hi need info on broken laptop

[Debs7]

I purchased a toshiba laptop on 22 dec 05 and 2 weeks ago my sister was on the laptop when the cable melted it stuck to her hand and burnt her. The laptop then turned itself off then back on again and when it booted up again the screen had like a bullet shot behind the screen with lots of different coloured lines. I took it along to the local Currys shop where I bought it at Christmas they said yes they can confirm that the wire had melted, when I should them the screen they say that the screen was broken and that it is not covered in the warranty even thought its only 6 months old. they said I would have needed they extra cover policy.

 

So I have sent the laptop away to be looked over got a phone call back to tell me that it was personal damage the are blaming me for dropping it and its will cost me £649 to fix the screen the laptop only cost £495. Told them i was not payng it they said i would have to phone toshiba I keep telling them that i never bought it off of toshiba i bought it from currys and i want them the deal with the matter but have had no succes with them my patients is wearing thin.

 

So anyway after my speel can anyone tell me if I have a claim to get it fixed for nothing or would i be better just buying a new laptop

[Movingon]

Sounds like a claim under the Sale of Goods and Services act to me; warranties are bugger all to do with it.

 

Don't panic; someone will be along shortly to tell you how to put the squeeze on them right proper like

[Movingon]

p.s. do you work in a doctor's surgery, hospital, something like that? Only if your patients are wearing thin, something's not right...

[Debs7]

p.s. do you work in a doctor's surgery, hospital, something like that? Only if your patients are wearing thin, something's not right...

 

 

 

lol.....aye mate been one of those days nothing has got right :-|

[poochball]

I wouldn't bother with the Jokers at Currys.

 

I would personally recommend contacting Toshiba Directly as they can provide a Manufacturers guarantee.

 

http://computers2.toshiba.co.uk/toshiba/Warranty_Repairs.nsf/WRS-Init?OpenForm

 

 

The above link should take you through it

 

When I owned a Toshiba Laptop I had to take it to an authorised repair centre.

 

Hope this helps.

[Debs7]

update on laptop: received laptop back today from currys workshop they sent the report back for the laptop this is what the reports says :

 

REPORTED SYMPTON(S)

 

ADAPTOR MELTED

 

SCREEN FUNNY

 

thats what the faults where diagnosed as my screen is "FUNNY"

 

Letter says that under first years manufacturers warranty unit is only covered for Mechanical and Electrical faults and it does not fall into these categories.

 

Well it the adaptor melting is that not electrical which then caused my screen to go "funny"

 

please help should I phone toshiba and tell them what the currys engineer has put in my report thanks in advance

[Movingon]

No, I would call Toshiba and tell them what happened to your laptop and don't mention Currys AT ALL.

 

If Toshiba won't fix it, then I would send a letter to Currys saying that you do not accept responsibility for the spontaneous failure of the power supply and screen on your laptop, and that you do not accept that six months is a reasonable period for a laptop to last, and under the Sale of Goods and Services Act 1984 you are entitled either to a full refund or to an exchange of the item, notwithstanding any warranty or guarantee in place.

 

You would be grateful if they could make you an immediate offer in light of this information, and if such offer is not received within 14 days then you will send them a "Letter Before Action" giving them 14 further days to reconsider after which you will issue a claim in the County Court for the full replacement purchase price of the laptop plus interest without further notice.

[Debs7]

a love this forum cheers for the info going to get on to them right now settle this today cheers mate

[Freya]

Hi does anyone have any idea what my rights are if any.

I bought a Whirlpool American style side by side fridge freezer in August 2004 cost £700.Yesterday the fridge side stopped getting cold(in effect is useless) Currys tell me that because the guarantee is up I will have to pay for an engineer £60 an hour and a call out fee £100 and any part it may need. Surely the bloody thing should last longer than this. Any ideas please..............Thanks Freya

[Movingon]

Hi does anyone have any idea what my rights are if any.

I bought a Whirlpool American style side by side fridge freezer in August 2004 cost £700.Yesterday the fridge side stopped getting cold(in effect is useless) Currys tell me that because the guarantee is up I will have to pay for an engineer £60 an hour and a call out fee £100 and any part it may need. Surely the bloody thing should last longer than this. Any ideas please..............Thanks Freya

 

Not sure this has anything at all to do with spontaneously combusting laptops - could you please start your own thread about this?

[blacksheep1979]

when the cable melted it stuck to her hand and burnt her

 

I'd be asking more for compensation for this than the value of the laptop tbh

 

If you mention you are considering action for this they will jump through hoops to keep you happy.

 

Have you got photos or Dr.s report about the burns?

[big blue one]

ok, im gonna stand up here i admit to once being an employee of the afore mentioned store. (not any more)

 

basically. the advice you have been given here is spot on really. ideally you want to go to toshiba direct, as you will get no joy at shop level.

