Reasonable timeframe for a warranty repair?

ImARebel

Does such a thing exist?

I bought a laptop.from Lenovo . The screen stopped displaying at the end of Jan. I contacted them and they said to send it in as it was still under warranty. They have had it since the 15th of Feb and contacted me yesterday to say that the part won't be in until early to mid may.

I need it for work

Is there anything I can do other than wait? What if the part doesn't come in as expected do I wait even longer?

Never had to get something fixed under warranty before any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

Samuel T. Cogley

It's pretty short in normal times - the repair must be conducted without significant inconvenience to the buyer.

However given COVID and it's effect on supply chains a company might be given an out. Small Claims is only €25 so you might want to see what going down that route gets you. Be sure to be naming the retailer not the manufacturer in the complaint.

ImARebel

Thanks. I feel they've had it long enough without having to wait until May.

When you say the retailer do you mean the company carrying out the repairs (I bought the laptop from lenovo directly) or in this case would it be Lenovo themselves?

Samuel T. Cogley

ImARebel wrote: »

Thanks. I feel they've had it long enough without having to wait until May.

When you say the retailer do you mean the company carrying out the repairs (I bought the laptop from lenovo directly) or in this case would it be Lenovo themselves?

Check it's Lenovo and not lenovo reselleres DAC trading as Ducks in a Row incorporated etc. You need the right company name on the complaint. The retailer is who it was originally purchased from.

ImARebel

Ok thanks. Bought it direct off their site so am assuming it's them but I'll check my invoice to be sure

Some pain. I really didn't think a repair could take so long

At what point are you entitled to ask for a replacement? (Assuming one exists?)

Samuel T. Cogley

ImARebel wrote: »

Ok thanks. Bought it direct off their site so am assuming it's them but I'll check my invoice to be sure

Some pain. I really didn't think a repair could take so long

At what point are you entitled to ask for a replacement? (Assuming one exists?)

There's no defined time just 'reasonable time' and without 'significant inconvenience'. Hopefully by getting small claims paperwork it will trigger an escalation of your issue beyond the 'computer says no' department.

All that said COVID could see things massively delayed the court side. IIRC they send out the paperwork to the company.

Xterminator

Small claims court do prefer if you have used the complaints process of the vendor fully.

waiting from feb to may is clearly not on. but have you logged a formal complaint with the retailer? In writing, registered letter etc. If so what was their response.

i would threaten small claims court action in my letter, and see if it has the desired affect - and keep copies of the correspondence, to make your SCC case better, and just perhaps get the result you need without having to go to court.

Samuel T. Cogley

As it happens I'm after a lenovo myself - just a FYI it's Digital River you're buying from, from what I can tell.

ImARebel

Xterminator wrote: »

Small claims court do prefer if you have used the complaints process of the vendor fully.

waiting from feb to may is clearly not on. but have you logged a formal complaint with the retailer? In writing, registered letter etc. If so what was their response.

i would threaten small claims court action in my letter, and see if it has the desired affect - and keep copies of the correspondence, to make your SCC case better, and just perhaps get the result you need without having to go to court.

I've just done that. The repair company have a complaints procedure they raise a case with Lenovo who will then contact me (I was just on the phone with them)

So I'll wait to see what Lenovo say to me and I can take it from there.

Thanks for the advice!

silver2020

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

It's pretty short in normal times - the repair must be conducted without significant inconvenience to the buyer.

However given COVID and it's effect on supply chains a company might be given an out. Small Claims is only €25 so you might want to see what going down that route gets you. Be sure to be naming the retailer not the manufacturer in the complaint.

why do you always jump to SCC advice on everything.

If the OP opened scc now it would ne rightly thrown out as so far the OP has not exhausted lines of communication and ANY court action is when you have no other reasonable option open to you. So your advice is ridiculously bad at this point.

For the OP, tell Lenovo that such a delay is unacceptable and beyond what would be considered reasonable and you would like an alternative solution.

ImARebel

silver2020 wrote: »

For the OP, tell Lenovo that such a delay is unacceptable and beyond what would be considered reasonable and you would like an alternative solution.

They contacted me today and I told them this. They said they will have a proposal for me within 3 working days.

Fingers crossed it works out for me.

Samuel T. Cogley

silver2020 wrote: »

why do you always jump to SCC advice on everything.

If the OP opened scc now it would ne rightly thrown out as so far the OP has not exhausted lines of communication and ANY court action is when you have no other reasonable option open to you. So your advice is ridiculously bad at this point.

For the OP, tell Lenovo that such a delay is unacceptable and beyond what would be considered reasonable and you would like an alternative solution.

Granted I had assumed that the OP had exhausted other options. However the reason for jumping to the point of sending out Small Claims paperwork is once someone 'goes legal' it's usually moved to an exec team who have a lot more power to resolve an issue.

ImARebel

So they've offered me a full refund. While I'm glad I'm not out of pocket. The laptop was such a bargain (got on bargain alerts) that I'm unlikely to get a comparable laptop for the same money.

And I've no laptop as a result. I was going to ask for a similar spec as a replacement but thinking about it I'm just going to take my money and run

Thanks for all the advice!