Thank you for the advice. Dan

I've looked at both the above mentioned links and I am somewhat confused. Since I am both the driver and the RK do I ignore which the first link seems to advocate or do I write to Sainsburys as the second link advises? One further point, I went back to Sainsburys yesterday and took a photograph of the sign: [ATTACH=CONFIG]43513[/ATTACH] Does the wording on the sign mean the terms and conditions of parking in the car park? I ask this because it doesn't explicitly say "Terms & Conditions". Also, what would be the situation if I didn't shop in Sainsburys but used the Car Park?

I also was issued with a parking fine (*) from Smart Parking Ltd, for parking in a disabled space at my local Sainsbury's, I know its wrong but at least 10 spaces were empty and I was in a hurry to collect a prescription from the pharmacy. I accept, not a very good excuse but it's done now and I have a £60.00 fine, reduced to £30.00 if I pay within two weeks. I don't particularly want to pay this, even though I accept I was in error but how does the fine work since there was no loss of income because it's free parking for 2hrs and I was only there for a few minutes, also at least 10 of the twelve disabled bays were empty, well 9 after I parked. Can I argue anything here? Further I do not understand the above argument: "that TCP did not own the land and had no legal right to enter into a contract with a land user on behalf of the land owner"! Thanks (*) Just checked my ticket, it is called a Parking Charge Notice and referred to as a PCN on the parking ticket.

Yes I sent them copy of the invoice .... haven't heard a word since. I emailed them again today asking what the position is? Still no response. Guess I will have to leave it until Tuesday now. Dan

Please ignore my last post. It was just me having thoughts that are confusing the issue. However, what concerns me is that whereas I believe the original fault with the Laptop is covered by the SoGA. What covers the subsequent damage, to the top cover and screen, that was inflicted during the suppliers inspection? Whereas the original fault was probably worth repairing, with the additional damaged, the total repair costs will be higher than the replacement cost of a new laptop. Consequently, should the original fault and the subsequent damage be considered separately? Thank you for your input. Dan

They are still messing about but a thought has just occurred to me. You recommend taking the money that has been offered and cutting my loses. But since the initial fault has been compounded by their "Technical Support Team" braking the top cover and quite possibly the screen, shouldn't I also be pursuing a claim through their insurance company. I know it's becoming fragmented but hasn't it become two problems, protection under the SoGA and indemnity through their insurance company? The £328 that has been offered is about £100 short of the cost for the replacement System Board that has failed, on top of this would be the associated labour cost. Lets say I go for this and pay the extra out of my own pocket. What happens now with the top cover and screen? They're both probably going to need replacing but this is an insurance problem isn't it? Dan

I have received the following request from the supplier; Please could you provide to me a copy of the receipt for the inspection report that you obtained, and we can then re-assess the situation. I don't particularly what to supply them with this information, I haven't asked them to refund the cost, just repair or replacement of the Laptop. I'm a little embarrassed at the amount that the report cost me, might make me look a bit daft and may weaken my case. The report cost £211.50 (a third of the cost of the laptop), my excuse is that I was really angry, fuming even, when I asked for it to be done, although it is a very nice, in depth report, I'll post it if you like. What do you think should I send them the receipt. Will it strength or weaken my case or just make me look silly. Dan

Not quite sure what you mean. Considering the work that the company who inspected the laptop do, I would have thought that all their engineers are graduates in Electronic Engineering. The report was very extensive, eight pages with photographs together with in depth analysis. It also provided an assessment regarding the findings of the suppliers report. It was very expensive. Certainly not done by a lad at Comet. Dan

Well, i just sent them the following reply Thank you for your email, unfortunately I am unable to accept your offer. I am advised that your offer of £328.43 doesn't come close to covering the cost of replacement of the main board. There is also the additional cost of repairing the top cover and any damage to the screen caused during your inspection. As I've stated in previous emails, for a satisfactory conclusion to this situation I require you to either repair, replace or refund the full purchase price. Your offer doesn't cover any of these aspects, let alone the loss of use, inconvenience nor the cost of the report that I had to commission to find the true fault. Something that should have done in the first instance, rather than look for a way of deflecting responsibility. Lets see where this goes. Thanks for all your help Dan

Thanks for your advice, however this wont drag on. If I don't get a satisfactory result from this, it will just escalate to small claims court. I have to decide what I want, and if I dont get it, that's where it stops.

