Returning Laptops?

[SchizophrenicCabbage]

Does anyone know how much of an excuse you need to in order to get a refund on a laptop (in this case bought from PC World)?

I went to the store in Dundee and she said they don't do the whole 'change of mind' reason. However, I told her the battery seemed to run down pretty quickly (just having it switched on and on the Windows Vista normal background thing, the battery lasted about 45-60mins - and i's supposed to be 3.4 hours) and the screen occasionally flicks black for a second or two. I was told they would have to get their "technicians" to look at it in order to establish there was, indeed, a fault with it. I also threw in the whole 'it was mis-sold' to me i.e. I'm just a girl in this big, big computer shop and that nice boy over there told me this laptop would fulfill everything I wanted.

Ok, so, this is half-true. Basically, my bf bought the laptop for me for my birthday after he couldn't find the model/make I had originally wanted (which PC World had been selling but Sony recalled, or something); thus, he got me another model and make instead after the sales assistant told him this one was just as good as the Sony one. However, the substitute's processor speed is slower, it's about a centimeter thicker, poorer battery and just plain ugly.

Today's attempt at a refund was poor, so, short of having to ask my dad to go in there and cause a scene in order to get the money back, does anyone have any ideas or legal mumbo-jumbo I could scare them with? I don't think a few 'I know my rights' and 'trading standards' over-used phrases are going to swing it

[servus]

Quoting Schizophreniccabbage from 19:17, 20th May 2007
Does anyone know how much of an excuse you need to in order to get a refund on a laptop (in this case bought from PC World)?

I went to the store in Dundee and she said they don't do the whole 'change of mind' reason. However, I told her the battery seemed to run down pretty quickly (just having it switched on and on the Windows Vista normal background thing, the battery lasted about 45-60mins - and i's supposed to be 3.4 hours) and the screen occasionally flicks black for a second or two. I was told they would have to get their "technicians" to look at it in order to establish there was, indeed, a fault with it. I also threw in the whole 'it was mis-sold' to me i.e. I'm just a girl in this big, big computer shop and that nice boy over there told me this laptop would fulfill everything I wanted.

Ok, so, this is half-true. Basically, my bf bought the laptop for me for my birthday after he couldn't find the model/make I had originally wanted (which PC World had been selling but Sony recalled, or something); thus, he got me another model and make instead after the sales assistant told him this one was just as good as the Sony one. However, the substitute's processor speed is slower, it's about a centimeter thicker, poorer battery and just plain ugly.

Today's attempt at a refund was poor, so, short of having to ask my dad to go in there and cause a scene in order to get the money back, does anyone have any ideas or legal mumbo-jumbo I could scare them with? I don't think a few 'I know my rights' and 'trading standards' over-used phrases are going to swing it

The shop does not have to give you your money back if you change your mind. However, if it is faulty, they are legally obliged to give you a full refund.

[novium]

As someone who has fought long protracted battles over a computer or three with an evil entity called Best Buy, all i can say is that the lost-lamb thing only works if you've got someone to be the scary "you took advantage of my daughter/girlfriend/whatever!" thing. Maybe it's different for guys. I could not get the idiots at best buy to do anything useful, they kept giving me the same bureaucratic run round.... until I tried the whole good cop/bad cop thing. This consisted either of me acting as the sad, wide-eyed airhead they took me for while my dad yelled at them....or, alternatively, my mother doing her usual luddite thing and ME being the one who was yelling.
This was on top of many many many many many hours of navigating through automated phone hell (when I wasn't at the shop in person) to take the problem to the corporation.

All you can do is be a persistant thorn in their sides. Although then again, I don't know pc world, it may not necessitate the drastic measures necessary to get best buy to make up for its colossal screw ups.

Quoting Schizophreniccabbage from 19:17, 20th May 2007
Does anyone know how much of an excuse you need to in order to get a refund on a laptop (in this case bought from PC World)?

I went to the store in Dundee and she said they don't do the whole 'change of mind' reason. However, I told her the battery seemed to run down pretty quickly (just having it switched on and on the Windows Vista normal background thing, the battery lasted about 45-60mins - and i's supposed to be 3.4 hours) and the screen occasionally flicks black for a second or two. I was told they would have to get their "technicians" to look at it in order to establish there was, indeed, a fault with it. I also threw in the whole 'it was mis-sold' to me i.e. I'm just a girl in this big, big computer shop and that nice boy over there told me this laptop would fulfill everything I wanted.

Ok, so, this is half-true. Basically, my bf bought the laptop for me for my birthday after he couldn't find the model/make I had originally wanted (which PC World had been selling but Sony recalled, or something); thus, he got me another model and make instead after the sales assistant told him this one was just as good as the Sony one. However, the substitute's processor speed is slower, it's about a centimeter thicker, poorer battery and just plain ugly.

Today's attempt at a refund was poor, so, short of having to ask my dad to go in there and cause a scene in order to get the money back, does anyone have any ideas or legal mumbo-jumbo I could scare them with? I don't think a few 'I know my rights' and 'trading standards' over-used phrases are going to swing it

[hr]

tamen ira procul absit, cum qua nihil recte fieri, nihil considerate potest.

