PC world and HP warranty

mystique150

Hi guys,

This may be the incorrect forum for this but I wasn't sure where this would fit.

I purchased a HP laptop from PC world in Waterford last April. It worked fine until recently when the fan appeared to stop running and now it overheats and shuts down in a short space of time.

I took it back to PC world yesterday as they have a tech lab there and I humbly presumed on purchase that any problems I had with the laptop would be swiftly and easily dealt with there. However, upon finding my record of purchase on their system the assistant gave me a phone number, hand wrote my purchase record and told me to contact this place who will come pick up the laptop and deal with it. This was a Dublin number but I soon realised I had called a UK group. I think they may be TECHGUYS! They told me that they would examine the laptop but if it turned out to be a manufracturing problem then it would have to go to HP from there.

So I decided to call HP myself as I'm pretty sure thats where it will end up. This would also cut out a lot of time. HP said they needed proof of my purchase as the manufracturers warranty was out of date. I informed them I had lost my receipt and they said to get a replacement from PC world.

As I knew they had my records, I thought this should be a simple procedure. However, PC world point blank refused to reissue a receipt or even electronic evidence of my purchase as they said they had private data on there which they could not give out. They again suggested I use the UK based company which if needed they will then send my laptop to HP.

I am considering getting it repaired locally and paying the cost as I think it will take less time considering I just need the fan replaced or something similar. I will of course void my warranty but perhaps its an easier solution. I think PC world are well out of order as its my data and I'm sure I have a right to it. Furthermore, the UK company that I called had my data on file! I never agreed to allow my information be sent to a third party. If this company have my record of purchase and proof of warranty, I can't see why it is so difficult to get to HP?

Sorry for the big rant, but I am hopping mad with the entire situation and I am hoping someone else might have had a similar experience which might help shed some light on the situation. I'm in the middle of my postgrad at the moment so I really don't want my laptop to be away for any length of time as I use it daily for work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

aidan_walsh

Moved to Consumer Issues.

mystique150

Thanks Aidan,

I'm new to this business

slimjimmc

Hand the laptop back to PC World and tell them it is defective and you are seeking redress under the "Sale of Goods and Supply of Services" Act. They are legally obliged to offer you a repair, replacement or a refund. They can request proof of purchase but this doesn't have to be a receipt it can be a cheque stub or credit card statement, but as you say, they have it on file already.

Your contract is with PCW not HP. Once HP's warranty has expired they don't have to do anything for you, and they certainly won't repair it for free unless they've extended the warranty to cover a major flaw.

I would persist with getting PCW to sort your problem, not only is it their resonsibility but if you go it alone and get it repaired with a 3rd party (even HP) then you may weaken your cause if other defects show up in the future.

wildefalcon

You are 100% within your rights.

The EU allows you 2 years cover, the Sale of goods and supply of services act 1980 doesn't have a time limit, but the Statute of limitations act '57 gives you 6 years.

If they don't fix it you can reject it and claim your money back. The small claims court costs 15 euro and is available on line.

Best of

WildeFalcon.

MunsterCycling

Let me also point out that under the Data Protection Act they are not allowed to refuse you access to information stored about you, make a formal request to them and if they do not comply then bring in the Data Commissioner who will fine them for non complience.

MC

whiterebel

wildefalcon wrote: »

You are 100% within your rights.

The EU allows you 2 years cover, the Sale of goods and supply of services act 1980 doesn't have a time limit, but the Statute of limitations act '57 gives you 6 years.

If they don't fix it you can reject it and claim your money back. The small claims court costs 15 euro and is available on line.

Best of

WildeFalcon.

The 2 year EU warranty was never implemented in Ireland. We signed up to certain parts of the directive, but not that.

mehmeh12

whiterebel wrote: »

The 2 year EU warranty was never implemented in Ireland. We signed up to certain parts of the directive, but not that.

Does this directive apply to goods bought and sold in Northern Ireland?

mystique150

Thanks for the good advice! I'll go back there today full of ammunition!

whiterebel

mehmeh12 wrote: »

Does this directive apply to goods bought and sold in Northern Ireland?

