My warranty experience

[SlapNutz 101]

Hi

I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible. So a few months I bought a laptop from an individual. It was quite an expensive one. I believe a clevo pc70dn2. There wasn't any paper work with it being none the wiser I thought it's fairly new working okay what could go wrong.

Few months down the line it atart s having artifacts and GPU memory need d to be undercooked from 1375mhz to 1250 or so for it to function properly...it worked for a few weeks and then it became bad to a point it would randomly crash and then it started getting to a point where it would sometimes work and sometimes but thing but onboard intel GPU.

I got in contact with pc specialistcialist and told them about the situation saying I had won a prize and that I didn't have any details of the owner and that the product is still under warranty it has been paid for comes with warranty and I got told as I am not the original purchaser whose details are on the account they can't help me.

I asked if the so called guy I got it from wether it was his details and it got confirmed that yes it was his details on the account..I got in contact with him and he called in to confirm and then I got called back to say they said it wasn't his details.

This is where the whole thing turns into one big mess.

I called in again spoke to a complaints manager who said his details were not on the account but untill he called in it was confirmed it was his details. What changed and when in that time if him calling in I don't know.


I was told The only way to get the warranty In to effect is to have the original owner change the details to mine. Off I go to the buyer and I get to find out he bought it off someone else and can't get hold of him.

I got back to pc specialist and explain the situation and begged and plead if they could help or if they could on my behalf get in contact with the original owner pass my details so he may change the details...buy alas no...it was a big fat no to no matter what suggestion i put through no matter what begging it pleading I did..it as though they were hell bent on washing their hands from the warranty of this product under the guise of a policy. Our policy states we can only help with warranty if the original purchaser updates your details.

I explained based on the circumstance surely there could be something they could do after all the product was paid for is under warranty and warranty always follows a product not the owner just like a vehicle buy again it was no no and more no's. They had a gr at opportunity to go out of their way to assist and make a shining example of their selves after all it wasn't going to cost them any money apart from maybe shipping it to the warranty repair company that's based in reading heck it's near me I could of dropped it off heck I could of covered all the costs of delivery but they decided no..instead we will use out petty policy policy to fob the customer off. Please be aware if you buy something that is under warranty from this company let this be a reminder of their fine workings.

I am now in the process of getting advice and seeking to take this matter further through a solicitor who specialises in retail and warranty and also the financial ombudsman as this is really bad practice.

Mods my request to please leave this post here as it's what happened and let it be a reminder for the folk here. After all a good company appreciated good as well as bad criticism right?

This company has done nothing but make be beg and plead to get assistance on this matter but in return it was nothing but a kick in the teeth and indirectly told to go away.

Regards

 

[Martinr36]

There is a process in place for transferring warranty, which requires the original purchaser to transfer it when they sell, this is so that PCS know that its not a stolen machine.

Going through a solicitor will probably get you nowhere as the contract you have is with the person you bought it from not PCS, the only contract they have with regarding it is with the original purchaser

 

[Steveyg]

Seems like you bought a laptop from a guy who got it from another guy who for all you know got it from another guy?

How are PCS to know it hasn't been stolen? Of course warranties will not be upheld in this instance they have to way of knowing who bought it when and where it was bought

It's like trying to return something without the receipt

 

[Martinr36]

And in regards to your thing about cars, they are registered on a national database so the manufacturer knows the ownership is legit

 

[SpyderTracks]

I’m afraid this is standard process and the original owner is the only one that can transfer warranty to the next. It is there specifically to make it harder for thieves, there is nothing untoward in the way you were handled, I’m afraid the onus lies on the original owner.

As such you have zero legal grounds, these warranties are there because they meet the legal requirements set in place by European law. Your only legal recourse is through the person you got it off.

 

[VirtualDevil]

Unfortunately, I can't see any legal basis in which you can possibly come out on top here. Warranty is with the purchaser of the item unless transferred and as such hiring a solicitor could potentially lose you even more money.

The two options I'd be looking at in this scenario are:

- Attempt to get a refund from the seller due to faulty goods. If there's no receipt in place this may prove difficult dependant on the sellers nature.

- Track down the original buyer and get the warranty transferred over to you for you to utilise with PCS. PCS won't be able to provide this information due to GDPR regulations.

Whilst I appreciate it's extremely frustrating the scenario you're in, we live and learn with these sorts of things.

 

[Bigfoot]

You have no contractual relationship with PCS. The warranty is for the original purchaser, although PCS allows this person to transfer it. There is no way for PCS to provide you with details of other purchasers without breaching GDPR, which would open them up to severe financial penalties. You are being unreasonable.

 

[polycrac]

I don't think buying a (at least) third hand laptop from someone, with no paperwork, is going to give you any grounds at all to complain to PCS. I'm not surprised they can't give you info on the original purchaser, there are data protections issues here.

