Crappy service and a DOA laptop. Advice?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Crappy service and a DOA laptop. Advice?

aim

245 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 9

Topic # 135083 13-Nov-2013 17:49

Hey guys, excuse the sarcastic and tired tone, but I'm a we bit fed up!

Have a bit of an issue surrounding a laptop, bought from an online shop in Christchurch, and until this is resolved I won't name them. Bought the laptop and picked up midday on a Wednesday. Got it home and didn't have time to use it until that evening, fired up and the laptop has a faulty keyboard (behaved like shift key constantly depressed) I have a background in IT with quite a few years experience, so I did all the usual to test; factory reset and reinstall windows, checked all language settings, after nothing worked I booted up a linux shell from a USB drive and hey presto, still typing in caps. Keyboards faulty.

Called them up to explain and they said oh try [[all these things]] first, fair enough. Tried them as per instructed, and still faulty (unsuprisingly). Called them back and said "nope; still faulty" So they said "ok, we'll sort it out" Upon dropping it off, I was informed the turn around would be 3 weeks. "Uhhh what?" I asked if there was a spare laptop I could borrow in the mean time (had some work to complete etc) or if they could just replace the faulty unit with another one, all answers were no, I'd have to wait for my unit to be repaired. Ok, so I began the waiting game and sorted out a spare laptop myself. That was the 23rd of October, called to get an update a couple of days ago. They couldn't give me a time or estimation and had me contact HP myself (what the...?) Anyway, contacted HP directly and apparently they'd only had the laptop for a couple of days; received on the 8th.

Ask them to please continue and contact me directly.

Later today got a call, they're not going to honour the warranty, without explanation and they're going to send it back to the company I bought the laptop from. I called the retailer and they had no idea and say that they're going to have to go back and forth to get this resolved. At this point, it's been three weeks since I paid for the laptop and still haven't received it... I'm kinda at wits end. It was DOA, there shouldn't be any confusion. I just want the laptop fixed and returned, their relationship with HP is not my responsibility or concern.

What should I do?

Regards,
Aim

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754 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 189

Reply # 933401 13-Nov-2013 18:24

laptopbattery.co.nz by any chance?

I suspect you have got a refurbished laptop if it's via them, which should be stated on their website. In that case I can understand why it's tough for them to replace with a similar laptop as the ones they buy to resell are generally quite varied SKU's of various ages of manufacturing.

I don't think it's an unreasonable time to wait if that's indeed the case, if you wanted money back you probably should have asked for it when you first took it in rather than opted to let them return/repair it. The refusal to repair could be a variety of issues (non standard part, refurb warranty expired etc(some manufactures are only 90 day, unsure about HP)). See what the retailer comes back to you with.

gregmcc

1648 posts

Uber Geek
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Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 933404 13-Nov-2013 18:27

1st question, did you buy it for personal or business use?

RunningMan

5393 posts

Uber Geek
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Reply # 933418 13-Nov-2013 18:36

What you can do depends on if it was purchased for private or commercial use. If private, have a read of this:

http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/consumer-guarantees-act

It outlines your rights, and the obligations of the seller under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

Either way, I would suggest contacting a senior manager at the company you purchased it from, and raise your concerns with them - if they don't know about the issue, then they can't do anything to resolve it - not saying they don't know, but you may have been dealing with a junior staff member or similar who is treating it as just another repair.

aim

245 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 9

Reply # 933455 13-Nov-2013 19:42

Hi guys, the laptop is for private use.

gzt

10672 posts

Uber Geek
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Reply # 933460 13-Nov-2013 19:50

They have the goods. You gave them a good chance. Call it a day and get your credit card company and have them reverse the charges. Unless it's entirely your fault from something being dropped on the keyboard.

aim

245 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 9

Reply # 936558 18-Nov-2013 12:15

Never dropped it or anything on it. The keyboard was faulty from the moment I received it.

Ford

359 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Reply # 936570 18-Nov-2013 12:27

If goods are faulty don't ever touch it as anything you do will be grounds enough to void any warranty.
If they ask you to attempt a repair get something in writing first. Know the law.
Yes, try and do a charge back through your credit card company. That sends a message to the bank that the company is dodgy. Sometimes that works
If I buy online, once the goods arrive I first look at all the specs to see if they match what was listed.
I then run it through some checks to see if I can find any faults. If faulty I then advise the seller and its up to them to decide how to fix it.
I always find out first what is the sellers return policy is before I buy the goods.
Then get everything in writing.
Works for me.
Ford

andrewNZ

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Reply # 936572 18-Nov-2013 12:28

I'd go see them, explain that I'm not prepared to wait any longer, and refuse to leave or let them do anything else until the matter is sorted to your satisfaction.

