The Nvidia Defect Forum

(that's a good smiley, thank you!)

Hi all, my laptop went kaput with some very trippy wiggly screen effects on Sunday night, and a little google research brought me to your door, where I've been doing some interesting reading!

I've just got off the phone with Sony (good old saynoto0870 for providing a sensible phone number), and spoke to a nice enough guy who wasn't a whole lot of help, but has provided me with a complaints email address and a denial that the 8400m GT gpu has anything to do with the issue - apparently only its brother the 8600m is affected..... some of you may find that statement interesting judging by what I've seen posted on here.

Very disappointed in my poor laptop, my last one (a Toshiba) lasted me 4 years of constant use through university and is probably still going strong (albeit slowly) if I switched it on, whereas this Sony barely made it to 2 and a half years while being used considerably less!

Any suggestions on a next step in this process? Is it worth chasing Comet or trying to go through the Sony complaints email first, and if I should email what should I say? I'm rubbish at this sort of thing.

Hello Eleanor and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear of the problems you have been experiencing with your Sony Laptop.



Absolutely rubbish!

How can he possibly state that only the 8600 GPU is affected? A simple Google search would prove otherwise as would a visit to www.nvidiasettlement.com

Take absolutely no notice of that statement as it is complete baloney.

You should concentrate all your efforts on Comet as they are the ones with whom your contract is with. Comet will probably try and fob you off.

Initially they will probably state that you are out of warranty. You should tell them that the warranty status is irrelevant as you have SIX YEARS to take action against a retailer when the goods in question are inherently defective.

They will then probably tell you to contact Sony. You should tell them that as you purchased from Comet it is Comet who are legally obliged to resolve the situation.

They may then tell you to take your laptop to a store where you will be charged £49 for an inspection.

You should tell them that the reverse burden of proof dictates that it is up to you, the customer, to prove the inherent defectiveness of your laptop and that you will provide your own engineers report.

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

If you follow my advice in that guide then you will be successful.

If you have any questions or if you need any 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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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 for the speedy reply - I'll get on to Comet tomorrow (had my fill of being kept on hold for one evening!). Would you recommend phone contact or email initially, and have you got any recommended contact details I should use instead of whatever I can find on their website? I know sometimes different numbers/email addresses get you different results!


Just to say, after reading through the advice you've given to people on here, I'm really amazed how much time and effort you dedicate to this - good to know there are people like you out there!

Hello Eleanor,



I would recommend phone contact initially as you will get a speedier response than you would if you called them.

They will probably try and fob you off but you should be persistent and stand your ground.

The contact details for Comet are as follows:-



Hope the above helps.



Thank you very much for your kind words, much appreciated. I do dedicate a lot of my time to this, but all the successes make it worth my while.

What I love more is beating the retailers who constantly try to reduce or remove their customers rights under the Sale Of Goods Act. Knowledge is power and I love being able to empower people to be able to take on the retailers and win.

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.

Update: Spoken to Comet this evening, been around the houses a bit and don't really feel like I achieved much.

First spoke to 'Jane' who after spending a considerable amount of time checking my details failed to ask what the issue was before attempting to pass me on to someone else. When I asked if it would be useful to know the issue so she could be certain who to pass me on to, she was happy to listen, and stated that yes it is correct about the 6 years to take action, but that I may have to go via the manufacturer. When I queried this as per the information provided, she wandered off to talk to her line manager, cutting me off after 90 seconds of dead silence (as an ex-call centre worker myself, it seems like they're trying to reduce their hold times by muting the phone instead of placing people on hold properly!)

So, back to the number provided by yourself, where I then got passed through to 'Sarah'. After yet more confirming my details, she went off to find who I was speaking to before (more dead silence), and then came back to say that as it was a technical issue and all the technical side of things goes "straight over her head" she would put me through to Comet on-call, who could then pass it back to them if it required escalating further.

This time on hold, I received actual hold music! Not sure whether that's a blessing or a curse, mind....

Yet more confirming of my details, this time to a chap by the name of 'Jamie'. After a brief discussion of what the call was about, he decided that as it involved the SoGA (which is too complicated for him to get in to) it was an issue for 'Head Office', gave me a number and the options to press to get through the automated menu, and sent me on my way again.

