In late April, my mother bought me a brand new Dell Inspiron 15 windows 8 laptop as a gift for my 20th birthday. As soon as I turned the laptop on, I ran into problems, the disk use would hit 100% just running background applications, making it nearly impossible to run anything else. And just the other day, I found that the laptop screen had cracked from simply being shut in the normal manner. I contacted Dell to try and sort the issue, initially we ran a diagnostic test on the laptop with the built in software, but it showed no faults. At this point, it was approaching the call center's closing time, so I agreed to have a call back the next day to try and resolve the issue. The next day came, and after waiting all day for a call, nothing came. I called back the next day, frustrated, but still just wanting a usable laptop, I spent a further hour on hold waiting to talk to someone, and when I finally got through, I was told exactly the same thing as the day before, after running further diagnostics, the computer still wasn't showing any fault according to Dell, again they said they'd call me back the next day, which I had plans for. Annoyed, and still wanting my laptop to be fixed, I cancelled the plans I had for the day in the hopes the issue would finally be resolved. After spending most of Wednesday 20th of May on the phone with Dell, still nothing was working, so they agreed to send out a technician to come look at the laptop and see what the issue might be. For this they told me to wait 48 hours for the appointment. 48 hours came and went, but as it was over the bank holiday weekend, I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they meant 48 hours on working days only, but I was still waiting a week later. Today, I received this email: "Hello Adrian, 　 This is in follow-up to your service request ........ for your Dell product. 　 We would like to inform you that we are still waiting for the product description to be updated on our records and it will mostly take about next 2 to 3 business days. 　　 In case of any additional concerns/questions please contact us directly by replying to this email (DO NOT change the subject line). Our work hours are from 8 AM 8PM GMT (MON FRI). 　 Thank you for choosing Dell. 　 Abigail 　 Client Technical Support Specialist Dell | UK & Ireland Technical Support" This email only served to confuse me, as it's their product, so I don't know what description they were waiting for, and to be told that after waiting over a week already that I'd have to wait even longer, I decided to travel to their Bracknell office, as I was staying close by anyway. After talking to the receptionist at Dell, someone came down and told me that there was nobody in the office that would deal with my complaint, which considering this was a huge office, I highly doubt that there was nobody senior in the building that could have dealt with my complaint. I was told that the matter had however been passed to a senior member of staff, who would be calling me today to offer me a resolution with my issue. It's currently around 10:30 in the evening here, and I'm still waiting on the call, so yet again, they've failed to keep phone appointments they promised me. Also, when I was talking to the lady she was saying "not to worry because the people that call back will be proper British people" which I feel was hugely inappropriate and also insinuates that I have a racial issue with their call center staff, (I am an avid human rights and anti-discrimination campaigner, and was horrendously insulted by this). This has now been going on over two weeks and I'm completely at the end of my patience with Dell, and fail to see why I should even want to remain a customer of theirs after weeks of what has been the absolute WORST customer service I've ever experienced. My mother is also terribly upset as she worked hard as a single mother to afford to buy me such a lovely gift, and now she's out of pocket and feels responsible for the grief.

Hi all, I bought an S5 on the day of launch from Argos however it has developed a fault with the front camera. It seems it's fairly known with the first batch possibly - camera works but there is what seems to be a plastic/metal piece that is covering half of it. It's come out of nowhere and is behind the screen. I work in phone repairs etc so I know it's not a crack etc. Normally I would expect repair or replace but with the S5 being water proofed from manufacturer, I am unsure how a repair would work as the seals would be broken and no longer water proof. Its; the reason we do not touch S5's and the Xperias that are water-resistant. So any idea before I try and find a local Argos on what they would do in a situation like this? Obviously being without a phone this day and age is not really on. The condition of the phone is as new and still has the various stickers in-place. Boxed items also are unused. Issue is seen here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s5/394754-galaxy-s5-front-camera-ring-piece-loose-defective.html http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s5/388663-front-camera-broken.html http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s5/385563-ugh-another-problem.html Thanks in advance PS: I did check Argos site yesterday but not much on it - the site has been down for 12 hours + so can't see anything more.

Hello, I am in need of some advice. On May 17th this year, I purchased a brand new fishing umbrella from an online store through eBay. It was an auction, with the start price of £59.99 + £9.99 p&p and I was the only bidder. The item arrived a few days later, and I unpacked it and erected it in my back garden to inspect it. All looked good so I put it away in readiness for my first outing in wet weather. Unfortunately (or fortunately!), this summer has been very dry and sunny, so the first opportunity I had to use the brolly in anger so to speak, was in early August. but it leaks!!. After half an hour of rain, water started dripping from the centre. I contacted the seller to inform them of the problem, and to see if I could return it, and they replied with the following: 'Over the years we have had to formulate various company policies. These policies have never been arbitrarily adopted. We have chosen certain policies in order to accommodate our customers by providing our product at the lowest conceivable price while remaining in business. One of these policies is that our customers have 60 days in which to return any merchandise for a full refund. We feel this allows sufficient time to inspect our product and be assured of its quality. We are grateful for the business you have seen fit to give our firm, and are proud to have you as one of our customers. We cannot, however, authorize the return of our merchandise as you have requested, since you took delivery over 60 days ago. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate you in this matter. We hope you will understand why we must take this position.' So, should I pursue my claim, or are they within their rights to refuse it? Many thanks in advance for any advice forthcoming.

