Gfs £1,000 laptop is - literally - smoking

furnace

furnace

furnace

Soldato
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Worthing, West Sussex
Right after a bit of advice please!

This laptop is 2.5 years old and out of warranty (obviously not worth £1k but to my gf it's still £1k of gear), my gf uses it for her uni work and is very upset as it's just died. If you try to turn it on it goes up in smoke.

Now I don't think this is OK, I think this is a manufacturing fault and even though it's "out of warranty", it's no excuse for something that cost £1k catching fire after 2 years. Literally, thick grey smoke is coming out of the laptop when switched on.

What right does my gf have and what do you recommend we do?!

I will send a nicely-nicely email first but I'm pretty sure that they're just going to say "It's out of warranty, pay us or go away." as I've spoken to them before about other issues with the laptop out-of-warranty.
 
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First off, your contract is with the RETAILER you purchased the laptop from, NOT the manufacturer. You're right, it's not acceptable for a laptop costing 1k to last 2 years. You should be covered under The Sales Of Goods Act which states the following:

SOGA said:
Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).

• Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.
Click to expand...

However, since you've had the laptop over 6 months it is your responsibility to prove the product is inherently faulty, not the retailers. First off try writing a letter to the RETAILER stating the problem and what it states in the SOGA. Be firm and to the point. Send the letter 1st recorded delivery to the head office :).
 
I'm not entirely suprised. I mean, Gfs? Who on earth are they? Are they Chinese? They've not even got their own website. I think it was probably always likely to end up in a smoking heap.
 
Surely a grands worth of laptop is expected to last beyond 2½ years! I'm sure someone here is more versed in the Sales of Goods Act that me, but 2½ years is a pretty short time.

EDIT: DOH! Beaten by someone else.
 
I'd check the battery. It might be one of Sonys exploding battery numbers.

Usually though, if its smoking, its a safety hazard and most reputable companies will replace them because of safety issues....
 
furnace said:
Right after a bit of advice please!

This laptop is 2.5 years old and out of warranty (obviously not worth £1k but to my gf it's still £1k of gear), my gf uses it for her uni work and is very upset as it's just died. If you try to turn it on it goes up in smoke.

Now I don't think this is OK, I think this is a manufacturing fault and even though it's "out of warranty", it's no excuse for something that cost £1k catching fire after 2 years. Literally, thick grey smoke is coming out of the laptop when switched on.

What right does my gf have and what do you recommend we do?!

I will send a nicely-nicely email first but I'm pretty sure that they're just going to say "It's out of warranty, pay us or go away." as I've spoken to them before about other issues with the laptop out-of-warranty.
Click to expand...

do what Meatball says but also..

You need to get someone a pc tech shop or whatever to look at the laptop and diagnose what has caused it to fail and whether it is because of a faulty part etc.
Get a receipt for this work.
 
try removing the battery and plugging it into the mains and see if it works that way

theres been quite a few recalls for exploding laptop batterys. We got a letter about our toshiba laptop. but as others have said Sonys have been known to do this as well

im not saying its definatelt that, but its worth a try :)
 
Yeah ok troll was probably not the best word to use, I didn't really mean it. I was just... saying... something. I dunno. Anyhoo!

The battery isn't removeable like acer or dell laptops. I'm going to guess it's screwed under one of the 5 removeable panels so I'll have to wait 'till I'm home tomorrow and get a watch screwdriver on it.
 
After 2.5 years it would be unfair to say that there was an inherent fault with the system, and almost impossible to prove where there has been no history of failure/repair with it. Value does not imply longevity I'm afraid. You could, and I would, try it on with them a little though.
 
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