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Thread ID: 39751	2003-11-16 05:08:00	warranty repair	pcamford (4679)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
192467	2003-11-18 00:56:00	Eggsactly . ;-) Most PCs will not fail . There are some people, possibly over-represented here, who pride themselves on their ability to specify all the components for a custom built computer to perfectly match their needs and budget . However, the vast majority just want "a computer" . For most of those people, any commodity PC will be perfectly adequate . And in the rare cases when something fails, they've got a better chance of getting it repaired if it is from a well-known company .	Graham L (2)
192468	2003-11-18 01:38:00	Perhaps those who think big brand pc's are the way to go should head on down to their local warehouse stationary shop, have a talk to a salesman and hear how within minutes these people and these shops shouldn't be in the business of selling computers. Then maybe hang around for a couple hours and see how many disgruntled customers come in with the machines and their 'low rate of failure”, and the time it takes to repair these machines, and the inability to upgrade them, and the amount of machines finally returned with the same problems they were sent away with. Then, if the opportunity ever comes up, grab a screwdriver and have a look at the components of these machines. And be disgusted. Then try and find some drivers for any of the components, or fit a psu, or upgrade the OS. Recovery disc's...poo on them, What happens if someone changes there burning program, then decides to revert back to the one that came installed on the machine?...insert recovery disc and reload windows? Or if they upgrade the mobo and find they now cannot load on windows and have to payout another 250 dollars. The reason they are cheap is these big manufacturers source the cheapest junk possible to put in their machines, I would never recommend anyone bought one, even if gaming is not the intended use of the machine. Would you buy the worlds cheapest car? From a pen saleman? Knowing that there is only one service centre in NZ? Knowing that no one local can work on the car? Knowing that the quality of back-up service is disgusting? Knowing it’s a 2 week turnaround for a simple repair? Knowing its next to impossible to upgrade or even tweak?	metla (154)
192469	2003-11-18 02:21:00	I'm with godfather here. The brandname PCs have a place, Compaq, HP, PackardBell, etc will not be going anywhere in a hurry. Sure I like to build up my own PCs, but not everyone needs to do this and not everyone will need to be upgrading components all the time. Just like with a car, you could build your own, or you could buy a Honda, Toyota, etc. Which will have a nice 3 year warranty and finance options :D	-=JM=- (16)
192470	2003-11-18 02:23:00	Yeah but Metla hang on a minute, Godfather doesn't appear to be referring to people who want to install another burning program or upgrade their mobo. You may not realise it but there are heaps of people out there who buy a PC and apart from installing a few games all they do is surf the net, send and receive a few emails, upload a few digicam photos, do some word processing and play those pretty tame games. Or they quite happily use the PC with just its bundled software for whatever purpose they have for it. I know a handful of people who do absolutely nothing more than that with their computer and those "name brand" PCs from Warehouse Stationery would suit them right down to the ground. If the thing goes they're happy and if it stops they'll take it back to the shop and wait for it to be repaired. Hell, some of these people last did a defrag about this time last year and when I asked them if they give Adaware a run to check for spyware they say "what's spyware? why do I need to worry about that I've got nothing to hide". It doesn't hurt to make the more geekier people aware of these name brands limitations because they are the ones who will soon be frustrated with them when they can't upgrade or have to reload windows when they want to revert back to the original configuration. Steer them towards a custom-built job by all means but just because the name brands are not for them don't write them off as unsuitable for everyone.	Fire-and-Ice (3910)
192471	2003-11-18 02:42:00	Yes,But im extremly biased . Besides,i deal with a lot of people who want to do upgrades(software and hardware) and quite simply cant because of the limitations of the supplied product . of course they can upgrade if they want to spend the extra money to cover the limitaions of their computer but that makes there nice cheap system not so cheap anymore . Of couse they didnt realise this when they bought the machine seeing as they are sold with such buzzwords as multimedia powerhouse . And why pay up to $2000 with you can have all this for $1799(plus gst) . Not to mention the people i know who are butting there heads into brick walls trying to get their stuff fixed under warrenty . And,while i hate to bring my mum into this . . . . . . She worked at the shop i mentioned earler and had to quit due to the stress of dealing with customers who had purchesd computers thru them . She was refused training(not that it would have helped)Told to read the specs off the card beside the machine,tell customers they were