Bad service from a retailer, what are my rights?

Zaphan58

Zaphan58

Zaphan58

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Joined
30 Nov 2003
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Long story short I bought a laptop in a big chain on Friday. Switched it on and half way through starting up it went off, black screen nothing. Switched it back on and it said Windows was corrupt. Then spent ages using the recovery dvds because the in built recovery system wouldn't work.

Contacted Fujitsu to tell them the trouble and explain their in built recovery system doesn't work. They said the recovery tools on the hidden hard drive partition must have gotten corrupt when it powered off and can't be fixed. But, as the hardware hasn't failed they won't do anything.

Told big chain I wanted to exchange it as there was a problem and they said no, it's policy not to unless Fujitsu give you a RMA code. I told them what Fujitsu said and the guy was just like "well, that's our policy".

Surely by law I'm entitled to either an exchange or refund right?
 
You are entitled to a refund or replacement, or a repair, by law.

Go back and remind them of this. The product is faulty - they have a duty to repair it or replace it, or refund it if they cannot do either of these. Your contract is with the retailer not Fujitsu.
 
[TW]Fox;21927514 said:
You are entitled to a refund or replacement, or a repair, by law.

Go back and remind them of this. The product is faulty - they have a duty to repair it or replace it, or refund it if they cannot do either of these. Your contract is with the retailer not Fujitsu.
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This!
 
Zaphan58 said:
Long story short I bought a laptop in a big chain on Friday. Switched it on and half way through starting up it went off, black screen nothing. Switched it back on and it said Windows was corrupt. Then spent ages using the recovery dvds because the in built recovery system wouldn't work.

Contacted Fujitsu to tell them the trouble and explain their in built recovery system doesn't work. They said the recovery tools on the hidden hard drive partition must have gotten corrupt when it powered off and can't be fixed. But, as the hardware hasn't failed they won't do anything.

Told big chain I wanted to exchange it as there was a problem and they said no, it's policy not to unless Fujitsu give you a RMA code. I told them what Fujitsu said and the guy was just like "well, that's our policy".

Surely by law I'm entitled to either an exchange or refund right?
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Clear one thing up. When you were setting up was it running on battery or mains?
 
Fox is of course right, however I think if you turn up knowing what you're entitled to under statutory law, and in a polite friendly manner indicate you won't accept less then I think you'll leave with a refund.
 
When you buy an item from a trader (eg a shop or online shop) the law says the item must be:
•of satisfactory quality – last for the time you would expect it to and be free of any defects
•fit for purpose – fit for the use described and any specific use you made clear to the trader
•as described – match the description on packaging or what the trader told you

If an item doesn’t meet any of these rights, it is faulty and you will usually have the right to a:
•repair
•replacement
•refund

These rights apply to most items you buy from a shop, including sale items. You may have additional rights to these if you have a warranty (see link below).
Click to expand...

THIS might be of some help.
 
Swordfish said:
Clear one thing up. When you were setting up was it running on battery or mains?
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Mains. I literally took it out the box, plugged it in and pressed the power button. When I finally got into Windows, for a short while it said there was no battery even though there was because you don't even install that yourself.
 
The Halk said:
Fox is of course right, however I think if you turn up knowing what you're entitled to under statutory law, and in a polite friendly manner indicate you won't accept less then I think you'll leave with a refund.
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He is sort of right.

If the goods were purchased on Friday then the OP is entitled to a refund or a replacement (his choice). Legislation doesn't make reference to a fault at purchase being detected - it only refers to a "reasonable time". No court would judge 4 days as anything other than a reasonable time. It all comes down to whether the OP can be judged to have accepted the goods.
 
Zaphan58 said:
Mains. I literally took it out the box, plugged it in and pressed the power button. When I finally got into Windows, for a short while it said there was no battery even though there was because you don't even install that yourself.
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OK sounds like the battery is completely flat or dead and what might have happened is that the power lead disconcerted from the laptop during setup and with no battery the system would indeed go "blank". This could also be the reason that the files system is corrupt.

I would take it back and ask for the head of the computer department and speak with him/her. If you get nowhere politely ask for the manager and discuss the matter with him/her.

I honestly believe if you go through the process you will have it sorted, but as previously said your contract is with the retailer and not the manufacturer, regardless of what you are told.

EDIT - you did fit the battery did you? No brand new laptop is ever shipped with the battery fitted as far as I have seen.
 
[TW]Fox;21927514 said:
You are entitled to a refund or replacement, or a repair, by law.

Go back and remind them of this. The product is faulty - they have a duty to repair it or replace it, or refund it if they cannot do either of these. Your contract is with the retailer not Fujitsu.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice there. I hadn't thought about the contract being with them to be honest. They deflect to the manufacturer which I've not known a retailer do before. Last time I'll be buying from them. I'll go down there tomorrow.
 
Swordfish said:
OK sounds like the battery is completely flat or dead and what might have happened is that the power lead disconcerted from the laptop during setup and with no battery the system would indeed go "blank". This could also be the reason that the files system is corrupt.

I would take it back and ask for the head of the computer department and speak with him/her. If you get nowhere politely ask for the manager and discuss the matter with him/her.

I honestly believe if you go through the process you will have it sorted, but as previously said your contract is with the retailer and not the manufacturer, regardless of what you are told.

EDIT - you did fit the battery did you? No brand new laptop is ever shipped with the battery fitted as far as I have seen.
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Thanks for the reply Swordfish. Yes the battery was already fitted when I took the laptop out the box. I thought about that when windows reported no battery but it was already there. Just for the record the computer does work now after I used the recovery dvds. But the built in hard drive recovery system doesn't. I know it's not the end of the world but for a brand new laptop you expect everything to work. I was surprised a big brand like Fujitsu weren't more help. They literally said something along the lines of "we can't fix that and since the hard drive hasn't failed, we won't. Just make sure you keep the dvds and use them instead if you need to"
 
By law you will be entitled to a repair, an exchange or a refund, but only the latter if either:

a) A replacement or repair is too burdensome on the seller, or

b) A replacement or repair causes you unreasonable inconvenience.

You will have a reasonable time to reject the goods for breach of condition (the goods were not of satisfactory quality - s.14(2)), but even if they allege you have accepted the goods (the condition is treated as a warranty and a breach of warranty does not allow you to repudiate a contract) you are still entitled to the same remedies (ss.48,48A,48B,48C,48D). Even if you are successful in alleging you have rejected the goods, you still cannot repudiate the contract until you have given them a reasonable time to repair or replace (s.48D(2)(a)).

In terms of practical advice, return with the goods and tell them you are rejecting them as they are not of satisfactory quality (less than a week does not seem wholly unreasonable especially when you have already spoken to them). If they resist by saying you have accepted the goods, assert they are not of satisfactory quality and you are entitled to demand a replacement or refund under ss.14(2),48B and 48C. They are still entitled to either attempt to repair or replace the goods before you can legally demand a refund, but it seems a replacement will be fine by you.

I hope this is helpful!
 
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They don't seem to listen to the law, my friends laptop had a faulty hdd, it said it was faulty in the built in bios test and it reported smart errors.

The "experts" there said it seemed like a software problem as windows kept trying to load. He even had their stupid "whatever happens" ****. My friend gave up in the end and I fixed it.
 
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