The Nvidia Defect Forum

First off I want to say a big thank you to the admin and contributors to this forum, without which I would not have known how to set things in motion regarding my defunct TX1250ea laptop. (S/N CNF7287PP4)

Your thread explaining the process for getting a resolution is an absolute gem - post13.html#p13

I got my machine in the Exeter Staples store at the end of August 2007. (I still have the receipt.) It began failing around March 2009 - though I think had been severely overheating since before then. But come that March it started giving me the occasional 'glitchy' sound from the speakers, the well documented intermittent WiFi problem, lines on the screen and shutting itself down. It completely died on me in June 2009 - still less than 2 years since purchase. I took it to one independent assessor for diagnostics, who said it was a motherboard issue and the cost to fix it was prohibitive, nor could the repair be guaranteed. (I then took it to another assessor for a second quote on the motherboard, who told me the same thing. I actually still have the carbon copy slip from when I took it in, dated 23/06/09.) At this point I contacted HP directly, feeling thoroughly swindled out of £699.99 - assuming they might at least do me the courtesy of extending the warranty to 2 years, so as to cover a repair by themselves. (I had read of other HP models having their warranty extended to 2 years because of the defective chip, which it was quite apparent my machine also suffered from.) I cannot stress how APPALLING and frustrating all communication with HP was. They were rude, dismissive, incompetent... a consumer's worst nightmare. It got me nowhere, and made my blood boil. To add insult to injury I received a customer service evaluation email from them (dated 24/06/09) in which my name was spelled wrong, despite the fact I'd spelled it out phonetically to the guy on the phone. Not a way to instill any confidence in their service!

I didn't realise at that time, that it was the retailer I could have had my negotiations with. I'd thought I was out of warranty and that was that. Stuck with a pretty, expensive brick! I had no clue about the sale of goods act. If only I’d come across this forum back then! Now over another year on, I was wondering if the cost to fix my unit might have come down enough to warrant doing it, even if the part was ‘unreliable’. So it was only from researching this, that I found you. I am more incensed than ever at HP’s denial of the problem, now that I see I am far from an anomaly with this predicament! I am astonished that they’ve not been brought to book – and if anyone does mount a class action, they will have my wholehearted support.

Anyway, this is all pre-amble. Maybe it will encourage someone in the same situation as me to take the first step. Having found your forum and your superb advice, I am optimistic for a resolution. Yesterday I contacted the store of purchase, whose staff were helpful and polite, and referred me on to Doncaster customer services. The agent I spoke to there promptly emailed me a very reasonable letter detailing their process – totally in keeping with your own advice:

Dear Amy,

The following letter outlines our procedure for out of warranty claims. Under
Consumer law, the retailer has the right to have any goods inspected to check
whether the problem is caused by an inherent fault in the machine or if the
fault was caused by customer misuse. It is Staples policy to request an
independent assessment from the consumer under the reverse burden of proof
section of the Sales of goods act, for items over 6 months old. Said report
would be refundable in the event of proven inherent fault. We will also require
a proof of purchase.

An inherent fault would be one which was present at the time of purchase.
Examples are:

• An error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
• An error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.

We are happy for you to use an independent assessor. We do however require them
to be VAT registered and must be able to provide the following-

1, The report must name your machines make and serial number,
2, State the nature of the fault and the reason for this,
3, A breakdown of possible repair costs
4, Must be suitable for litigation purposes if required.

If the goods are considered to be un-repairable or not economically repairable,
then we will take steps to resolve the issue, subject to a valid receipt. This
practice is approved by Consumer Direct which is a service from the Office of
Fair Trading.

Should you wish to discuss any issues raised in this letter with me personally,
please do not hesitate to call me, or alternatively, for independent advice,
Contact Consumer Direct at: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk (Tel: 08454 04 05 06).


Kind Regards…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, I am now about to register with Lapcure and book my laptop in for this final confirmation that the machine was inherently defective from the off.

I will keep you updated on my progress with Staples. So far I can only commend their courteous service. Hopefully I will be able to speak as highly of them when it comes to the nitty gritty of negotiating a partial refund! Fingers crossed I will very soon be posting in the ‘success stories’ section

Hello Amy and welcome to our forum.

I am sorry to hear of the problems you have been experiencing with your laptop.

I have to say that I agree with you in regard to HP's absolutely appalling customer services. In fact, they should be called the customer dis-service department because that is all they offer.

The good news is that you purchased from Staples who are one of the better of the high street stores so you should have absolutely no problems with them if past experiences are anything to go by.