multimedia powerhouses,and if they ever came back into the shop to tell them it wasn't their problem and to ring support . Nice,After getting abuse from customers for the 3 months following last christmas she ended up quitting . I myself have dis-asembled name brand machines to find the componets had been pulled from markets overseas due to a high rate of failure and the big companies had snapped them up to be used in our market . i could go on,But im biased and i can't see the sence in buying an entry level machine off a company who can offer no reasable level of support,provide systems with so many limitations and use end of the line/dodgy components . Spend you money locally people,no need to feed piles of cash into the offshore demons . Did i mention i was biased? Btw,the majority of people i see for the first time have no idea what a defrag is,even if the computer is 5 years old . . . . .	metla (154)
192472	2003-11-18 02:45:00	I should probably add that i enjoy heated debates,so no offence to anyone or there opinion intended.	metla (154)
192473	2003-11-18 03:04:00	> I'm with godfather here. The brandname PCs have a > place, Yep after having had 2 Hp computers I believe their place is in a landfill .;\ The last one we had was a Pavilion 6701, 633mhz & it came with a massive 145 watt Power supply :-( Most 486 pc's came with PSU's with more Watts than that & even The PC Company pc's Ive seen had 200watt PSU's & Ive seen a couple of those die too. Cheers Steve	Steve Askew (119)
192474	2003-11-18 03:14:00	Yep, I'll second that! I've lost count of the number of people that have had a "brand name PC" and have been so let down by it that they would never buy another one again. On a side note, I've been talking to an IT person at a big government department with over 1,000 PC's and they recently (in the last 2 years)went from using a local PC manufacturer to Compaq's and they said it was the worst mistake they ever made!	CYaBro (73)
192475	2003-11-18 03:51:00	Hello pcamford, Welcome to Press F1 I, today, have just sat an exam in Economics/Business Studies, which was rather like an exam in Consumer Law. I think I should still have the facts in my head, here are my suggestions 1) a) Ring to see if they can give you a loan computer free of charge, as the time frame they're giving you to wait is too long, and can be considered unacceptable. Ring, the repair person, sales person, and Packard Bell (if they have a office here). 1) b) If so, take it, and also, expect it to be of minimum quality, speed, etc. to your existing one. Use it till whenever, if they will not accept this follow Step Two 2) a) Start mentioning the Consumers Guarantees Act 1993. This is the point where most of the traders stop acting like they know it all And the fact that they have broken parts of the law, for sure, as your computer is only 6 months old * Goods must be of acceptable quality * Be fit for its particular purpose * Spare parts and repair facilities must be available for a reasonable time (Thus, as the good is 6 months old, is well within a reasonable time to keep spare parts for. The repair time is not, there should be no need to get the replacement parts from outside the country, unless there has been a disaster with that model, in which case, a recall is necessary anyway. Also, sellers have the choice for refund, repair, or replace. In your case repair, so goods have to repaired QUICKLY) 2) b) Negotiate with the supplier, whether they are willing to give you a refund or replacement. That is, if you haven't got important documents in the computer. 2) c) If seller is still nasty, then tell them to wait for a notice coming from the Disputes Tribunal. (Part of the District Court) (Don't worry, this is where many people say, "Oh, it's not that big of a deal, forget it. I don't want to go to court". But its not a court! It is serious, it is of commercial dispute. You are also helping to protect future customers by doing this. That's why there is a law for it) 3) a) Do down to your local District Court, the Disputes Tribunal should be a little part of it. Speak to the people there. Fill in the appropriate forms to make a time for a hearing to take place. At this point, try to ignore the fact that your computer is at repair. 3) b) The seller will then get a letter to attend the hearing. 3) c) Bring with you any evidence, receipts, warranty sheets, etc. Lawyers are not permitted. 3) d) Speak to the referee (it's not a court, thus not Judge) Tell the whole story, don't hide anything. 3) e) A decision will be made, etc. Prior to this, you will have to pay a small sum of money for the hearing to take place. At this point, seek compensation for, the cost of the hearing, wages lost, and another thing else you can think of. Remember to tell them that the supplier has committed the actions that are not allowed as stated above. (I would have not much doubt in taking this seriously to the tribunal, as 6 months is more than reasonable time for Packard Bell, or whoever, to keep a spare parts locally) Good luck,	~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
192476	2003-11-18 03:57:00	You can also check on the NZ Legislation Website (www.legislation.govt.nz) to see if I've missed anything that they have also offended.	~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
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