Comment This is easy. (Score 2, Informative) 1018
First of all you have loads of rights under the Sale of Goods Act in the UK. As this is slashdot ignore the Americans who cite CompuUSA and the American laws as they actually don't apply here.
I've taken people to court in the UK a couple of time (IANAL) and won each time. This was always a small claims court (Kennington, London) rather than the big expensive one.
It's not difficult but you need to do things correctly.
1) Go back to PC World and state your claim again to them verbally. Ask to speak to the manager and state why you think you have a claim against them. Ignore the rubbish that they have nothing to do with the sale, they are the company who sold you the computer, they are the people you have a contract with.
2) Make readable notes, ask for names of appropriate staff. Be polite.
3) Tell them that you are not happy with this and will be taking further action. You can prepare in advance a latter stating that you think the goods are not of merchantible quality as defined by the Sales of Goods Act and you wish to receive a refund. You have the option of either a refund or a repair. If you accept a repair you cannot get your money back at a later stage, so go for the full refund. In the letter allow them a reasonable time to provide a refund, 14 days is acceptable, 24 hours is not. State that unless you get a full refund you will take them to court under the Sales of Good Act.
4) Go home, write your notes up, make it clear and concise.
5) Either PC World pay up, job done or they don't answer or they refuse. If they don't answer, send them a reminder and copy this to the chief executive of PC World, who appears to be John Clare. Don't get stroppy, don't get cocky. Explain the situation in simple to understand terms. This is later evidence you will give to the magistrate. He or she may not be IT literate so don't get too technical. They appreciate concise information.
6) PC World turn you down again. So you have to hit the small claims court. Go to your local court and ask for a small claims form. I forget the details but Google-is-your-friend. Fill out the information on the form. This is where you state your case and attach copies of your evidence, so all the careful notes you've made and the copies of letters you've sent help. You did send them registered through Royal Mail so you have proof of receipt didn't you? It costs about £35-40. I've not done this for a couple of years so am not up to date.
7) Wait.
8) Either PC World pay up, offer you something or they go to court. They cannot ignore this letter, it is now a matter of law and for them to do so means you win.
9) if they go to court, this is your big day. You do not need a laywer or barrister to represent yourself. The magistrate is the only person you need to convince and in my experience they were very friendly and helpful. They do not look down on you defending yourself. Explain your case to them, do not use technical terms, explain that the case has broken due to a design default and let the other side explain why loading Linux causes a hinge to break. keep it simple and clear. Dress smartly, but be confident of your case. Don't make jokes, make copious notes (or pretend to to keep yourself busy).
10) The magistrate will make a judgement there and then. If he/she says yes you're home and dry, if not then lifes a bitch and then you die. I've done three and won three.
11) if you win, PC World will pay up. If they don't you get the fantastic (and I mean that) of sending the bailiffs in. This means that you could probably get them to march into a store, section part of it off and say that this stock is now being held due to default of payment. This happened a few months ago in Tescos wher the bailiffs sectioned off the drink section and claimed it in default of a payment. £60,000 of booze held for a couple of thousand pounds fine. Tesco's paid on the spot. I know a few bailiffs and they are all nutters and hard cases and love this sort of grand standing. There is nothing, zilch, nil, that PC World could do as the bailiffs are empowered by law. Sadly it is unlikely to come to this.
The downside to this is the loss of £35-£40 if you lose, the upside is you get a new laptop, your costs paid (plus reasonable travel costs i.e. bus, not limo). The major upside is sticking the finger to PC World and screwing their laywers over.
It takes time to go through the system 3-4 months is the norm.
Hope this helps,
Rob
I've taken people to court in the UK a couple of time (IANAL) and won each time. This was always a small claims court (Kennington, London) rather than the big expensive one.
It's not difficult but you need to do things correctly.
1) Go back to PC World and state your claim again to them verbally. Ask to speak to the manager and state why you think you have a claim against them. Ignore the rubbish that they have nothing to do with the sale, they are the company who sold you the computer, they are the people you have a contract with.
2) Make readable notes, ask for names of appropriate staff. Be polite.
3) Tell them that you are not happy with this and will be taking further action. You can prepare in advance a latter stating that you think the goods are not of merchantible quality as defined by the Sales of Goods Act and you wish to receive a refund. You have the option of either a refund or a repair. If you accept a repair you cannot get your money back at a later stage, so go for the full refund. In the letter allow them a reasonable time to provide a refund, 14 days is acceptable, 24 hours is not. State that unless you get a full refund you will take them to court under the Sales of Good Act.
4) Go home, write your notes up, make it clear and concise.
5) Either PC World pay up, job done or they don't answer or they refuse. If they don't answer, send them a reminder and copy this to the chief executive of PC World, who appears to be John Clare. Don't get stroppy, don't get cocky. Explain the situation in simple to understand terms. This is later evidence you will give to the magistrate. He or she may not be IT literate so don't get too technical. They appreciate concise information.
6) PC World turn you down again. So you have to hit the small claims court. Go to your local court and ask for a small claims form. I forget the details but Google-is-your-friend. Fill out the information on the form. This is where you state your case and attach copies of your evidence, so all the careful notes you've made and the copies of letters you've sent help. You did send them registered through Royal Mail so you have proof of receipt didn't you? It costs about £35-40. I've not done this for a couple of years so am not up to date.
7) Wait.
8) Either PC World pay up, offer you something or they go to court. They cannot ignore this letter, it is now a matter of law and for them to do so means you win.
9) if they go to court, this is your big day. You do not need a laywer or barrister to represent yourself. The magistrate is the only person you need to convince and in my experience they were very friendly and helpful. They do not look down on you defending yourself. Explain your case to them, do not use technical terms, explain that the case has broken due to a design default and let the other side explain why loading Linux causes a hinge to break. keep it simple and clear. Dress smartly, but be confident of your case. Don't make jokes, make copious notes (or pretend to to keep yourself busy).
10) The magistrate will make a judgement there and then. If he/she says yes you're home and dry, if not then lifes a bitch and then you die. I've done three and won three.
11) if you win, PC World will pay up. If they don't you get the fantastic (and I mean that) of sending the bailiffs in. This means that you could probably get them to march into a store, section part of it off and say that this stock is now being held due to default of payment. This happened a few months ago in Tescos wher the bailiffs sectioned off the drink section and claimed it in default of a payment. £60,000 of booze held for a couple of thousand pounds fine. Tesco's paid on the spot. I know a few bailiffs and they are all nutters and hard cases and love this sort of grand standing. There is nothing, zilch, nil, that PC World could do as the bailiffs are empowered by law. Sadly it is unlikely to come to this.
The downside to this is the loss of £35-£40 if you lose, the upside is you get a new laptop, your costs paid (plus reasonable travel costs i.e. bus, not limo). The major upside is sticking the finger to PC World and screwing their laywers over.
It takes time to go through the system 3-4 months is the norm.
Hope this helps,
Rob
