Evesham Technlogy - Faulty Laptop

[aceades]

Would appreciate any advice on this long standing issue, what would you expect in this situation.

 

I have tried to give a very brief outline of a reccurent issue that has had loads of complications(mess ups on evesham's side) since almost day one, this has gone on for just over a year now putting the machine (after the current case which was regeistered withn the first years) out of full warranty (meaning i will have to part for parts and labour).

 

 

"

this is a very long winded issue but i will try to outline.

I purchased a high end laptop form Evesham Technology almost a year ago, the laptop had 3 years warranty wit the first covering all parts and labour.

The laptop had little use in the first couple of months but since I started to use it i had numerous issues.

The machine has been away for repair twice with the same major issue (amongst others) and is about to be sent off for the same issue again.

whilst reporting these issues service has been poor , questions not answered and emails not replied to I have also had major issue wit the delivery and they also lost part of my consignment (which they did replace but caused inconvenience) responses were slow and service even slower (I have all communication to prove this (well over amonth for a repair which i later found out was not even relevent to my issues).

My problem being I am now sending it off for a 3rd time with the same issue and when it comes back it will be out of full warranty meaning if it does it again i will have to pay.

I want to know if I am entitled to a refund or replacement on this expensive item £1200 + which has never worked correctly and had only caused me trouble and stress trying to use a faulty machine and dealing with a support service that it seems are just not interested.

I think my next stage may be to write to the MD and perhaps some computer publication as Evesham Technology seems to have a very good reputation with them.

Please can you advise if I am thinking along the write lines or is this kind of service is acceptable?

I am personally an experienced PC Technician and i am sure there is something inherently wrong with the unit will return again after the fully covered warranty is up and still paying for the unit I feel it unfair for me to do this knowing it was never right in the first place. "

 

I have been told it is a breach of the 'sale of goods act 1979' to have a product that does not serve its purpose , can anyone tell me where i stand ?

 

Also one thought i have had is that it was purchased on a credit card and if i can get a refund through the credit card company due to failure to comply with above legislation then they will in turn recover th emonies form evesham technology.

 

I basically think that they should give me a replacement laptop that is as high spec now as mine was a year ago because it has effectivly sliced a third from its shelf life so far, i paid extra for the machine to be of high spec which it no longer is as it has spent most of its time back with the company being repaired supposedly. I do not want to ask outright though i would hope they would offer this too me although they are not really interested in my problems so i doubt they will.

 

Very annoy would appreciate any help or advice

 

Cheers

[chesham]

See here:

 

Consumer Direct

 

The Sales of Goods Act provides that goods should be of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose intended - self explanatory when purchasing a laptop!

 

If the goods, after a reasonable inspection, are faulty (which could also mean shortly after use, they stop working or break) then the buyer is entitled to reject the goods and demand a refund or a replacement. However, as you got a repair, and it was still unsatisfactory, then you still have a claim. As it's coming up to a year, it's difficult to see where you stand.

 

In the first six months, the onus is on the vendor (or supplier) to prove the fault was not there when the goods were bought. After that, the onus relies on the consumer to prove the fault was there when the goods were bought.

 

Your post above states that you have a three year warranty, but the goods are not quite a year old and it's about to run out? Slightly confused by that!

 

The Consumer Credit Act (Section 75) holds the supplier of credit liable for any purchases over £100 and below £30,000 so you could claim for the value of the goods from the credit card company. However, whoever you claim against, you may run into difficulties due to the age of the goods and the length of time since purchasing the goods and then subsequently wishing to reject them. The front line customer service staff are not always aware of the company's liabilities under the CCA, and you may need to speak to a manager or someone higher. I had the problem with an extremely large and well known bank reference a direct debit guarantee - I had to argue and e-mailed the customer service advisor (Whilst on the phone) a leaflet from the OFT, and she had to eat her words and apologies - I loved every minute!!

 

This is difficulty purely for the reasons above, the main one being the length of time which you have had it. I would advise contacting your local CAB or a solicitor to see if where you stand, although the template letters in the above link at the beginning of the post may help, but I think that they apply more to rejecting goods shortly after purchasing them. You could also contact Trading Standards, who are always good at advising where people stand on consumer issues.

 

However, Evesham are a big and well respected company, a firm but fair letter of complaint may resolve the matter. Mark the letter "WITHOUT PREJUDICE".

 

Good luck!

