PC world customer service!!

sandyg

Does anyone know how long does it take for pc world to fix a computer??
I bought computer from them in April. Found that the cd rewriter was not working properly and left it with them nearly three weeks ago. Had to keep ringing them to see how long it would take and to date they say that they are still waiting on parts for it. (They dont know how long it will take for them to receive the parts). Has anyone has a similar problem with them or it this just a one off??

DemonOfTheFall

Lol, they probably have hundreds of cd-rewriters in stock. They're taking the piss

jonski

Your done with the Phone , get on over there and ask them in person , them ask for the manager .

kaimera

dont say that

got my lappy picked up by courier last thursday after the tech guy said it would be 7-10 working days to fix and should be easy to fix.

the longer it goes the more likely I'll be to demand money back or summet.

seamus

DemonOfTheFall wrote:

Lol, they probably have hundreds of cd-rewriters in stock. They're taking the piss

Have to agree. If you go into PC World and look around, you'll see there is no way they don't have the "parts" needed to fix your machine, unless you personally fitted some really weird non-standard parts in, or they've disassembled the CD-Rewriter and are attempting to actually fix it.

If it's the latter, you should demand they insert a new CD-RW and give you back your machine.

Ring them, ask them why the delay, if they say "parts", press them further, ask "What parts", "why do they need to be replaced", and "why can't you use ones from your shop floor?".

sandyg

They dont have any parts in the shop for my machine (its an e machine). I got a letter "PC Service call" stating that the part was not in stock and they are waiting for it. On tuesday i lost the head with them and i got my machine back with a temporary cd writer on it. To date they still dont know how long it would take. The PC Service Call guy said that if they dont have it fixed within 28 days i would be entitled to a new machine (which PC world have never mentioned) Im so fed up with them. I will never buy anything off them again. All they keep doing is apologising. :mad:

Jammer

It doesnt work like that. Its a warranty repair. HPs DVDRW broke, so HP send a new HP one. The ones on the shelves are to be sold to make money on. They wouldn't make money if they replace HP/Packard Bell/Compaqs broken stuff.

PC World don't fix laptops (only software issues). If any hadware is broken or not responding they send it to the UK. Bit of a joke TBH!!

seamus

Jammer wrote:

It doesnt work like that. Its a warranty repair. HPs DVDRW broke, so HP send a new HP one. The ones on the shelves are to be sold to make money on. They wouldn't make money if they replace HP/Packard Bell/Compaqs broken stuff.

I'd guessed that alright, but assumed it was a PC World built machine.

Jammer

sandyg wrote:

They dont have any parts in the shop for my machine (its an e machine). I got a letter "PC Service call" stating that the part was not in stock and they are waiting for it. On tuesday i lost the head with them and i got my machine back with a temporary cd writer on it. To date they still dont know how long it would take. The PC Service Call guy said that if they dont have it fixed within 28 days i would be entitled to a new machine (which PC world have never mentioned) Im so fed up with them. I will never buy anything off them again. All they keep doing is apologising. :mad:

It depends what category the repair is. If push came to shove they'd just put a CDRW in there for you. Suprised they havent already.

sandyg

I suggested that and they said that they cant take them off the shop floor and put it in that machine that they have to replace the part as part of the warranty :mad: . Feel like bringing it back to them and throwing it at them

axer

sandyg wrote:

I suggested that and they said that they cant take them off the shop floor and put it in that machine that they have to replace the part as part of the warranty :mad: . Feel like bringing it back to them and throwing it at them

Give them a deadline that if it is not fixed by then that you want a FULL refund - you are perfectly entitled to this as they are not honouring their part of the contract.

sandyg

I have to wait 28 days before i can start asking for a new machine.
They say its in the warranty. I will have a look at it tonight.

Jammer

axer wrote:

Give them a deadline that if it is not fixed by then that you want a FULL refund - you are perfectly entitled to this as they are not honouring their part of the contract.

if i remember my business studies correctly after 7days they need to give u one of the 3 R's. Refund, replacement or repair. Its at their discretion i think. So demanding money back may not work. It doesnt really have anything to do with PC World. Its like blaming the bus driver for being late because of traffic.

jor el

sandyg wrote:

I have to wait 28 days before i can start asking for a new machine.
They say its in the warranty. I will have a look at it tonight.

