Independent verification of fault in Laptop

[georgejoseph1981]

Hello All,

 

I bought a laptop from a retailer for £500 2 years ago. In the very first week it had issues with the cooler fan making sounds and I went back to the store to return it. I was told to pay a stocking charge - I disgareed and the manager assured me that it would replaced if an issue did occur. I had also paid £120 for a 2 year extended warranty.( on top of the acer warranty i,e; the total warranty would be 2 years anyways). In the 2 year warranty period the laptop was fixed twice for overheating issues - once by Acer (when in fact it was supposed to be fixed by the retailer). Anyways, in 3 weeks after the warranty expired, the laptop's motherboard failed.

 

I send it to the retailer Head office quoting the SOGA and they asked me to pay £130 to replace the motherboard, since it was of age - They have said they know of the SOGA, but since I have had the laptop for some time they cany repair it for free.

 

Today I took it to an independent PC repair shop and he said he can write down on paper what has failed , but cant say if it is a manufacturing fault or not( The retailer too has written that the motherboard has failed. In their report they have not mentioned anything about misuse as the cause of failure ).

 

My question is : Since an independent PC repair specialist cannot comment if the motherboard failed due to a manufacturing defect(and obviously the retailer too does not think that the manner in which the laptop was used is cause of the failure) - would I have a chance if I took it to county court - stating that the retailer has agreed that the motherboard has failed and that it is not due to user negligence(which is implied by them not stating it). Would the judge be able to agree with what I say? Would I be awarded the total cost of the laptop?

 

Thanks in Advance...

George.

[Conniff]

It will be classed as an inherent fault as a £500 lappy is not expected to have a life of only 2 years.

[georgejoseph1981]

Hi,

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. Also, do I need to get an independent verification from a 3rd party to re-verify that the laptop's motherboard is faulty.

 

Would I be able to claim damages for the inconvinence caused to me due to this laptop not working for 4 months in the 27 months I owned this product - specifically my wife used this laptop to talk to her parents daily and now she hasnt been able to talk to them over the last 2.5 months - any ideas? I specifically ask this because, the retailer is aware of the SOGA and has lost county court cases for non working laptop motherboards , yet they persist to state "age of the laptop" as a significant reason to charge me for the replacement of the motherboard.

 

Thanks,

George.

[georgejoseph1981]

Hello All,

 

I was called by the retailer today and they offerred me a rebate on the motherboard reducing 50£ . I have a query here - I wish to get an entire repayment of the amount of money I paid for the laptop in return for giving the laptop back to the retailer.

 

1) Would the judge issue a judgement that I get a full refund of the price I paid

2) Would the retailer offering me a further reduced amount for repair affect my claim in any way? (Only becuase I wish to have nothing to do with them and I dont want the laptop repaired by them only to break down again).

3)The retailer has informed me that they would not be reducing the cost of repairs any more, is it ok now to file the case, even before the stipulated time as mentioned in the "letter before action" has lapsed?

 

Please help..

 

Thanks, a lot,

Warm Regards,

George.

[georgejoseph1981]

Also would someone let me know if I have to pay costs, if I loose the case?

 

Thanks for your help,

George