*edit* ninja'd

 

[NoddyPirate]

- Attempt to get a refund from the seller due to faulty goods.

I think this is actually the best advice here. This is your primary (and likely only) legal recourse in this situation.

 

[Martinr36]

Caveat emptor, springs to mind here..............

 

[Rakk]

@SlapNutz 101 one thing that may be useful to know is that if the seller was claiming it had a warranty with it, but didn't actually have the machine registered to themselves they then had no absolutely right to advertise it with a warranty as they weren't the registered warranty owner, in case you do get your solicitor onto it.

As said PCS will not honour a warranty agreement that is not yours and only the registered owner can transfer it (to protect against theft and possibly fraud as well)

 

[ubuysa]

Hi

I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible. So a few months I bought a laptop from an individual. It was quite an expensive one. I believe a clevo pc70dn2. There wasn't any paper work with it being none the wiser I thought it's fairly new working okay what could go wrong.

Few months down the line it atart s having artifacts and GPU memory need d to be undercooked from 1375mhz to 1250 or so for it to function properly...it worked for a few weeks and then it became bad to a point it would randomly crash and then it started getting to a point where it would sometimes work and sometimes but thing but onboard intel GPU.

I got in contact with pc specialistcialist and told them about the situation saying I had won a prize and that I didn't have any details of the owner and that the product is still under warranty it has been paid for comes with warranty and I got told as I am not the original purchaser whose details are on the account they can't help me.

I asked if the so called guy I got it from wether it was his details and it got confirmed that yes it was his details on the account..I got in contact with him and he called in to confirm and then I got called back to say they said it wasn't his details.

This is where the whole thing turns into one big mess.

I called in again spoke to a complaints manager who said his details were not on the account but untill he called in it was confirmed it was his details. What changed and when in that time if him calling in I don't know.


I was told The only way to get the warranty In to effect is to have the original owner change the details to mine. Off I go to the buyer and I get to find out he bought it off someone else and can't get hold of him.

I got back to pc specialist and explain the situation and begged and plead if they could help or if they could on my behalf get in contact with the original owner pass my details so he may change the details...buy alas no...it was a big fat no to no matter what suggestion i put through no matter what begging it pleading I did..it as though they were hell bent on washing their hands from the warranty of this product under the guise of a policy. Our policy states we can only help with warranty if the original purchaser updates your details.

I explained based on the circumstance surely there could be something they could do after all the product was paid for is under warranty and warranty always follows a product not the owner just like a vehicle buy again it was no no and more no's. They had a gr at opportunity to go out of their way to assist and make a shining example of their selves after all it wasn't going to cost them any money apart from maybe shipping it to the warranty repair company that's based in reading heck it's near me I could of dropped it off heck I could of covered all the costs of delivery but they decided no..instead we will use out petty policy policy to fob the customer off. Please be aware if you buy something that is under warranty from this company let this be a reminder of their fine workings.

I am now in the process of getting advice and seeking to take this matter further through a solicitor who specialises in retail and warranty and also the financial ombudsman as this is really bad practice.

Mods my request to please leave this post here as it's what happened and let it be a reminder for the folk here. After all a good company appreciated good as well as bad criticism right?

This company has done nothing but make be beg and plead to get assistance on this matter but in return it was nothing but a kick in the teeth and indirectly told to go away.

Regards

I hope you tell your solicitor that you deliberately lied to PCS in order to receive warranty service on a laptop that you actually bought second-hand? I've quoted your full post here to prevent you from later editing that bit out, and in case PCS wish you use your post in court as evidence of your fundamental dishonesty.

In any case, PCS will not deal with anyone but the original owner because they cannot otherwise be sure that the laptop isn't stolen property.

 

[NoddyPirate]

I hope you tell your solicitor that you deliberately lied to PCS in order to receive warranty service on a laptop that you actually bought second-hand? I've quoted your full post here to prevent you from later editing that bit out, and in case PCS wish you use your post in court as evidence of your fundamental dishonesty.

In any case, PCS will not deal with anyone but the original owner because they cannot otherwise be sure that the laptop isn't stolen property.

I deleted my post above with a similar sort of view - as I thought it might be a bit too sarky and unhelpful.

But you are dead right @ubuysa - that is the fundamental point here really. An attempt was made to pull the wool over the eyes of PCS - which suggests some knowledge of the weak position that existed at the time - and when that didn't work we have reverted to claiming the moral high ground through outrage over some allegations of legal trickery and impropriety on behalf of PCS.

It just doesn't work that way.

 

[Rakk]

Despite the trying to get round the warranty problems I think this probably stemmed from the seller claiming it had a warranty when the seller didn't have the warranty to sell, and was probably a desperation attempt by the current owner, though it is still wrong.