Is that 28 days from when you first brought it in? In that case you don't have to wait much longer. Check your warranty and if it is then you can demand a replacement in about a week or so.

Jammer wrote:

It doesn't really have anything to do with PC World.

Dunno about that. PC World sold the PC making it their responsibility. sandyg's contract of sale is between him/her and PC World, not HP. If PC World don't stand by their warranty then a refund, or replacement, could be in order if the matter isn't resolved in a timely manner.

I'd say go in in person and ask to speak to the manager. From seeing a woman in PC World one day complaining to the manager (about a CD Writer if I remember correctly) he seemed very keen to resolve the situation quite quickly, probably because she was making a lot of noise about the poor quality of the merchandise.

Ruu_Old

its better to go in and speak to the manager yourself and yell and scream all you want there best of luck anyway.

zuma

Yeah the shop assitants have no authority to grant refunds, I guess anyway, and it would have to be approved by the manager.

Their job is to sell...the managers job is to manage....so give the manager a headache!!!

Jammer

Whats the point in going in shouting or giving someone a headache? How do you get by in life with an attitude like that? If you are resonable, then they will be too. They are within their legal rights not to give u a refund or replacement. They are doing a repair, thats what they legally have to do.

At the end of the day they can wreck your head more then you can wreck theirs. They'll just give u the same old same old 'waiting for parts' and you accept that or you go home with a broken PC. If you're resonable then they'll try and held. CD Writers are €35 in there, and its nothing to them to discount one down and put it in for you. Just explain the situation and don't be rude about it.

Once the cooling off period is over (which it is in your case) then you dont have any comeback regards a refund. Store credit or repair. So going in shouting or giving out headaches won't get you anywhere.

jor el wrote:

Dunno about that. PC World sold the PC making it their responsibility. sandyg's contract of sale is between him/her and PC World, not HP. If PC World don't stand by their warranty then a refund, or replacement, could be in order if the matter isn't resolved in a timely manner.

They are repairing it. If they're waiting for parts, then what else do you want them to do. They've done their part by ordering the parts.

When u order a pint, and the kegs run out, what do u do? You wait for the keg to be changed. And hope it doesnt take 3wks!

sandyg

Was told that it would be replaced 28 days after it was left in for service will will be the 24th July. I have no problem spending another €35 on a replacement cd writer but my other half is so pi**ed of with them and their attitude that he is standing his ground and holding out to see what they will do and how long it takes.

NIBBS

PC World are part of the Dixons group, I don't know if it's still the case but their staff used to be trained not to give any refunds to customers and contantly fob them off...........

took them 5 years to get the website up and running.......never a good sign for an IT supplier..........I wouldn't buy anything off them that I would be worried about losing......i.e. nothing over 100 yoyo's

jor el

Jammer wrote:

They are repairing it. If they're waiting for parts, then what else do you want them to do. They've done their part by ordering the parts.

When u order a pint, and the kegs run out, what do u do? You wait for the keg to be changed. And hope it doesnt take 3wks!

Timely is the key. Three weeks waiting on a CD writer is a bit much in my opinion. It's a simple fix and shouldn't take that long. If they are waiting that long for the part then they should replace it with with a similar part that they do have in stock.

Being courteous and calm will only get you so far. Eventually you get to a point where you have to loose you patience with them and demand what you paid for. Sandyg hasn't ordered anything, she's bought and paid for a computer that doesn't work. She's entitled to a replacement or fix in a timely manner. As they said anyway, 28 days and they'll replace it so I guess wait and see.

daywalker

jor el wrote:

It's a simple fix and shouldn't take that long. If they are waiting that long for the part then they should replace it with with a similar part that they do have in stock.

Unfortunately, the company they use(PartMaster) only keep a small amount of spares, probably trying to cut down on storage space costs :rolleyes: , and only when they run out do they order parts, and then only just enough to fill the parts order. Also when you use one from shop stock, some poeple tend to complain because the front of the pc no longer looks uniform.