This time we were back to the Hull centre again, where I spoke to 'Kayleigh'. Cue another round of confirming my details! She brought up the 6 year claim period before I did, which was nice. However, she says I should send in my laptop to Comet, who would charge me for the pleasure, and that I would not be able to claim this back even if the laptop did turn out to be inherently defective. I was informed I would also have to contribute to the repair costs in this scenario. When I explained I would rather have an independent engineer to look at the laptop, it seemed to jog her memory about the reverse burden of proof and she said I was more than welcome to go down this route instead, although in the event of the laptop being proven inherently defective that I would not be able to claim the costs of this back from Comet either.

I've been given Comet's Head Office address, which is subtly different from the one you gave me above - in case this is of use, here it is:

Customer Care
Comet Group PLC
Criterion House
George Street
Hull
HU1 3AU

I take it that it's time for the 'letter before action'?

Hi ElearnorH,

The idea that the 8600 is the only bad boy here is false. My wifes Sony VGN-260E has a 8400M GT GPU in it and the page below states that this laptop has a bad GPU and Sony has extended the warranty to 4 years for this GPU. You should be able to use this to prove that Sony has acknowledged that the 8400 is also bad.

The first link below has all the memos that have come out for my wifes particular laptop and one of them states the problem with screen problems.
Click on it and it goes to the next link below.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model- ... c714632438

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-i ... ews_id=349

Check it out for your laptop and I hope this helps.
Take care,
cjfiii

Hello Eleanor,



Why on earth should you have to go to the manufacturer? It is always, always, always the retailers responsibility to resolve any issues.



What absolute baloney.

First of all, why on earth would anyone want to pay Comet for an inspection when this fee would never be refunded?

Who on earth performs staff training at Comet or do they just skip that bit to save on costs?

If the laptop is indeed inherently defective then they would have to refund the inspection fee.



You know what? I am starting to think that this is what the staff are trained to say. I am sure that Comet's staff do not make these things up themselves, hey, they are probably not even allowed to think for themselves.

But to come out with a ridiculously untrue statement like that leads me to believe that I actually think that this could be what they are taught to say in their "staff training".



Yet more baloney from the kings of baloney.

You should tell her that she really needs to read up on the Civil Procedure Rules and to pay specific attention to Section 27.14.

This section deals with costs on the Small Claims Track and it states:-



Practice Direction 27 that the above refers to states:-



So, as you can see, under the Civil Procedure Rules you are entitled to claim up to £200 for an experts report.

Comet really do not know what they are talking about and you should disregard all that they say.



Yes, send Comet a letter before action to the address they have given you.

This gives them seven days to comply. If they fail to do so within seven days then you should move onto the next stage.

Don't let Comet fob you off. They will probably try everything, as it seems they are trying, in order to either get more money out of you or for you to drop our claim.

Persistence is the key. Stand your ground and you will succeed.

The law is on your side.

Any questions 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.

Hello Eleanor,



Why on earth should you have to go to the manufacturer? It is always, always, always the retailers responsibility to resolve any issues.



What absolute baloney.

First of all, why on earth would anyone want to pay Comet for an inspection when this fee would never be refunded?

Who on earth performs staff training at Comet or do they just skip that bit to save on costs?

If the laptop is indeed inherently defective then they would have to refund the inspection fee.



You know what? I am starting to think that this is what the staff are trained to say. I am sure that Comet's staff do not make these things up themselves, hey, they are probably not even allowed to think for themselves.

But to come out with a ridiculously untrue statement like that leads me to believe that I actually think that this could be what they are taught to say in their "staff training".



Yet more baloney from the kings of baloney.

You should tell her that she really needs to read up on the Civil Procedure Rules and to pay specific attention to Section 27.14.

This section deals with costs on the Small Claims Track and it states:-



Practice Direction 27 that the above refers to states:-



So, as you can see, under the Civil Procedure Rules you are entitled to claim up to £200 for an experts report.

Comet really do not know what they are talking about and you should disregard all that they say.



Yes, send Comet a letter before action to the address they have given you.

This gives them seven days to comply. If they fail to do so within seven days then you should move onto the next stage.

Don't let Comet fob you off. They will probably try everything, as it seems they are trying, in order to either get more money out of you or for you to drop our claim.

Persistence is the key. Stand your ground and you will succeed.

The law is on your side.

Any questions 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.