The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi all.

I brought my laptop (HP Pavilion dv9700, dv9820ea. (also sometimes called KOW303ea) from Comet in May 2008 for £599.00.
I thought the laptop was great. Ran very well untill sometime in December 2009 when the laptop turned itself off for no apparent reason and when I restarted it the screen went white, then what looked like black mist creeped up from the bottom centre of the screen untill it covered the entire screen leaving it black with multi-coloured vertical lines across the screen. Which I thought was odd to say the least!
Luckily I had purchased a two year warranty with comet and so took it back to the store where it was brought and they repaired it (by replacing the motherboard) and I had it back.
It continued to work fine untill June this year (2010) when the same problem occured. I was still covered by the two year warranty so took it back to comet who again replaced the motherboard and it came back to me working fine.
I thought it was all over..... untill last night when the same problem occured, at first I was worried that the warranty had run out in July this year but then remembered that any repair work was covered by Comet for a further 3 months. So I immediatly took it back to them and complained, all I got from them was that there was nothing they could do but send it off to the service centre in Wolverhamton and if they deemed it as uneconomical to repair I would recieve a refund or replacment. After doing some research on the internet I have lost confidence in comets honesty regurading repair work and need a reliable laptop fit for purpose to complete my uni work.
Being a student when this happened during term-time it has been extremly inconvenient and effected my studies including the first time when i was part way through an assignment
I plan on phoning the head office tomorrow and telling them that I am not interested in a repair and want a refund or exchange as I have found a Sony Vaio that I would be happy with.

Is there any advice for what exactly I should say to head office when I call tomorow.
I am planning on mentioning their awareness of this issue as they have been taken to court over it and will threaten to do the same. Will court really be necessary? I live in Wales most of the time where I go to University and a court case would be a real inonvenience

Thanks for anyone who can take the time to advise me

Hello Stubbers and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear of all the hassle you have been experiencing with your laptop.

I cannot believe Comet have have not yet got the message after replacing your motherboard twice.

How many times do they need to be told that these repairs are so unreliable as to be a complete waste of time.

If you have paid for an extended warranty they would also want that to be refunded. They cannot charge you for an extended warranty on an inherently defective product.

Furthermore you have been seriously inconvenienced with having your laptop fail three times so a depreciated refund would also be unacceptable.

I would tell that that the only solutions you would be prepared to accept would be either a refund of the purchase price of the laptop plus the cost of the extended warranty or a replacement laptop of equal value of the same.

If they refuse to comply then I would send them a letter before action which can be found here:- download/letter_before_action.doc

You should download that, edit it with your details and send it to Comet via recorded delivery. Please remember to keep copies of the letter and postal receipt.

If they fail to respond within seven days then you should proceed to obtain an engineers report. We can help you with that and further details can be found here:- need-an-independant-engineers-report-t62.html

There is a step by step guide available on this forum that will help you reach a positive resolution and that can be found here:- post13.html#p13

With three failures you really cannot lose.

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

_________________
=======================================================
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.

Thank you so much that is a great help.
I have already read alot of the threads before posting this. I was just making sure that the case sounded like it was the nvidia defect which I am now sure it is.
I will ring head office tomorrow and do my best. Ill let you know how it goes. If they will not comply with my request should I ask them to send my laptop back to me without a repair, that is if its even been sent out, as I only gave it to them yesterday?
Thanks again Paul, I was pulling my hair out over this!

Hello Stubbers,



Yes, get straight on to the phone to them and tell them that under no circumstances do you want a repair as all their previous attempts have prove to be ineffectual and that you now have no confidence in the laptop.

Don't let them fob you off, you have clear rights and Comet have to comply.

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.

OK... quick thought, is it worth me driving to the store tomorrow morning and trying to get it back off them if they havent yet sent it out?

Hello Stubbers,



Yes - good idea. With you only handing it in on a Saturday it will probably be still sat at their store.

Fingers crossed for you.

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.

