Do Not Purchase Laptops from Currys PCWorld

2ewy5p8tn9lvh1

I am writing this as a warning to anyone considering purchasing a mid to high-end laptop from Currys Pc World. I am saying this from over half a year of drama involving myself and the company.

For some background, I am a Computer Science student and have been working with computers for the better half of my life, in saying this I know a good enough amount about computers and electronics as a whole

Back in May of 2018, I purchased a HP Envy x360 15" with AMD Ryzen 5. This cost me just over 1100 euro. At the time I was working in a nearby shop and had saved up for a good laptop for college. The laptop at first worked very well. It was a nice upgrade from my previous Dell Inspiron 15 5000. Although, after around 3 weeks I started having issues with the charger, the laptop claimed I was using an unofficial charger to charge the laptop. For context, many laptop brands have a small chip in their laptop and charger to make sure you are using one of their chargers. To clarify, I had not used another charger since getting this one. Soon I also started to get green screens when playing videos, i.e the video area on youtube would turn green randomly (This turns out to be an error on AMD and I believe was fixed with a later update).

I brought the laptop back as I was given store credit to replace the laptop, I decided to with the HP Envy 13.3" with Intel i5 and Nvidia MX150 (lower power version) graphics. This laptop started out the same as the last, great and everything seemed to be going well. The dedicated graphics was a nice touch adding a boost so some indie and casual PC games. Don't worry I am not trying to run Read Dead 2 on any of these machines. Soon though, out of the blue, gaming performance just completely crashed. It struggled at 20fps at games my previous laptop with 920m graphics ran easily at 60fps+. I ran some benchmarks and it kept giving errors when it came to graphics, it refused to run the graphics tests. I uninstalled drivers, reinstalled and spent 2 hours on the phone with their support team. Eventually, they told me to bring it back.

I brought the laptop in and they replaced it. This time I went with a Lenovo Yoga 530 with Ryzen 5, this is where things got interesting. I bring the laptop home and turn it on, I go to update everything and I get a blue screen on death, then another and another and another. I also was receiving a lot of static electricity from the machine. The next day in college I went at seeing if there were issues with the updates, maybe they got corrupted at home due to my poor internet. The laptop was plugged into the mains in the computer lab and as I was trying to find the issue, I received a massive electric shock from the machine, so much I jumped out of my chair and was short on breath. I live on a farm and are used to an electric fence shock, this was slightly more powerful than the shock from a fence. There were several witnesses to the incident. I unplugged the machine and picked it up to put in my bag where I got a small static shock.

Now as we are at the halfway point (Yeah only halfway there), I would like to comment on the staff in Currys PCWorld. The vast majority of the staff have been great to me and very understanding on my situation, many of them are CS students themselves and know how important it is to have a laptop for study and work. After returning my second laptop though, the HP Envy 13" with Intel i5, the reception became luke warm by some of the management. I was told by a member of management that if I came back again with an issue with a laptop that they would no longer help me. It was clarified to me at a later date that this was if I brought it back later than 30 days but this was only made clear after I told another manager that I wanted to bring this comment up with higher management as I do not believe to was right be told I would no longer be helped.

So back to the electrocuting laptop. I bring the laptop back 2 days after purchase and again It is replaced. This time with a HP Envy x360 13.3 with Ryzen 5. At this stage, I am just so tired of having to drive back and forward from the store and dealing with not being able to do any real work because I would need the laptop replaced again. So this laptop, again, started fine and began to have some issues after a couple of weeks. I noticed the fan would very at full speed quite a lot even when doing simple tasks. The performance also seemed to be sluggish with underperforming game speeds and running programs. I decided to test the temperatures and to say the least, you could fry an egg on it! Not literally but you know what I mean. It had idle temperatures (running nothing and all proceeds turned off) of 50 degrees Celsius. Which is around 15-20 over what a normal laptop should be. So back to Currys it was!

This time I had to go to a different branch due to personal situations at the time. When I went it the person I spoke to was very rude to me, accusing me of running extremely intensive programs causing all the issues in my previous laptops. I proved to him I wasn't by explaining I knew the limitations of the hardware I was using. On a side note, I have found that some of the staff, in this case, a lot fo the management, will try taking advantage of you if they feel you don't have a lot of knowledge about computers. Let this be blaming you for something that was not your fault or trying to sell you an overpriced last generation laptop. I swear they had a competition who could sell an Asus Zenbook with a 7th gen i5 for over €900! Anyway, the member of staff, who I believe was maybe part of management, began to get fed up with me and put the issue on a young staff member who replaced the laptop for me with the same model. He was also a CS student and was very nice and helpful and even commented on the way the other staff member was talking to me was very poor.

So then, we are near the end of the story, I bring this laptop home, the one I am currently typing and low and behold its perfect! Yeah, no. Just kidding. The first time I boot it up I hear this weird clicking noise from the fan. We have a broken fan it seems or a piece of debris in inside the fan causing it the make a clicking noise whenever it goes on. I will bring this laptop back tomorrow and this time I am going to demand either a full refund or an upgraded laptop as I am sick on tired of being sold faulty products by Currys PCWorld. I do not blame the manufactures as the products I have bought have great reviews all over the internet. I don't blame most of the staff either.

I just want to point out that this is my 5th laptop from Currys since May of 2018, the most recent I got in the new year. It has to say something about their products. I have heard rumours about the products Currys PCWorld sell and where they come from but I am not going to comment on that now. If I get a refund I will be purchasing my next laptop directly from the manufacturer which is what I recommend to most of you as they are much cheaper, sometimes a few hundred euro cheaper. I will update everyone once I return tomorrow but for now, this is my simple warning to everyone thinking of purchasing from Currys PCWorld. If anyone has any tips for me or what action I can take, it would be very much appreciated.

L1011

Did you consider asking them to refund you to buy elsewhere?

It's a consumer shop, they can't prevent prosumers from buying there but tbh you should know not to. Doesn't remove rights of course but I'd ask for refund at the earliest instance

And I say that as someone using a Lenovo yoga open box return bought there as my main personal computer!

Spook_ie

Sad litany of faulty laptops but what makes you think that a PC manufacturer is going to change your laptop 4 or 5 times?

tomoliver

They were never great,I was usually well prepared for all the upselling at currys and batted it away.

Last PC I bought was DOA and they tried to fob me off with some hotline ,I drive it straight back and got a replacement

drunkmonkey

Moral of the story buy an Alienware.

Elemonator

I'm going to extend you some advice based on what I have read in your post.

It seems you have purchased quite a few duds from Currys. This purchases are covered by Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980. Under this Act, purchases from a retailer must be of merchantable quality, fit for purpose and reasonably durable. Do not let the manager fob you off that they won't help you, the 30 day limitation on receipts is usually customary if you want to return an item that you have changed your mind on and retailers are under no obligation to accept the return. Based on what you have said, you haven't changed your mind and you have a genuine fault. The fact that the manager suggested he will not help you implies they are ignorant to your consumer rights. If you purchase a laptop, there is a reasonable expectation that it is of merchantable quality and that it will last for a lot longer than 30 days. Feel free to raise this point with them if you choose to return it beyond 30 days.

You also talked about a store credit. If you have a claim under the Act, you have the right to a refund, replacement or repair. You must insist on this.

I know you are a computer science student and know the limitations of your tech, but the Act does not cover misuse of the computer in question. I'm not saying that you are abusing the machine since you would know better than most but be wary. Be careful what details you let slip (without resorting to outright fraud of course).

drunkmonkey

you have the right to a refund, replacement or repair. You must insist on this.

He has the right but the choice of which is with the store and not him.

kippy

Strange one.
The chances of having issues caused at manufacture with 4/5 brand new laptops in less than a year are probably as slim as getting 5 numbers in the lotto.
I've assisted countless people get laptops in various places over the years and I don't think I've ever had to return something within 12 months.

You've gotten good advice here on your statutory rights but I would cpnsidee ovinf your business elsewhere in future.

eagle eye

I bought got stuff at Curry's years ago and had problems with everything I purchased there.
Never again.

2ewy5p8tn9lvh1

Thanks for all the tips and recommendations. To those asking, they refused to give me a refund due to it be over 30 days in the original case.

Del2005

Abril Unimportant Ware wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips and recommendations. To those asking, they refused to give me a refund due to it be over 30 days in the original case.

They can't refuse to refund you because the item is faulty. They have to give you a refund/replacement/repair for a faulty item, credit notes are only for change of mind. But don't worry a lot of our retailers don't know the law, so it's always a good idea to have a copy of the SOGA handy when bringing faulty items back.

dudara

I have to be honest, I do find it incredible that you’ve had several faulty machines from different manufacturers, one after the other. The odds of that happening must be statistically very slim. I must say that I’m very reluctant to point the finger at Curry’s PC World. In fact they seem to have continued to work with you and help you.

In the case that this is all genuine machine issues, I would follow the advice given by other posters.

banana_bear

Why anyone who knows a bit about computers would buy one from the likes of argos or currys is beyond me. Is it the extra high prices, the clueless salespeople, the limited selection or the ancient stock that makes these shops preferable over online shops like eurieka?

kippy

banana_bear wrote: »

Why anyone who knows a bit about computers would buy one from the likes of argos or currys is beyond me. Is it the extra high prices, the clueless salespeople, the limited selection or the ancient stock that makes these shops preferable over online shops like eurieka?

I would have said the same but based on the OP's luck with laptops at least one of the advantages with a bricks and mortar store is the returns process is generally less hassle.....

Sarn

What environment have these laptops been used in? I presume they were all used on a solid surface and not on your lap, cushion or couch to avoid blocking the vents. Maybe a dodgy socket at home?

