I need help with PC World!

[Marilyn22]

HI, everyone Im new here and im sorry to say Ive had nothing but trouble with PC World. I bought a laptop from them in October its an Advent and cost £499 (it was part of some special offer). Now and again the screen would flicker on and off but to be honest i didnt have time to take it back (I live miles away from the store) anyway yesterday the screen completely broke, it has black spots all over it, one side is white and the other is blue. I rang up PC World who said they will swap it for me which i was happy with, however when i went to the store I was met with two members of staff with a serious bad attitude problem. Thay said that the screen breaking was my fault that i must have dropped it or something. I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say that I have not done anything to damage the laptop. Anyway i explained this and in the end they gave me a phone number to ring for The Tech Guys, i rang them and they said thay it will cost ME £350 to get the laptop fixed then advised me to 'just buy a new one'. Im at my wits end and do not know what to do next, i had my proof of purchase the laptop does not have a scratch on it and its only 3 months old. I thought goods were covered for 12 months from purchase from fault. It seems I got nowhere today, i found the staff very rude, and The Tech Guys even ruder! It annoys me that Im getting blamed for something I honestly have not done. I took good care of the laptop and it was always kept in a hard case when not in use on top of a desk. Can anyone help me??

[blacksheep1979]

Write a letter stating that you want a refund or replacement - as the laptop is less than 6 months old pcworld has to prove that the fault wasn't there at the time of sale so if this was to end up in court (highly unlikely) they would have to prove you damaged it, not vice versa.

[Bookworm]

And while you're at it, make a stink about the attitude of the staff who are intent of denying you your STATUTORY RIGHTS (bold and underline).

 

Also report to trading standards. It will all help when they fnally take PC World to task, as it seems to be an ever-increasing occurence.

[Marilyn22]

thanks for that shall i write it to that particular store or to head office?

[Bookworm]

Your store, 1 cc to head office, 1 cc to Trading Standards, or whtever they're called now (past midnight, brain shuts down, sorry).

[blacksheep1979]

yup def all three then your store gets a good kick from all sides.

[demon_x_slash]

Marilyn - this is the Act you should be quoting in your dealings with the shameful PC World:

 

Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 (c. 35)

 

Have a read through of the original document, it's best to do so before you start referencing it.

 

PC World are really the pits - they're ridiculously overpriced, laughably understaffed, and the staff they do have are the general pick of the retail bunch (I can say that, I've been in retail ), which is fine for selling bread and nappies and even pairs of jeans, but not when some poor sod is looking for a computerised helpmate and needs real, technical, valid advice...

...they are invariably rude, though, and while that's not strictly a training issue but a personal attitude problem, I do think some of that attitude at least stems from not knowing what you're talking about, knowing that you don't know what you're talking about, and possibly getting a) slammed by the customer for erroneous information, or b) slammed by the management who expect you to magically know your section from the inside-out with half a day's colleague shadowing... fear can make people speak and act stupidly... I hate retail work...

[rosiecotton]

I can only back up what others have been saying, get that letter off as soon as possible.

 

I would slightly disagree on the Act to quote though, but it's not really a big deal - I would always advise the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) as that was the original Act amended by both the Act demon quoted plus the Supply of Goods To Consumers Regulations 2002. It's still the main piece of legislation to refer to.

 

PC World seem to have very little grasp of this legislation.

[demon_x_slash]

I bow to your superior knowledge, rosiecotton, and therefore:

 

England, Sale of Goods Act 1979

[mooreda]

if you complain direct to your local trading standards office - they should take on your complaint for you and will deal directly with PC World

[Marilyn22]

Thanks for all your help. Well i stupidly decided to give PC World a second chance, my boyfriend went in for me this time, I didnt think they would argue with a guy but it seems they will! He went in armed with all your good advice as well as other advice we found on the citizens advice bureu and they basically threw it back in our face. The staff again were ignorant vindictive and spiteful im sure these people are cloned!!! Again they just said it was my fault that the laptop is broke no matter how much i said that it has not been dropped stood on or hit! Im writing letters and sending them out tomorrow! I didnt realise you could get con artists on the highstreet in England in the year 2007 but it seems you can!

[Bookworm]

Good. And remind them that the law is quite clear: If the item is less than 6 months, the onus is on THEM to prove that you caused the fault, not the other way round, and they'd better be careful about accusations of you breaking it!

[Marilyn22]

I know its a joke! Is just a good job i didnt get rid of my PC so can still access the internet etc. Thanks again for all your help

[rosiecotton]

if you complain direct to your local trading standards office - they should take on your complaint for you and will deal directly with PC World

 

Unfortunately unless you are lucky enough to live in a county where the Trading Standards offices are well resourced, it's unlikely they will actively be able to assist in an individual case I'm afraid. Even if they did, they don't have enforcement powers in civil law so can't order the companies to take any particular forms of action if they're refusing point blank to do so.

[demon_x_slash]

they'd better be careful about accusations of you breaking it!

 

I'd play this up in any letter you write, as a last paragraph reinforcing how disgusted you are. Think about what the staff are accusing you off - they are accusing you of breaking the laptop, accidentally or not, and then coming into their store with the purpose to deceive them into handing over money. That's basically what they're implying - that you're trying to con them...defamation of character...?

[nevos]

I had the same thing with PC some years back with a grands worth of laptop.

 

They are chambolic on after sales support! I even wrote to their MD suggesting that they would be out of business before too long ( famous last words).

 

Tell them you will stand outside their store with the laptop and tell as many of thier prospective customers about your story as you can.

 

There is another thread here regarding PC World where, a guy bought a laptop at Xmas for 300 the day after Xmas the same laptop was 199..Advent are all made in China. Cheap is not cheap in the long term.