But it should be a black frontage,etc

Also PartMaster's system only accepts orders with post codes, so the rep on the other end of the line has to enter the order manually, which results in parts going to other shops, or not even being ordered at all

Ps: I know this cause i used to work as a technician in PC World

axer

They cannot change your constitutional right under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 that if goods you purchase are not of merchantable quality you are entitled to a full refund but you can accept a credit note or a repair. It is at YOUR discretion NOT the shops. The problem is that consumers do not know their rights and thus do not enforce them but this does not mean that you cannot enforce your right as a consumer.
A warrenty is not a warrenty if it can be seen as a condition. When one party to a contract breaks a warrenty then the contract is not terminated but compensation can be paid so the contract continues. In your case they claim that if your machine breaks that you must wait 28 days before you can claim a new machine - this DOES effect your statutory rights. It IS a condition in your contract with PC world that the machine you buy is of merchantable quality (which obviously it is not) not a warrenty. When a condition is broken in a contract the injured party has the right to terminate the contract if they so wish. What i'm trying to say is that just because your warrenty says that doesn't mean that it overides the statutory right that is automatically added to every contract that involves a business and a consumer via the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980.

Capt'n Midnight

NIBBS wrote:

PC World are part of the Dixons group, I don't know if it's still the case but their staff used to be trained not to give any refunds to customers and contantly fob them off...........

took them 5 years to get the website up and running.......never a good sign for an IT supplier..........I wouldn't buy anything off them that I would be worried about losing......i.e. nothing over 100 yoyo's

As are currys

I've heard a lot of bad stories about PC world (Mastercare) fixing pc's and can't remember any good ones beyond basic competance. And that's going back to 486's. Their hard selling of insurance cover / extended warranty has been ruled illegal in the UK (but thats true of all the other hard sellers too).

A long time ago they used to sell dell gear, then they decided to take on the extended cover themselves. Lots of happy campers being told by dell to ring mastercare... There is a story about one guy who used to work for mastercard getting extremely upset about his pc being fixed by them "butchers" was the word he used I believe.

Still they are probably better than Time :rolleyes:

Unfortunatly since the CD worked from April to June it would have been of metchantable quality at time of sale unless you can prove that they knew at the time that those CD's had a much higher failure rate than average.

Mac daddy

To bad Pc world don't have there own forums or you could post a complaint there and a couple of weeks later it would be closed down.

For all you who don't know what i'm talking about dell have closed down there support forums because of complaints about customer service the tech the sales and after sales support

Capt'n Midnight

Mastercare
http://dsgportal01.dixons.co.uk/wps/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_G4/_s.7_0_A/7_0_G4

The products our customers buy can often be complex to operate and may work in conjunction with other products in a customer's home. To help our customers get the most from their products, Mastercare offers access to support over the telephone, in the home and in our workshops.

We constantly evaluate our product range to ensure that our call centre staff have all the information they need to answer questions over the telephone. In any one week more than a 1,000 employees solve problems over the telephone and 600 engineers visit our customer's homes, backed up by more than 200 workshop engineers.

sandyg

Just to update on the computer. I left it back with them yesterday after phoning pC in England on Wednesday (27th) who guaranteed that the famous part would be in pc dundalk on friday (29th). When i left the machine in with them yesterday i was told that the part was still not there and that they were "sorry" (this is now coming into week 7). I totally lost it with them and they said that if i came back in an hour they would take the part out of another machine and put it into mine (which i argued why not do that in the first place). When i collected it i noticed that the front of the computer (CD doors) was all marked and dirty compared to the rest of the machine. I took it home and rang PC in England whos constant answer to my questions was "I dont know madam". I was told by them that on their computer i am booked in to having a technician call to my house on Tuesday (today) to fit the part). I asked him who verified this and arranged it as it was the first i knew and his answer once again was "I dont know madam". I told him that i got the computer part replaced but the front of the computer was not to my satisfaction as it was only brand new and he instructed me to leave it back to Pc world in dundalk and PC England would send their technician there today to intsall a brand new part and replace the front doors on it. I drove all the way back in again and left it there. My patience is wearing very very thin. I spent most of yesterday with PC world and all they keep saying is that they were sorry. I was also informed that because i took my machine back while waiting on the part i broke my 28 day warranty of a replacement computer to which i was not informed of this when i collected it as if i knew that i would have left it there. (thats my moan over so far)!!!

