PC World suport - non existant! Advice please.

[MSIC]

A friend of mine bought a pretty looking Packard Bell widescreen laptop from PC World in April 2005.
2 weeks ago the 'J' key fell off the keyboard (1 of the 2 little clips snapped).

My friend contacted the shop who looked at it, tried to fix it, but the key fell off again within 10 minutes of use (they seem to have just pressed it back on, fixed only by the single clip).

She then contacted customer support & tech support (each suggesting contacting the other at various points) on a number of occasions.

Long story short
==========

1) After they initially agreed to have it picked up for collection & fixing, they will now not do it.
2) They informed her that if she went to the store (in Nottingham), she would be removed by security (she had NOT been threatening or intimidating!).
3) The keyboard is not considered to be covered by the warranty, even though the warranty itself does not exclude it (like for example the battery is excluded).
4) The service telephone line considers it to be a problem of the manufacturer now, not PC World, and will not do anything else.
5) An independant company that do spares for Packard Bell (Romtronics) stated that to examine the keyboard would cost £75, then be "at least" £50 to replace the whole keyboard.
6) Trading standards are involved but clearly can only provide advice and whilst helpful, have suggested writing to Packard Bell head office. It'll be up to them to deal with it.


Now.... i knew already that PC World are sh*t, but i didn't realise that they were w*%$£^%s as well. This key must cost probably 2p. My friend only wants a single key being posted to her.

I seriously hope that someone reading this manages to stop PC World making at least 1 extra sale, they have NO customer service.

Any thoughts / opinions??? Cheers.

[jamena]

Get consumer bodies involved. May take a while, and may be more of a waste of your time though. You could always try going back, possibly have yourselves removed by security ,etc. Main thing is to remain calm, don't shout, but calmly argue your point across. Take copies of the guarantee/warantee/PCWorld T&C/etc with you.

If you have names/dates/etc of them agreeing to fix it arm yourself with that too. Better to have all the info at hand

quick(ish) and dirty fix (which may void a warranty? Caveat lector) - pop off a key you don't use much (like f6 or the widows key, or something) which is the same shape as the J key (they may all be the same shape, but they can differ on some keyboards) and put it in the J position, perhaps put a piece of masking tape with "J" on it on top (permanent defacing will of course be a problem if it comes to replacement...)

[Mutley]

Surely you can threaten them with legal action? I mean to say that you would be escorted off the premises of a shop where you are simply trying to assert your legal rights as a customer is abusive at least, and pretty disgraceful. If the warranty does not explicitly exclude the keyboard, then its surely covered.

[MSIC]

I agree completely - to provide a crap warranty is bad, but to threaten security removal when trying to (reasonably) exert statutory rights is unforgivable in my eyes.

Thanks for the support though.

She did keep names and times & dates of people she spoke to and it may come to legal action...

[Splash]

MSIC - I don't think that the key is covered by warranty simply because it will be classed as user damage - the way most lappy keyboards are put together it sounds like the clip on the board rather than the key itself, has broken - the only real way around this is to replace the full keyboard I'm afraid.

Post the model and I'll see if I can source a replacement for you - replacement of a laptop keyboard really isn't that scary!

[MSIC]

It's an Easynote R4630 (see here).

Thanks for this, my friend is just grateful for any support as she is being made to feel stupid and in the wrong by PC World.

And to my eyes (i have seen it) you can see where the clip on the key, not the board, has broken.

[jamena]

I guess they will argue it was user damage, but if the keyboard was included (or not excluded) from the warranty/guarantee and it broke due to it's intended use (i.e. being pressed repeatedly with a finger) you should be within your rights. If you type with a pair of thin sledge hamers they might not be so keen...

Remember at all times - remain calm, try not to shout or wave your arms - well thought out arguement. et them remove you using security, then report that through trading standards along with evidence that they initially agreed to fix it. May all be more trouble than it's worth, but we like to see the big corporations brought into line for small things!

And to my eyes (i have seen it) you can see where the clip on the key, not the board, has broken.

depending how handy you are with DIY you could have a go at fixing it with a bit of glue and a paperclip If you can pop keys out and clip them back in then you may be able to use a substitute key (and like I said just live without an F6 key or something) but if the clip is simple enough you may be able to fashion a replacement?

[mrbanana]

Just a thought. It's under a year old, PC World refuse to fix it, they won't even let her in the shop to discuss the matter, and the goods are defective (if the keyboard has broken it's obviously not fit for purpose). Plus, you don't know if the clip was broken when you brought it back due to an inherent fault or when the repair guy tried to bang it back into the board. Maybe he broke the clip.

If she paid by credit card why not get her to contact her credit card company, ask for a chargeback, and let them fight it out for you. They are equally liable.

If the credit card company says it's not covered you haven't lost anything and you carry on with trading standards, if the card company refunds you, problem solved.

Give it a go, see what happens.