maxtor hdd faulty but 2 months over warranty

[vti_786]

I have a Maxtor Hard drive which seems to have bad sectors as iv been getting blue screens slow loading of xp etc. the problem is, it is 2 months over its warranty expiry, do you think maxtor will deal with the case for free or not?

anyone had an issue like this them selves?

[synaesthesia]

They should, Maxtor drives are shoddy in any case. And of course you can shout the EU Sale of Goods act at them which states the product should be fit for purpose for a reasonable amount of time. So if its a 1 or 3 year warranty, give them a go.

[peterb]

I am not an expert in consumer law, but in general they might as a gesture of good will - but they are not obliged to. If the warranty period is 12 months, it is 12 months.

However, there are others more knowledgeable, than I, a search of the forums may find a post by Saracen, which may explain things oin greater depth.

If you could demonstrate the the design is faulty, or that the fault was present wjhne you bought it (but has only just appeared) you would have a stronf=ger case - but that would be difficult to show.

If there is a customer service number you can ring, it may be worth talking to them, (or e mail/letter) but I suspect a goodwill gesture will be the best you can realistically expect.

[Saracen]

They should, Maxtor drives are shoddy in any case. And of course you can shout the EU Sale of Goods act at them which states the product should be fit for purpose for a reasonable amount of time. So if its a 1 or 3 year warranty, give them a go.

Not so, I'm afraid.

The Sale of Goods Act is, firstly, UK legislation, though some EU directives have caused some modifications. But regardless of that, it would only apply if the drives were bought direct from Maxtor. As far as I'm aware, they don't sell direct. So if the SoGA applies, and it might, it'd be against the retailer that sold them, not the manufacturer. The manufacturer is only able to be held to the warranty they offer and, as Peterb said, if they say 12 months, it's 12 months.

As for the SoGA, yes, there are provisions about satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose, but they ONLY apply to defects that are "inherent", i.e. existed at the time of purchase. For the first 6 months, it is assumed that they do unless the seller can prove otherwise, but after that, it's assumed they were not inherently faulty and the buyer has to prove they were.

In this case, as the warranty has expired it's safe to assume the 6 months has too. Therefore, for a successful SoGA case, vti_786 would have to prove to the court that the problem was "inherent", which probably means an independent technical report that clearly identifies the reason it/they failed, AND that being something like faulty manufacture or in-built lack of durability leading to them not lasting a "reasonable" time. But they could have failed because they've been used 24/7 in a server and aren't rated for it, or because the PC's PSU threw a wobbly and cooked them, or because of an external mains spike, or incorrect mounting, or .... etc, etc. After 6 months, the seller has to prove none of these things actually did occur - the buyer has to prove that the fault was something that was in the product itself, at time of sale. And that won't be easy.


But vti_786 didn't ask whether Maxtor had to respond (which they don't), but whether they would respond, which they might. I have no idea.

[vti_786]

thanks for the great replies guys, i think the best i can do is just have a go, see if agree to a repair or anything, im not gonna argue with them or anything as it was a 3 year warranty, but to be honest it was used for the last year or so.

any advise on what the best method of contact would be, maybe email,

[synaesthesia]

The reason I suggested having a go with Maxtor themselves is due to the daft failure rates and reliability issues - if the problem is down to one of those they really would need to deal with it.

I was under the impression the Sale of Goods act was primarily an EU law hence why so many UK companies try and get away with not complying with it?

[vti_786]

i have emailed them now (seagate) i take it maxtor were taken over by seagate.

anyway, will let you guys know the outcome

[vti_786]

UPDATE:

Seagate have extended the warranty on the drive for over a month (30th November)

I'm really happy with seagate, i didn't even complain or anything, just asked what they could do, lol.

After reading the returns policy, it says the drive i send back has to be packed the way they say or it could void the warranty, they say used 2 inch thick rubber foam, any ideas where i can get this for free?

[pauldarkside]

UPDATE:

Seagate have extended the warranty on the drive for over a month (30th November)

I'm really happy with seagate, i didn't even complain or anything, just asked what they could do, lol.

After reading the returns policy, it says the drive i send back has to be packed the way they say or it could void the warranty, they say used 2 inch thick rubber foam, any ideas where i can get this for free?

They used to have a service whereby they'd send you a replacement before you returned the old one. You had to provide payment details just in case you decided not to return it. I can't remember if that was Maxtor or Seagate but seeing as the latter owns the former, they might offer the same.

[vti_786]

They used to have a service whereby they'd send you a replacement before you returned the old one. You had to provide payment details just in case you decided not to return it. I can't remember if that was Maxtor or Seagate but seeing as the latter owns the former, they might offer the same.

no, it says they will send a replacement drive as soon as they receive mine, usually i would bubble wrap it heavily, but it says no bubble wrap, as the packaging can void the warranty i don't want to risk it to be honest.

where would be best place to find the foam, cheaper the better obviously

[peterb]

You might try the post office. A google search found a few places, but they are all manufacturers or distributors. Otherwise a good stationers might have something suitable.