The UK didn't sign up to it either, AFAIK.

Fey!

Having had experience with PC World, having the laptop picked up from you to go for repair to a central repair centre is their standard procedure. The shortest mine has ever been away for was about a week; the longest was a month, at which stage they gave me a store credit to replace the machine.

This covers what Slimjimmc said about the slae and supply of goods act; they are offering the repair. They have already offered this according to your first post, so you don't need to go in shouting as a few people on here have said to do.

Make sure that you back up your files before you get the laptop picked up; there is a strong possibility that the hard drive could come back blank, or that if the machine is replaced you won't see it again (in my case they did send me back the drive on its own, but that was from one of their own brand Advent machines).

If you get a third party to do the repair, then they may well void your warranty. This may also be true of sending the machine directly to HP, as, as someone pointed out above, your contract is with PC World.

As for handing you details to a third party, my understanding is that the repair centre is the same company, essentially just a different department. It's probably the same company who deal with the Currys and Dixons computer repairs, as they're all the same group.

Getting your details back from them may require a letter to their head office as someone would need to give authorisation, and there may be noone in the shop at the level required to give permission within the companys own structure.

Hope this helps.

Chonker

mystique150 wrote: »

Hi guys,

This may be the incorrect forum for this but I wasn't sure where this would fit.

I purchased a HP laptop from PC world in Waterford last April. It worked fine until recently when the fan appeared to stop running and now it overheats and shuts down in a short space of time.

I took it back to PC world yesterday as they have a tech lab there and I humbly presumed on purchase that any problems I had with the laptop would be swiftly and easily dealt with there. However, upon finding my record of purchase on their system the assistant gave me a phone number, hand wrote my purchase record and told me to contact this place who will come pick up the laptop and deal with it. This was a Dublin number but I soon realised I had called a UK group. I think they may be TECHGUYS! They told me that they would examine the laptop but if it turned out to be a manufracturing problem then it would have to go to HP from there.

So I decided to call HP myself as I'm pretty sure thats where it will end up. This would also cut out a lot of time. HP said they needed proof of my purchase as the manufracturers warranty was out of date. I informed them I had lost my receipt and they said to get a replacement from PC world.

They again suggested I use the UK based company which if needed they will then send my laptop to HP.

I think PC world are well out of order as its my data and I'm sure I have a right to it. Furthermore, the UK company that I called had my data on file! I never agreed to allow my information be sent to a third party. If this company have my record of purchase and proof of warranty, I can't see why it is so difficult to get to HP?

I'm in the middle of my postgrad at the moment so I really don't want my laptop to be away for any length of time as I use it daily for work. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Tech Guys are a division of DSG (PCworld) based in Ireland and the UK calls may be routed through the UK but most repairs undertaken by Irish Tech Guys They are not a third party, they can and repair under warranty. Usually pretty quickly, it tends to only go wrong when the courier fails to collect on time. They will be every bit as quick as HP. If PC World have your data the so do Tech Guys.

As for your sales receipt, it is your main proof of purchase and should really be looked after, however if you can supply them with the date of purchase they can and will track down your receipt and will of course print you a copy upon demand.

The Stores usually have clinics and not repair centers, hence the reason they couldn't swiftly repair your machine there.

With the greatest respect OP your machine is faulty for what ever reason, its going to have to be fixed and similar to your car going faulty your going to be without it till its repaired, why would you expect otherwise.

Hope this info is of some use.

mystique150

Monkeylicious wrote: »

With the greatest respect OP your machine is faulty for what ever reason, its going to have to be fixed and similar to your car going faulty your going to be without it till its repaired, why would you expect otherwise.

Hope this info is of some use.

The reason I thought I should go directly to HP was because it may be a manufracturing problem with the laptop and then techguys would send it to HP anyway. I just thought it would take less time if I sent it directly to HP but it seems like I'll have to send to Techguys anyway just to keep the warranty.

Thanks for the help

iamskippy

Under the data protection act you are entitled to copies of all they have on record about you. If there is no one senior enough there to handle that they should send it to head office. if not contact the data protectiom commissioner.