axer

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Unfortunatly since the CD worked from April to June it would have been of metchantable quality at time of sale unless you can prove that they knew at the time that those CD's had a much higher failure rate than average.

It doesn't matter if it working for a while - if it fails within the reasonable exected life span of the part then it is NOT of merchantable quality. Its like a wing mirror of a new car just about hanging onto the car for 2 months with a shabby screw and then falling off. The car (wing mirror screw) was not of merchantable quality all along but it took time for it to show up. This means the car was not of merchantable quality all along.

I was also informed that because i took my machine back while waiting on the part i broke my 28 day warranty of a replacement computer to which i was not informed of this when i collected it as if i knew that i would have left it there. (thats my moan over so far)!!!

Dont mind them and their crappy 28 day warrenty - its bullsh!t. Demand a FULL refund now in writing then give them a week to respond if they don't then bring them to the small claims court to reclaim the monies. They are taking the p!ss.

sandyg

How long would a small claims court take to sort out?

Ruu_Old

they dont always use new parts when replacing a machine, more often than not from my experience the part is used.

axer

Check out the small claims court information on the oasis page. Probably take up to a month depending on whether PC world contest your claim. Talk to the manager or someone in the shop and inform them that if they do no have the computer with you fully repaired as it should be by the end of the week then you will take the legal route to recover damages.

maidhc

Just take the computer back to the branch you bought it, and tell them you are rejecting it. You are entitled to do this, as axer said a warranty cannot override your statutory rights (not constitutional!!). SOGSS Act can be availed of within the period of the Statute of Limitations (6yrs). It seems the machine is not of merchantable quality and you have an open and shut case. (IMO)

The Small Claims procedure is a useful, but long process; and I would be surprised if it went to hearing. What happens is you pay €9 and the registrar of the district court tries to sort the matter out. The poor registrar is as toothless a tiger as you will find, and if he cant resolve it goes to be adjudicated by a District Court Judge. In all if it contested by PCW it could take anything up to a year (this is from personal experience, it may vary greatly)

I wouldnt seek a repair though; I would reject the machine outright as is your right, it is a far more potent remedy. Seriously, the time for messing is long gone. See the thread on the Aldi laptop too for more talk on this carry on.

sandyg

They wont give me a replacement as they say that it was working up to 2 months when i bought it and because i took it from the shop for a week i broke the warranty on the 28 day return. They always have an excuse. I rang consumer rights and the only path i could go is the long "Small Claims Court" road to which i may not get any satisfaction from it. Im so p**sed of with them. Everytime i go in they stand there with a smile on their face and just keep saying "sorry". Gurr.... :mad:

maidhc

You are missing the point, they cant override your statutory rights, and one of those rights is the right to reject. Just give them the entire computer and leave your address and phone number. Tell them you are not taking it back. You could say ("if it isnt perfect in 10 days I am rejecting it") ... make sure u give a time limit, or ("I'm rejecting this machine as unmerchantable under the SOGA and I want my money back. "). What they did is unforgivable, by taking a battered bit off a computer and putting it on your one.

You are, I would say, very likely to be successful in the small claims court from what you are saying, the judges tend to be fairly sound with these matters!

sandyg

Could you advise me what is SOGA. Ive never heard of that before?

Stephen

I think he/she means the sale of goods and supply of services act.

maidhc

He did. Sorry about that.

I really cant believe a large company like them would act that way!

RicardoSmith

What is this magic part?

sandyg

I have heard that Currys, Dixons and PC World are all part of the one chain and they all treat their customers the same. In the Currys shop in the North they have signs up saying "please do not hastle the staff". (I wonder why)...