Thanks for your reply. Although I'm not quite sure what you mean here, what I want is the laptop to either be repaired (including the subsequent damage cause by their technical support), replaced or refunded. Not their half hearted gestures of appeasement Do you mean that I can claim compensation for loss (of use) and inconvenience? Together with the cost of repair of the additional damage? How do I do this when the first issue hasn't yet been resolved? Thanks for your advice, but I don't fully understand your £600 laptop - £370, what is this £370? Also, can I really claim for the cost of the report?? I did this of my own back, it wasn't a requirement from them. It was required to counter their report, as I found their report to be whimsical at best. edit: I've just seen your follow up post, and understand this now, thanks. Dan

We received their report, which was negative, they claimed negligence on our part. Strangely enough, although they claimed negligence on our part, they returned the laptop in a broken state. The top cover of the laptop now has a substantial crack in it and we are unsure if there is any damage to the laptop screen (it cant be turned on at the moment, so no way to check this). The argument they made was very weak, something to do with missing rubber feet and stickers being taken of the wrist rest. This didn't seem a plausible argument. So we arranged a counter report of our own, that identified the cause of the fault to be due to a loose screw that had short circuited components on the main board. They have now come back and offered a refund of £328 against a purchase price of £600+, I don't feel this is acceptable, I certainly cant replace or repair the laptop for that. We checked out the cost of replacing the main board which in itself is in excess £450 for parts alone not counting labour. Then you have to consider the damage to the casing and any potential damage to the screen. So I want to say no to the offer, I believe that they are in a weak position on this. What do you think? Am I wise to reject the offer? And if so what are the likely consequences? Hope you can help Dan

They collected the Laptop on Thursday, so I just have to wait now and see what they say. Hopefully I should hear from them next week, say Tuesday or Wednesday. I'' report back their diagnoses. Dan

Hi blitz, I sent the suggested letter, initially by email on Friday and followed it up with hardcopy, sent by recorded delivery which the supplier would have received today. And "hey presto" I have received the following response: Good afternoon xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Thank you for your response and subsequent letter that has been received. Please be advised that as the exact fault of the item is not confirmed, we will arrange for the item to be collected from you and returned to technical support team in London, who will be able to trouble shoot the item and try to confirm exactley what is the fault with the unit. Please be advised that you will be sent an email shortley confirming when the item will be collected, if you can ensure that the item is securely packaged and include the power adaptor and any discs for the unit and we will have a look at the item for you. Kind regards So this appears to be a good result, they are going to look at the Laptop but as I mentioned in one of my previous posts with reference to the SoGA isn't the onus on me to prove the fault? I guess I'm just being a little paranoid about loosing control once its passed over since they could attribute the fault to anything they like ie my son. I know, my son has not caused the fault but once its gone I have no control! I have to assume that they are a reputable company and it's not in their interests to play games. What do you think? Thanks Dan

This is all good info. however I do have a question with regard to; Sale of Goods Act Fact Sheet URN No: 05/1730 Subject: Sale of Goods Act, Faulty Goods. Relevant or Related Legislation: Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. Key Facts: . . . • In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years). Considering the above do I have to employ the service of an engineer to verify that the Laptop is "inherently faulty". I don't mind doing this but who pays for the report (assuming it finds in my favour)? At this point the supplier hasn't asked for me to prove the product is inherently faulty! Further, what type of report would be required and what calibre of engineer is to write the report, assuming I have to supply one? Once again, thank you for all your help. Dan