It just seems bizarre that so many of them failed in such a short period of time. In the past 15 years only two of mine have gone back, faulty graphics card and HD upon receipt.

banana_bear

I'm not sure I'd chalk that up to bad luck to be honest. Also, returning to eurieka (for example) means you only have to drive to your post office, and their returns department would be more aware of the laws involved and the consumers rights than the badly trained salespeople on the currys floor. Last but not least I actually physically hurt when I check what you could get from, say, pcspecialist for 1100 compared to what the op got. AND you can completely customise them as well. Again I can sort of understand why my mother in law would buy a PC in currys, but why anyone who knows the least bit about computers would is completely beyond me.

dhaughton99

Just out of curiosity, are you running the original OS or are you reinstalling?

Nonoperational

Nothing wrong with buying from Currys if you know what you are doing. It's nothing to do with Currys that the laptops "failed". They will sell you the same boxed item any other supplier will. Frankly the whole thing is bizarre. I'd say buy a premium laptop that's well reviewed and perhaps go direct to manufacturer. As much as people will find problems with every piece of consumer tech, this is why I just get one MacBook Pro every 5/6 years and be done with it.

OldMrBrennan83

dudara wrote: »

I have to be honest, I do find it incredible that you’ve had several faulty machines from different manufacturers, one after the other. The odds of that happening must be statistically very slim. I must say that I’m very reluctant to point the finger at Curry’s PC World. In fact they seem to have continued to work with you and help you.

In the case that this is all genuine machine issues, I would follow the advice given by other posters.

Are you saying the buyer broke all the laptops themselves?

Cheshire Cat

Sounds more probable than somebody buying five faulty laptops in a row.

c.p.w.g.w

I think there is an issue with how staff handle the stock at times.

I got a TV in curry's/PC world and the staff member was very rough with it. So I asked if I could open the box to inspect it. Looked at me, like I had ask for his kidneys. Said yeah work away.. Guess what, screen was smashed. So they got another from the back and that was fine.

OldMrBrennan83

Cheshire Cat wrote: »

Sounds more probable than somebody buying five faulty laptops in a row.

I couldn't see them wanting to go to that hassle deliberately really. The other common factor is the shop so it could well be storage or staff issues.

dudara

Patww79 wrote: »

Are you saying the buyer broke all the laptops themselves?

The OP considers themselves to be computer savvy and has mentioned that they took various steps to try to fix the machines. Unfortunately, I would be questioning if they made the situation worse. Sorry OP, I know that’s not what you want to hear, but the challenge has to be raised.

OldMrBrennan83

dudara wrote: »

The OP considers themselves to be computer savvy and has mentioned that they took various steps to try to fix the machines. Unfortunately, I would be questioning if they made the situation worse. Sorry OP, I know that’s not what you want to hear, but the challenge has to be raised.

Even if they did, there shouldn't have been issues to fix in the first place.

kippy

Patww79 wrote: »

Even if they did, there shouldn't have been issues to fix in the first place.

There shouldn't however I'd suggest again, that the odds of getting five faulty mid to high end devices within the first month of buying them to be extremely high.

Tazzimus

Your first mistake was buying from PC world.

I did work experience there back when I started in IT and the floor staff are all about selling you the most expensive thing with as many extras as they can.

They also like to raise the prices for a few weeks and then have a "sale" back at the normal price.

kippy

Tazzimus wrote: »

Your first mistake was buying from PC world.

I did work experience there back when I started in IT and the floor staff are all about selling you the most expensive thing with as many extras as they can.

They also like to raise the prices for a few weeks and then have a "sale" back at the normal price.

None of this has any relevance to the issues experienced by the OP.

Dufflecoat Fanny

I reckon it's power spikes causing all the problems. Farms are notorious for issues with spikes and shoddy wiring. My cousin lived in an old house and every other week a laptop, hard drive, router, graphics card would die or act up. Every appliance died before the warranty. Expensive surge protection didn't work either. When the house was finally rewired and we saw the old cables we were amazed how a fire hadn't started. The cables weren't coloured, all black and crumbling away with copper exposed.

If you think your house has old wiring get an electrician to inspect.

dhaughton99

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

I think there is an issue with how staff handle the stock at times.

I got a TV in curry's/PC world and the staff member was very rough with it. So I asked if I could open the box to inspect it. Looked at me, like I had ask for his kidneys. Said yeah work away.. Guess what, screen was smashed. So they got another from the back and that was fine.

We went and pick a 48in after Xmas and got it home , the screen was broke. It wasn’t just cracked, it was like someone took an axe to it and pulled lumps of the screen off. When we brought it back, the manager told us to go through the boxes ourselves and pick another. Out of the 8 boxes on the floor, 7 were broke.

c.p.w.g.w

dhaughton99 wrote: »

We went and pick a 48in after Xmas and got it home , the screen was broke. It wasn’t just cracked, it was like someone took an axe to it and pulled lumps of the screen off. When we brought it back, the manager told us to go through the boxes ourselves and pick another. Out of the 8 boxes on the floor, 7 were broke.

You would wonder what their mark up is?

Metroid diorteM

Could it be the clothes or bag you’re carrying them in? You mentioned shocks and static?

I’ve been in tech my whole life too but a few years ago I had to change a bunch of my clothes and shoes because a building I was working in seemed to be generating massive static. Wasn’t sure if it was my chair or the carpet or one of the unusual door types that building had (modern building).