classed as a peripheral' Taken somewhat aback I quoted the SoGA and 'fit for purpose' to which he replied 'would you expect us to replace it if your dog had chewed through it?' I told him it was a design fault since there are stresses built up in the cable at the point where the cable meets the jack, and at that point demanded to see the manager. To his credit, the manager was not so belligerent, but told me that they could do nothing there and to ring the 'Tech' Guys instead who'd try to sort it out (bearing in mind that at no time at all in this conversation did he imply any responsibility on behalf of PC World, and also dropped in the conversation that I might have to prove via an engineer's report that the owness is on them)

Still, I gave them a ring and having spoken to a nice lady, she then told me that the charger WAS covered and she'd pass me on to someone who could sort it out.

This guy seems to be the dispatcher he asked all the usual, address, date of purchase, model etc, then told me a courier will come and fetch the laptop. I asked why he wanted the laptop and he told me some cock and bull about the charger might've damaged the laptop and they'd need to 'upload' the entire contents of the PC in order to determine if any damage had been done. I told him it hadn't been damaged since it's still running OK on the battery and I was not prepared to send the laptop. He told me 'it's the laptop or nothing' and so I grudgingly agreed, AND then he told me it would be up to 14 working days before it's return!

Now tell me if I'm paranoid here please but I can't see the point of uploading the contents of a PC onto a database in order to swap the charger. My wife does her internet banking on there sometimes as well as there's my son's passwords to facebook etc. I'm not even suggesting for a minute that PC World would be anything other than professional with any personal information they had at their disposal, but this now becomes another corporation that could have access to data not intended for them.

Anyway, to cut this rather long story short, a friend of the family has been able to procure a new charger from the 'net for the princely sum of £5.60 so I've gone for that option rather than my lad being without for his laptop for 3 weeks.

Still it shows how these places make it so hard for you to get anything out of them that you give up.

Anyway Xmas is coming and this time my daughter's saving up for a laptop, and this time, rather than taking her to the McDonalds of the PC retail industry I'm going to try a local independent retailer who I'm sure will be far more grateful for our custom than these Box Shifters staffed with ignorant kids who only want the sale.

[Renzokuken]

Ok no offense, I mean I am just a "Box Shifter and ignorant kid who only wants the sale". But you've posted this topic up yet your issue has already been resolved as you state right at the end that you bought a replacement charger for £5.60. So I really don't see the point in making a topic in the first place besides to waste the time of people on here to help.

 

Anyway, it's standard practice for the techguys to collect your laptop with the charger regardless of whether or not the fault is with the charger or laptop, simply because a laptop can very easily be damaged by a faulty charger and they'd rather not have to make you send them in separately when a quick check would resolve any issues in one fell swoop. And prevent them from being dragged into court should the laptop catch fire and hurt someone because it wasn't checked.

 

As for them offloading your data, they wouldn't do this. The repair dockets for laptops we get people to sign state that everything should be backed up in the event they have to wipe the computer to resolve any issues. For example if they discovered a hard disk issue with your PC, they would simply replace the entire disk, then re image your PC using the recovery disks to the way it was before you bought it.

Edited October 21, 2009 by Renzokuken

[TeeSee]

You're missing the point.

For a start, I don't want your help. I'm posting this to show other people the shoddy service you can expect from PC World if you don't make a fuss. Yes, the issue has been resolved now because I resolved it.

Secondly what you call a 'quick check' has been quoted at 14 working days, thats 3 weeks to replace a charger.

Speaking as an engineer myself, and also one that has built many PC systems in the past starting back in the days of the 486's and encompassing many different OS's, (I'm using an Ubuntu machine to type this as we speak) I can categorically tell you that the laptop is NOT damaged, or I'd also be asking for another one.

Maybe you yourself aren't a 'box shifter' or an 'ignorant kid' I've read some of your other posts and you seem fairly well informed technically, if perhaps just a little partisan. But believe me, from my past experience you're in the minority at that store.

When you're self employed and your PC's gone down on the Saturday, and you have to complete work for Monday morning you ring PC World in desperation to see if they have any motherboards in stock only to be asked 'whats a motherboard?' that don't instill confidence.

