Taking Amazon to court

[Gregoire Le Gros]

Hello

In December 2008 I bought a laptop pc from Amazon as a gift for my 12 year old son. During the last 6 months or more it has started to overheat to a dangerous extent where my son is no longer able to have the pc on his lap. Now the machine is out of the manufacturers warranty. I complained to Amazon but they declined to help. The laptop is made by HP Compaq and there is a history of dangerous overheating with similar laptops made by this company. (I have worked for major banks looking after their IT systems and when a Compaq PC caught fire in a banks dealing room Compaq were very quick to address the problem.) I also wrote to HP Compaq but they have not replied. In my opinion the pc is dangerous in that it can catch fire and also in that it can cause a burning injury to my son. I have told Amazon and HP that I will take the matter to court if they do not respond. Can anyone tell me how to proceed ?

Thanks

 

[Morgy]

Buy a new one?

It's a 2 year old laptop - in computer terms that is ancient.
Plus even though it is called a laptop you shouldn't really have it on your lap as there are vents underneath it.

 

[DesignerNick]

I am not sure that you would get "that" far though as it is so old. If you had bought it last week and this happened you may have a point.

Does the fan come on at all? It could be a simple hardware issue and as said don't put it directly on your lap.

Get one of those cushions that will vent the air underneath.

 

[Richie N]

If it's out the warranty period, don't think you will have much joy and might as well save your court fees towards a new laptop.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Why, when you already had a bad experience with HP did you buy one for your son?

I had an HP proofing printer. When Apple updated their OS HP refused to update the RIP. I ended up chucking the printer and also £500 worth of inks. I spoke to HP sales people at three trade shows, one in NY, and they were shocked but could do nothing for my nearly new but useless printer.

HP stink. Anyone buying from them is dealing with scamsters.

 

[DesignerNick]

For a Laptop I don't think you will beat Lenovo

 

[Asim786]

Hi

My background before moving on to current projects, has been in the IT support area. I used to work for the biggest retailer in the UK in a IT support role and a product evaluation role.

1, NEVER put a laptop on your laptop. These days laptops have been rebranded as Notebooks as they now have processors that are a lot more powerful, they do tend to get hotter quicker.

2, A 2 year old notebook, should not have any major issues bar the battery. You could quote the Sales of Goods Act, I am not a legal expert but if you pay a significant amount for an item you expect it to last a number of years. Alot of retailers expect customers to pay for extended warranties when a lot of issues can be resolved under the Sales of Goods Act.
Please do your research before taking it further, as the overheating issue with the notebook COULD be covered under the act.

 

[Leo-InstallingIT]

As others have said, I don't think you are going to get very far as the laptop is as old as it is.

It's a bit like buying a car and taking the dealer to court because something stopped working after 5 years having never had it serviced.

Have you had someone have a look at it, its probably that the heatsink is fairly clogged up.

 

[Magsite]

The overheating issue is most likely because the fans have been clogged up with dust and fluff from clothing.

Using a laptop on your "lap" blocks some of the main vents underneath which can lead to the fans working harder which leads to the extra dust/fluff being sucked in.

My laptop done the same and I got it cleaned by the local computer shop for £30.00

There are some guides on the internet if you want to do it yourself.

For the sake of £30 I'd look to get it done locally

 

[Gregoire Le Gros]

Some good ideas. There is a fundamental point here. Should a manufacturer be able to say Not My Problem if a design fault causes injury or worse AND when you pay £350 for a product it should work for a number of years , not just until the warranty expires. Amazon and HP have treated me as if I'm trying to scam them. These companies should have values which wont allow them to brush off a customer with a problem once they have got the money.

 

[logicfusion]

1: Would a 'reasonable person' expect the laptop to last more than two years costing £300?

2: Can you get the laptop inspected to prove this was a fault existed at the point of sale? (I think this is your responsibility now as the 6 month period has passed).

I think if you can answer yes to both the above, you have a case, possibly. I personally am inclined to believe a product costing £300 should perform for longer than two years. I think that is quite a resonable expectation and I think a lot of people would concur.

By the way, the 'reasonable person' test is not what IT repair people believe (no disrespect) - its what the average member of joe public would think.

 

[CSHTech]

IMHO the above posts are right. Every manufacturer (computer or not) will take the view that after such a long time the first presumption would be to ask the customer how the product was used. Whether that's how it should be is another point altogether, but in practical terms you've got to eliminate any other possibilities before approaching the manufacturer.

Even if your research showed that a particular model had an overheating issue reported by others, before trying to do anything about it you would be in a better position if you could show that you have already checked the basics e.g. the cooling system wasn't clogged up through general use, which is something that happens a lot with laptops.

Once (or if) you can show this, then you stand more chance to use your research in any arguements, without being deflected.

 

[Geoff Carter]

I see people devoting hundreds and possibly thousands of hours
seeking redress for a matter that cost a few hundred pounds.

My view is simple, but not always accepted.

As it is only a few hundred pounds, simply get another one
and move on. Use all that energy, some would say negative
energy and change it to producing something really positive
with your new notebook.

I am not saying a problem didn't occur, but I am suggesting
that 'letting go' will be far more productive for you in the
long run - and in truth in the short run, too!

Cheers

Geoff

 

[SneakSMS]

After this amount of time, you'd need to prove that the laptop was inherently faulty in order to stand any chance.

And, from the sounds of it, it's user error. 2 years of rough treatment on a CHEAP laptop - don't waste your time trying to pursue it.

I'm shocked that you'd even be considering court action.

 

[JElder]

Some good ideas. There is a fundamental point here. Should a manufacturer be able to say Not My Problem if a design fault causes

The difficulty is the 'design fault' part. Processors and batteries get hot. For the last 4 years or so, laptop manufacturers have advised against placing them on your lap for the reasons outlined already. Do you still have the 'Safe Use' guide?

You do also have to clean a computer regularly so the cooling system works. How often depends on the use - a system used only in a clean, dust free room many need cleaned once every 5 years. One used in a dusty environment could be far more often. Using one on your lap is bad for this too, as the tend to suck in hair, fibres and bits from your clothing.

Lastly, how hot the processor runs varies depending on what you are doing. Running games or video will require more processing power, making the laptop run hotter as the CPU, GPU and memory get considerably warmer under load.