Looking at your serial number I can see that your laptop was manufactured in China in week 28 of 2007 - slap bang when all the defective GPU's were being used.

Your laptop contains an Nvidia 6150 GPU and this has been proved to be defective on numerous occasions.
I have also prepared quite a number of reports on the TX1250EA model of laptop and each one had the defect.

What I find scandalous is that as early as 24/06/09 HP had the opportunity of resolving the problems that you were experiencing. The problems you have described are all manifestations of the defect so HP MUST have known that your laptop was inherently defective but instead it seems like they were more interested in their profits rather than your losses. A practice that is typical of a back street here today gone tomorrow kind of company and not something one would expect from a company like HP. The thing is, they are so big and turn over billions in revenue that I guess they can be blasé about fobbing customer.

I am glad that you have found us though as we will now help you reach a positive resolution.

I note that you have booked your laptop in for a report and have sent you an email with further instructions.

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.

Thanks so much for your incredibly swift response, Paul. Very impressive!
It is reassuring to hear that my serial number does indeed correlate with the defective GPU's.
I look forward to seeing your expert opinion in hard copy once you've had a chance to examine the laptop. I may even frame it!
I think it's the most pleased I'll ever be to get bad news.

As an aside, do you - or anyone else reading - know if the retailer 'files' or reports these proven inherent defects with the manufacturer? ie: the more cases of this that Staples sees, will they have harsh words with HP? There must be thousands of affected units... I find it baffling that even if individual customers can't bring HP to account, surely big chain retailers must have some weight!

Hello Amy,

I would imagine that in most cases the retailers will pursue HP for the cost of the repair or refund.

To be honest though I don't think that HP care an iota. They are, in my opinion. a shameful company for treating their customers in the way they have. Their behavior has, in some cases, bordered on the illegal and do they care? - Well, when you turn over the billions that HP do then you don't have to care anymore.

The trouble with this situation is that people have short memories and in time to come people will drift back to HP. Sad, but true.

Best wishes Amy

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.

Having received the PDF of Lapcure report I am confident Staples won't contest your findings. They would be mad to, at any rate!
I can also say I recommend Lapcure to anyone else in this situation. Your super-efficiency and professionalism have been particularly heartening, and a pleasant surprise from every other convoluted experience I've had when it comes to dealing with computer techs. Nothing but praise here, and I'm tough to please.

So now we get down to the crucial matter of refund.
The agent I spoke with last week at Staples' Doncaster customer services suggested I take the report in store so they could fax it over directly.
I guess it can't hurt to try that first (the more amicably it's sorted, the better) - and if I dont get the partial refund resolution I want that way, I can send another copy recorded delivery with a letter before action. (I'm wondering whether I should just cut straight to that, but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they'll do the decent thing without resorting to written legal threat!)

By my calculations, I should be due a refund of £450-500, plus the cost of the engineer's report on top.
Is this reasonable?

I'm going on the purchase cost of £700, and expecting it to last 5 years/60 months.
It had definitely failed by 19 months (though in practice, was barely useable before that due to the extreme temperatures it reached.)
I have proof that the failure was 'fatal' by 22 months (the 2nd diagnostics receipt which also shows I asked for motherboard quote.)

I really don't want store credit or a replacement machine (obviously I have long since financed an alternative laptop!)... all fingers and toes crossed they don't put up a fight.

Many, many thanks again Paul & Lapcure

Hello Amy,

Thank you for your lovely comments, very kind of you and much appreciated.

I don't think that you will have any problems whatsoever with Staples. They have always been head and shoulders above the other high street retailers and tend not to behave like some I will not mention.

The only difficulty I can see you having is agreeing on what the actual date of failure was.

Technically, the date of failure is the date that the problem was first reported to the retailer.
I note from your previous post that you initially made contact with HP regarding the failure of your laptop and they refuted your claims.

Unfortunately it should have been Staples you contacted regarding the problem and so to be fair to them they can only go by the date that they were first informed that there was a fault.

Saying that Staples have been excellent and they may allow you to choose a laptop of the same value as yours. If they do then that would be the best resolution as you would be able to sell it and get near enough the same value.

On the other hand they may offer a partial refund based on usage. This is when the date of failure becomes a contentious issue.

I would explain the sequence of events to Staples, explain that you didn't realise that the laptop was inherently defective and so subsequently went to HP instead of Staples.



I agree with you that in the first instance it would be good to simply go instore with the report and see what they say. You are more likely to receive an expeditious resolution that way.

I hope the above helps.

Any questions please let me know.

Good luck with the next step and 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.