The Nvidia Defect Forum

Pursuing a case through the small claims track is unlikely to cost less than £150, plus the cost of your 'independent engineers report' (£65), plus potentially the defendant's costs, costs of their legal advice and their witnesses' costs, plus the claimant's own costs in getting to the court (which will be near the defendants).

The total potential costs of an unsuccessful claim can easily equal the original cost of the laptop (at least if the claimant buys another, he gets a laptop! But if he sues, he may end up several hundred pounds out of pocket)

So the issue becomes, is a contested small claims procedure actually wise?

It worries me that I don't see small claims court success stories on your site. Your reassurances that 'you really have nothing to lose' seem unrealistic. Actually, there's a lot to lose. You are selling independent engineers' reports, so obviously there's a conflict of interest. It is true that you lose nothing by encouraging people to make unrealistic claims and to buy your 'independent' reports. But people who follow your advice can lose a lot. I would be reassured to hear from people who have been to court, successfully or unsuccessfully.

Most of the "success" cases on your forum involve other brands than Sony (I own a defective VGN-NR21Z), where manufacturers have caved in under pressure. Of course good, but Sony shows no sign of caving in on this model. So, to repeat, the issue is, where the manufacturer is stubborn, what is the evidence that the procedure is worthwhile?

Hello Mmp997,



That is not strictly true. If the retailer has not made an offer of a resolution pre-trial, or if their offer of a resolution is unreasonable, then you would not have to pay any of the defendants costs.

Under no circumstances would you ever have to pay for the defendants legal advice nor for any witness costs (there can be no witnesses).

The hearing will always take place in the county of the claimant and it is for the defendant to make their own way there.

If you were to lose because the judge thought your claim was unreasonable then you "may" have to pay the defendants travelling costs, but that would be at the discretion of the judge.



A claim would only ever be unsuccessful if either the laptop was not inherently defective or if you had rejected a reasonable offer.



There have been a number of claims which have proceeded as far as the small claims court and have won.

One such chase by the forum member imoneofthem can be found here:-
need-some-advice-how-to-get-a-free-repair-t41-70.html

Another can be found here:- post4044.html

There are many more but finding them in the forum is difficult as they have not all been posted within the "Success Stories" section and finding them would entail trawling through all the success posts to find them.



I would not say so. If your laptop is indeed inherently defective then the Sale Of Goods Act gives you protection for up to six years from the date of purchase.

The Sale Of Goods Act (SOGA) is quite clear in what a consumer should expect from their purchase. If the laptop contravenes the SOGA then you certainly have nothing to lose if you were to pursue to the Small Claims Court because the law is on your side.



This forum was started way back in June 2009. Since then I have produced in excess of 800 reports both through this forum and through the independent computer shops that I repair laptops for.

I would say that none of those claims were unrealistic. At the end of the day the laptops were inherently defective and the owners had rights afforded to them through the SOGA.

I also do not force customers to purchase one of my reports. I do state that we offer that service but we help everyone irrespective of where the forum member obtains their report.

I am confused by that statement though. You are the owner of a laptop that has failed due to what is believed to be an inherent defect. If that is the case would you say that your claim against the retailer is unrealistic?



Sony have stated on numerous occasions that laptops that were reported to have failed due to the Nvidia defect could not have possibly have the defect because it is not on their list. HP say the same yet still laptops are failing in exactly the same way as those that they acknowledge as being defective.

In order to successfully defend an action Sony would have to explain why the laptop failed and what the causes of such failure are.

I note though that you constantly refer to Sony. You purchased your laptop from Shasonic and so it is them that you should be pursuing.

You stated that Sony were being stubborn and were not admitting to the defect in your laptop. Well, they capitulated in the following cases to name just a few:-

post10047.html?hilit=vgn%20nr21z%20success#p10047

post4660.html?hilit=VGN%20NR21Z%20success#p4660

i-thought-i-had-a-case-but-comet-sony-are-telling-me-no-t405-60.html



I would take an hour out and read though this forum thoroughly and read other members experiences.

Only you can then make a decision on what you want to do.

To answer a final statement you made:-



If you note, at the bottom of every post I make there is the following statement:-



So I do advocate that further confirmation of the information I give be sought.

