Laptop Smoking, out of warranty. Consumer rights?

Hey,

A couple days ago my girlfriends laptop's monitor died then smoke started coming from the machine, along with a burning rubber smell.

This laptop cost her £1,000 (well, £936.48 to be precise) and as a university student coming from a low-earning family, she doesn't exactly have the money to buy a new computer. I hope you will all agree, it's not really acceptable for a laptop to catch fire even if it is after 2 years and 7 months!

The laptop is 2 years 7 months old, so the warranty will have gone about 1 year 7 months ago.

However, in the UK, there is the "Sale of Goods Act" which states these things.

[From http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html]

• Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).
Okay, so goods must conform to contract. i.e. the Sale of Goods Act.

• Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.
If a £1,000 television caught fire after 2 years 7 months, I wouldn't call that acceptable. Neither should this laptop.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.
Durability and safety - 2 years 7 months old and catching fire? Hardly safe and hardly durable. Surely it's safe to call this a 'minor defect' or even a major one?!

• It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract.
So Mesh can't fob us off to Clevo. Mesh sold us (and stuck their name on) the laptop, so they need to sort it out!

• For up to six years after purchase (five years from discovery in Scotland) purchasers can demand damages (which a court would equate to the cost of a repair or replacement).
We are within the six years and, as above, think that this applies to us. Repair or replacement is fine, or even a partial refund to get an equivalent specification.

• A purchaser who is a consumer, i.e. is not buying in the course of a business, can alternatively request a repair or replacement.
So rather than asking for money to get it repaired, we can request an actual repair.

• In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years).
A laptop should last longer than 2 years 7 months. I have a 16 year old 286 laptop that still works! And like I said earlier, you wouldn't expect a 2 year 7 month television to stop working.

​

So we sent a letter to their head office recorded delivery stating the above, obviously in a more formal manner.

Today she got a voice mail message on her mobile from some guy who sounds either very confident or very arrogant, and I will be phoning him back tomorrow.

It could go two ways; either agrees and gets this sorted out (that would be nice!) or he disagrees and will tell us they're not willing to do anything about it.

So I just thought I'd post here asking for advice before I call him back tomorrow on behalf of my girlfriend! What would you expect? Them to fob me off or sort it out? Anything I should say if he tries to fob me off?

I really don't want this to go to small claims court, but if that is what it takes, then so be it!

Thanks for any advice!

 

you really cannot do anything after the warranty died out.

 

actually you can, it will just be a heck of an effort.

 

Révolution!!!

 

well im not familiar with the UK laws and it seems like you MIGHT be able to do something... but then one question needs to be asked.. Why do computer manufacturers offer extended warranty support?

meaning if she wanted longer protection she should have purchased the 3 year warranty... (i know i dont but if my laptop goes in smoke ill work to get a new one). I mean i kinda support you, i dont think the laptop should have caught on fire, but i think she cant expect to get it replaced b/c she didnt buy extra warranty.

Good luck to you guys hope you succeed

 

good luck once the warranty runs out your on your own but im not too sure about UK laws. but good luck. there may be a greater chance that you lose =/

 

But you missed one important part. The bit about it being "inherently faulty".
It's up to you to prove that this happened due to a manufacturing defect, and not because, say, she stuffed it in the oven.

That's usually the sticking point. (And I'm willing to bet that this will be what they're going to try to brush you off with)
Can you prove (or at least show it to be likely) that the laptop caught fire because of a manufacturing defect, and not because the user/owner handled it wrong?

 

Eeepc?

*shrug*

 

Well, laptop caught fire under normal operation...this posed a threat to her life ...or maybe she is allergic to smoke

You can use these statements for legal agreement.

I am sure smoke coming out of laptop is a serious issue & if u bring health hazard as an issue you can battle it out.


In the end, i am not a UK guy so its just a suggestion from me

 

They said it's not unreasonable and are happy to take it to small claims court. So I will.

 

the problem with your problem is that we have only a snapshot of what happened to your gf's laptop. it may have gone through some tough situation (accidentally, of course) which eventually led to the smoking incident.

i'll reserve my opinion as i do not have a full picture of what has gone before with your gf's laptop.

 

That shows they are quite confident. Or it could be they think you won't follow through, but I think they are very confident of the outcome.

 

umm i hope you're dealing directly with the manufacturer and not the reseller. hazardous defects are manufacturers responsibility.

 

hahhaha good luck.

i'll bet you it caught fire because it was full of dust and/or she was using it improperly.

 

Yeah we have the same thing in canada... you can try... but you will have to wait a long time... but if you send a letter from a lawyer or governement office it will scare them... but usualy when the warranty end its just better to buy another one or repair it...

Dont worry Mr eurocom... i wont try that... if the product you send me is tested and verified

 

Your laptop going 'poof' after almost 3 years is not the manufactures fault. They only warranty it for 1 year. That's all your assured of getting out of it. Your assumption that you would get more out of it for a longer period is what needs to be repaired.

 

It's almost 3 years old? I don't see what the defect is.

For all we know, she lives in a dusty dirty environment and the accumulation of dust has led to the overheating.

Things happen, and life is not guaranteed.

 

they have to appear confident to scare you...but file a complain & they ll behave like chickens...
I have dealt with lot of companies in different ways...
Companies are run by humans & humans make mistakes.

Its a manufacturing defect most likely...i bet i ve lived in dustier places my other notebook is still alive after banging,dropping & overusing

 

My guess it was a battery. What laptop was it? Most have issued replacements on these certain dangerous batteries. If you didn't get a replacement it is your own fault for not doing so and you will not be awarded anything except to pay for the court fees. Did you look into how much your court costs will be and how much buying that 3 year old laptop would be on ebay? i'm sure they don't go for much anymore...look at the whole economical standpoint of this situation rather than just your angry cuz she has a broken laptop.

 

Eh, this just seems a tad silly to me. After almost 3 years, it's not exactly surprising for something to break down, though for it to start smoking is a bit shocking. If you actually do go to court though, best of luck? I would just imagine it would be more practical to save yourself the legal fees and get a new laptop.

 

i agree. judging by the way my gf handles her laptop (webcamming on her bed until she falls asleep then 'accidentally' kicking it off her bed causing it to fall flat on ground) i wouldn't be all too surprised the problem resides on the user end.

 

haha...laptops were build by men for men...now if women use it then..

Hey i am not gender-biased but ya girls mess up computers

There was this girl who killed my HD somehow...they are really great at this

 

Fail. Epic Fail.

 

Metaphorical? ...i was kidding actually....anyway there are no girls on the forum to notice ..

 

Oh really? I have a 4 year old HP notebook and a 2 year old Toshiba notebook that are working just fine and always have.