The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hello Detox,



Well that depends on the laws in your country.

I always recommend that you should ask the retailer for a written guarantee stating that the replacement mainboard will be 100% free of the Nvidia defect. If the retailer refuses to give you such a guarantee then the offer of a repair should be rejected.

In the UK we would use the fact that as no guarantee was forthcoming then the retailer had not satisfied that the repair would be of a satisfactory quality and that would be a perfectly reasonable excuse for rejecting their offer.

Whether or not this is the same in Canada is another matter.

If you would be happy with a repair then you should accept it. If you are able to take legal action against the retailer and are unhappy with their offer then you should sue them.

What do you think?

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Hi

I'm new to the forum and have followed the advice regarding contacting the seller (PCNextDay - PCND). I have a Zoostorm 8227 with a Nvidia G86 GPU. PCND has been quick to respond to my e-mails and here is their latest. I know not to accept the e-mail guarantee, but wondered what others thought about their comments/warnings about an engineer's report? I am concerned as they admit that the board is not newly designed, so am I correct that repair is therefore to be rejected?

Fom PCND:

"Thank you for your email and please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused.

"I can confirm the replacement motherboard for your laptop will be 100% free from the Nvidia GPU defect. I can also confirm if the laptop were to become faulty again as a result of the Nvidia defect, PC Nextday will offer a you either a replacement laptop or a full refund.

"Having checked the replacement motherboard I can confirm the product code 411817400036. As the board is not newly designed we cannot advise if the code will help, the difference between the replacement and the defect board will be the GPU chip.

"If you would like to obtain a engineers report prior to return this will be at your own cost, risk and discretion. PC Nextday will not compensate you financially for seeking or obtaining an engineer’s report and we would like to advise that obtaining a engineers report may cause damage to your laptop. For an engineer to identify that there is a fault with the GPU chip the process may involve heating the motherboard/GPU chip connection to above 200 degrees which may damage other internal components. This would be deemed as ‘misuse’ under the terms and conditions of the warranty and cover therefore excluded. When the laptop is returned we will perform tests using the manufactures recommendations to identify the fault, and consequently send to the designated repair centre for them to replace the motherboard.

"Please could you provide the following details and we will arrange for our couriers Initial Citylink to collect the unit week commencing 16/8/10:"

I also have concerns that they would say there was no defect, but would repair the laptop anyway and send it back with a new bad Nvidia chip.

Any thoughts or advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Steve

Hello Steve and welcome to our forum.

Sorry too hear of the problems you are experiencing with your laptop.

There are a couple of points that concern be about their email.

The first is:-



Considering that Nvidia made no new GPU's to replace the defective GPU's what difference is there in the GPU?

I would contact them, point this line out and question them as to what they mean when they say that the only difference will be the GPU chip.

They also said:-



What absolute baloney!

There is really only one test that can be done that is 100% conclusive and that is the rework test.

With over 400 of these reports under our belts with a large number of those being settled through the small claims court. On no occasion has a judge deemed our tests to have invalidated any warranty.

Besides, the warranty is irrelevant anyway as the laptop is inherently defective and was doomed to fail prematurely.

They simply cannot say what they have said and you should completely disregard this. Furthermore they cannot state that they will not refund the cost of the engineers report.

This is a consequential loss as a direct result of PCND selling you a defective laptop. Whether they like it or not they have to refund the report costs should you decide to take that route.

I would ask them the specific question about the Nvidia GPU that it will contain. You should also ask them for the batch number that will be printed on top of the Nvidia GPU.

If they refuse to provide you with this information then you should refuse their offer of a repair.

DSG Retail were recently slated by a judge as acting "recklessly when offering a repair" as they did not provide enough proof that the repair would be of a satisfactory quality.

I would say that the same applies to PCND.

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

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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.

Hadn't heard nothing back from Dell so I gave them a call today.

Was on the phone for 45 minutes!

