online store using jargon to defend faulty laptop

mukki

a friend bought a refurbished laptop from an irish online store and when the laptop arrived they thought it was fine, bit rough but it was secondhand

after a few days they found the keyboard was not sitting down right and the battery was not working, they sent it back and and it was sent back too them saying they over charged the battery, and they said that a lot of screws were removed but they replaced them and decided not to charge her???

i looked at it today and the battery is not charging stuck at 0% and the battery indicator says its on ac power (not charging), also the hinges for the screen were loose and the space bar was missing 1 and half supports so was flopping al over the place

rang them up and they insisted that the battey was overcharged (a dell battery fault light?) and that i didn't know how a li-ion battery works, he also said that the screen hinge was held on using "tungston v lock screws"? and they can't come loose, but the hinges are being held in place by the plastic casing, as you can see it bending when you move the screen

i have recorded the entire phone conversation, and playing it back a few time i see he has an answer for every problem i point out, even a few made up answers, problem is that he seems so sure on what he is saying that i think this is a regular occurance, i fear that a lot of people are buying laptops from this store , then thinking they have no comeback after talking to this guy, which can't be legal


anyway thanks for reading I am just wondering what to do next

jor el

Get money back, and don't deal with this cowboy again. Li-ion batteries can be left plugged in, I do it all the time, and no harm. There are all sorts of stories about all the different re-chargeable batteries, and the majority of them are fud, probably put out by competing manufacturers.

If the laptop isn't of merchantable quality, then you can get a refund for it, 2nd hand or not. You've had it back for repair, and they didn't repair it, so refund is what I'd look for next. If he refuses, Small claims is the way.

Sam Vimes

This guy is definitely bullsh!tting you anyway. I leave my laptop plugged in for probably 15 hours a day

Unfortunately when dealing with someone like this your options can be limited. You can keep demanding a refund since this was obviously a badly refurbished laptop sold as new but he might just ignore you

Then your only option is to take them to the small claims court which costs 15 euro that you don't get back.

But this guy sounds like a right cowboy. Is it even a legitimate business?

mukki

not sure if i can display their name without messing up her case. They are mentioned on boards a few times, but no complaints.

snip..mis read

mukki

Sam Vimes wrote: »

This guy is definitely bullsh!tting you anyway. I leave my laptop plugged in for probably 15 hours a day

Unfortunately when dealing with someone like this your options can be limited. You can keep demanding a refund since this was obviously a badly refurbished laptop sold as new but he might just ignore you

Then your only option is to take them to the small claims court which costs 15 euro that you don't get back.

But this guy sounds like a right cowboy. Is it even a legitimate business?

how do i go through small claims?




she is going to talk to a solicitor today about it, so i think she will be okay



but i want to make sure they can't run a businness by selling a faulty item and then baffling the buyer with jargon when they report the problem.

Nody

Sam Vimes wrote: »

This guy is definitely bullsh!tting you anyway. I leave my laptop plugged in for probably 15 hours a day

Mine is going around 20+ days straight (docking station, always on work laptop) and it goes over to battery with out problem fully charged when needed to take it some where else.

As noted SCC is your best bet but it would take a while to churn through, a solicitor letter would be faster but would obviously cost more (SCC is 15 Euro iirc). Oh and your recorded call is useless in court for reference unless you clearly stated at the start of the call that this call is being recorded and that the other party agreed to this.

mukki

Nody wrote: »

Oh and your recorded call is useless in court for reference unless you clearly stated at the start of the call that this call is being recorded and that the other party agreed to this.

yeah but the call with pics of the laptop would make a very funny youtube video

Sam Vimes

mukki wrote: »

...

That's illegal

edit:no it's not :P

Alcatel

Small claims takes an age. If you're buying second hand the law might be a bit fuzzier, but online generally you're entitled to quite a lot of protection against this sort of thing. Ring the national consumer agency, they have some really good expertese on this sort of thing.

mukki

Sam Vimes wrote: »

That's illegal

i edited that post, i confused support with warrenty

Sam Vimes

mukki pm'ed me with the part about warranties but it turns out it's not illegal. All they're saying is they can't provide tech support and you have to go to the manufacturer for that because the manufacturer doesn't support them telling customers to change things and breaking them

edit:beat me to it

delllat

regardless of what the guy says yiou are entitled to a refund or a computer that works
batteries do degrade over time but this is not due to "overcharging"

for example i have 2 dell laptops running 24/7 365 days per year

when new both could last 3.5 hours

now the 3.5 yo laptop only lasts for 2 minutes witihout the charger

the 2yo laptop lasts about 45 minutes without the charger

heat is the enemy of these batteries,you should really remove the battery and store it in a cool place when the laptop is on ac power but nobody can be arsed doing this so they batteries can and do get knackerd

at a guess id say the guy ur dealing with is upstairs in a large dublin shopping centre?