All I'm saying is that I was a fool for going there in the first place, knowing what I already knew about them. But the price seemed reasonable for the machine, and common sense deserted me.

It was nothing more than a warning to folks that even the simplest fault will be dealt with discourteously and convolutedly.

Sorry that you misunderstood.

[Renzokuken]

Well legally, they have around 28 days to repair, replace or refund under the sale of goods act, so being quoted 14 days for a repair isn't really that bad. And I'm sure your more than sufficiently qualified to judge if the laptop is damaged or not, but unfortunately the customer could be a living legend amongst IT experts, and they'd still want to check the laptop just so they aren't liable should anything happen.

 

I mean imagine if they were taken to court should the laptop catch fire or otherwise injure someone.

 

Judge: "So were checks performed on the laptop to ensure it's electrical safety after the repair"

 

DSGi: "No the customer said it was fine"

 

*insert hefty fine and bad press here*

[TeeSee]

18.5V @ 3.5A gives you 65W. Enough to melt the thin insulation on the lead over a peroid of time granted, but to spontaneously combust a laptop, given the density of the materials used in it's manufacture? I could go on about specific heat capacity and heat sinks etc. but I won't bore you.

Perhaps electrocution then. At that current there may be the faintest tingle - at least if your name's Derek Acora.

My lad's not using it in the bath, nor is he using in in an explosive atmosphere (unless you count curry night!)

So to say the laptop could cause harm is tall order to say the least. I don't think your analogy is quite that sound. If you want to ensure your customers won't sue you you'll have to start making them out of foam so they cant drop them on their feet, hit each other over the heads with it, etc. etc.

Never mind, we're splitting hairs here, I can see where you're coming from that you need to protect yourselves from all Acts of God, no matter how tenuous they may be, and I hope that you can see where I'm coming from in that all I wanted was my bl**dy charger exchanged without any fuss, and without some pretentious little git with a goatee beard telling me I'd got no rights.

Like I said originally, its ended up with me procuring another charger because you've (not you personally mate!) made it so damn difficult and time consuming to get it sorted that it's just easier to sort it out myself!

Cheers for the insight anyroad into the mechanisms of PC world, I'll ensure I steer well clear in future!

[labrat]

hmm 18.5v at 3.5a so im guessing its either a compaq/hp (probably cq series or g series) or acer with the yellow end.

 

im probably miles off the mark, but thats my rough guess

 

its not unknown for the compaq/hp chargers to go occasionally especially since the new chargers come in.

 

from the point of view from someone who deals with laptops on a daily basis i can state that the reson they need to uplift the laptop as they have to confirm the details on the bottom of the laptop (serial make etc) to pass onto the manufacturers if they dont then they dont get the cost of hte new power supply refunded by the manufacturer, may not be a big cost per psu, but i see around 4-5 psu faults per day just from my area, extrapolate that over the entire uk and its probaby a good 5-10k per day they would loose if they dont get those details

[labrat]

just an after note if i ever leave ill reveal which store and all the procedures

[JimmySpangle]

Well legally, they have around 28 days to repair, replace or refund

 

Just because you can take a long time, doesn't mean that you should!

 

Very clearly this should have been a replacement power supply by return. Absolutely no need to have your undamged laptop hurled around by a courier, then manhandled.

 

If they did that, the OP would be saying how great they are (isn't that a hymn?) and not slating them for being so apparently useless.

[Mr Happy]

My son dropped my notebook when it was 2 weeks old, it was covered by the extended warranty, I was quoted 14 days for repair, the courier said it should be back in a week and it was returned in 5 days with new plastics, if it was just an adaptor I am sure it would have been a lot quicker.

 

Ac adaptors have direct connection to the charging circuit for the battery it could have been a short in the battery causing the problem, have you seen what can happen to a faulty Lithium Ion battery, well worth a few days without a computer, whether you like it or not PC World need to cover their back, as well as already mentioned they need an accurate serial number to reclaim the cost from the manufacturer.