The machine has been in the store over the weekend, and they replicated the overheating problem. Apparently it got referred to the head of their repair people, and after 5 days they called me to say that they would replace it, by store vouchers which would be sent through to the store to save time. Total value of the vouchers £529, cost of purchase of the machine £649. I wasn't overly impressed with the offer, but they said that there was a machine of similar specification in the store retailing at £529, and they would replace like for like. I asked what would happen if I wanted a cash refund, and they said that it would be for a maximum of £529. Said I would have to think about this. Not too sure of the Sale of Goods Act here, but seems to me that if I'm sold an item for £649 and it is deffective, then if I return it and want my money back, I want all my money back. Also, if it is deffective I do not have to accept a replacement, and in a fast moving arena like computer hardware a like-for-like replacement is frankly insulting when you haven't had use of the machine for 6 months. In the midst of contemplating this, I got another call about 2 minutes later. I now have vouchers for £529 from the extended warrenty side of the business (though I didn't take an extended warrenty, the machine is still under the 12 month guarentee), and the store will make up the £120 difference between that and the receipted cost of my original machine. OK, so I have to get my new machine from PC World, and run the risk of crummy service should that one be defective too, but (eventually) I've got pretty much what I want. Also seems that PC World are pretty keen not to let any money out of the business once they have it, but that in turn can be used to your advantage.

I figured it was probably a lack of ventilation as soon as it happened, but my daughter has a slightly later model which has behaved perfectly to date. The only visiable air vent on the Presario is a small square on the base of the machine - no cloging. This is very close to where the machine overheats, so its probably throwing hot air at an even hotter processor. And the air conditioned lab could be a reason why the fault is not easily repeatable for them, so I must remeber to shoot a video for the impending court case . Ideally I just want a machine that works (not a Compaq this time round), and though I would be entitled to take a cash refund I would be willing to throw in £50 to buy a slightly more expensive machine they are selling at the moment. But in terms of additional costs incurred that could be added to a small claim I was considering standard interest of 8% on the cost of the machine (which is money that could have been invested in something other than a useless plastic lump), time spent waiting for collection/delivery (at say £5.25/hr - minimum wage), milage allowance to get to and from their store (25p/mile) plus time as above, and the cost of subscripitons for software that I have been unable to make use of due to the defective machine. Much harder to put a figure on "loss of use" though due to not having hired a replacement or suffered a business loss. Must be worth something though - have you ever had a teenage son sulking around the house because they can't use their computer?

I purchased a Compaq laptop for my son in November 2005. By February 2006 it had started overheating to the extent that it would cut out occasionally after a couple of hours use. Not sure if this was the way it was being used (as a laptop) I kept an eye on the situation until it consistantly cut out within a couple of hours (though the exact time was variable), even when used on a table. I went in to PC world in April - no help there, just a phone number. The service people told me that it had to consistantly cut out within an hour in the BIOS setting screen before they would take it in for repair. Playing along with this, the machine went in for service in May and came back about 10 days later with a note saying some boards had been changed. It worked for a couple of days and then started cutting out again. I waited until this was consistantly within an hour before contacting them again, so the machine went back in June and came back about 16th with a new DVD drive. Again, it worked for a few days and then started to cut out. Fed up, my son barely used it, but by 17 July it was cutting out within 20 minutes. Back to HP again, who this time rang me to say that they couldn't reproduce this behaviour and were returning it to me, and that once I received it I should order a new charger and battery to see if that was the problem. I knew it wasn't the battery as the machine would die without it in, but had no choice but to accept it. A phone call at the begining of this week got the new items the next day (after some arguement when they originally told me it would be 30 days), and 20 minutes of testing later the machine died again. Totally fed up by now, with the machine effectivley unusable for 6 months, I took it back to PC World again to reject it as unfit for purpose under the sale of goods act, having given them plenty of opportunity to have the machine repaired. This met with the "not our policy" answer, partly because the repairs had not been close enough because I had been trying to meet their insistance that the machine should cut out within 1 hour in the BIOS screen. I'm currently waiting for a decission from head office as to what they will do with the machine. I do not want it repaired as the heat damage to other components in the machine from the numerous cases of overheating is likely to impair its future reliability. I do want another machine, though not a Compaq. Do I have a right to demand a full refund under the sale of goods act (note that I used a debit card for the purchase)? If they refuse can I sue (small claims court)? If I sue, can I claim damages for loss of use and if so at what rate (8% standard interest or a higher sum)? TIA for any help on this.