The Nvidia Defect Forum

This laptop contains an Nvidia 9600M GT graphics. As far as I can tell from the limited reading I've done it isn't one of those affected by the Nvidia defect. However, I've been reading through here to see other people's experiences with Comet so I thought I would add to the forum.

My laptop stopped working after 14 months. It gets to the screen that displays the Acer logo then refuses to go any further, It makes a continuous "deeeee de deeeee de" sound. According to Wikipedia this signifies a system board failure. A local technician had a very brief look at it and concluded that it was probably the graphics card that was the problem.

I sent an email to Comet the day after it happened referencing the Sale Of Goods Act the day after the problem occurred and received the obligatory "I was deeply concerned to hear of the problem but it's more than 12 months old so sod off" response. I then sent one of the template letters that are on the Trading Standards website. Today I received a letter stating that an engineer needs to look at it. Normally they charge 50 quid for this but they'll drop the charge on this occasion as a gesture of goodwill

After reading some of the comments that have been posted on this site I'm not particularly enamored with letting one of their engineers near it but i don't think I have much of a choice in the matter.

I'll keep this updated to let others know how I get on

Hello Stokesy and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear of the problems you are experiencing with your laptop.

You are right not to let Comet's engineers look at it. The Sale Of Goods Act states that after six months of ownership there becomes what is known as the reverse burden of proof.

This means that it is up to you, the customer, to prove the defect in your laptop. It is not for Comet to do this on you behalf.

You will have a ,much stronger case and be in a much better position if you were to obtain your own engineers report.

Once you have a report then Comet cannot argue that your laptop is not defective.

It could be GPU that is causing the problem but then again it could be something else.

Irrespective of the fault, you will still have a right to pursue Comet as the laptop has failed after an unreasonable period of time.

If you have any questions or if you need any advice then please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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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.

Thanks for the info Paul.

How does getting my own engineer's report benefit me? My old man doesn't think there's much harm in letting them have a look at it first. If they try to fob me off I can get a second opinion.

Hello Stokesy,

If you do a search on the forum and take a look at some of the other forum members experiences of when they took their laptop into Comet then you would know why.

There is nothing stopping you taking your laptop into Comet, though the chances are they will either offer you a chargeable repair or a free of charge repair - both of which are unacceptable.

By all means take your laptop into Comet and then pop back here and let us know what they say.

Let's see if it is different to anyone else's experience.

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.

I've already had a good read. That's why I would prefer to get a refund and buy a new one

I was under the impression that it was their decision as to whether they offer a refund, replacement or repair? However, someone in this thread turned one down and got a refund instead. Is my understanding of the law incorrect?

Thanks

Hello Stokesy,



Well, that is true in part though if they want to offer a repair then, under the circumstances, they should provide evidence that the repair being offered will be of a satisfactory quality.

As we constantly ask the retailers for a written guarantee and the part number of the part being used and as they constantly refuse then it is quite reasonable to refuse their offer of a repair.

Because of this the only options left to the retailers are a replacement or a refund.

Remember, this is not just a case of a laptop failing outside of warranty though normal wear and tear where the retailer is offering a free repair as "a gesture of goodwill". This is a case of the laptop being doomed to fail prematurely. It is a case where the Sale Of Goods Act being breached due to the fact that the laptop was inherently defective at the time of sale.

Under these circumstances the customer should have the right to demand the best resolution for them.

Considering the fact that laptops affected by the defect are overheating then from a health and safety point of view I would say that it is vital that you are sure of the quality of the repair being offered.

It is wholly unacceptable that a customer should be forced into accepting such a repair to their laptop when all they wanted in the first place was a laptop that worked, was durable and was free from defect.

You may not get a full refund but if they don't provide you with the evidence that you need then you should certainly pursue a refund based on usage.

At the end of the day, looking at the profile you registered with, your laptop was only three days out of warranty when it failed, which in itself is wholly unacceptable.

I hope the above helps.

Any questions please let me know.

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.

I have an update.

Before I gave the laptop back to Comet to repair I had a 3rd party look at it. It turned out that it was just a faulty hard disk so it was an easy problem to fix. As such I figured it was easiest to let them repair it.

I gave the laptop to Comet a week or two ago and got it back from them on Friday. The machine still refuses to work. When I switch it on it sits on the Acer screen indefinitely. If I press F2 to go to the setup screen it can take several minutes to go to there.

I have tried installing an OS off the recovery disks, a Vista disk and an XP disk. It started installing XP then went to the blue screen of death after a few minutes advising me that there was something wrong with the hard disk. This is the farthest point any of my attempts reached. My assumption is that they've installed a dodgy HD which has then failed.

The shop that looked at it originally agreed that it is still faulty.

This raises the following questions:

Are they incapable of installing a hard disk?
Did they install a refurbished disk which was doomed to failure?
Why didn't they check to see if it worked before returning it to me?
Does the fact that it struggles to reach the setup screen indicate that there is another problem? If yes what have they done to it?

I contacted them again this morning and received an email asking me to return it to them. What are my options now? I'm not particularly enamored with letting them get their hands on it again. If they can't install a new hard disk then what can they do? I was planning to call them back and ask what sort of guarantee they are willing to give me.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Hello Stokesy,



Do you have a report sheet that states the work they have done? If so does it actually state that they have replaced the hard drive?



Well, this is doubtful as hard drives are relatively cheap and it would be madness to use a second hand one in a repair. Again though, what does it state on the repair docket?



Well that is anyone's guess. Maybe they did nothing with it and just handed it back in the same state in which you gave them!



I would say that the problem with the laptop reaching the setup screen could indeed be hard drive related. Have you tried removing the hard drive to see if the laptop gets to the setup screen?

It is hard for me to know what they could have possibly done to your laptop but I would say that whatever they did/didn't do was unsuccessful.

Have you contacted Comet to let them know about the unsuccessful repair? The Sale Of Goods Act states that any offer of a resolution should not cause undue inconvenience. I would now say that you have been unduly inconvenienced so Comet should offer an immediate resolution.

Please let me know about the job report and I will advise further.

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

The report states that they "replaced hard disk" and that I would have to install the OS via the recovery disks. Nothing else is mentioned. I haven't tried removing the hard disk yet.

If the fault I currently experiencing seems to consistent with a dodgy hard disk then I think I'll let them have another bash at it as it's the path of least resistance.

Hello Stokesy,



I agree with you, but I would at least push them for some compensation for the inconvenience you have suffered. Had they correctly tested your laptop when they first changed the drive then you wouldn't be inconvenienced in having to take it back to them and be without it for another week or so.

Let's hope they get it right this time.

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.