Faulty laptop: legal avenues

[voodooflux]

Around 18 months ago I purchased a high-end laptop with a three year warranty direct from the manufacturer. I paid a visit to their showroom to demo the device, and was suitably impressed enough to buy one.

After around 12 months the GPU overheated and the laptop was returned to the manufacturer for repair, but for two months the repair stalled due to supply issues with the required parts. After escalating the issue to a company director I was issued with a replacement - a newer model of a different design but roughly equivalent specification.

However, the build quality of this replacement was very poor compared to the previous model, and in fact poor when compared to pretty much any laptop you could pick up from Tesco's (an opinion reinforced by various reviews I have read). Issues included poor keyboard bezel fitting, noise from the optical drive, and keypresses not being registered.

This latter issue was for me the most serious and has been confirmed by other users on the forums run by the manufacturer, with as yet no official response.

Shortly after reporting these issues the original manufacturer went into administration, but was acquired by another company who pleged to take on any existing warranties (phew!). After the acquisition had taken place I arranged to have the laptop returned for the appropriate repair work to be carried out. Unfortunately it was returned to me in a worse state, and had to be resubmitted for further repair work.

I've just received the laptop back, and to be honest most of the isses still remain, particularly that with the missing keypresses.

At this point I've been without the laptop for slightly more than 3 months during the 18 month period for which I have owned it.

So, to my question (finally): what options are open to me, and where do I stand legally given that the original company is now owned by someone else?

EDIT: I should add that I plan to contact the company directors to discuss these issues, but I would like to know if there are any legal avenues open to me that I can highlight to them should the need arise.

Apologies for the long post - and thanks for reading if you got this far. Any poor spelling can be blamed on the tulipe keyboard on my laptop.

[Earlyflash1]

Who bought the laptop, you or your company? If it was you you may have a case under the Sales of Goods act.

Otherwise, Small Claims them.

[voodooflux]

Who bought the laptop, you or your company? If it was you you may have a case under the Sales of Goods act.

Otherwise, Small Claims them.

Company, so small claims. Would this still be possible given that the manufacturer is under new ownership i.e. would I be in a position to pursue the new owners via small claims?

[Advocate]

Don't normal consumer rights apply? Return for full refund as not fit for intended purpose? or something similar?

Don't know what the time-frame is although with a 3 year warranty you can expect it to last that long.

EDIT: Posted before I saw your Co bought it.

[voodooflux]

Don't know what the time-frame is although with a 3 year warranty you can expect it to last that long.

My position is that the replacement laptop I received was faulty on arrival. Judging from the feedback of other owners the faults seem inherent to the model.

[Earlyflash1]

From your original post:

"After the acquisition had taken place I arranged to have the laptop returned for the appropriate repair work to be carried out. Unfortunately it was returned to me in a worse state, and had to be resubmitted for further repair work.

I've just received the laptop back, and to be honest most of the isses still remain, particularly that with the missing keypresses."

Forgetting about the original supplier for a moment.

It would seem that the repair they were contracted to complete was not done in with 'due or reasonable care'. Therefore they are obliged to complete the repair correctly, or to compensate you.

Sadly, you are unlikely to be able to claim the entire cost of the laptop against them as you have had some utility from it. You'll have to work this out as a %age of a reasonable lifetime for the laptop.

I'd phone Consumer Direct (don't mention the company angle) and see what they say about the transfer of the warranty and the legal status of such.

[voodooflux]

It would seem that the repair they were contracted to complete was not done in with 'due or reasonable care'. Therefore they are obliged to complete the repair correctly, or to compensate you.

That is true, although I'm starting to suspect that fixes for some of the issues may not be possible due to inherent design flaws with this model.

I'd phone Consumer Direct (don't mention the company angle) and see what they say about the transfer of the warranty and the legal status of such.

That's a good idea - thanks.

[Turion]

It's 18 months old now, so forget about it and go buy a new laptop from another manufacturer. How much time effort and stress are you going to put in over a now obsolete model, that would be worth a couple hundred quid now.

[voodooflux]

It's 18 months old now, so forget about it and go buy a new laptop from another manufacturer. How much time effort and stress are you going to put in over a now obsolete model, that would be worth a couple hundred quid now.

If you recall from my original post the current laptop I have is a replacement for the original - a much newer model and very far from being obsolete in terms of specification. I guess it's the principle really - the original laptop was quite expensive, and I've been dogged with poor customer support throughout.

[HeliCraig]

Just turn round, open my filing cabinet drawer and take out my Vaio. Use this.

In all seriousness - I'd just issue a county court claim for the whole amount back, or a replacement not of this model/type. It's relatively cheap to issue the claim and, if nothing else, serve to get their attention. I would send a "7 day warning" letter first though - will help your case.

As far as the new owner goes, so long as the Ltd Co you bought it from still exists (I think it does?) then you should be OK.

See you next week, unless your "waiting" comes to an end!

C.

PS: Canteen is as tulipe on nights as on days. Internet is faster. Result.