 

I would give them a wide berth for sure.

 

Thought: Did you pay by credit card?

[Marilyn22]

Nope i didnt pay by credit card Still waiting for a reply to those letters!!

[spikeachu]

There must be some indication that the laptop was abused or damaged in some way for the staff in store to come to the conclusion that is was not caused through normal use.

 

Furthermore, The Tech Guys have not seen the item to make a decision on the damage being accidental or not, so what did you tell them over the phone?

 

From my previous inside knowledge of PC World, all correspondence sent to store will be forwarded on to head office for response anyway. As Head Office are unable to view the item, they will usually follow the Sale of Goods act, where in the event of conflict a third party is requested to write a report on the fault, how it has occurred and how they arrived at their conclusions.

 

If the fault was caused through misuse or accidental damage, then unfortunately a free of charge resolution via the Sale of Goods Act will not apply. If it is found that the fault has occurred during normal use or that the fault was there at the time of purchase, you will be provided with a free of charge repair or a replacement, however this will be decided by the contents of the report.

[djweeble]

Contact your local press, tell them the story, and arrange for them to accompany you on a visit to the store.

 

Once there, if you are refused a replacement again, start to speak out very loudly about being ripped off by PC World, being treated badly by their staff, wanting a replacement for defective goods they have sold you, and contacting Trading Standards if the don't. If the security guy who's in most stores comes anywhere near you, loudly tell him as he approaches that if he or any other member of staff touches you in any way you'll make a complaint for assault.

 

I bet you get it sorted within half an hour

[spikeachu]

Contact your local press, tell them the story, and arrange for them to accompany you on a visit to the store.

 

Once there, if you are refused a replacement again, start to speak out very loudly about being ripped off by PC World, being treated badly by their staff, wanting a replacement for defective goods they have sold you, and contacting Trading Standards if the don't. If the security guy who's in most stores comes anywhere near you, loudly tell him as he approaches that if he or any other member of staff touches you in any way you'll make a complaint for assault.

 

I bet you get it sorted within half an hour

 

 

What you tend to notice about the press is that PC World and the Dixons group in general stick massive adverts in the papers daily. These adverts are part of contracts worth £millions. Do you think the press are going to risk that for the sake of a £500 laptop?

 

Great, shout loudly at staff in store, you'll simply be asked to leave and not get the issue sorted. You have no divine right to be granted access to any store and getting yourself barred does you no favours.

 

Don't forget that if you write into customer services, they will investigate the issue. If they contact the store manager and he advises you're barred from the store for being abusive, police called etc etc, despite never having met you, the customer service agent starts to build up a picture of the type of person you might be and trust me, if you've worked in customer services, you'll know that no one wants to go out of their way to help out an arsehole.

 

One thing that people on this forum are overlooking is that there are two sides to this story, the consumer who says that the product has failed through normal use and the retailer who says it's been abused. Without seeing the product to confirm who is correct, no one on this forum is entitled to say what the retailer should do to resolve the problem, if anything, or what the consumer can go into store and demand.

[JonCris]

Marilyn

 

You can take it back to your nearest branch of PCW. You don't have to travel a long way to the supplying branch.

 

Your contract is not with an individual store but with PCW the company

[JonCris]

spike I'm not clear as to what your intending to say other than stating that members should not be advised as to their legal rights or that we should take whatever they say with a pinch of salt.

 

Most of the advice given is perfectly valid & if as has been indicated the goods are less than 6 months old the consumer can demand a replacement or refund without having to prove anything other than that the goods ARE faulty.

 

If the retailer doesn't like it then tough! That's the law. Which by the way wouldn't have been imposed on suppliers if they hadn't ripped off consumers so badly over the years.

 

Something which even today continues unabated in the form of their worthless & very expensive warranties.

 

Almost forgot I too purchased an Advent which turned out to be faulty. Returned it to the store within 6 months for a full refund

[rosiecotton]

One thing that people on this forum are overlooking is that there are two sides to this story, the consumer who says that the product has failed through normal use and the retailer who says it's been abused. Without seeing the product to confirm who is correct, no one on this forum is entitled to say what the retailer should do to resolve the problem, if anything, or what the consumer can go into store and demand.

 

I'm always fully aware that there are two sides to every story and ultimately it's only a judge in court who can decide who is right and who is wrong.

 

But the OP has come to this site for advice based on the information she has posted, which she has got.

 

Your post does make it sound like she should just accept the verdict the store has given her without a fight, even if she has a good case.

 

If everyone did that, the stores would try this tack all the time in the knowledge that they'd get away with it and people wouldn't bother pursuing their legal rights. And in some cases I am sure this is true!

 

If the case did come to court, it would be down to the trader to convince the judge - with evidence - that the item had been abused. If they can do this, then they may well win the case. But if this evidence is flimsy or questionable and the consumer can defend it, then the consumer could well win and get their repair or replacement.

[spikeachu]

I'm not saying that anyone should not be advised of their legal rights. What I am saying is that everyone is assuming that the store have made an incorrect decision regarding the fault with the laptop.

 

I am simply contrasting your responses by saying that if it is the consumer that is pulling the wool over our eyes in this instance and the laptop has been damaged through misuse, then he/she can expect no redress through the Sale of Goods act.

[JonCris]

Spike I still am not clear why your here. Perhaps you could enlighten us

 

We don't care what the store might claim. They are big enough to look after themselves. If they have a case they will defend it.

Our experience (mine included) is that suppliers (including PCW) often try & ignore the consumers statutory rights by telling them a load of hogwash & we here must assume that the member is being candid. Anyway based on the members claims the advice given fits the crime.