Re: PC monitor hell


"James Luff" <lufferov@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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The Todal wrote:
"James Luff" <lufferov@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6bs710F3dj9ijU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Todal wrote:
"James Luff" <lufferov@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6bs5v9F3dsjrcU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I posted a while ago about a replacement monitor but since then things
have become a bit more complicated.

Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor.
However, Gateway were going to give me a shiny new one instead! I just
had to wait for Staples to call me back when it arrived so I could
collect it.

A week passed and no call from Staples, so I decided to chase things
up on Monday. Another call from Staples today and apparently the
replacement monitor isn't on its way as promised. I should point out
that this isn't a Staples problem, they have been fantastic. The
problem now is that Gateway have been taken over by Acer and Gateway
will no longer talk to Staples about the issue. They accept they have
my old monitor and that it can't be repaired, but won't talk about any
sort of resolution. In fact talking to the Staples store manager
Gateway (or the company that used to be Gateway) have been very rude
to him.

As if this all wasn't bad enough, things are further complicated
because I bought the monitor from Staples on-line. Now apparently the
bricks and mortar store is a separate company to the on-line retail
arm. What this means is that technically the store manager shouldn't
have taken my monitor in the first place, however, he did because he's
a nice guy and wanted to help. So the whole thing is a bit of a mess!

The store manager has vowed to do everything he can to sort this out
for me and is taking a complaint up with his head office. He is hoping
that his management might carry more weight and get some answers for
me.

I'm pretty confident this guy will follow it through and sort it all
out, but I'm not sure where I stand legally now. The whole thing is a
bit complicated, what can I do if the Manager has no joy?
I can't remember the beginning of your story. You bought a monitor
from Staples Online and it is faulty? And you bought it fairly
recently?

In your position I would give the manager another couple of days, then
ring him and tell him you are going to buy a new monitor and you will
require a refund for the old one. He may say "please leave it with me
for another few days" in which case you can tell him that he has two
more days in which to solve the problem.

Then buy a new monitor.

Then ask Staples Online for a refund. If they refuse, tell them they
have seven days and you will then sue them. Then sue them using Money
Claim Online.
I purchased a monitor from Staples on-line and with literally a few days
remaining on the 12 month guarantee the back light failed. I took the
monitor back to my local store and the manager said he would try and
sort it out. They sent it back to Gateway and this is how I now find
myself in this situation.

Okay. My suggested course of action still applies. Although strictly
speaking you should have the monitor repaired, then sue them for the cost
of repair, in practice I expect it would actually be cheaper to buy a new
one. Anyway, the bottom line is that if you sued them for the cost of a
monitor they would undoubtedly pay up. They aren't going to go to court
to argue that their liability is to pay 100 pounds instead of 200 pounds.

Yeah, but who do I go after? Staples store, Gateway (or whoever they are
now), Staples on-line?

If you bought from Staples on-line, that's the organisation you'd sue. What
registered office appears on their site? If it is the normal Staples
registered office, you can quite simply argue that their local store, part
of their organisation, took the monitor to arrange the repair. If it is a
totally different organisation, argue that they are nevertheless responsible
for the store.

What liability do the store have, my contract of sale isn't with them,
this is why things are so much more complicated.

Just treat them as part of the Staples organisation.


If they just get the old monitor back from Gateway and return it to me,
what can I do then? It will be out of guarantee so technically Staples
on-line could refuse to touch it.

Forget the guarantee. You're relying on your rights under the Sale of Goods
Act. They are legally obliged to fix it and can offer a replacement if that
is cheaper for them.


I would love to get the monitor repaired, it was perfect for my
requirements and took me a long time to find it. But how do I get the
thing back! If Gateway can't repair it how would I get it fixed anyway.

If I buy a new one would they be responsible for the whole cost or just a
small percentage of the original value of the monitor? I am aware I had
almost a full years use out of it without problem.

Can you quote some figures?
I'd say that you could recover the whole cost of the monitor. The bottom
line is that if you sue a retailer for a relatively modest sum, presumably
less than 500 pounds, they have no incentive to spend time and money going
to court to argue that actually they should only have to pay you a smaller
sum. If they know they have to pay you something, they'll pay what it takes
to make you go away.


At the end of the day I just want a monitor, I don't want to cause any
hassle for the store manager if it can be avoided. I think he may already
be in hot water for taking the monitor from me in the first place when it
was a Staples on-line purchase. He of course thought he was giving
excellent customer service, as did I initially.

Don't waste your sympathy on him. He might be adept at giving the impression
that he's working hard to solve your problem, but actually it's a very
trivial part of his workload.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: PC monitor hell
    ... Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor. ... In fact talking to the Staples store manager Gateway (or the ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: PC monitor hell
    ... Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor. ... I just had to wait for Staples to call me back when it arrived so I could collect it. ... Another call from Staples today and apparently the replacement monitor isn't on its way as promised. ... Although strictly speaking you should have the monitor repaired, then sue them for the cost of repair, in practice I expect it would actually be cheaper to buy a new one. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: PC monitor hell
    ... Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor. ... I just had to wait for Staples to call me back when it arrived so I could collect it. ... Another call from Staples today and apparently the replacement monitor isn't on its way as promised. ... Although strictly speaking you should have the monitor repaired, then sue them for the cost of repair, in practice I expect it would actually be cheaper to buy a new one. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: PC monitor hell
    ... Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor. ... What this means is that technically the store manager shouldn't ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: PC monitor hell
    ... Staples phoned me up to say that Gateway couldn't repair the monitor. ... In fact talking to the Staples store manager Gateway (or the ...
    (uk.legal)
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