Ebuyer and the faulty PSU part 2.

[bav101]

Hi, I was hoping someone could give a little bit of advice as to a problem I'm having with Ebuyer.

 

About a month ago I needed to buy a new power supply for my PC. The old one was working and the PC was working but I noticed a noise coming from it, and after 16 years building them decided it wasn't a good Idea to leave it on, so switched the machine off and used another PC to buy another one.

 

I got the new one the next day took it out of the box and attached it to my PC, I plugged in the power cord and flicked the switch on the wall and there was a white flash a bang and smell of cooked electrics.

 

I called Ebuyer told them what happened and returned the PSU to which a couple of days later I received a new power supply and a couple of days after that a email saying they found the power supply at fault here's your money back.

 

After getting the new PSU my PC wouldn't start, looks like the PSU took out more than just itself. I contacted ebuyer who said if i can prove that there psu was at fault they'll pay for the damage, and here's where the fun starts...

 

They asked for a engineer's report so they got 2 from 2 different companies, and they rejected them saying they wasn't technical enough, so i then contacted one of the companies and requested a more technical report which was provided to me and I then forwarded it to Ebuyer and they rejected that one saying that it still doesn't prove anything and inferred in the mail that its probably a fault with my electrics because there IT department have said thats what it is. I wasn't impressed because I've worked in IT for 16 years and could prolly pick more holes in there IT tech's than you'll find in swiss cheese.

 

One of my family runs a PC store albeit the other side of the country to me and when I've spoken to him he's basically said that under the Distance Selling reg's they cant to what they have been doing. I have also been in contact with trading standards and they suggested I write to the complaints department a email which I have done and they have dismissed my problem once again. Trading standards also mentioned I could take Ebuyer to the small claims court to get the money to replace the damaged components. (about £400 worth).

 

I've checked over the distance selling regs but I cant really see anything that would be applicable in this case can anyone help?

 

also as a side note I've been in contact with someone with exactly the same issue as I've had with them, and had absolutely no joy with them what so ever and in the end he gave up as I understand Scottish Law is different to English law.

 

Most people when you mention things to do with PC's so i'll liken it to this, You buy a car battery online attach it to your car and it for some reason fries your engine management system. (I'm no mechanic but i'm assuming its possible.)

 

many Thanks, for any help anyone can provide on this.

 

Bav

[sparx]

I believe the Sale of Goods Act covers you for consequential damage. In the first 6 months if goods are faulty it is down to the retailer to prove that the item is not at fault, and after 6 months it is your responsibility.

[sneaksms]

I believe the Sale of Goods Act covers you for consequential damage. In the first 6 months if goods are faulty it is down to the retailer to prove that the item is not at fault, and after 6 months it is your responsibility.

 

It does You'll be covered for reasonably foreseeable damage, that isn't too remote. A faulty PSU frying the rest of your PC clearly falls within these terms!

[bav101]

Awesome, thank you very much for the replies.

 

Since posting on here I've been in touch with consumer direct and they've passed my case to the local trading standards for them to investigate.

 

I was explaining to someone what actually happened and they pointed out how I could have been killed by it. Then I realised what a lucky person I was with it. Kinda sobering to be honest. When i mess around with the inside of the case I normally leave the side off, but this time I put it on and screwed it shut. If i hadn't I prolly wouldn't be here to have wrote this post.

 

If you know anyone who messes around with the inside of PC's keep the case on if possible when messing around with PSU's.

[rebel11]

Hi bav

 

Heres some info:-

 

10) SALE OF GOODS ACT-EDUCATE YOUR RETAILER CLICK HERE

11) DISTANCE SELLING-EDUCATE YOR RETAILERCLICK HERE

12) SOGA SUMMARY CLICK HERE

13) WHICH? TEMPLATES CLICK HERE

[bav101]

Hey guys, I was hoping someone could give me a little advice with something. I will also try to be as brief as possible.

 

I'm having a issue with Ebuyer and a faulty PSU I purchased with them in February, I have posted on here before regarding this problem, but because I haven't been very active I'm unable to provide the link to it.

 

Since posting I've been told by Ebuyer that it was a power surge and that my home electrics were to blame and very politely told that it wasn't there problem. So I contacted Consumer Direct and Trading Standards and they've informed me that I already had enough evidence to take Ebuyer to the small claims court. But I got curious.. I had a survey carried out on the electrics of the house by the council and they confirmed that there was nothing wrong with them what so ever, so i once again got in contact with Ebuyer and sent them a copy with a email that very politely said your wrong it has nothing to do with a power surge.

 

I got a reply saying that they would review the documents I've sent them and get back to me, so far I've sent them 2 hardware fault reports stating that the power supply was the likely cause of the damage to my PC, A very technical fault report that went into even more depth stating that the PSU caused damage to my PC and now a copy of the electrical survey of my house.

 

After 28 days I hadn't heard from them so yesterday I sent them an email which basically stated that if this isn't resolved by Friday 1st June 2012 that I will be taking legal action. I got a reply this morning stating that they have passed all the documents to the manufacturer for review and that nothing can be done until the manufacturer has decided what to do.

 

My question is this, Is this another attempt to fob me off, or is this the usual practice? This doesn't sit right with me because surely it is up to the re seller to resolve disputes then take it up with the manufacturer to get any compensation from them?

 

Also I have spoken to a couple of electrician's via a online forum regarding this issue, I've explained the whole situation to them and they have given me a probable cause of the fault, stating that a particular part of the PSU was to blame for causing the problem could this be used when / if I take my issue with Ebuyer to the small claims court as evidence?

[rebel11]

Hi bav

 

How did you pay for PSU?

 

If you've paid by Credit Card / Visa Debt, contact your card provider, see if you can do a Chargeback, explain the who situation.

 

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeback-on-credit-and-debit-cards/

 

I've merged the threads.

[bav101]

Hi bav

 

How did you pay for PSU?

 

If you've paid by Credit Card / Visa Debt, contact your card provider, see if you can do a Chargeback, explain the who situation.

 

 

I've merged the threads.

 

First off, thanks for merging the threads I know its frowned up on some forums to re use old threads.

 

Anyway, the PSU was purchased using a Visa Electron card. Although I did send the faulty PSU back, and they found it at fault and gave me a refund on the PSU. The issue I'm having is the components it took out when it went boom. Although i did put a note in with it when I sent it back saying do not power on. When I did it, it produced a spark that was a good foot tall I was standing over it at the time, did I jump... not arf.

[rebel11]

Hi bav

 

Speak to your card provider, explain whats happened, tell them you paid with Visa Electron, ask them if you are covered for 'Consequential damage'. It's worth checking.

[bav101]

Thanks for the help Rebel, I'll get onto that tomorrow.

[bav101]

I did some research online and from what I could see Barclay's dont offer any kind of Consequential Damage coverage. I spent a good couple of hours trying to find it which to be honest was preferable than being on hold for 20 mins then having issue's trying to understand the person on the phone.

 

I also contacted Consumer Direct and spoke with a guy there and he gave me some very sound advice, so I'm going to wait until Friday and if this still isn't resolved I'm going to start the small claims court process. I was told that basically it isn't up to Ebuyer to get the manufacturer to compensate me for damage incurred because my sales contract so to speak was with Ebuyer and not with the Maker of the defective product.

 

Once again thanks for your help