 

alternitavely write to the sheffield address explaining everything . with the hint that you will be taking them to court over this, and they will basically give you what you want.

their job at sheffield is to make the customer happy. whatever it takes.

[mancandred]

Also having ties with Currys I would write to the customer service dept. but I would also write to the cheif exec who is based in Hemel Hempstead.

John Clare

Dixons House

Maylands Ave

Hemel Hempstead

Herts

HP2 7TG.

You will get a reply from his secutery she has more power than customer service. Only deal in facts and like above if you have pictures of the burn etc send them in. If you are reasonable with her she will sort you out if not they will go down the court route.

[Debs7]

up date on laptop progress, i sent a nice letter on 6 july stating facts of what happened with the laptop and my sisters hand gave them 14 days to reply so fingers crossed should hear from them at start of next week.

 

I sent it to there Hempsted office. I did not think about getting pictures of my sisters hand at the time, which I had know and I am taking pictures of the laptop because on the outside casing there are no damage marks i.e scratches or bumps dents. One of the questions I have asked in my letter is for them to tell me how there workshop come to the conclusion of accidental damage !!!!

 

Hope things will start moving next week

 

Cheers all for your replys

 

Debs

[BankFodder]

Please pm me about this if you want any help.

How is your sister's hand? this is not only a matter for the sales of goods Act but also for the Consumer Protection Act.

Did she see a doctor?

[Debs7]

Hi guys

 

Update on Laptop received a call from currys today unfortunalty I was not in and my mum took the call.

 

The women from currys said that all they can do is for us to send the laptop back to them and appeal the decison of accidential damage I am raging that they called I would rather they dealt with it thought mail, also mum doesnt know much about what questions to ask on a phone so she got no name of who called a telephone number to call back on basical she got no details at all

 

So they said sent the laptop back to appeal the decision there engineers will take a look at it again, or we ourselfs could go to an independant engineer and get it tested and if the independant engineer says its not accidental damage they will pay for the indep engineer. I am so NOT amused.

 

They still have not answered the question that I put in my letter asking them to tell me how they can come to a conclusion of accidental damage.

 

Just feel that its been a waste of nearly 3 weeks to get a reply to the letter a sent them and not get feed back on the questions I have asked.

 

Debs

(depressed and down now)

[Movingon]

Debs; instead of depressed and down you should be getting fired up and angry!

 

Don't call them back, write to them. Explain that you accept their offer to have the machine examined by an independant engineer at their expense. Tell them the name and address of your local PC shop, giving them seven days to disagree before you assume they do not disagree.

 

Seven days later, it's off to the PC shop.

 

When you go to the PC shop, tell them exactly what happened, and if you bat enough eyelids and so on you should be able to get them on your side. Explain to them that Currys want them to examine the laptop to determine whether or not it's accidental damage; but make clear what you think of their "accidental damage" idea right from the start. Tell the shop to bill Currys direct, and give them the address you've been writing to, and their reference from their letters.

 

Hope this helps!

[Debs7]

thanks StoneLaughter for advice they said that if i took it to an independant engineer i would have to pay for it they are only willing to pay for it if the indp engineer says different from what there report says ...so if it came back the same then i would be left with the bill for engineer also

[Movingon]

thanks StoneLaughter for advice they said that if i took it to an independant engineer i would have to pay for it they are only willing to pay for it if the indp engineer says different from what there report says ...so if it came back the same then i would be left with the bill for engineer also

 

My suggestion was a way to kind of misinterpret what they said

 

As you don't want to try that, well it's letter before action time then. See below - this is what I suggest you send. Don't forget, you want them to stick to YOUR timetable.

 

 

Dear Sirs

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

On I reported to you a laptop and associated power supply unit which had burst into flame spontaneously both destroying the laptop and injuring a member of my family. This laptop had been purchased brand new from yourselves on and was therefore only days old.

 

As stated in my previous communications (both verbal and written) to yourselves, this is not a reasonable period of time for such a piece of equipment to last. I have repeatedly asked you to replace the equipment or refund the purchase price and you have refused to do so. I have repeatedly reminded you of your obligations to provide me with items of reasonable quality and fit for their intended purpose.

 

I find the equipment I purchased to have been of unsatisfactory quality and unfit for it's purpose (stated at the point of sale) and therefore I require an immediate and unconditional refund of the purchase price - total £amount. If you fail to respond, or to respond positively, within 14 days of receipt of this letter then I shall issue proceedings in the County Courts against you without further notice.

 

I remind you that should I be successful in my action, that you will be required to pay my reasonable costs in litigation, and also (at the discretion of the court), interest on the purchase price from the date of the laptop's failure to the date of the hearing. It would therefore be in both of our interests if this matter could be resolved before I issue my action.