Hi All I bought a car on hire purchase 4 months ago from a Seat dealer, last weekend the car broke (basically!). The guys from an independent garage ran it through their diagnostics system and it came back with a fault, solution 'replace ECU'. Cost of part from Seat was over £1200! Nowhere has the part though because it is on back order and no one knows when it will be coming in. I contacted CAB who were fantastic and advised me that Seat Finance should pay for the repairs. I contacted Seat Finance and they wanted me to take the car back to where I bought it from so they could diagnose the fault (using exactly the same software as the independent!). When I had the car recovered to the place where I bought it the guy I dealt with was a complete ****. He said that it couldn't be the ECU as ECU's don't break! I can feel a fight coming on about this issue so just wanted to check what my rights are to cancel a HP agreement due to faulty goods? If anyone has any advice I would be extremely grateful. CAB aren't open now until Monday and can't seem to find an answer to my question on Google. Thanks Jennie

I recently ordered an item from a well known and reputable online computer parts shop which i used on numerous occasions. Leaving the name out because at this point i don't really have a quarrel with said company. The PC component i bought quite literally blew up in my face upon first power on. I applied for RMA, which was authorized. So i shipped the item on my expense, which increased the final cost of the part. Today the company shipped me a replacement, which is bound to land at my door on next monday or tuesday, so it's all good. However i paid 16 pounds shipping cost to return the faulty item. Can i demand a return shipping refunded ? I did read through T&C's and didn't find anything specific to this scenario... Shipping to and from Northern Ireland is not exactly cheap... Where do i stand ?

Hi, was looking for some advice. I purchased an OEM computer hard drive approximately 2.5 years ago from a well known online retailer (who I don't want to name quite yet). The manufacturer - Samsung - says they offer a 3 year warranty on their drives, both retail ones and OEM drives. They also say that drives they sell as system integrator drives have a 1 year warranty. The retailer offers only a one year warranty. My drive has developed a fault. First thing I did was try and organise a return online, but Samsung's site reject it as being a non-UK serial number. I contacted the retailer and explained that Samsung had rejected it. They refused to accept a return, saying they weren't bound by anything and that only offer a 1 year warranty in their T&Cs. I've been arguing with the retailer since on the basis that they sold me a Samsung OEM drive and that Samsung sell it as having a 3 year warranty. I know from doing research on this that the retailer will have bought grey market drives abroad and imported them, that's why Samsung reject the serial number. This certainly wasn't in the specification. I feel this then makes the retailer responsible. The retailer have agreed that they sold me an OEM drive and not a system integrator drive, but claim their specifications (which are no longer publicly visible as the product is no longer stocked) list this as a 1 year warranty and that they aren't bound to do anything. This they say overrides Samsung saying that an OEM drive has a 3 year warranty. I've tried claiming that SOGA applies and that the product doesn't match it's description, since it's sold as an OEM drive but only getting a 1 year warranty. Retailer denies this. Having discussed this back and forth, the retailer still deny liability of any sort but have issued an RMA as a "goodwill gesture" and that if a repair or replacement isn't feasible, then they'd only offer a proportional refund on the basis of the use I've had this far. Should I argue any further? Do I have a leg to stand on? What is a fair proportion? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello, my son bought a bike from halfords, he reserved it online and asked them to assemble it in store. After he had paid for it and he had begun riding home the handle bars came loose and he lost control of the bike, he was close to the road and crashed then a car nearly hit him. The bike now has several scratches and my son has a scraped knee which could have been alot worse. The person who assembled the bike obviously did a poor job of it and i want to know what i can do about this.

i was bought a new computer for xmas from PC World. after three weeks of use it just stopped working. unplugged it all and left it a day and it started up again.but after a short period of use it occurred again. returned it to PC World who were so unhelpful and would not replace the item as it had just gone over the 28 days notice, which in my reconing is b#llocks, but would have their tech guys look at it. three days later recieved a call to come and collect. when we got there we were told they could find no fault with the computer so would take no actions.i argued that this fault will occur again to be told well you will again have to return it. as the store is a good 25 minutes away i insisted i want action taken to replace as i dont want this round trip weekly. i was told if it happened again they would have to send it off, and be without a computer for several weeks. now yet again the fault has occured, so i have taken a film of the fault occuring because i was told they would have to see the fault for themselves, so much for the customer is always right. could somebody please advise me on my next steps as i believe i have a case thru the Sale Of Gods Act where if the purchase is under 6 months i dont have to prove the unit to be faulty. please help someone.......regards shyner.

