Microsoft Surface Pro 2

AidanBoland

Hi, I purchased a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 from a person on Adverts.ie 2 or 3 months ago. Everything was working fine until a couple of weeks ago until the power button stopped working, this left me unable to power on or use the device at all.
Microsoft have refused to offer a warranty repair as they say the warranty is only one year and my device at the time of fault was 2 weeks past the cut off date.
I thought all electronics came with a mandatory 2 year warranty in the EU but they refuse to honour it. So i decided to take them to the small claims court, the only problem being that when I bought the device I never got the receipt and the seller said he did not have it. Small claims court refused to take up the matter as they said my contract was with whatever shop the device was originally bought from. I am unable to get that information and am unsure if there is any way for me to progress with this.

Any advice is appreciated

slimjimmc

There is no 2 year mandatory EU warranty so you don't have a case against Microsoft on that front. The EU directives require countries to implement laws to allow consumers seek redress within at least 2 years but that's not the same as a warranty. Microsoft are under no obligation to you once their warranty expires.
You are only a consumer if you bought the tablet from a business and you can only take a case against that business. Therefore if you bought the tablet from a business you may be able to take a case against the seller (not MS) under consumer law through the SCC. However if you bought from a private seller then you're out of luck since consumer law does not apply to private dealings.

dudara

The EU legislation was not enacted in Iteland, so that's not an avenue to persue here.

In order to deal with the original retailer you will need proof of purchase. Without that, there's not much you can do. What has the Adverts seller said to you when you contacted them about this? (Bear in mind the Adverts sale was likely a private sale, so there's no avenue for comeback there either)

Rackstar

I'd keep on to Microsoft, if it's only 2 weeks out big companies like them usually fix as a gesture of good will.

slimjimmc

Presumably you've determined there is an actual defect in the tablet rather than a power supply problem or a software update needed.
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-ie/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/surface-pro-wont-turn-on

AidanBoland

Yes the adverts sale was a private one so I expect no comeback from that. I have established that the fault is a physical one, the power button itself no longer clicks or gives any feedback.
It should be a simple repair but these devices are notoriously difficult to work on and any shops I've talked to don't even seem to be able to source replacement parts for them.
Microsoft offer a replacement device for 250 Euro on their site but I was hoping to spend less than that.
I have been in contact with them on 3-4 separate occasions and they don't seem to be willing to offer anything at all. Honestly it's disappointing that a device that retailed for ~800 is only covered by warranty for such a short period

floorpie

One thing to consider is that if you pay the 250e repair fee, they don't actually repair it, but replace the whole device. There's a chance that they'll replace it with a Surface Pro 3, seeing as they don't sell SP2s anymore. This might make the 250e a sweeter deal, because the cheapest comparable SP3 is around 1k.

I'm sure Surface Pro forums will give you an idea of what they replace SP2s with now.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

floorpie wrote: »

One thing to consider is that if you pay the 250e repair fee, they don't actually repair it, but replace the whole device. There's a chance that they'll replace it with a Surface Pro 3, seeing as they don't sell SP2s anymore. This might make the 250e a sweeter deal, because the cheapest comparable SP3 is around 1k.

I'm sure Surface Pro forums will give you an idea of what they replace SP2s with now.

They would replace it with a reconditioned SP2 if at all possible.

AidanBoland

After contacting Microsoft CEO by email, they have gotten back to me saying the have decided to replace my device with a reconditioned unit, free of charge. Im happy with the outcome but I wish it wasnt so much hassle to get it sorted

floorpie

AidanBoland wrote: »

After contacting Microsoft CEO by email, they have gotten back to me saying the have decided to replace my device with a reconditioned unit, free of charge. Im happy with the outcome but I wish it wasnt so much hassle to get it sorted

CEO?!?!

If they're replacing it, they're really going above and beyond. I mean they're replacing a device that you bought second hand and have no receipts or warranty for. i'm not sure what more you could expect and not many companies would do it! You should buy Microsoft Complete if you can afford it.

AidanBoland

Yes I emailed Satya Nadella, Microsofts CEO. Microsoft dont fix your own surface pro 2 they just send out a reconditioned unit if yours needs a repair and then fix your one and do the same with another customer who needs a repair

To be clear the CEO obviously doesnt personally respond to these emails, rather has a team of people who deal with them. One of those people decided my situation was a special case that warranted an out of warranty replacement

floorpie

AidanBoland wrote: »

Yes I emailed Satya Nadella, Microsofts CEO. Microsoft dont fix your own surface pro 2 they just send out a reconditioned unit if yours needs a repair and then fix your one and do the same with another customer who needs a repair

To be clear the CEO obviously doesnt personally respond to these emails, rather has a team of people who deal with them. One of those people decided my situation was a special case that warranted an out of warranty replacement

Haha no way, unreal. I wouldn't have thought of doing that. Did you tell them about trying small claims court? Well done on your persistence!

AidanBoland

Id tried all that before, it made no difference at all.
So I just emailed them telling them the truth; Im a college student who bought this device expecting it to last me until the end of my studies, and it hadnt, not even close.

They seemed pretty interested in getting it sorted after that, so Im happy!

keithclancy

Fair balls to Microsoft