 

I therefore look forward to your timely reply,

 

Yours faithfully

[Movingon]

Personally I think that will convince them to refund or replace. They'll be like "Oh, you want a REFUND? Why didn't you say so?!"

 

However, if not, when you issue your action, (sixteen days after you send the letter special delivery) these are the points you should make:

 

1. You entered into a contract with PC World/Currys on by purchasing a laptop and associated equipment.

 

2. On the laptop spontaneously burst into flames (or whatever it did) destroying the laptop and its power supply unit, and injuring a member of your family.

 

3. PC World/Currys refused to refund or replace the item, stating that the item had been accidentally damaged; however they failed to provide their assessment of how this damage could have occurred, and they did not cite any evidence for the accident in their report. They are put to strict proof of the accident which could have caused this accidental damage, including any documentation produced at the time of the examination substatiating this claim.

 

4. In accordance with the Sale of Goods and Services Act 1984, when you make a purchase, you have the right to expect that the item is of reasonable quality and fit for it's stated purpose. An implied term in the contract with the retailer is that the item will last a reasonable period before failing.

 

5. As this machine failed within days of purchase, the criteria above were not met; the item was not of satisfactory quality, it was not fit for it's stated purpose, and you believe that PC World/Currys have breached their contract with you including any and all implied terms, in that the item did not last a reasonable period of time.

 

6. As such, you claim the full purchase price of the laptop, and also interest under s.69 of the County Courts Act 1990 at 8% from the date the laptop failed to the date of the case being heard. (The wording for this is provided on Moneyclaim).

 

This is a basic outline only; you'll need the sections of the Sale of Goods and Service Act which apply, and so on; but we're not quite there yet... as I said I reckon they'll fold and pay up.

[blacksheep1979]

Where in the UK are you debs? - I could asses the laptop for free and if find no accidental damage will happily bill currys for my time.

 

I work as an IT contractor and they will be billed from a registered company, just depends wether they take my word for it - they'd probably say they prefer their own techies word

[Rich44]

To be honest laptops are different from all manufacturers and as such just dealing with PC problems like a local shop they (in currys eyes) wouldnt be qualified to look at it, they are going to want a dedicated laptop repair company who just specialise in laptop repairs to look at it your avg PC shop is not qualified to make engineering statements.

[Debs7]

Thanks StoneLaughter for the draft of letter, its great and its giving me hope again. I am going to post it rec'd first thing tommorow. I am raring to go and kick some ass again

 

blacksheep1979

 

"Where in the UK are you debs? - I could asses the laptop for free and if find no accidental damage will happily bill currys for my time.

 

I work as an IT contractor and they will be billed from a registered company, just depends wether they take my word for it - they'd probably say they prefer their own techies word"

 

thanks for the offer but I am going to go with stonelaughter and send the letter cheers much mate.

 

I do have a wee question for you thought that I had wrote in my letter to Currys I asked them to tell me how a engineer can define accidental damage to any other sort of damage ?????

[Movingon]

I do have a wee question for you thought that I had wrote in my letter to Currys I asked them to tell me how a engineer can define accidental damage to any other sort of damage ?????

 

Ahhh - you're confused.

 

You're assuming that because you've asked the question, the nice man at the other end will answer it.

 

No... this whole game is about choosing which questions TO IGNORE. Hence my idea earlier of accepting their offer to have the laptop examined at their expense. Your LBA is ignoring half their case because what they're saying is irrelevant - you're picking up ONLY on the points you're interested in raising, and totally discarding their points out of hand. That's the trick; knowing which of their points to discard.

[blacksheep1979]

accidental damage could come about through either dropping the item or inserting an item (liquid or solid) into it - or if you were daft enough sticking it into a microwave.

 

Dropping would easiest be seen internally by damage to the HD and or some part of the molded fittings coming loose. This could then short part of the PCB or disrupt the circuit in some other form which may lead to a larger than normal power drain from the power cable which could lead it to melt.

 

TBH thats all rubbish - the chances that something has been damaged internally and caused a surge in the current of the levels to melt a power cable is tiny. If there was going to be damage from a knock or a drop it would be noticable outside the laptop.

 

As to liquids being introduced to the laptop it would equally be noticable in residue and or any labels on parts either being discoloured or lifting, also this would more times than not, not produce the effect you described but short something somewhere on the motherboard and simply kill a part of it - resulting in the laptop failing to boot.

 

All in all their assesment is probably rubbish, as someone above said it really needs to be examined by someone with specialist laptop knowledge which I doubt the instore techie has

 

If possible try get them to state what they think the accidental damage was - ie dropping, spillage etc adn that will be easier to rule out than ruling out everything