nevermind - delete! got it working

Tom_B · 18 Jun 2017 at 15:59

It is giving me a black screen, whatever I do nothing will appear. There is clearly power going to the display but the backlight never turns on, it's totally black as if it's off. The power LED indicates it's in "on" mode, not standby. I have tried connecting a different PC via HDMI rather than my desktop via displayport, still nothing.

Is this at all salvageable? I was planning to upgrade by CPU/Motherboard but now it looks like I'll have to buy a new monitor and put that on hold.

I purchased this on June 10th 2014 and it has a 3 year warranty. Not buying Asus again

Legend · 18 Jun 2017 at 16:42

You're still covered. The Sales of Goods Act/Consumer Rights Act (depending when purchased) gives you rights to refunds or free repairs for up to six years after the purchase of an item, IF the product could reasonably have been expected to last six years or more and where it has been used properly... which in the case of a monitor is certainly true of the former, and I'm sure is accurate in respect of the latter.

More info here: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

Although as you bought in 2014, Sales of Goods Act applies: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/sale-of-goods-act

Tom_B · 18 Jun 2017 at 16:50

Is that true? The page there states

Your rights against the retailer can last for up to six years, but the onus is on you to prove a fault was present at the time of purchase after the first six months.

It would seem that the product would have had to been faulty within the first 6 months, but I can make a claim within 6 years.

Legend · 19 Jun 2017 at 03:04

Tom_B said:
Is that true? The page there states

Your rights against the retailer can last for up to six years, but the onus is on you to prove a fault was present at the time of purchase after the first six months.

It would seem that the product would have had to been faulty within the first 6 months, but I can make a claim within 6 years.

Glad you got it working. For future reference though, that isn't correct and doesn't make sense when you think about it. How could a fault with a monitor be proven to be present at the time of purchase? And why would it need to be? The terms of a regular warranty don't state as much, for obvious reasons.

It certainly can be a trickier road to go down, but I have read of numerous cases where people have done this and been successful. The law is on your side here. If the manufacturer is stubborn, a third party can be brought in to determine nature of the fault, which in this case would likely be a technician of some sort. This would be at your expense but any costs would be reimbursed if successful. As mentioned, providing the fault is not due to negligence, misuse etc. and the item in question would reasonably be expected to last longer than it has (yet has fallen out of the given warranty period), the law does stipulate you are covered. Hopefully your monitor will be trouble free now, but keep this in mind just in case...

Tom_B · 19 Jun 2017 at 12:53

Scratch that, it died again

I had it working for a few minutes but then it flickers on and off then stopped displaying anything again. Clearly some kind of backlight issue.

Unfortunately it looks like I'll have to replace it. I need a decent monitor for my work so can't afford to have no decent monitor for a few weeks. And the cost in time/money to go through any kind of legal process will be higher than replacing the monitor. I'm currently using a circa 2007 22" Samsung 1680x1050 which I had luckily kept stashed away for emergencies like this! My productivity is less than halved, working on such a small area now feels like losing a hand.

On the plus side, I get to upgrade to IPS. I can get 2x 23.6" 4k IPS monitors for ~£400 which will be an improvement over the TN Asus and give me more real estate.

Legend · 19 Jun 2017 at 19:02

Tom_B said:
Scratch that, it died again I had it working for a few minutes but then it flickers on and off then stopped displaying anything again. Clearly some kind of backlight issue.

Unfortunately it looks like I'll have to replace it. I need a decent monitor for my work so can't afford to have no decent monitor for a few weeks. And the cost in time/money to go through any kind of legal process will be higher than replacing the monitor. I'm currently using a circa 2007 22" Samsung 1680x1050 which I had luckily kept stashed away for emergencies like this! My productivity is less than halved, working on such a small area now feels like losing a hand.

On the plus side, I get to upgrade to IPS. I can get 2x 23.6" 4k IPS monitors for ~£400 which will be an improvement over the TN Asus and give me more real estate.

Thing is, the manufacturers SHOULD (and often do) know the law. They rely on the ignorance of the consumer. I would get in touch with them and make them aware you know your rights and see what they say. To just give up and write off your monitor would be a real shame. At the very least, you can get a new one if needs must, but try and get yours sorted so you can at least sell it on a later date rather than lose out entirely.