I hope the above fully answers you query.

Any questions please let me know.

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.

Excellent reply, Paul, for which thank you. That my posting wasn't simply deleted, speaks volumes for your standards.

You are right about where the dispute is heard, I discover.

One issue re costs.
I quote Charlotte Walker, Barrister (http://www.aboutsmallclaims.co.uk/who-p ... gment.html)

“No Costs” in the Small Claims Court
It is often said that there is a “no costs” rule in the small claims court. However, this does not mean that a victorious party cannot recover any costs incurred in a small claims case. Part 27 of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out the maximum costs which a judge can order a party to pay. Whether or not the judge will order a party to pay costs is ultimately a matter for him.

The costs awarded may depend on a number of factors including the relative financial status of the parties and their behaviour before and during court proceedings. If any costs awarded by the judge do not cover the expenses actually incurred, the party will have to pay them out of their own pocket.

Legal Costs and Fees
The victorious party can recover the following legal costs and fees:

The costs of issuing the claim and any court fees which have been paid, such as the allocation questionnaire fee.
If the case includes a claim for an injunction or specific performance - an amount for legal advice and assistance to a maximum of £260.
If a small claims case proceeds to an appeal, the appeal court may summarily assess the costs of the appeal – the costs of an appeal are not subject to the usual small claims limitations.
Any order for costs made before the claim was allocated to the small claims court.

Witness Costs
The following expenses incurred by a party or witness may be recovered:

Travel expenses of witnesses or the party, including the costs of overnight accommodation if needed. No limit is placed on these costs.
An amount for loss of earnings incurred by a witness or party due to attending the hearing, limited to £50 per day per person.

Expert Costs
If the court has given permission in advance for a party to use expert evidence a maximum of £200 per expert may be recovered from the losing party to cover the expert’s fees.

Hello Mmp997,

Thank you for your comment and for that link.

I am not here to stifle your comments or to moderate this forum for my own benefit. I spend hours and hours of my time free of charge helping people. I say free of charge because not everyone gets a report from me and even those that do only pay for a report, not for my help.

As I stated earlier, the costs in situations such as your are pretty limited and the retailer would have to submit an alternative report stating a different reason for the failure of the laptop for expert costs to be involved.

Apart from the fact that Sony have denied the defect in your laptop what stage are you at with Shasonic at the moment?

A judge would generally only award costs against you if:-

You have been made a reasonable offer and had rejected it
Your laptop was not inherently defective

If neither of the above is true in your case then it would be unlikely that the judge would award costs against you.

I sense real trepidation in your posts and have to reiterate that you should take professional legal advice to confirm the details I am telling you.

Only then can you move forward with confidence and persistence.

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,

Thanks again. Shasonic have so far ignored the registered standard letter. I've just sent them a second chance letter. I'll follow up by phone and if no joy, I'll go ahead to small claims. I tend in these cases to poke around until I fully understand the law and the issues, and then do what logic dictates.

Your forum is great and I appreciate what you say about time devoted. I run a not entirely dissimilar advisory site, and I too spend a lot of time advising other people for free.

Hello Mmp997,

It is unacceptable that your initial letter has been ignored, make sure you keep a copy of that plus a copy of the proof of postage.



Have you already obtained an engineers report? If not I would suggest you do so first and before you proceed with a claim.

That is not an advert for you to obtain a report from me so I would suggest that you obtain a report from an alternative source.

It is important that you have this before proceeding as you need conclusive proof that your laptop is indeed inherently defective and has not failed for another reason.

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.

You're right. I'll give Shasonic a chance to reply to my second letter, then I'll get a technical report asap. I'm nearing 3 years from my laptop purchase date, so I had better move.

Hello Mmp997,

One thing i forgot to mention is that you stated that you paid for the laptop by credit card.

Have you filed a Section 75 claim against the card company yet?

You may not have to file a small claims action if you can secure a resolution from the card company.

Just thought I should point that out.

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.

Wow, gosh, I had completely ignored that. Thank you!

Letter to credit card company (HSBC / Mastercard) should presumably be sent to HSBC? And registered?