[Thalia]

You could always ebay the laptop and buy another one with the money. Not particularly useful, but an option nonetheless

[hr]

You've been nothing but an angel every day of your life and now you wonder what it's like to be damned...

[Don]

PC World are hell to deal with when you want a refund or exchange. I have tried it a couple of times with a faulty printer but since it was over 7 days since I had bought the printer they wouldn't do anything. I don't think you will be able to get a refund, however if it is faulty then they should at least try and fix it. If you make enough of a fuss and they can't fix the laptop they may let you exchange it for another model but I think the best you are going to get from them is a fixed laptop or an exchange/credit note.

If you really want to find out your rights, call trading standards to go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and see what they have to say. Also you can go and see Student Support, I'm sure someone there can tell you your rights.

[hr]

Daz, makes your whites #gggggg

[d_24]

Enough of this "i'm just a lil girl in a big big shop" , "it's too ugly" or "my bitch-whipped bf bought it for me" drivel. eBay it or whine to your spineless manchild and f*ck off.

[SchizophrenicCabbage]

Is that really necessary? Does the verbal abuse really accomplish anything apart from you perhaps feeling a little more bitter and/or happy with yourself?

I needed some help and so asked for it. Your reply, evidently, is not constructive.

The item is not up to scratch all because he was misled by some huge company that makes enough profit to make it feasible for one customer to play the naive card.

I hope people respond to you in the way you do to others the next time you need help. Or, in a similar attitude as you display, I hope Tesco or somebody shortchanges you some time soon.

[SchizophrenicCabbage]

Oh, and d_24, I believe you posted the following on another thread...

"No one has a right to tell people how to behave if no one is being hurt then who are you, the moral police? "

Well, some faceless company is hurting me and taking my 'bitch-whipped' boyfriend for a ride AND, yeah, too-right you don't have the right to tell me how to behave.

[thebrookster]

Wow!!!!

Anyway, to get back to the subject.
This will really depend on how long you have had the laptop for. If my memory serves me right, you may be able to return goods within a week (I think) if you do not wish them. (My menory is rather hazy on this subject, hopefully someone else can clarify.)
There is then a time period, which I believe is about 6 months in which if a fault occurs in your laptop it is up to company that you bought it from to prove that it has said fault, not you. They may then either offer you your money back or a suitable replacement.
If you then exceed this time it then becomes your responsibility to prove the fault. I am afraid that I do not know much more about this section, but a google search should provide the results. (However I am assuming that if said laptop came with Vista it will not fall intothis time period!!)

I hope that this helps you, and if it comes back online I suggest perusing the following link, which is the website of a computer mag my mother reads which appears to be pretty clued up on this stuff. I should think that there will be something on the website about it!

Good Luck, and learn from this. PC World are a piece of shite, and I would never recommend buying a PC/Laptop from them!! (Plus the fact that they are normally extortionately priced).

[thebrookster]

And I just realised that I forgot to post the link to the website, so here it is.

http://www.computeractive.co.uk

[Nickel]

You could try saying that because of the faults in this laptop you don't have any confidence in the brand and would prefer a Sony one. They will probably be more willing to exchange it than give you a full refund.

--
nickel

[Tweedle-Dum]

If there is a fault you are entitled to a full refund. Don't ask for a repair, this is silly, as you want a different one. Doesn't the union retain lawyers for this sort of thing?

[hr]

Tetragrammaton is a four letter word.

[AuZ]

Went through a major problem with my laptop (MacBook... ) after installing windows (yes it was a wise idea at the time). I told them that the other shop gave me shit and didn't honor the contract rule specifying that it should not take longer than 48 days to get it repaired. They gave me a full refund and as I seemed really annoyed, a nice Mighty Mouse ...

Good luck

[jj]

PC World is the worst company I've ever dealt with. My laptop hasn't worked properly since I got it, and it's been a constant uphill struggle to get them to do anything with it. While it was still under warranty, I dropped it off in Dundee for a "technician" to look over it - when I went back to pick it up a week later, the guy at the counter told me it had been sitting there all week and hadn't been turned on once.

The only advice I can offer you is to keep trying. If there's something wrong with your computer - or even if it's not what your boyfriend thought he was buying - they should at least let you exchange it. My mother is the queen of making a scene - I set her loose on the manager in the Glasgow store and still didn't have any luck. Again, you just need to keep trying. At least that's what I'm choosing to believe.

My sister's computer broke completely after a few weeks and they gave her a new one, albeit very reluctantly. So there is hope.

[SchizophrenicCabbage]

Thanks for all the advice.

Went to a differentbranch the laptop was bought in today and... yay! I am typing this message to you on a new little number! The manager was a little flustered by my onslaught and was quasi-David Brent in manner and even Ricky Gervais in appearance but, eventually, turned into a very nice man. The pushy saleswoman could have been less forceful in the 'do you want to buy some speakers/virus protection/an online Vista tuition course (wtf?!)/bag/extra battery for your laptop?

The customer: 1
Faceless company and d_24: 0