Comet laptop broken outside of warranty.

[Upya]

Hi guys, I hope someone can give me some advice.

 

My parents won a brand new laptop (and all accessories) in a Christmas draw at their local club in December 2009. They were obviously thrilled with this and very much enjoyed using the laptop.

 

However, unfortunately the laptop stopped working around 5 months ago (16 months after the date it was purchased).

 

They originally put this down as a bad loss, however were recently told that this was in no way reasonable and that the Sales of Goods Act state that goods should be of 'satisfactory quality', which they clearly were not.

 

Since then my parents have taken this laptop to a local independant computer repair shop and paid for it to be inspected and have a report that states that the laptop is 'beyond economical repair' and this is through an inherent fault in the graphics card/motherboard and not through any accidental damage or misuse.

 

I have done a little research and it appears that you have a case against the supplier as they have liability for the goods they sell for up to 6 years and clearly my parents laptop falls within this liability.

 

However I am unsure how the fact that they won this laptop in a draw affects their consumer rights? The laptop and accessories came with the original Comet receipt (which they still have), however the receipt is in the name/address of the lady who buys all of the prizes for the Christmas draw each year.

 

She is aware of the problem and is happy for my parents to seek redress, however I don't think she is willing to seek it for them.

 

Does anyone know where my parents stand in terms of the 'Sales of Goods Act' given the above circumstances and the fact that they were not strictly the original purchasers?

 

What would you advise my parents do next?

[Upya]

I note that 'Comet Response' has responded on similar threads on the forum and I thought it might be prudent for me to pm them with the link to this thread, however I can't send PM's due to having only just joined this forum. Is there any other way I could flag this thread up to them?

[BankFodder]

this piece of legislation:- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/31/contents will allow you as a third-party to assert ordinary contractual rights against Comet.

 

You have had 16 months of use of the computer so it would be unreasonable for you to expect a replacement. A deduction will have to be made for the use of the computer which you have had so far. The six-year rule is rather misunderstood. There could be many items which might fail within a six-year period and would not be subject to Sale of Goods Act protection. It depends on the item, the price you pay for it and all the relevant circumstances. However, I am sure that no laptop manufacturer would want its potential customers to believe that their product has to be replaced every 16 months. Also, I am quite sure that Comet would never dream of selling laptops which only lasted 16 months. Therefore, I am sure that in this case you are protected by the Sale of Goods Act. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the laptop to keep on going for five years or so. If this is a correct supposition, then it could be said that you have enjoyed the laptop for about 27% of its expected life, had it been of satisfactory quality. Therefore, the way to approach this is to find out the cost of a replacement now and approach Comet to pay you 73% of that cost.

 

If you approach Comet in this way with a logically and methodically calculated claim, they will find it more difficult to reject you – although they probably will do so. Your next step, then, would be to go to the County Court and to make the same claim in front of a County Court judge. I expect that the claim which looked moderate and was well presented on a logical basis would be accepted by the judge and that Comet would lose – including the costs of the action.

 

Don't get involved in any protracted correspondence with them. It sounds to me as if you have done your homework. You have visited an expert. You have got a written estimate. Present the paperwork and your claim to Comet. Don't wait any more than a couple of weeks. Then send an LBA and then bring your claim the court. It is very easy and your chances of success in the circumstances would be very high.

 

If you want to call attention to the Comet response rep on this site, then flag this thread to them and they can see what has been discussed here. However, as I have suggested – don't get distracted from getting your remedy. Don't become too patient about it.

[Upya]

Many thanks for your response Bankfodder.

 

I will have a look at that link and see if I can find the relevant bits of the act to include in any correspondance.

 

My parents weren't strictly looking for a full refund or a replacement, but would be happy for a repair. However as the laptop has been deemed 'uneconomical to repair', your suggestion of a percentage based reimbursement would seem to make sense and I will ask them if this is something they would be happy to go with. I'll also do a bit of research on 'Letter before action' and County court claims, as this is all new to me.

 

I'm not sure how to flag this thread to other members, but hopefully 'Comet Response' will come across this thread and maybe offer some assistance.

 

Thanks again.

[BankFodder]

If Comet say that they will do a repair - then get a definite date by which it will be complete. These things have a habit of going to a black hole. Four weeks is more than adequate. After that, watch out for the excuse that they are trying to get hold of the parts - that can take months and months. The deal is to try and wear you out and avoid liability.

If they agree a 4 week repair - then it is 4 weeks and no more. Don't allow them to have a longer repair period or to a have an open-ended commitment.

[Upya]

Thanks again for your response.

 

Without wishing to put the cart before the horse, can I just ask, if this situation isn't resolved ammicably and we have to go down the County Court route, you say we should claim for a percentage of the cost of purchasing an equivalent replacement and court costs. Would it also be possible (or indeed wise) to also claim for the cost of the independant engineers report?

Edited September 15, 2011 by Upya

[BankFodder]

Yes, why not. Nothing to lose. In fact you should ask Comet to pay for that now

[Upya]

Ok, my mother is due here shortly, as we were going to visit the store the laptop was purchased from with the laptop, original receipt and engineers report, in order to ask for them to resolve the situation. However I will tell her about the advice you have offered and advise her that we may be better off corresponding with Comet in writing (as I fear we will only get fobbed off within the store). I'm not sure if they will correspond with me from the outset, but it can't hurt trying.

