The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi there!

I wonder if anyone could point me in the right direction to find out if my laptop was manufactured around the time of the defective chips. I purchased in Sept 07 and it has just died - black screen when turned on
The model is HP dv2535ea, p/n: GJ032EA#ABU, s/n: 2CE7330NB2. I checked it on the HP site but that only brought up details of the warranty, which they point out has expired.
I purchased online from John Lewis so have also contacted them about the issue - they have referred my query to the 'correct department' but so far no response from them to deal with the matter.

Thanks in advance for your help

Hello Middmeister and welcome to our forum.

Looking at your serial number of I can see that your laptop was manufactured in week 33 of 2007 - right when all the defective chips were being made.

Furthermore, I took a look at the HP support site for your laptop and found this:- http://tinyurl.com/25qzoe7

This will take you to the BIOS update page for your laptop.

If you read the fix/enhancement for that BIOS update you will see that it states the following:-



Reading further into the HP support website it also states the following:-



You should print out this page as it provides conclusive proof that as early as 8th April 2008 HP knew of the potential for the premature failure of your laptop.

Your laptop contains an Nvidia 8400 GPU which is one of the most prolific of the faulty GPU's.

Your full system specifications can be found here:- http://tinyurl.com/ycg3g43

John Lewis will probably tell you that they can repair your laptop. I would refuse this offer unless they will provide you with a written guarantee on their headed paper that states the following:-



If they do not have the confidence to offer you such a written guarantee then how are you to have the confidence to accept such an offer?

Don't let them fob you off, be persistent and you will succeed.

If you need any help or advice then please let me know.

Please keep us updated on your progress.

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.

Hi Paul

thanks for your response. I will certainly be taking advice from your forum.

I have just received a rather surprising phone call from John Lewis customer service department. I spoke to Sandra.
She cited the usual about laptop being just outside of warranty and that if I am saying it is defective then the onus is on me to prove that. She acknowledged that I have 6 years to do this but that she didn't know how I could prove it was defective and that it would involve me going through the courts!
I filled her in on all the info I have (it's a well known problem, I am happy to get an independent engineers report, they are aware of it as they will have had other returns etc). Her advice was still that I needed to file a claim with the courts and she offered the head office details.
I asked if the best way for me to get a quick resolve was to go straight to sending them a 'notice of intent' and she said yes!

I did not expect her to recommend me to start court proceedings to recover my losses! I thought she was ringing up to offer a repair/replacement!

What's your advice, if you don't mind me asking. Do I just send a notice of intent direct to JL head office (citing that it is in response to my call with Sandra)? I'd really like them to replace the laptop asap as I am reliant on it for work.

Thanks for your help

Hello Middmeister,



Why would it involve you going through the courts to prove it is defective?

Once you have an engineers report citing the fact that it is inherently defective then they should either offer you a refund or a replacement laptop.

The only time that the courts would need to be involved would be if John Lewis refused to comply in which case you would sue them and they can then explain to the courts why your rights under the Sale Of Goods Act and your Statutory Rights have been compromised.

I would send them the initial letter before action which states that you intend obtaining an engineers report.

Please ensure that you send this via recorded delivery and keep a copy of the letter and postal receipt.

If, after seven days, they have failed to comply, then you should proceed with an engineers report.

Please let me know when you get to this stage as this is a service that we provide.

Don't let them fob you off or scare you with their indifference to legal action. Once you have proved that your laptop is indeed inherently defective then you really cannot lose.

If you have any questions or queries then please let me know.

Good luck and 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,

I'd just like to update with another success!

I wrote direct to John Lewis head office basically outlining my discussion with their customer service adviser, informing of the problem (I also printed out and enclosed evidence from Nvidia & HP websites - thanks for pointing me in the right direction for those) and asking for a guaranteed repair or replacement.

I have just received my new order number for a replacement laptop for the same original value paid. They will be taking away the old HP doorstop and dropping of a shiny new working (!!) sony vaio next week.

No hassle with courts, no engineers report requested - they acknowledged the fault and were very competent at sorting it once I got their attention and let them know I was serious about pursuing it.
I can't fault the way they have dealt with my letter. Although I won't be going near HP again in a hurry, John Lewis have resolved the issue satisfactorily and to their credit.

many thanks again for the site & advice, without which I wouldn't have realised the product was inherently faulty.

Hello Middmeaister,

Well done on your success

What a breath of fresh air it is to hear that you reached such a hassle free resolution.

I think that it comes down to the model of the laptop, in your case the DV2535EA.

I would say that HP recognise the defect in this and so accept the return from John Lewis, which means it costs John Lewis next to nothing. Which is probably why they have accepted the defect without the need for a report.

Still, a brilliant success so well done

Best wishes for the future.

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.