The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi,

I purchased a HP DV2799EA from the Dixon's website on the 3rd of April 2008. It gave me good service for a couple of years. But then early last year, the screen started getting distorted and there were lines on it and the laptop froze. I would get an hour's use out of it and then it would freeze again. This got worse over time until the laptop could barely be on for a few minutes before freezing. This point was reached in May 2010.

I gave HP a call last year. But they just told me that it was out of warranty and that it would cost me to have an inspection or to get it fixed. I tried to haggle with them but they were having none of it. So then I just left it. I was convinced that the laptop and my money were gone forever. Then, a few months ago, I googled how to fix it and I came across the Nvidia defect and this forum. I never knew that an intrinsic fault with the laptop was causing laptops like mine to fail all over the world. It sounded unbelievable that something so major was going wrong with millions of laptops.

After reading this forum, I called up Dixons. I was given the usual thing about it being out of warranty and to call HP up. But I insisted and I was put through to another team. They advised me to take the laptop to my nearest PC World store. I did, and they inspected it and confirmed the Nvidia defect on the spot and called the team who was dealing with my case. They initially offered me a £380 voucher. I insisted that I didn't want a voucher and that I would like it as cash or back on my card as I initially paid for it. They agreed reluctantly. Then I wasn't happy with the amount so I said that I would call them back. When I did, I was put through to escalations and my offer now stands at £470. I still wasn't happy. They said that they were basing the offer on 3 years usage because that's when I got in touch with them. But I have only had 2 years of uninterrupted usage and after that, the problems started and they progressively got worse. And I also told them that I called HP about the problem last year so there would be a record of that. But they said that that's irrelevant and the only thing that counts is the date I first reported the fault to Dixons. But I never even knew of the fault until I googled it and read about it a few months ago. And my laptop has been faulty and gathering dust for over a year now.

Also, I wasn't made aware of this before, but when I called them up again, someone asked me where the laptop was. I said that I had it. They said that for any money to be paid to me, I would have to return the laptop. And this sounds unfair to me too. I was hoping to keep it in order to sell it for parts on eBay and get some more money to add on top of the £470 I get from Dixons. I was then looking to put all the money together for a new laptop.

The person at Dixons said that there was no way that I would get to keep the laptop. He said that he was effectively buying the laptop back from me at its depreciated value. I told him that that was not fair. How can it be that a company knowingly sells an inherently defective laptop to a customer. and when the customer realizes and points out, he only gets about half the money back and has to return the product. If I return the product, I should get a full refund. Simple as that.

I am now considering going to the small claims court. The £470 didn't seem fair to me to start off with. But then having to return the laptop as well seems more more unfair for £470 as I paid £869.99 for it and it only gave me perfect use for under 2 years.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
delta_x

Hello Delta and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear that your laptop has failed but I am glad that you have found us.

The latest offer that they have made, £470, is well below what you are legally entitled to.

Because the laptop is inherently defective then the calculation is based on six years from the date of purchase (72 months).

As you paid £869 for the laptop and had only 25 months usage out of the laptop then you have a balance of 47 months of unused usage.

If you divide £869 by 72 then you get a monthly rate of £12.07. Multiply this figure by 47 (the unused usage) and you get a figure of £567.26.

So this is the minimum that you are entitled to and is the same formula as used by other retailers and the courts.

Unfortunately you cannot always get to keep the laptop. There have been some who were allowed to keep it but many others have had to return it in order to receive their refund.

I would now get back onto Dixons and would tell them that you have taken advice and their offer needs revising upwards.

If they agree then great. If not then you will have to consider issuing a small claims action against them.

What do you think?

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Hi Paul,

Many thanks for your reply. Although my laptop has been dead since May 2010, I only ever reported it to Dixons at the beginning of April this year. This was because I never knew about the Nvidia defect and that I could claim money back for it until I came across this forum a few months ago.

Dixons argue that the date the laptop became faulty will be taken as the date that the fault was reported to them. I argue that that was not fair as the laptop died a year before I contacted Dixons. Had I known about the Nvidia defect earlier, I would have gone to them even before May 2010 as my laptop used to overheat lots and I just thought that it was normal since I'd never had a laptop before.

I'm just wondering if I could legally argue my case along these lines and make the date that the laptop became faulty as beginning of May 2010 even though I contacted Dixons about the fault at the beginning of April 2011.

Many thanks for your help Paul.

Kind regards,
delta_x

Hello Delta,

I can fully appreciate your angst in this matter.

It does seem very unfair that the date of failure is only take as the date that the failure is reported.

But this rule is there to protect the retailer as it could be open to abuse. Let's be honest, if customers were allowed to do this then could state that the laptop failed in late 2009 and the retailer would be none the wiser.

Of course I am not saying that you would do this, but I am trying to highlight the situation that the retailer would be in should this be abused.

So I would say that it would be very, very difficult for you to get them to agree to accepting an earlier fail date.

You could however pursue the retailer for a 100% refund and could reject their current offer.

Then, if this cane to court you could then argue your case with the judge.

You can demonstrate to the judge that your laptop failed outside of its warranty and that you were totally unaware of your legal rights and the fact that the laptop had failed due to an inherent defect.

If the judge believes you, which he may, then he "could" increase the value of your refund.

This is not a forgone conclusion though and he could rule that the fail date is the same as the date that you reported the fault.

It is a bit of a chance but you just never know. If you can convince the judge then you are on a winner.

You stated in your first post that you gave HP a call last year. This is a long shot but do you know the day/date of that call and who you spoke to? If you do then that would greatly enhance your claim.

I did a quick check on the HP support site to see if I could find any information relating to your model of laptop and found this:- http://tinyurl.com/346sgvz

This is the BIOS update for your laptop which was released on the 8th April 2008. The purpose of this update, according to HP, is :-



So, as early as the 8th April 2008 HP were aware for the potential for your laptop to overheat - otherwise why release a BIOS update that switches the fans on 24/7 to the detriment of the battery?

I note that this update was released 5 days after you purchased the laptop. Had you been notified of this at the time of its release you would have been legally entitled to have rejected the laptop.

Neither HP nor Dixons contacted you about this update so you were not to know of its existence.

This further information will further enhance your claim.

It is up to you whether or not you wish to pursue this. I would say that it is fifty fifty as to what the judge may decide.

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.