I'm all for being fair to the retailer a giving them the opportunity to sort things out, but I think they've had that chance. Its CGA time

Location: Dunedin

trig42

Banana?
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Reply # 936577 18-Nov-2013 12:36

Was it brand new?

I would put it in writing to them that the time taken to repair a DOA laptop is unacceptable and you would like a refund.

I guess why they are not being helpful is that you probably got it at a really good price, and they probably only made 3 or 4% margin on it (that's how these online guys do business) and therefore have no 'fat' in it to replace it. If HP are refusing to service it, it is not your problem, but they are making it your problem.

Demand a refund ASAP, and buy from a bigger retailer who has built warranty service into their prices.

mattwnz

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Reply # 936608 18-Nov-2013 13:23

IANAL, but if it was faulty out of the box and was brand new, I think you shoudl have asked for either a replacement or a refund. Otherwise what you may get back is a repaired unit, which is not what you purchased. Also if they try to replace with a refurbished unit, you did not buy a refurb, which is worth less. If I was in that situation I would just contact the, to ask for a refund and take your business elsewhere.

mattwnz

14720 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1987

Reply # 936610 18-Nov-2013 13:24

trig42:

Demand a refund ASAP, and buy from a bigger retailer who has built warranty service into their prices.

All NZ retailers should already have that built in, including full CGA cover.

Byrned

453 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 27

Reply # 936637 18-Nov-2013 14:22

mattwnz:
trig42:

Demand a refund ASAP, and buy from a bigger retailer who has built warranty service into their prices.

All NZ retailers should already have that built in, including full CGA cover.

Sorry, I find this quite funny. In the drive for cheaper products and competing one against the other to get the cheaper price, and then when something goes wrong, you should've purchased from someone else!

As for the charge back option, I don't think that the card company would accept this. I haven't tried but it's generally for goods not supplied, or when funds are fraudulently or mistakenly debited. In this case the goods were supplied but were faulty. However it may still fly under the "not as described" rule.

sdav

824 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 936642 18-Nov-2013 14:24

This sucks. I heard anecdotally it's common for retailers to ask the customer to contact the manufacturer. Apparently the reason being is manufacturers find it a lot easier to say no to a retailer than a customer. They leave it to the retailer to sort out. Kind of lame if it's true.

trig42

Banana?
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Reply # 936648 18-Nov-2013 14:29

Byrned:
mattwnz:
trig42:

Demand a refund ASAP, and buy from a bigger retailer who has built warranty service into their prices.

All NZ retailers should already have that built in, including full CGA cover.

Sorry, I find this quite funny. In the drive for cheaper products and competing one against the other to get the cheaper price, and then when something goes wrong, you should've purchased from someone else!

As for the charge back option, I don't think that the card company would accept this. I haven't tried but it's generally for goods not supplied, or when funds are fraudulently or mistakenly debited. In this case the goods were supplied but were faulty. However it may still fly under the "not as described" rule.

I agree, we all demand cheaper and cheaper goods, but one of the costs of these is that some retailers will really make you work for resolution under CGA/Warranty. In this case, it should have been replaced on the spot.

What I was meaning to say is that if the OP had purchased from a bigger retailer (lets say, in ChCh, Harvey Norman). They may have paid more for the laptop (maybe, HN being so much bigger do get some pretty sharp deals from suppliers). HN should have had plenty of stock, and a relationship with the supplier such that a DoA would have just been swapped out.

If I were to buy a laptop, it would be from a big box retailer for this reason.

1101

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Uber Geek
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Reply # 936691 18-Nov-2013 15:11

It sounds awefully dodgy.
But if its DOA, or faulty from day 1, its not your issue to try fix over the phone.

The issue is, still, after all these years, most retailers have a total disregard for the CGA. The policy is to ignore the CGA & deny
any liability under the CGA . Ive worked for a few companies like that.

Too bad if the profit margins are too low to cover all this, thats the choice the retailer makes when he sells it .Dont make excuses for poor warranty support.
I would NEVER ask a customer of mine to contact the manufacturer themselves for something Ive sold. No excuses, thats the retailers/sellers job.

Name & shame the retailer involved perhaps

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