So.. was sat outside Comet this morning at five too nine... Commitment!
I recovered my laptop from them then went home and had the dreaded call to comet. After being passed on twice I finally talked to someone named Rikki who said. Its ok Mr Stubley we will repair the laptop for you.
I told him that was not acceptable and that I would only accept a refund. He answered that all they would offer is a repair so I told him that he was giving me no alternative than to take it through the small claims court and he replied with "ok, thanks, bye"
So.. Ive edited the template letter. I had to alter the part about taking it to comet and them saying theres nothing they can do as it is out of warranty for this: 'I have been in touch with your store located at Halesowen but have been told
they cannot help with refunds or replacements only arrange ANOTHER repair.'
Does the letter seem suitable?
Also.. as Im guessing this is going to take a longggg time to sort I have looked into buying another laptop of the same value as I need it for university work. Dont worry, its a SONY!
So I suppose im asking whether you think I have a strong enough case as I dont want to risk buying another laptop when I wont end up on getting any money back from Comet. I know this will only be your opinion and not any sort of guarantee

In your far more expert opinion does this seem ok. Nothing obviously worrying about this model? http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/produc ... _-position
I will of course try and steer away from comet to purchase but it is the only website ive found it on so far.

Sorry for such a long message, I hope im not wasting anyones time. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Chris

Cant seem to attach word document but this is the main body of the letter

Dear Sir/Madam


Laptop Make: HP
Laptop Model: dv9820ea
Store Purchased: Halesowen
Date Of Purchase: 02/05/08
Price Paid: £599.00
Dates failed: December 09, 08/06/10, 21/08/10

I write with reference to my laptop detailed above which I purchased from
yourselves.

Unfortunately, my laptop has failed due to what I believe to be a defective Nvidia
graphics chip.

I have been in touch with your store located at Halesowen but have been told
they cannot help with refunds or replacements only arrange ANOTHER repair.

I have spoken to a number of people who are very experienced with regard to the
problem my laptop is experiencing and have been informed that this problem is
affecting thousands of laptops.

This problem is well documented on the internet and is recognized by HP, Dell,
Apple and Nvidia.

Simply Google “Nvidia defect” and you will see that there are thousands of
unhappy customers in possession of very expensive door-stops.

You have to appreciate I paid a lot of my hard earned money for this laptop and
would have expected it to have lasted far longer that it actually did as it is essential for my university studies.

If I do not receive a satisfactory resolution to this matter then I will have no
alternative but to take action through the Small Claims Courts.

I am therefore giving you this last opportunity to remedy this situation.

Hello Stubbers,

Don't worry, that is typical of Comets response and is to be expected.

A couple of points. Don't forget to give Comet a timeframe in the letter. I recommend 7 days and I would also end the letter with the line "Please note that in this matter time is of the essence"

You did right to refuse a repair to your laptop; how many more repairs do they expect you to accept?



It is exactly that kind of attitude that really infuriates me. Comet have absolutely no chance whatsoever of winning if they went to court, they have no defence other than the tired old "it is out of warranty" but that is not a defence as this is a SOGA issue and not a warranty issue.

Still, it will cost them much more if they do try to defend it, though if their defence is anything like the others they have submitted then I can assure you that you have nothing to fear.



Well, your case is so clear cut that I really do not think that you will have a problem. You have had three motherboards all fail with the same problem so Comet's position is really indefensible.

If you like the Sony laptop then to be reasonable why not give Comet the chance to supply you with it free of charge as full and final settlement?

If you explain to them that the cost to them once you have filed a small claims action will be much more than if they just settle now. You should also tell them that you have seen all the cases they have lost through this forum so you are very confident of a successful outcome.

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.

Great suggestions. How does this sound?

You have to appreciate I paid a lot of my hard earned money for this laptop and
would have expected it to have lasted far longer that it actually did as it is essential for my university studies.

I have identified a laptop at the same retail price (as my original purchase from yourselves) from your stores website. I will hopefully be making this purchase soon and therefore suggest that it is offered as a replacement laptop free of charge. The costs to yourselves if this is taken to the small claims court will be far more than if you settle now and provide me with a replacement or reimburse me for the purchase as the laptop is needed soon for continuation of university studies. After reading similar shocking stories of other innocent customers efforts to receive refunds from these inherently defective products I am very confident of a successful outcome.

.... with the same second page from the template giving them seven days etc.