Your contact is with the seller, not with HP and it is the seller who has responsibility to you under the sogsos act 1980. If it is not repaired to your satisfaction you have rights under sogsos and small claims court.

OT but i just wondered what about confidentiality when handing in a pc for repair. They can see all your email etc. How do people feel about that

iamskippy

Fey! wrote: »

Getting your details back from them may require a letter to their head office as someone would need to give authorisation, and there may be noone in the shop at the level required to give permission within the companys own structure..

as data controllers they are obliged to have someone to deal with it, i would think

lemeister

Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but I have a similar(ish) issue.....basically have a HP laptop bought from PCW about 3 years ago and which now won't boot at all. I had no extended warranty and so it's obviously outside the HP warranty now. Do you think PC world will entertain me if I bring it in, mention Sale of Goods Act, etc or am being too wishful?

iamskippy

wildefalcon wrote: »

the Sale of goods and supply of services act 1980 doesn't have a time limit,.

Are you sure? As far as I know a claim under sogsos can depend on how long you have something, how it was used etc. That is not to say it would not be successful but the longer you have something the less of a claim you have because the claim has to be 'reasonable' and the definition of 'reasonable' varies with how much you paid for it and what would be a reasonable lifetime for it. I stand to be corrected

Elessar

iamskippy wrote: »

Are you sure? As far as I know a claim under sogsos can depend on how long you have something, how it was used etc. That is not to say it would not be successful but the longer you have something the less of a claim you have because the claim has to be 'reasonable' and the definition of 'reasonable' varies with how much you paid for it and what would be a reasonable lifetime for it. I stand to be corrected

That's true but it also takes into account how much you paid for it. If you paid close to €2k for a laptop, it would be expected to last 5 years (from what I heard a registrar say). Similarly if you paid €250 for a netbook I don't think it would be reasonable to expect a repair/replacement/refund after that amount of time.

There's no time limit on the act, no set guarantee period, only what is considered reasonable. However, under the statute of limitations you can only bring a case against a retailer up to a maximum of 6 years after purchase.

iamskippy

Elessar wrote: »

That's true but it also takes into account how much you paid for it.

yes it does

If you paid close to €2k for a laptop, it would be expected to last 5 years (from what I heard a registrar say).

agreed

Similarly if you paid €250 for a netbook I don't think it would be reasonable to expect a repair/replacement/refund after that amount of time.

agreed

There's no time limit on the act, no set guarantee period, only what is considered reasonable.

Reasonable is the word but I was noty aware there was no time limit on act

However, under the statute of limitations you can only bring a case against a retailer up to a maximum of 6 years after purchase.

OK thanks for the answers


@lemeister I don't know it would depend on details such as those above.Here is a link that might help if you decide to go ahead
http://www.consumerassociation.ie/rights_complain.html

Chonker

lemeister wrote: »

Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but I have a similar(ish) issue.....basically have a HP laptop bought from PCW about 3 years ago and which now won't boot at all. I had no extended warranty and so it's obviously outside the HP warranty now. Do you think PC world will entertain me if I bring it in, mention Sale of Goods Act, etc or am being too wishful?

Is it booting to a blue screen or just beeping at you?
Some HP's had issues that may be covered under an extended HP waranty? Google your issue with your model number.

Professey Chin

lemeister wrote: »

Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but I have a similar(ish) issue.....basically have a HP laptop bought from PCW about 3 years ago and which now won't boot at all. I had no extended warranty and so it's obviously outside the HP warranty now. Do you think PC world will entertain me if I bring it in, mention Sale of Goods Act, etc or am being too wishful?

Would I be right in guessing that it turns on but the screen stays black?

iamskippy

lemeister wrote: »

Sorry to piggyback on this thread, but I have a similar(ish) issue.....basically have a HP laptop bought from PCW about 3 years ago and which now won't boot at all. I had no extended warranty and so it's obviously outside the HP warranty now. Do you think PC world will entertain me if I bring it in, mention Sale of Goods Act, etc or am being too wishful?

What model is it and what if any error messages do you get? Post or google them