[Syson]

Trust me if you have a faulty machine then nothing will resolve the issue with Evesham. I have written to their MD on 4 occasions regarding my two faulty laptops I bought from them without even the courtesy of a response. Between them my two top fo the range (apparently) machines have made over 20 - yes 20 - visits back to the company and are still faulty. A few months ago I finally gave up trying after one machine had been out of commission going backwards and forwards for a solid 8 months until Evesham Customer Service (!) told me on the phone that the fault was either in my imagination or I was a liar!!Both machines have now gone into the skip and I have bought a Sony. I wouldnt recommend Evesham to my worst enemy, you can forget any chance of decent treatment or satisfaction as they clearly couldnt give a damn about their customers - I guess there is always another sucker out there. My advice buy a Sony, Philips, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba anything but DONT buy an Evesham and if you have one and it has gone wrong - I wish you good luck because you will need it

[aceades]

HI, thanks for the replies, just to clarify my laptop had a 3yr warrenty, the first year being full parts and labour , 2 & 3 being labour only so i will have to pay for any parts if it needs further repair - however last time it was 'repaired' no new parts were fitted maybe they are waiting until i have to pay ?

 

and Syson, why havn't you gone through trading standards? they cant just ignore you seems like you have a good case to me.

 

I actuall ironically used to work for evesham , and still have friends thatwork there and when people complained about things tehy were kind of ignored untill or unless they got servious about things not just trhough strongly worded letters or emails, another person other than the MD is the Owner Richard Austin, he built up the business from scratch so i am sure he still has pride in the companies service adn should see people treated like this especially as Evesham have usaully been well respected for their service.

 

Cheers

[thejoker]

I've just become a member of the "Evesham are totally sh1t" club. Bought a Voyager notebook through the Government HCI scheme from the company I work for last December.It was sent back in August due to an accumulation of faults.It was returned after 3 weeks.No faults found but as precautionery measure,the PSU (charger) was replaced.After using it for a while the faults returned,however, in addition to this, I got electric shocks of the screws on the base (noticed this when I used it on my lap wearing shorts and the PSU connected).Immediately returned it and asked several questions about the so-called repairs.No answers but the report stated that the user was using the wrong PSU !!!! Making me look stupid. I have phoned/emailed and wrote asking for a breakdown of all the issues I have,in particular why they put me in danger by giving me the wrong PSU for the unit (98V AC on the base!!!). They have not answered and have no interest in doing so.I will be taking this further.Somebody is responsible for making my PC unsafe!!!!

 

I would NOT recommend Evesham to anyone.If I can stop even one person from buying an Evesham PC,I'll be delighted.

[blitz]

Trading standards sudgest then after a product is still fault after 2 repairs, to demand a replacement (a new one), under loss of faith in the product (that its never going to come back right). Formally write a letter, if they refuse or don't reply contact trading standards for their advice. Regarding paying for parts and service after warranty. A warranty is in addition to you statutory rights. Under the sales of goods act you are entitled to a repair or replacement, as long as this is within a reasonable lifespan of the laptop. (without payment)

[Jimbo44]

I have an Evesham computer (tower as opposed to laptop) via the HCI scheme and through my employer.

 

Initially I found their service good (a faulty cd drive was replaced at my home without any serious problems).

 

However, a fault developed with the keyboard and this lead to a few heated arguments with Evesham (which I eventually won). They were quoting me clauses from their HCI Contract which were completely at odds with the copy I had signed and been supplied with the computer.

 

Having ignored several complaints from me and refused to supply me a new keyboard (unless i paid for it) I eventually took the matter up with one of my employer's directors (the same director who had been the main company contact during the purchase/delivery phase). Evesham ignored two approaches from him too.

 

Eventually, having 'borrowed' a keyboard from a friend (I was damned if I was paying a penny for one), Evesham 'phoned me. After some discussion I sent them a copy of my contract by post and, when they read it, they had to admit I was right and they were wrong.

 

The story didn't quite end that simply though. When the new keyboard and mouse arrived it was a different make to that originally supplied and it took two more 'phone calls to rectify this.

 

Would I have another Evesham? Possibly, maybe, I dunno!!

 

However, this doesn't answer the OP's questions.

 

This is what I would do:

 

1. Log the fault with Consumer Direct. Explain the full history of these too. Doing this will give you an independent source of confirming dates etc.

 

2. Contact my credit card company. Explain the whole problem to them (without embellishment) and say that I will be looking to them for redress under the Consumer Credit Act. Also, once they've acknowledged the complaint I would keep them updated with progress with Evesham too. This opens up a second line of 'attack' with Evesham.

 

3. Write a letter (sending the letter Recorded Delivery) to Evesham outlining all the facts, dates, problems etc and also setting out my aims and my timescale for resolution. (One of the letters in the Template Library could easily be adapted for this.)

 

4. Stick to my timetable and, if necessary, be prepared to take the necessary court action under the Sale of Goods Act.