Faulty Acer Aspire - Can I Go Back To Comet??

[PinkGlitterGirl]

I thought I would have a go here, because Im not feeling particularly hopeful about this one.

Back in September 2005 I purchased a £600 Acer Aspire laptop (I forget the model number now, but can get it once I get home) from Comet online. Obviously I dont have a reciept, because it was bought online.

 

In February 2007 the laptop suddenly decided to start rebooting itself every few minutes. I spent ages trying to sort the problem out, my stepdad who builds computers for a living looked at it. Originally we thought it could be a virus of some sort. But im not so sure.

 

The next day I went out and bought a new laptop, because I didnt have a choice. I was at Uni at the time, and I was on a study week, with the following monday being the due date for an assignment. As im a parent, I didnt have the option of going the library, as most of my work was spent in the wee hours of the morning! Plus, I didnt have childcare if I was to go in the day. Oh, and all the materiel I needed to do the assignment was online too. With the laptop breaking on my first study day (monday) I felt I had no option but to go out and buy a new one (that I could ill afford) on credit from the dreaded PC World (grr). Otherwise I would have failed the assignment as I didnt have access to the data I needed, and nowhere to type it up.

 

So, I have this laptop sat at home. What do I do? I have no recipt, and do not know if there is a fault, or if it is some kind of virus. Where should I start? Oh, and to add insult to injury, before this happened I had nothing but trouble with the laptop, the little clips that lock the screen to the keyboard both broke within 3 months of having the laptop. I ignored the problem because I didnt have a recipt. Then as a result of them snapping, one day I set the lap top down, and closed the screen, only to hear a crunch, the plastic outer casing to the screen had cracked in the corner, as it had hit the keyboard part of the laptop. The screen itself had already, over the first few months, became looser and looser on its hinges. I just feel the laptop was built shoddily. I didnt mistreat it, or bang it about, never allowed my child near it etc etc, and it shouldnt have near enough fell apart on me. In retrospect I should have returned it to Comet within a few months. Had I bought it instore I wouldnt of hesitated to take it back.

 

Ideally I would just like the laptop repairing (the rebooting problem mainly) at no cost to myself. What should I do?

[ForestChav]

You can take it back to Comet, but it remains to be seen whether it will be classed as an inherent fault or whether the laptop has lasted a reasonable time.

 

The sale of goods act says goods must last for a reasonable time, this isn't defined, in some cases it can be a few days after purchase, in some it can be up to six years. It depends on the items, personally I think a £600 laptop should last around 2-3 years anyway.

 

If they kick up a fuss and refuse to do anything as I suspect they might then you will need to take them to court to get them to repair it, and you will probably need a full report from a qualified engineer stating that he feels the fault was there when you bought it and where the fault is from.

 

Rather than arguing with Comet about SoGA, then you could always run a full recovery, wipe the laptop clean and restore it to how it was when you took it out of the box? Obviously that won't fix the casing but chances are that will be classed as wear and tear or damage, which isn't covered by the sale of goods act anyway.

[PinkGlitterGirl]

Hiya Forest, thats one of the things me and my stepdad did - recovered the system. Didnt do anything for it im afraid. Problem was still there afterwards. It would just reboot itself after a random period of time. Ie after 30 seconds, 2 minutes. Longest it ran was for 30 mins when I got some new antivirus softwear and tried to down load it. The other problem was it took us ages to recover the system, as it kept rebooting while we were doing that!!

 

I did consider making a claim on my house insurance, under accidental damage. But considering I havent damaged it in any way, I dont particularly want to make a false claim. But that still leaves me with a broken laptop

[PinkGlitterGirl]

Any idea's on how to go about having no recipt? I have a letter from them dated sept last year advising me to take out their extended warentee (which I didnt) so they obviously have record of me buying it...

[demon_x_slash]

How did you pay for it? 'Proof of purchase' doesn't equate to 'receipt' - it includes credit/debit card statements, bank statements etc.; also, if you bought it with a credit card, then the credit card company are equally as liable as Comet for the fault, if you can prove that the fault was not caused by you

[PinkGlitterGirl]

I cant remember which account, but I know it was on a card. It could actually be my OH's credit card. Which was closed down by the bank after dp requested his statements. Actually thats a point. I can check his statements.

Where do we stand with an account they shut down? Can we still claim off it?

[ForestChav]

It's shafted. But you will need to prove the unit was faulty when you got it.

[fred2009]

go to comet and ask them if they can reprint a receipt for you. give them ur postcode you used and the date of purchase.

 

most retailers take your details at time of purchase so just giving ur postcode can easily find your details.

 

business's have to keep records for upto 5 years so just simply asking for a receipt reprint can easily be done.

 

the store staff are not qualified laptop engineers so begging/demanding to store staff will get you no reaction but cause you stress.

 

contact the company complaints department with the receipt details you recently aquired and inform them of your woes. try getting an independant report done..

 

yes your relative builds computers but so does my 15yo son so his word may not be admissable. especially if he believed a power issue is virus related. get an APPROVED non related expert to write a report.

[Conniff]

Glitter, when you say 'recovered the system' have you used 'Restore' or have you formatted the drive and reinstalled windows??

 

The other problem was it took us ages to recover the system, as it kept rebooting while we were doing that!!

 

This can happen when the processor overheats. As you have nothing to loose, open it up and check that the fan is running or is not full of dirt.

[fred_2009]

a receipt is not required. most retailers with high priced goods take customer details for warrenty and delivery purposes.

 

because you bought the product online then they have your delivery details. businesses are suppose to keep records for upt five years. i would suggest contacting the customer services number of thier websales department.

 

the local stores may not have access to this system as they usually dont do delivery services to have access to the database.

 

use your postcode of when the item was delivered and ask them to email or atleast inform you of the exact day or receipt details to use for future reference.

 

retail store staff are untrained with SOGA issues. and just going by others responses on this website proves that store staff simply dont care about customers and consumers rights. just about how to get through the day without getting stressed out by managers or customers.

 

i would suggest getting a independant report to use as evidence that there was no malicious damage.

 

but this will be hard seeing as:

1) its a laptop which alone means it gets moved and tossed about alot.

2) its two years old which means it only your word that says it broke after 3 months.

 

if you have called the company after the initial faults then keeping records could help you with number (2). contact the complaints department or repairs department. or if that fails the managing director with the sale details and independant report.

 

i personally would say that lid switches were just wear and tear. i personally seen it where customer in my little shop dont fully pull the switch across before trying to lift the lid causing it to buckle and break. they dont this infront of me and suggested it was a fault that it does not open when they only pull it 25% of the way across. yes its not caused by aggressive hitting or by children but it is still classed as excessive use/malicious damage.

 

the recovery would prove that it is not software related. so yes that a genuine fault. most probaly power issue. so get this assessed by the independant repairer.

 

the hinges can also be linked to the laptop lid locking switch. where it has not be unlocked properly and the screen has been pulled open. causing twists and damage. again aggression or children are not needed to cause this. but not fully opening the switch and lifting the lid from a even and central location can cause damage.

 

id forget about getting the screen/lid issues fixed as this can easily be proven as neglect/mis-use.

 

but the power/shut down issues can and should be sorted. even if it is a refund to the amount of the cost to repair it.

 

you may require you going to small claims so get a independant report about the power issue and send that to the head office of the company with a letter asking for a remedy.