Anyways, I think we should just leave it at this at this point.
@SlapNutz 101 a few suggestions have been made which may help you (ie. go after the seller of the machine, refund or solicitor or whatever)

Edit: I am only leaving this thread open for the time being in case the OP wants to add any comments

 

[AgentCooper]

Crikey, I’ve only just seen this thread. I’m not going to really add much as all your points have been fairly conclusively rebutted by my contemporaries.

I’m afraid that this saga will just be a cautionary tale and an unfortunate lesson learned the hard way regarding buying a high value item and not requesting paperwork. I wish you the best of luck tracking the original owner down.

 

[SlapNutz 101]

Thank you for the replies...what ever the policy pc specialist might have in place surely they could of seen it from a customer service point of view and tried to help....I fully understand that because of gdpr they can't give me the customers details. But I suggested as a good will they could of passed my details to the customer to which I was happy to give it in writing so nothing comed back to pcs But again no...

Alot if you said it could be a stolen laptop I remember the complaints manager Fran lazzarano mentioning the same thing in our conversation to which I replied well that's even better because if it is then I'm happy to hand it over at least he will know where it is and get it back and if it's sold legitamately he will have the opportunity to transfer warranty win win is that not honest enough for some if you?...but guess what again no...the answer was it's not something we would like to get involved in (not something we can't do as a goodwill to retain a future customer.) Not use policies to wash their hands of any responsibility.

Regarding pulling the wool over the eyes to claim warranty...there was no wool pulling....it's their product it's under warranty...it broke down I approached them they should honor it....how I acquired it is no one's concern.

If it wasn't legit or I can't prove my ownership would I be mad trying to claim warranty, handing over serial numbers to pcs...I was willing to try and get in contact with the original owner and hand it back to them should it turn out stolen? Is that not good enough of my honesty and fairness?

I not once asked pcs to give me the details of the original owner in fact the first thing I suggested to the first person I spoke to was please do not give me any details as it will be against the law but maybe you can confirm the details I give you to which he did...he also confirmed those details matched the individual I acquired it from.

Also big thank you RAKK for letting me add further info and keeping thread open and giving it that chance. Much appreciated sir.

RAKK thank you for a very positive unbiased response...you truly are a Awesome moderator...very fair.

Regards

 

[Rakk]

Unfortunately as has already been implied the warranty is registered against both the machine and the registered owner, not just one of those but both.

As stated the problem is that the seller has not given you the warranty as it was not theirs to sell by the sounds of things, this is the sellers fault (though they may not have known this) presuming they advertised it as having a warranty

Your choices:

1. See if you can find/trace back to the original owner and get them to transfer the warranty
2. Go back to the seller and ask for a refund
3. Depending what you used to buy it there may be a method to deal with stuff like this, ie didn't get everything that was paid for
4. Get your solicitor to see if he/she can deal with the seller if none of the above work

 

[NoddyPirate]

not once asked pcs to give me the details of the original owner in fact the first thing I suggested to the first person I spoke to was please do not give me any details as it will be against the law but maybe you can confirm the details I give you to which he did...he also confirmed those details matched the individual I acquired it from.

Such a scenario would also be a breach of GDPR sadly........so be careful what you do with that information for your own sake.

It isn't just that they can't offer you the information, they are not allowed to provide anything that identifies someone without their express permission. Confirming a match does exactly that.

 

[SlapNutz 101]

Really appreciate the responses and advice...I will leave this here aka the serial number and if the owner manages to see this thread and recognises the serial please do get in contact.
This is the best I can do and hope the original owner still hangs around here or might see this...fingers crossed.

Warm regards

 

[AgentCooper]

Once again, I’m just catching up on this thread and something is rankling just a little bit with a couple of your statements, OP.

1) So a few months I bought a laptop from an individual...

2) I got in contact with pc specialistcialist and told them about the situation saying I had won a prize...

That’s from your first post, which @ubuysa called you out on. I’ve now read your response...

Regarding pulling the wool over the eyes to claim warranty...there was no wool pulling....it's their product it's under warranty...it broke down I approached them they should honor it....how I acquired it is no one's concern.

How is initially going straight to lying and saying you’ve acquired the laptop as a prize anything but trying to ‘pull the wool’?

Whilst I feel bad for you being in this situation, all I can do is actually applaud PCS for their stance. They’ve protected their policy on warranty which is there to safeguard the original buyer in case of theft, stayed true to GDPR protocols by not caving to requests to access or pass on personal information, and informed you of how you’d have to go about getting that warranty transferred.

You’re in a truly rubbish position but, as stated by others, PCS aren’t the ones to be complaining about. Your transaction with the person who sold you that laptop is where the crux of the situation lies.

If you get anywhere with them, please update the thread. I think we’d all like to see some resolution to this 👍