Initially I was told it was out of warranty (over 2 years old), though I came straight back at them stating that under the SOGA I was covered for upto 6 years for this particular defect. I was then put through to their manager as they offered a replacement motherboard, even offered to send someone out tomorrow to replace it on the spot; however I stuck to my guns and refused, quoting the sales of goods act and told them that a replacement motherboard would be insufficient due to the fact it's likely that the new motherboard would also be defective. The manager said he didn't have the authority to authorise a full replacement of the laptop and that customer satisfaction was his number one prority. Apparantly he's checking with his superiors the possibility of a replacement and will phone me back some time today, though i'm not counting on it. To be fair, they phoned me back 5 minutes later asking for my address so it shows that there's at least a hint of interest.

If they insist on them repairing it for me, i'll insist on the following:



It's an Indian call centre so things could well get messy, i'll keep you all updated, wish me luck!

Hello Stu,



Well, all I can say is good luck with that!

I do hope that they offer you a replacement.

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
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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, they eventually called me back and were pretty keen to stress the fact that they do not offer replacements (the woman 'manager' on the phone was starting to get quite confrontational!).

As a 'gesture of good will' I have been offered a new motherboard/GPU for free which they will fit at my house tomorrow. I asked for it in writing that if the new GPU was inherently defective then I would be given a new laptop, she was having none of it. I was considering informing her of me forgetting it and sending a letter before action but I figured I wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on considering that I'd of turned down the offer of having it fixed.

I'll get the part number and I hope that this will fix the problem, if not then I will be pursuing a full replacement, definitely.

Here's hoping!

Hello Stu,



Well that is not quite true as there have been members on this forum that did receive a replacement, in fact I think they got an Alienware as a replacement.



Well isn't that gracious of them? Considering that Dell have already received millions of dollars in compensation from Nvidia they cannot complain.

I hate that term "gesture of goodwill" it is not a gesture of goodwill at all, it is their legal duty and obligation so they should stop with the baloney and be truthful about the matter. What they should say is "Sorry sir but we sold you an inherently defective laptop that was doomed to fail prematurely and now we would like to rectify the situation"

If they cannot guarantee to you that the part will be free from the defect and provide you with a part number so that you can verify this for yourself then you would be well within your rights to reject the offer of a repair.

They have failed to provide reasonable evidence that the repair will be of a satisfactory quality and that due to the overheating issues you do not want to take a risk and otherwise have no confidence in the repair that will be undertaken.

Under those circumstances you would be well within your rights to reject their offer and proceed to court.

Let's see what they say when they call you back.

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.

Please don't settle for a replacement of the same motherboard.

I had my motherboard replaced by Sony 9 months ago, and it has failed again.

I am now taking action against DSG Retail Ltd, and my credit card company and trying to get a refund or a replacement laptop of equivalent specifcation.

I accepted a free repair before I knew about this forum. I wish I hadn't. It was repaired about 3 or 4 months ago, and seems to be working okay, though I hear this weird clicking noise every so often. Also my wireless card doesn't work as well as it used to. It used to automatically find a connection, but sometimes I have to manually do it. And my cd burner doesn't seem to work anymore. It'll read cds, but it won't burn blank ones. I hope this will last till I'm done with school, and hopefully I won't need anymore repairs. I also have a question. I downloaded the 2 software from the download section. I ran the first one and my highest temp was around 60 degrees. I ran the second one, and it went as high as 83. It usually runs the hottest when I am playing the Sims 3. Is that an indicator of another failure? Is it supposed to be running that high?

Hello Campey,



Well, 83C is quite high and could be a sign of impending doom!

You should continue to monitor those temps and if they start to rise I would get back on to Dell and tell them that your laptop is getting too hot to reasonably use as a laptop and that you believe it is inherently defective.

Don't let them fob you off, it is clear that repairs to these laptops are unreliable so you should request a replacement laptop or refund.

Don't leave it too long though as every month that passes reduces the amount of refund that you would potentially receive.

Any questions please let me know.

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.