GRR! Harvey Norman / Repair agent

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Yabanize

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#141265 6-Mar-2014 14:52

Grr!

Couple of years ago we were sold a Samsung NP-305-v5a laptop by Harvey norman along with a 2 year extended warranty.

June last year we sent our laptop away at harvey norman to be repaired, as the left click button on the touchpad was faulty, They fixed it that time, great, They also said the hard drive and ram was faulty so replaced them also. It took about 2 weeks,

Feb this year: Touchpad button stops again, Charging port is loose (bad connectivity) and the casing keeps popping open,

We took it in on Feb 2nd, Didnt get it back until a month later! the 5th of march (yesterday). This was a very long time to be without a computer, and they couldnt offer us a loaner

Only to find that they didnt fix the touchpad click button or the DC Jack! They did replace the casing though.

So now we have to go back in there and hopefully make them replace the computer, It would be very unacceptable to have to go another month without a computer.

Geektastic

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#1000215 6-Mar-2014 15:25

Harvey Norman wouldn't be my first choice of vendor for anything computer related I don't think.

I hope you get it sorted out OK.

I've only ever had Apple products and they have always been repaired or replaced instantly and without fuss in the rare situation there has been a fault of some kind.

One was an iPhone with a dead microphone which the VF store took in to return to Apple, giving me a POMT loaner meanwhile, and it was replaced within a week IIRC. The other was a Macbook Pro that had an issue with the keyboard which was replaced in a few days.

[edit mod:rc - correct company names]

itxtme

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#1000237 6-Mar-2014 16:09

Check your extended warranty, there is a lemon clause... I thinks its three repairs though, not two

Oblivian

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#1000250 6-Mar-2014 16:25

Unless you can find a number of very similar reportd cases online, your loose power socket likely won't be considered a warranty/fault of manufacture either. When I was servicing laptops back in the day there was only ever 1 model they made an error on in manufacturing and accepted it as so, having some solder fail on one of the legs. Which a quick dab with the iron soon fixed. But if it was continued to be used in this way, it arc'd right through the PCB layers.

Everything else was almost always followed by dead giveaway indications of being used outside designed manufacturing spec - a socket itself cracked, or deformation marks inside indicating too much sideways pressure when dragging power cables over the back of the desk too tight. Or being used on a bed/couch etc on the lap with the power adaptor on the floor beside and cable tugged on too tight, too many times.

(also part the reason you hear them called notebooks/netbooks now - with todays processors etc they best perform on a flat surface, not on a bed/knees where air is restricted)
Also check the wording on the extended warranty. Often designed to be simply an extension of the manufacturers terms. Not all cover 'wear and tear' items, as the expected life from manufacture is not always in excess of 3-5 years that extensions offer - if you use a function enough it may start to degrade :) (like car tyres) They are underwritten by insurance companies who pay for the parts/labour, and not usually associated directly with the manufacturer.

jeffnz

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#1000253 6-Mar-2014 16:27

Its still covered by the CGA

"

If something goes wrong, you have the right to insist that the seller or service provider fixes things.

Generally speaking, this means the retailer who sold you the goods or services must sort out the problem. If the stitching comes apart on your fairly new shoes, you don't have to track down the manufacturer or importer, you simply take them back to the shop.

If the problem is minor, and can be fixed, the retailer can choose to either repair, replace or refund.

A service provider must fix the problem within a reasonable time.

If the problem cannot be fixed, or cannot be put right within a reasonable time, or is substantial, you can:

Reject the product and choose a replacement of the same type or similar value or a full refund of your purchase price; or
Claim compensation for any drop in the value of the product or service.
Cancel the service contract, pay for any satisfactory work already done, and get someone else to finish the repairs; or
Have it repaired elsewhere and recover the costs from the retailer, if they refuse to fix a faulty product, or fail to do so in a reasonable time.

