Advice on laptop refund

michty_me

michty_me

michty_me

Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2012
Posts
5,498
Morning all,

I'm looking for advice on a laptop refund.
It was purchased last year in July with a years warranty. In January, The laptop developed a fault and was returned. Since then they have had my laptop for repair and have been unable to carry this out successfully.

I have been offered a refund minus 15% due to the time that has passed. Should I not be getting a full refund if the laptop is still in the warranty time frame, A repair is not possible or cannot be provided with a suitable replacement?

I'm unsure of the legalities of this so looking for some advice. Basically I would lose £50 if I accepted their offer.
 
You would have to check the t&c of the company. This has been the norm as of late with a lot of tech products but generally if it has more than one year warranty. So first year, full refund with 2nd and 3rd year a refund dependants on how long the goods have left on the warranty.
 
I’m fairly certain legally they can do this - they’re essentially accounting for the time you have had the laptop in working condition.

That being said, as a customer, it doesn’t feel particularly nice.

I would try and think of it as you’ve been using the laptop for x amount of time, and so the £50 is worth x amount. Sure, it means you have to fork out a bit more again, but there are some cracking deals on at the moment :-)
 
Yes, I've had a sit down and thought about it. If I were to sell it on after that 6-7 months, I probably would have lost more.
I guess this is fine as I was looking at the AMD laptops.
 
isnt this not how warranties are supposed to work?

what company is it so I can avoid them in the future.

I remember I once owned a logitech mouse with a 3 year warranty or so

and I actually had 3 replacement mouse from them in the warranty period.

If logitech came out after the first one and said sorry youve already had one replacement we are going to charge you 15% I would be like WTF? you designed a crappy product, it's not my fault


you offered a warranty of X years. that means I should pay X amount and have a working product for at least that amount of time surely.


are you really forced to take a 15% of is it just a thing they try, what if one was to refuse it, would they then actually find a replacement laptop of like for like specs
 
When i bought a laptop "from a big company" i took out 3 years warrenty on it. 2 and a half years into it one of the fans started to die and made a noise so i told them i wanted it repairing. Took them about 3 weeks and still no reply as to when they was getting the part. They then told me that they dont make the fan any more which fit that model and would be replacing my full laptop.

Paid £1000 for it originally and ended up with a £1800 laptop lol
 
It's pretty standard - if they can't fix/repair or provide you with a suitable alternative, then a cash option is usually less some kind of % drop for the time you've had it. 15% ain't bad to be fair.

Like you say, even in working order, you wouldn't be able to sell it for the same value they are offering you.
 
The below is a government paper on amending the current law. But it does show what the current law is.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ply-of-goods-deduction-from-refund-impact.pdf

Under the current law the consumer may seek to exit a contract due to goods being faulty. In these cases the retailer has the right to reduce the amount reimbursed, in line with the amount of use that the consumer has had of the good prior to the fault occurring. However, there is no guidance on how the reduction may be calculated and so there is a risk of inconsistency and the potential for costly disputes. The business, rather than the consumer, is also in total control of calculating this deduction, leaving the possibility of disproportionately large deductions for use
Click to expand...

It's a bit crappy of the company though.
 
mrbell1984 said:
You are wanting a full refund for a product you have had for 11 months? If only all my products developed a fault that couldn't be fixed I would have had 30 years free worth of products. nice.
Click to expand...

If you read it correctly then it would tell you I have had the laptop 10 months but they have had it for repair since the end of January. I've only seen the laptop for about 6 months of ownership.
I'm not demanding a full refund, I merely asked what were my rights as a consumer for something like this.
 
Hades said:
The below is a government paper on amending the current law. But it does show what the current law is.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ply-of-goods-deduction-from-refund-impact.pdf



It's a bit crappy of the company though.
Click to expand...
In this instance though, the consumer (OP) hasn't sought to exit the contract, the retailer is offering a reduced refund in lieu of repair (failure or unable to). Not sure how, if at all, that affects the statement in your quote though...
 
Did you pay on Credit Card? If you are not happy contact your provider, they may be able to help. I wouldn't happy, especially if they had my laptop since January and couldn't fix it. Why not just provide another?
 
Thats what I am thinking, It was a manufacturer refurbished item sold by another company so I'm a bit unsure where I stood as I can't find much information on the sellers website. All it states is "If your item develops a fault after 28 days DOA period, please contact the manufacturer to get it fixed. Faulty products cannot be returned for Refund beyond 28 days DOA period unless authorised by manufacturers"

So I assume it would lay with Asus?

The laptop in question was a GL502VSK.

Out of interest, What laptop would you all go for around £1000 now or in the next few months?
 
michty_me said:
Thats what I am thinking, It was a manufacturer refurbished item sold by another company so I'm a bit unsure where I stood as I can't find much information on the sellers website. All it states is "If your item develops a fault after 28 days DOA period, please contact the manufacturer to get it fixed. Faulty products cannot be returned for Refund beyond 28 days DOA period unless authorised by manufacturers"
Click to expand...

After six months so the retailer is allowed to reduce the refund to allow for fair use. They could even ask you to prove the laptop was faulty at the time you received it.

Faulty product? How to get a refund, repair or replacement

If a defect develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time the goods were delivered to you.

In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems or defects across the product range.

The retailer can also make a deduction from any refund for fair use after the first six months of ownership if an attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful.

You have up to six years to take a claim to the small claims court for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland.

This doesn't mean that a product has to last six years - just that you have this length of time in which to make a claim if a retailer refuses to repair or replace a faulty product.
Click to expand...
 
Surveyor said:
After six months so the retailer is allowed to reduce the refund to allow for fair use. They could even ask you to prove the laptop was faulty at the time you received it.

Faulty product? How to get a refund, repair or replacement
Click to expand...

Ok thanks, I did find an email I sent to the seller after a month or two of ownership stating there was an electrical type arcing/buzzing sound emitting from the laptop. They put it down to coil whine.
 
The 28day warranty, and the fact it was refurbished, limits the liability of the seller though, too; it was cheaper and you don't expect the same lifespan.

once it is outside of the warranty period they may not pay for postage to return the product for repair, although they should pay for parts(&labor I'm not sure?),
that's the basis I've bought refurbed products from panasonic ebay store;
The refurbed aspects means it has lost some of the normal 2..5 year manufacturer obligation, and you'd expect a significant depreciation if they have to refund you.

15% sounds a good deal , for a refurbed product, but I'm surprised you've been tolerant of waiting 3 months for the repair/decision to be made, and haven't demanded resolution sooner, you've been able to live w/o it I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom