# Laptop - Sales of Goods Act advice



## JamesW (Apr 26, 2011)

Hey guys,

The SMART controller on my laptops HDD reported a fault.  I went to the retailer where I purchased the laptop and asked if they could replace the HDD, they said that as it's not under warranty I would have to pay.

I mentioned the Sales of Goods act (not fit for purpose) and they mentioned that in order to do that I would have to send it to an independant engineer (at my cost), get them to verifiy it is a hardware failure, then write a letter to the head office of the retailer and hopefully get a refund.

Is this true?  I thought they would be able to run diagnostics on it in store and do it there and then... I may as well buy my own HDD and do it myself if what they are saying is true...


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## WaterGypsy (Apr 26, 2011)

I would have thought (as a bar-room lawyer obviously, rather than one with any legal training) that they are giving you the run around .... I would put your case in writing, quoting the error details and back it up with information gleaned from the web as to the cause.

Request a reply within 10 working days and advise them that if they do not make adequate response that you will be taking a claim to the small claims court. The ball is firmly in their court then. If they don't reply I understand that the small claims court is very easy for an ordinary Joe (or James) to access .... good luck


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## Domski (Apr 26, 2011)

Honest answer is I'm not sure but this might be worth reading: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...erstanding-the-sale-of-goods-act/your-rights/

No mention of what you have said but I'd be tempted to write to the head office of the retailer anyway and see what response you get.

Dom


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## JamesW (Apr 26, 2011)

Cheers Gypsy & Domski.  Looks like they are doing this: 



> If the retailer refuses to repair the goods, you may have the right to  arrange for someone else to repair it, and then claim compensation from  the retailer for the cost of doing this.


I'll think about writing a letter, but for the sake of £40 (a new HDD) I may as well do it myself.  I don't really want to go through the hassle of sending letters back and forth, and definatly don't want to go to small claims court (again for £40 I don't think it's worth it).


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## Domski (Apr 26, 2011)

JamesW said:


> I'll think about writing a letter, but for the sake of £40 (a new HDD) I may as well do it myself.  I don't really want to go through the hassle of sending letters back and forth, and definatly don't want to go to small claims court (again for £40 I don't think it's worth it).



Alas they probably work on the fact that if it's enough hassle then most people won't bother them with it.

Dom


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## SuperFerret (Apr 26, 2011)

Contact Watchdog James  get Anne Robinson on the case!


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## JamesW (Apr 26, 2011)

Haha, Good ol' Anne.  Is that program still going?!


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## SuperFerret (Apr 26, 2011)

Oh yes, still going strong... they now have a bit with the Rogue Traders fellows as well.

I love to watch the representatives squirm when Anne gives them a grillin'


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## arkusM (Apr 26, 2011)

JamesW said:


> Cheers Gypsy & Domski. Looks like they are doing this:
> 
> I'll think about writing a letter, but for the sake of £40 (a new HDD) I may as well do it myself. I don't really want to go through the hassle of sending letters back and forth, and definatly don't want to go to small claims court (again for £40 I don't think it's worth it).


 
James, 

This is about the principle, not the money. 
It sounds like your claim is not frivolous. The little guy gets stepped on because we can't be bothered to stand up. Hows that for preaching!??! LOL. I regret not writing a couple of letters in times gone by...

Though, this is yet another example of stuff becoming less expensive and more cheaply made . It is becoming like we "owe" the company for buying their product, they seem to not care that we *chose* their product and have a basic expectation that it will perform as they claim. And when it prematurely *fails* (not broken, damaged etc), in normal use, to have it repaired/replaced, either at a reasonable cost or free. I guess this is too much to ask...

Good luck.

Cheers,
Mark


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## JamesW (Apr 26, 2011)

Hi Mark,

I totally understand what you are saying, however I need my laptop working sooner rather than later (I have about 10 job descriptions sent to me daily, plus I have some business I need to take care of).  I may very well write them a letter anyway and get the cost of a new HDD paid back to me.


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## JamesW (Apr 26, 2011)

Here we go, what do you think?

Dear Sir/Madam,

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

In February 2010 I bought an Acer Aspire 7736G laptop from you for [COST] which has stopped working.


The SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) controller on the hard drive has reported a technical fault. This controller is a monitoring system for hard drives to detect and report on various indicators of reliability, in the hope of anticipating failures.


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.

I took the product into my local store and they told me that as the product is out of the 1 year warranty they could not replace the drive in store.  The store assistant explained that in order for the hard drive to be replaced outside of the stores warranty I would have to take it to an independent engineer (at my own expense) who would then verify the claim.  Once verified I would have to forward their recommendations to your head office and it would take upto 30 working days for the claim to be processed after which time I may be entitled to a full refund of the product (not including the independent engineer’s costs).

I require my laptop to be functioning every day as I have a lot of business that I need to attend to therefore I have had to purchase my own hard drive, at great expense.

I am writing to request that I am compensated for lost time, and fully reimbursed for the cost of a new hard drive.

Please respond to my complaint within 7 days from receipt of this letter, after which time I will be taking this claim to small claims court.


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## WaterGypsy (Apr 26, 2011)

Go for it


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## Domski (Apr 26, 2011)

Can't help but think you might be having a laugh with the loss of time bit but rest of it sounds reasonable.

Dom


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## Dryver14 (Apr 26, 2011)

you could try the following.

oy numb nuts,

In todays recession I know people that can break joints for less then the price of the part you want me to replace if you know what I mean!!! I will be in to give you the option tomorrow.


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## Taul (Apr 27, 2011)

Rather than giving them a lesson on the law, it might be better to just state the problem and ask that they refund the cost of the hard drive.
You can then follow on with your intention to use the small claims court within 14 days for receipt of this letter if you do not receive a satisfactory response.
If you go the route of the small claims court, the first thing you will be asked is, did you give sufficient and reasonable notice to the seller.

As a side note; doesn't the on-board diagnostic constitute an independent source of testing? It is independent of the consumer (you) and the retailer (the shop)

good luck


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## JamesW (Apr 27, 2011)

Hi Paul,

I just copied a typical Sales of Goods Act letter and changed it.

In regards to the SMART controller, apparently it cannot be used as an independant source of testing.  

Amended:

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RE: Faulty goods

In February 2010 I bought an Acer Aspire 7736G laptop from you which has stopped working.


The SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) controller on the hard drive has reported a technical fault. This controller is a monitoring system for hard drives to detect and report on various indicators of reliability, in the hope of anticipating failures.


I took the product into my local store and they told me that as the product is out of the 1 year warranty they could not replace the drive in store.  The store assistant explained that in order for the hard drive to be replaced outside of the stores warranty I would have to take it to an independent engineer (at my own expense) who would then verify that the hard drive is faulty.  Once verified I would have to forward their recommendations to your head office and it would take up to 30 days for this to be processed after which time I may be entitled to a full refund of the product (not including the independent engineer’s costs).

I require my laptop to be functioning every day as I have a lot of business that I need to attend to therefore I have had to purchase my own hard drive, at great expense.

I am writing to request that I am fully reimbursed for the cost of a new hard drive.

Please respond to my complaint within 14 days from receipt of this letter, after which time I will be taking this claim to small claims court.


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## Dryver14 (Apr 28, 2011)

James,

No Joke this time ( well it wasn't very good last time really), I think if you are demanding redress and reimbursement you should probably include the costs in the letter, they have no idea of sums of money from your letter and so do not know what decision to make financially


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