When you have the right to reject the goods, sellers cannot just offer a credit note. If you want a refund, you are entitled to it – by cash, cheque or credit card charge reversal."

source

Galaxy S10

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Oblivian

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#1000258 6-Mar-2014 16:34

Ah yes, the CGA. However, that still won't cover out-of-spec faults

It totally needs to be re-worded. Or at least sectioned into types of repair/product ranges. Far too vague, 'reasonable' could be 1 day, could be a year depending on the product. It's like, how long is a piece of string.. well interpertable

Remeber all those TVs back in the day.. 10yr expected shelf life. And would last that long+ Now they are $600 and being replaced almost yearly with a shelf life of <3

Yabanize

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#1000259 6-Mar-2014 16:36

It does cover wear and tear (see here https://d2ajw2y8psv396.cloudfront.net/hnnz/content/ICfrith_HNPC.PDF )

The charging socket is loose and doesnt make a very good connection, causing the plug and wire to get very hot. It needs to be fixed. I think the problem was the repair agent got the wrong information passed to them. according to their sheet the fault description was 'overheating and faulty hard drive' so they mustve mixed someone elses fault description up with ours

They do have a lemon policy, 'if the same component fails 3 or more times' although they didnt actually fix the touchpad button this time Either way, My main concern is the click button. Its not a very good design if it wears out every year.

"If the problem cannot be fixed, or cannot be put right within a reasonable time" Hmm is a month or more a reasonable time?

Dunnersfella

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#1000397 6-Mar-2014 21:26

I wouldn't buy a laptop without an Apple style power cable connection. The magnetic coupling is an absolute god send for me! It would have failed numerous times without its ability to immediately break away when it's tugged / pulled.
Warranty aside, ask for a loaner, get it fixed correctly and you're sorted. Replacing a two year old laptop with a brand new machine would be a bit rich in my books. You've enjoyed the use out of it for years, so it's fair to either have it repaired or replaced with another used item...
Remember, under the CGA they have the right to repair your unit. Oh and do I believe they should be able to organise a loaner, that's only fair.

Quic Broadband

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Yabanize

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#1000403 6-Mar-2014 22:19

Dunnersfella: I wouldn't buy a laptop without an Apple style power cable connection. The magnetic coupling is an absolute god send for me! It would have failed numerous times without its ability to immediately break away when it's tugged / pulled.
Warranty aside, ask for a loaner, get it fixed correctly and you're sorted. Replacing a two year old laptop with a brand new machine would be a bit rich in my books. You've enjoyed the use out of it for years, so it's fair to either have it repaired or replaced with another used item...
Remember, under the CGA they have the right to repair your unit. Oh and do I believe they should be able to organise a loaner, that's only fair.

The previous two times we've asked for a loaner and they said they dont have any,

That would be good, apart from I know the click button will wear out again within the next year, and it wont be cool if it happens just after the warranty finishes.

A click button on a laptop shouldnt wear out once every year, None of my previous laptops have done this, and they are alot older then this one. Its obviously a bad design

Yeah I wish all laptops had an Apple style connector :/

Dunnersfella

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#1000412 6-Mar-2014 22:43

My laptop doesn't have a click button... it has a touchpad, and a magnetic apple style power cable.
It, not surprisingly, is an Apple.
I'm surprised Samsung haven't copied what Apple have done. Oh... wait...

Yabanize

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#1000444 6-Mar-2014 23:59

Dunnersfella: My laptop doesn't have a click button... it has a touchpad, and a magnetic apple style power cable.
It, not surprisingly, is an Apple.
I'm surprised Samsung haven't copied what Apple have done. Oh... wait...

Yup,,, If I ever buy another laptop it will be a Mac :P

I plan to build a windows pc though

tripp

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#1000476 7-Mar-2014 07:11

I would find this unacceptable, take it back today and tell them you are not accepting the goods and under the CGA you are now requested a full refund or a replacement at the same or better specs than the faulty computer.

If they say "oh we have to send it away" just say "In that case you better get your manager out here"
Once the manager/team leader comes to talk to you tell the it's been sent off twice for faults and you think this is more than fair and you are sick of waiting and you now have the right to refund or replacement (remember you get to pick which one now).
If the manager gives you the same line then say "I am going to leave now and I expect a call from you area manager within the next 2 hours, here is my phone number".

Go home and wait, if no call, then ring head office and ask to speak to the area manager for that area.

You will find that staff at the shop always hear people talk about the CGA etc but not many people follow it up and cave for the device to be sent off for yet another repair etc, they will refund or replace you just need to kick up about it.

Dunnersfella

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#1000574 7-Mar-2014 10:09

...and I should add, whatever happens, make sure you back up ALL your data now. Don't wait for them to say 'we deleted it when we re-built the laptop' or similar. Or if they take your laptop today, give you a new one, and you forget to get your files off it... it's up to you to back up.
But I'm guessing you already know that.

Yabanize

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#1000575 7-Mar-2014 10:11

Yup

Thank you both for your helpful advice :)

I backed up everything and restored it from the recovery partition before giving it back to them. I am unable to go today but will probably go in the weekend or next week