PC World Warranty/Extended Warranty

Hi all,

Bought my Aspire One yesterday and immediately dismissed the extended support on principal (well they did try to tell me that i would need it in case Vista crashed...), but now i think about it for £2.99 a month i might take it out, although the booklet is very vague - it says it covers mishaps and mechanical failures - well the One has no mechanical parts, and how do you define a mishap? The Manager did mention that i can take it out later if i wished,i just don't have the phone number? Can anyone help me out please?

Also, the reps tried to tell me that PC World weren't responsible when it went wrong - i am certain that all electrical items in the UK have a 12 month manufacturers warranty with the seller as well as whatever the manufacturer offers?

 

Generally, extended warranties are considered to represent poor value, but extended support may be something else.

The PCWorldWebSales number that I have is 0844 5610000.

Surely,they mean "if" it goes wrong? (Don't call me Shirly.) I'm not sure that manufacturers are required to provide a 12 month warranty by law. But whatever they promise, in the UK, the seller is ultimately responsible for the quality of goods that they sell, under the Sale Of Goods Act 1979, and should be your first port of call. Just google it, if you need a refresher. The BBC do a guide to consumer rights that you might find useful.

Ephraim Tutt, takes the cases no one else wants.

 

It would seem PC World (DSG group) is responsible for all the warrenty support for the ACER models that they sell (this seems very dodgey to me) - I send a query to Acer support about the Aspire one I bought at Currys , and was rather suprised to recieve this reply.


Re: Aspire Notebook Web-Support-Request #

Hello, Thank you for contacting Acer.

Regarding your enquiry,

Any notebook or desktop PC that has been purchased at either Currys, Dixons or PC World is not currently supported by Acer directly. The Dixons Store Group have purchased all warranty terms from Acer, therefore for any software or hardware support please contact the “The Tech Guys” on 0870 901 3000 and they will be happy to repair the machine (if a hardware problem exists) or provide support for your operating system supplied with the machine.

Regards
Mark H
Acer Technical Support Team

 

Yes, I can confirm that Acer don't seem to be bending over backwards to support their new baby. I got the following reply when I made a technical enquiry about TVout support.

 

under uk law you actually get 6yrs, from the place you bought it; if it were to break down due to a hardware fault, they have to fix it or give you the value of it.

 

Do you have a reference for this particular piece of legislation, by any chance? It's always prudent to check the small print. For instance, what constitutes a hardware fault? Does it have to have been present at the time of sale? Does the value of the item depreciate with time? If they fix it, do you have to pay for the labour?

Please don't feel you have to answer all or, indeed, any of these questions. I'm just illustrating why a reference would help

Remember, having six years in which to make a claim, is not the same thing as having a six year warranty.

 

Hmmm - 6 years... I think after the first year, the onus falls on the consumer to show that the item in question has failed due to a manufacturing issue rather than any other factor e.g. fair usage. You also have to factor in that "they" wont cover any software issues, so if you take the OS away from the original installation, they could cut you off straight away.

Re' The Tech Guys - some are really good, but I'm not sure on the depth of experience in non MS OS (even Macs dont get the full treatment).

I DID take the Currys cover when I bought mine but mainly for the accidental damage cover rather than any tech support as I intend to use as a portable device and its going to be in my bag alot of the time. If I crack the screen, I can call them and they'll either fix it or replace it within 21 days and for that peace of mind, I was happy to shell out the £45 for 3 years.