I have a laptop that Acer sent me in April this year to replace a previous one that was faulty. The laptop is an Aspire 5942g that replaced a Aspire 6930. The new laptop now has the same problem as its' predecessor - it stopped playing Blu Ray discs, then stopped playing any type of disc. I've asked Acer to fix it under warranty, but they say I have to pay because the warranty of the original laptop expired earlier this year. However, this is not the original laptop - it's one I've had 8 months that they sent to replace the original broken one. I believe that the new laptop has its' own warranty, so should be repaired under that. Acer state that the warranty of the earlier broken laptop applies to the replacement. What's the legal standpoint on this? Surely, a new unit has its' own warranty, and not the one of a broken unit it replaced - especially not a different model of laptop. Am I right? Thanks in advance for all your help

Howdy folks, I have a swedish 4-wheel drive car. In the summer it started making a rather unusual clicking sound as the key was turned to start it. Knowing my swedish cars well, I knew this wasn't right and immediately had it checked out at the main dealer. It turned out the starter ring gear teeth were beginning to shear off, leaving little for the starter motor itself to "Grab" and left as it was would eventually result in the car being a non-startable ornament. I paid approximately £1300 to get it fixed. - It involved taking out the engine and gearbox. During the repair, they discovered that the "Angle gear" to the rear drive shaft was worn smooth so the car was in fact a 2 wheel drive car. This was repaired for a further eighty odd quid. I think it is fair to say that these faults are inconsistent with this supposedly robust brand. Anyway, being a CAGger, and knowing that Swedish cars of a certain variety are meant to go around the clock before they get major faults like this, I decided to see where I stood. This is what I've been told: 1) This shouldn't happen 2) The material (hardened steel) in the ring gear is not hard enough for the job 3) Trading Standards say I should make a claim for the cost of the repairs using the "Sale of Goods Act" The car was 5 years and 9 months old when it developed the fault. Mileage 73000 mostly motorway so "start to mileage" ratio is pretty small. Service history complete. Car has otherwise been maintained with no expense spared. The reason I am exploring this - the dealer told me I am not a loyal enough customer to justify a contribution towards the repair. (Since 2000, I have bought 7 cars from them!) and the head mechanic at the dealership said, "Off the record, If I worked somewhere else, this would have been repaired for free, but things are tight at the moment". I have the parts. I have had them examined. I have a mettalurgist lined up who is ready to test them and if the steel is too soft as he suspects, is prepared to go to court. This is a component that should not see the light of day until the car is scrapped in a couple of hundred thousand miles' time. So far, I have written to the dealer and the brand UK customer services (Who are totally useless)requesting a refund. The best they came up with was an offer of a deal on a new car! Any thoughts on how to proceed, what to look out for and what stones to turn would be gratefully appreciated. As always, kind regards to all, KV

Hi this is my first post. last month i bought a car bumper on ebay. the seller said 48 hours shipping but shipped it 2 weeks later. i sent my car and the bumper for fitting to the bodyshop once i got the item. the mechanics called me the next day and told me that the bumper was faulty as it does not fit the car model even though the seller claims on his listing that all products are tested. so i notified the seller stating that the mechanics find the bumper to be faulty and what is the next step... he says i should go fix it my self that he's not responsible. this is someone who trades on ebay and not a private seller. i contacted consumer direct and they said that under sale of goods act 1979 if i find the product to be of not satisfactory quality and unfit for purpose i should be able get my money back and loss and damage as the body shop will charge me for storing my car till i find another bumper. luckily 2 days later i was able to get another bumper and the car is now all done. i went and opened a case with ebay resolution center, and i stated my facts and instead of posting the photos of the faulty item i gave the seller links to the item i posted on flicker thinking then ebay too can see the state of the item. the seller was a total bully was stating that he will get hold of my phone number one way or the other. i just told him payup and collect your faulty item or i'll see you in small claims court. (on ebay i only requested for the original item i paid for, i didn't ask him to pay for the damages or anything) so the seller kept sending me msg's stating that i've got no case so i left him a negative feedback, then he agreed to pay me the money and pick up the item at his own expence if i remove the negative feedback. so he sent me the refund offer through ebay and i accepted it and he sent me an option to revise the feedback and i did. after that he went back and refuse to pay again and said there's nothing i can do about it or will see my money. ebay doesn't seem to be bothered. how do i make a claim through small claims court for the money and the extra charges and the mechanics have already agreed that incase of court action they'll be happy to come and testify to the quality of the bumper that was sold.