Is it possible to get a refund?

Benzino

Hey,

In October last year, I brought a laptop worth €2,500 off Rock Direct, an English laptop manufacturer. I was initially waiting for about a month for the laptop to be delivered to me, because they didn't have the parts. Anyway, about 2 months after I got the laptop, it was running slow and I experienced the "blue-screen of death", an error on start-up. As I was in the middle of my college semester, I decided to leave it until the summer. I could still use the laptop, it was just running slow and this error message kept appearing, forcing me to reboot, start windows in safe mode, and reboot again.

Sorry, im getting too technical, basically it was a major annoyance as you can guess. Well, once summer came, I contacted Rock Direct about the issue. They told me it needed to be returned and that they would collect it in three days time. The collection day came and went, and I contacted them again. Basically, this went on for a month. Yes, my laptop which cost me €2,500 was sitting in a box in my room for a whole month waiting to be collected.

Finally, they came, and about 2 weeks later it was returned. However the problem was not fixed. So i contacted them again, They told me they would collect on friday, and then today when they didn't come on friday. Of course they didnt come today. So I have said enough is enough, I want my money back.

I plan on contacting watchdog sections in PC Zone and PC Gamer about this, informing people about them. I'm also going to tell Rock Direct about my plans to contact these magazines.

So my question is, do I have any ground to stand on regarding a refund. I can't find any information about refunds on their site. From what I gather, they dont have to refund me, but they might to make themselves look better. Has anybody here experienced this sort of situation?

Sorry about the long post, just wanted to inform you of the details.

jahalpin

Are you sure that it is a hardware problem? A lot of BSD's are caused by software that is installed on the system. As the problem is more than likely software related and not hardware it is highly unlikely than the manufacturers are at fault.

The fact that you left it so long to report the problem would also weaken your case for a refund, at this stage your chance of a refund is practically zero.

I'm sure that you will get several posts quoting that under section X of Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a refund etc, the contract was made under English Law not Irish Law.


I have bought a number of computers over the years and have found that it is best to format the computer and re-install from scratch as a full re-install gets rid of most the additional stuff that is installed and leads to a faster and more stable system

Sponge Bob

set www.eccdublin.ie on them

Benzino

I have formatted and re-installed xp 2 times, and the problem remains. The first time I sent it back for repair, it seems that they replaced the ram. This time, they asked me for the error info over the phone. Once I gave him the details (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) I was told straight away that it was a motherboard problem, which gets me wondering why they didn't notice this in the first place. By the way, I have a 3 year warranty with them.

Sponge Bob wrote:

set www.eccdublin.ie on them

Cheers for the link, I'll look into that right away.

Thanks for the answers, I'll keep you updated on what happens, after all, there is no harm in asking for a refund even if im not entitled

chrislad

jahalpin wrote:

I'm sure that you will get several posts quoting that under section X of Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a refund etc, the contract was made under English Law not Irish Law.

I think you'll find that a supplier is tied to that law of the market it's selling to. If he bought it in England, that's different, but if they shipped to England, they are governed by Irish law in the case of a dispute.

As far as I know*

psicic

chrislad wrote:

I think you'll find that a supplier is tied to that law of the market it's selling to. If he bought it in England, that's different, but if they shipped to England, they are governed by Irish law in the case of a dispute.

Unfortunately not. If the consumer formed a distance contract with the seller, it's actually the seller country that the transaction takes place in and it's subject to those laws. If it's an English company that shipped to Ireland, then English Law applies. Usually the site says which laws apply.

Sponge Bob was spot on - the ECC exists to actually follow up on cross-border complaints like this within the EU.

Benzino

After contacting the ECC, I was told that at this stage I am entitled to a replacement. There seems to be no definite rules about getting a refund, however I was told that I could ask for one at this stage, but if they dont agree, then I can't really complain. If they cannot/don't replace/repair the laptop in a resonable time this time around, then I am entitled to a refund.

So I have just send them an email, which the ECC told me to do so that I have prove that I contacted them, and I shall see what happens. A replacement would certainly be the fastest option, as I will be needing my laptop for college in the coming weeks.