The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi all, this is my first time posting here, but I have found the forum very useful, and Paul has also been incredibly helpful.

After denying that my laptop had the Nvidia defect, and then offering a repair (which they weren't willing to guarantee), Comet called me this morning to offer a refund of £316, which is a reduction of £183 for the almost 2 years of use we had from the laptop. My question is, can they do this? It seems to me that they should refund the replacement cost of the laptop. In fact, the machine failed in June, and a laptop is essential for my daughter's college work, so we have had to replace it already, and I would like the full replacement cost back.

I see that another forum user has just had a replacement laptop, to the same value as the original, from Comet, so it seems that the principle of 'new for old' is being applied in some cases (or indeed, presumably the same price now buys a higher spec, so even better than new for old).

I'm not sure how to proceed - should I continue with the small claims action? In which case, my next questions are, should I pursue this through the Scottish courts, or should it be the English as Comet head office is there? If it is the Scottish courts, does anyone have any experience with them that they might be willing to share with me?

If anyone can give me some pointers, I'd be really grateful, and once again, well done to Paul and the forum for all the excellent work they've done on this!

cheers, Marcia

Hello Marcia,



Unfortunately they can reduce the amount of refund to take into account usage.

Some customers have received a replacement laptop, but from what I can see this was only when the manufacturer had admitted to a defect in the laptop.

Strangely enough the £316 that they have offered matches exactly with the minimum amount you would get if you were to proceed to court.

To be honest I think their offer is fair. You could always call then and try and haggle for a bit more but as the offer they have made is on a par with what you could expect from court, then I would say you should settle.

The judge could rule that you had acted unreasonably in proceeding to court after they have made this offer and so could disallow your court costs. This would leave you in a worse position.

I realise this probably is not what you wanted to hear, but there is little point in incurring yourself extra expense without the guarantee that you will actually gain more.

What do you think?

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Hi Paul,

thanks for the advice. I am a bit dissapointed with it tbh, but if you think it's best to accept then I'm happy to go with that. I would expect to get the cost of the engineer's report refunded also tho?

Only one thing - you said "Some customers have received a replacement laptop, but from what I can see this was only when the manufacturer had admitted to a defect in the laptop."

As far as I understand it, both offers have come from HP, not from Comet themselves - is this not a de facto admission of fault by the manufacturer?

thanks again, Marcia

Hello Marcia,



Well yes and no. The repair will no doubt be offered as a gesture of goodwill with no admission of liability.

Whilst one could assume that their offer of refund is an admittance of this fact this does not mean that the retailer has to offer a replacement laptop.

In fact, the offer of a replacement laptop is completely at the discretion of the retailer or manufacturer and is not something that can necessarily be enforced.

A court could deem that a request for a new replacement laptop for a laptop that is over two years old could result in you being in a position of "betterment" and could disallow such a request.

It is a bit of a risk to go to court to try and receive a replacement laptop when there has been an offer of a reasonable cash refund.

If the judge disallowed your request for a replacement laptop and then ruled that Comet's refund offer was reasonable then you could potentially be liable for court costs, which would mean that you couldn't reclaim the costs of bringing the action.

You may get a sympathetic judge who may agree with you and rule in your favour, but to be honest it is risky.

I can understand your anger over this, it is an appalling situation and both Comet and HP are to blame for this.

Personally I think that Comet should replace the laptop and then sue HP for the costs, but then that is just wishful thinking.

I would really like to be able to tell you to go ahead and sue and you will win, but that would be filling you with false hope.

If you want my personal opinion I would haggle for a bit more and let them think that, thanks to all the successes you have seen in this forum, that you are more than happy to go to court and you are confident you will be successful. If you can get an increase of their offer then great. If they stick to their guns then I would accept their offer and would draw a line under the matter.

What do you think?

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Paul,

just to let you know, I agreed to accept the £316 offered by Comet, plus a refund for the report. Very happy to get anything back, so thanks again for all your help and the sterling work you're doing with this forum.

I was wondering if you'd considered hooking up with Which? on this? You mentioned in another thread that there are probably hundreds of people still being fobbed off because they're unaware of the Nvidia defect - might be a good way to publicise the issue, and the scandalous way it's been dealt with.

Anyway, I'm just looking forward to getting my lovely cheque now

All the best, Marcia

Hello Marcia,

Well done on your success

I am really pleased that you reached this positive resolution without the need for litigation.



Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.



That's a good idea, though whether or not they decide to take an interest is another matter.

There has to be a way of getting the message out to those affected by this problem, otherwise there could be hundreds of customers either throwing their laptops away or worse, paying for a repair.



Just in time for Christmas as well - you could be wise hanging fire on another laptop until the sales start - you may save a packet.

Well done again Marcia and all the very best for the future.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.