 

I take it head office is where I should be directing my correspondance (by registered post)?

 

Thanks again for all your advice, I will report back when I hear anything from Comet.

[Upya]

Hi guys, just a quick update.

 

I explained the situation to my mother and she still wanted to try in person at the store, before we did anything else.

 

We have just visited the store and were told that we would have to phone Comet, where they would then try to diagnose the problem over the telephone (I'm not sure how, given that the laptop does not display anything on the screen) and that they would then probably want to collect the laptop and test it (at a cost of £49.99 to ourselves) and if it was found to be a manufacturer fault, it would be repaired/replaced. I explained that we already have an independent report, but the member of staff said they would still require us to pay for them to test the laptop themselves and we would get this charge reimbursed if it was a manufacturer fault.

 

I also discovered that the laptop was actually collected on the 29th June 2009 and that the collection date of 25/12/2009 is referring to another item purchased at the same time, which was not in stock. Apparently anything not in stock is given the collection date of 25/12/2009 by the Comet computer system.

 

The member of staff themselves mentioned the 6 year period of able to make a claim and that goods should be expected to last a reasonable amount of time, which I was shocked at, they could not however, help us further instore.

 

Obviously my mother is very relucant to incur further costs, especially given the fact that they have already taken the time and money to seek an independent report.

 

All this being said, I have prepared a letter for my mother to send to Comet, to see if they will be willing to resolve this situation for her, before having to send a 'letter before action' or seeking resolution by County Court.

 

I wondered if anyone could take a look at the letter I have drafted and see if I have any glaring omissions or if there is anything that you think I should change. As I have stated earlier, this is all new to me:

 

Head Office Comet Group PLC

Comet House

Three Rivers Court

Rickmansworth

Hertfordshire

WD3 1FX

 

15th September 2011

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

RE: Faulty goods and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)

 

I am writing to you in regards to an Acer Aspire 5535 laptop which I won in a Christmas prize draw in December 2009.

 

This Acer Aspire 5535 laptop was purchased from your Plymouth (168) store on the 29/06/2009 (it was purchased as one of a number of prizes for the ********** Club Christmas prize draw, by Mrs * ******, secretary of ********** Club and was unused and kept boxed until the Christmas draw which was held the week before Christmas Day 2009).

 

The problem is the laptop has power but nothing is displayed on the screen.

 

This problem presented itself in February 2011, 14 months after it was first used and 20 months after it was purchased. At this time I telephoned Acer and was told that as it was outside of their 12 months manufacturer’s warranty and that they could only offer to pick it up and test it and repair as necessary and charge for this service. Obviously I was unhappy with this solution and therefore thought I was out of options.

 

Since this time, I have become aware of my statutory consumer rights and that liability sits with the seller of the goods and not the manufacturer. I also understand that after 6 months of the original purchase date, the onus is on the consumer to prove that the goods were faulty at the time of purchase.

 

In regards to that, I have had the laptop tested by a local independent computer repairer. Their report states that there is “a mainboard failure with no obvious damage to any components and no signs of accidental damage”. It is therefore clear that the mainboard failure is an inherent fault with the laptop and that it is not of a satisfactory quality.

 

Although I am not strictly the original purchaser of this equipment, I believe that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 allows me to assert the contractual rights.

 

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that when a consumer buys goods from a trader they must be: as described; of a satisfactory quality; and fit for any purpose made known at the time of sale to the seller.

 

This legislation also states that the seller, not the manufacturer, is legally obliged to sort out a problem if the goods do not meet these requirements.

 

The law also says I have six years from the date of purchase to claim damages for faulty goods.

 

My goods are not of satisfactory quality and I wish to claim a repair (within a reasonable set time period, say 4 weeks), a replacement or a refund of my goods under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.

 

I have included a copy of the independent report, a receipt for the sum of £25 for the cost of this report, which I would like to have reimbursed by Comet and a copy of the original purchase receipt of the laptop.

 

Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

Obviously I understand that the laptop has been used for sometime and as such a letter before action or any claim at County Court will have to take this into account when working out what compensation is being sought.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me, it is very much appreciated.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Upya

[dx100uk]

i would say you have a case under SOGA

 

sadly comet are very very poor on SOGA.

 

have a look at the other comet threads

there is an email AD of the CEO

 

i would write email him the story.

 

dx

[s12345a]

i would say you have a case under SOGA

 

sadly comet are very very poor on SOGA.

 

have a look at the other comet threads

there is an email AD of the CEO

 

i would write email him the story.

 

dx

 

If Comet are so poor on SOGA, why are they still trading? If they are so poor why have they not been forced to shut down ?

[blitz]

If we shut down all the retailers who were poor on SOGA we would have hardly any retailers left...

[dx100uk]

under what law?

 

dx

[s12345a]

Not under any law, If they are so poor then customers wont shop at these retailers which will in turn eventually force them to shut down. What I am trying to say is that if Comet/Currys are so bad then why do they have customers in their stores all the time (they always seem to be busy).

[dx100uk]

because 90% of people know nothing about their rights and just throw things away when they go wrong

so dont know how bad they really really are

 

they dont care because of the massive turnover

they dont need to care endoff.

 

but they'll spend +£1M on an advert with daft aida that they are 'training their staff' - to push

commission based worthless extra insurance !!!

 

dx

 

or take out stupid worthless warranties and exra insurance