Lidl Laptop

Yes that's right, the shop will deal with it if requested, but it is quicker for you to deal with the manufacturer direct rather than going to the shop. So it's either you drop it int Lidl and pick it up about 2 weeks later, or get Targa to collect it and get it back 3 days later. Well I'm not sure what Targas policy is but that's Acers anyway.

Why don't you just call Targa? They might be able to help you a little better, you won't know till you call them .........Find out what they can do

Interesting thread I have always wondered how Microaid do their returns - I have had dealing with them before and found them to be very helpful but have never had to return anything. I had always assumed they are just a shop front for one of the big UK distributors (you can usually tell by the way the catalogue is laid out) and any returns would be handled directly by the UK - I was obviously wrong

My main issue in this case is that given that the laptop was broken straight out of the box (no question of a software issue, I work at this kind of thing and the keyboard is knackered, presumably the connection to mb has come loose), I am entitled to a full refund and can then walk in and buy another one. I don't want to get into a situation where the laptop is taken away by targa and possibly repaired - I want to be sure I get a new one. I guess if I approach it tonight asking for a refund I may well still end up having to give it to Targa and wait for them to ok the refund. Unfortunately patience is a virtue I am not overly imbued with...

C

BTW, the machine has 3 year warranty and 1gb ram so I'm not sure I want anything extra - just a new one that works!

i hear this aldi lappi is great but i dont know a lot about computers. anyways...all i wanna know is if it runs AutoCAD & Photoshop. i basically need these programs for college. ill get it if it can run new versions of these.
i hear it runs Counterstrike CS - brilliant. but would it run Farcry?

So, the saga continues...(apologies for the multi posts on this, but I know I always like to see all the interactions when I read a complaint post like this)...

Yesterday afternoon the area manager for Dublin Lidl called me - it appears he was alerted via my customer services message rather than via Anthony. Anyways, he said what has been said on this thread already - I need to call Targa to get them to agree that the unit is defective. He used to be in computers himself apparently and accepted that it sounded like the machine was DOA.

So, yesterday evening I rang the dublin number given for targa inside the laptop package. After holding for 33 minutes (!) I got through to Jonas (in Germany), who went through some basic checks with me (mainly to do with trying to get the bios page to come up). Eventually he accepted that it was kapupt and said he could get it picked up for repair. I pointed out that I only bought it on Saturday and a repair wasn't acceptable. Instead, I wanted him to authorise Lidl to do a replacement (the area manager had indicated that this is possible). He said he wasn't authorised to do that and I would need to ring back during normal working hours to get a technician who in turn could contact Targa - turns out the crowd I was talking to were not acutally Targa, they were a 3rd party working on behalf of Targa. So, I called back this morning (got straight through this time thank god!) and spoke to a technician. He listened to my tale of woe and said he would get it picked up for repair. I pointed out that this was not acceptable as the unit was DOA etc. He put me on hold for a sec while he checked with his collegues and came back to say that the only thing he could offer me was a repair. I pointed out in Ireland that was not legal, which threw him a bit. He said I would get a call back in the coming days - coming days?! I was begining to lose the rag now. I said I wanted a replacement or a refund today - he said he would get someone to call me.

So, I buy a €1500 laptop from Lidl who can't refund or replace it until their supplier gives the go-ahead. Their supplier has contracted out that function and the contractors are telling people that they will only repair a 4 day old unit rather than replace or refund it, which is illegal. I am getting more annoyed with the situation as the days go by...

The area manager is supposed to call me back today to see how I got on with Targa and I'll let you all know how that goes..

C

Why don't you call consumer affairs and talk to an advisor there (It's free) ?

the law is different for electronics. You could force Lidl to deal with it but it's quicker to do it direct with Targa yourself. If they find a fault you are entitled to a refund though

I think I'm confusing myself here. Basically, the retailer is well within their right not too issue a refund until the machine is declared faulty by the manufacturer.

Electrical Goods

This Section deals with your rights concerning electrical goods.
Washing machine comes with one years free labour and five years free parts guarantee. Machine develops a fault after three years but Company refuses to supply the part free of charge because the guarantee is dependent on the company supplying the labour as well.

If a Guarantee is subject to terms and conditions (e.g. part will only be supplied on condition that it is fitted by the same company), then this seems to be a valid condition and the consumer does not have a case to have the part supplied free of charge. However, the consumer should examine the terms of the guarantee to ensure that this is in fact the case.

A shop insists that consumer deals with the Manufacturer of goods which turn out to be faulty ?


The consumer's contract is always with the seller of the goods.
In this case, if the consumer paid money to the retailer, contract is with the retailer and it is up to the retailer to deal with the situation.
However, this does not stop the consumer from contacting/dealing with the manufacturer themselves if they so wish.
For further information on your rights under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980, or The Consumer Information Act 1978, please see our document section or if you require more answers to your query please check our FAQ section

Another quick update...

I rang the area manager myself in the afternoon yesterday and left a message. He rang me back in the evening and said that he had discussed my situation with Lidl customer services and someone from there would ring me this morning with a view to them contacting Targa directly.

Heard nothing this morning so I rang customer services myself after lunch, spoke to Christine. She was quite adamant that the process was that I had to return the laptop to Targa before anything could happen. She tried initially to suggest that it would be repaired but eventually accepted that in fact that I would have a choice as to how to proceed (refund/replace/repair) - but only after Targa had physically received the laptop and made a report to Lidl. I asked was she prepared to call Targa on my behalf and she said she would and noted the serial number.

She has just called me back to say that Targa said they need to see the actual machine because it may be a software problem rather than a hardware problem. I pointed out that two different Targa reps had accepted that this wasn't the case (assuming that not being able to click into the bios setup page eliminates software, which it does in my book) and that we were getting into a quagmire if they wanted to take that approach. I said that if that was the line Targa were taking, they could take the laptop away asap and I wanted my money back asap - my reasoning being that if Targa were mentioning software, then they were leaving themselves the option of repairing the unit and returning it to me without being clear it had been repaired. At this she said she would speak to her purchasing manager and get back to me.

I understand that some people would suggest I should have just rung the supplier on Sunday when I first found the problem but there were two reasons for not doing so - the first is that to be honest it never occurred to me that the store wouldn't replace a doa unit immediately and then when it became apparent they wouldn't my main reason for not wanting to return it to Targa was to try and guarantee I don't get a repaired unit. I also accept that returning anywhere other than a dedicated computer retail outlet would also have some element of hassle about it, but I think maybe they would have their doa processes a bit better honed that this.

C

And so, as always, I like to tie up the loose ends on a thread.

Here's what happened - Christine rang me on Monday and said I had been authorised for a refund and asked me which store I would be bringing it back to. I was pleased with this development obviously - things had moved on from where I might have to accept a repair.

My father took the laptop back to the store on Tuesday evening and by co-incidence met with the area manager who I had been speaking to. He was very helpful (as he was to me) and started to organise a refund. My father inquired was there any alternative to this and he said he had a brand new one there if my father would like a replacement. My dad rang me and I said why not - it would seem unlikely he would get a second dud. So he is now the proud owner of a (working!) Targa laptop - I set it up for him and have to say I am seriously impressed with it - nice screen, nice weight, nice looks, great spec, 3 years warranty and a free case - oh, and a free bottle of wine thrown in by the store for his trouble

So, all is well that ends well. As you can see, I wouldn't suggest that my experience should put someone off buying a computer from Lidl, but I would say be prepared to force the issue if you are not prepared to accept a repair on a DOA item.

Thanks for all your advice over the last week or so.

Cheers,
C