Burst cap on a laptop - is three years too long to expect ACCC warranty?

Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 15:00

I see other ACCC posts but none like this.

I opened it up for a lady & I tell you, this is the cleanest machine I've ever seen. She has treated it like a gem & it shows. Anyway, it suddenly began intermittently turning on, or I should say, sometimes not.

Upon opening it up, I find a burst cap which has leaked fluid to a chip alongside of it.

Would something like that- an obvious manufacturing flaw, be treated differently than say a power port pin broken off (which could be due to user error)?

Has anyone here ever gotten help from ACCC in regards to something like this? I mean, it would be crazy to think "new laptop every three years"- every person tosses a laptop to the landfill every three years??

TIA for any assistance

Computing

Comments

  • Mikinoz on 02/11/2015 - 15:04

    I would check with the vendor first, depending on the model you could always check if there is remaining warranty

    • kudoz on 02/11/2015 - 15:11

      Also, check the model number and "known defect" or "manufacturer recall" on google… happens sometimes!

      • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 16:07

        Yeah, I did look for that. I remember about ten years or so ago there being a LOT of issues with bad caps…Crazy thing with this one is that it's a single, solid cap— not one of the cheapies.

    • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 16:12

      I've asked her to find the receipt/bank statement & do just that. Hope it wasn't Hardly Normal's…I've recovered her data & offered to do a write-up to hand to whoever the seller was. I'll try to report back here the end result.

  • kudoz on 02/11/2015 - 15:10
    +3

    It will probably come down in large part to purchase price (not sure people could "reasonably" expect a $500 laptop to last more than 3 years… however a $3000 macbook, different story…) Also, who was the manufacturer or store it was purchased from? Some are MUCH better than others, some take a prod, some take a formal complaint and threat of ACCC…

    • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 16:11

      I believe the woman said it was something around the $800+ mark? And it's an Asus- who would have actually made the motherboard vs. others who only assemble other's parts.

      Still, three years??

      I really don't think that's an acceptable lifespan. I still have & use much older PC's & laptops & I can't see three. I'd place computers into the TV category— five years should be a minimum when speaking of manufacturing defect, imho.

  • Paul Atreides on 02/11/2015 - 15:27

    "Upon opening it up, I find a burst cap which has leaked fluid to a chip alongside of it.".

    doesn't this void your warranty?

    • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 16:02
      +1

      I'm a technician hired to fix it. So no, I wouldn't think so ;)

      • Mikinoz on 02/11/2015 - 16:23
        +2

        Generally yes it does void the warranty unless you are working for a service partner that has been trained and is authorised to do Asus repairs. Although that being said it probably out of warranty.

      • Tehcookiemonsta on 02/11/2015 - 20:21

        If you are not an authorized technician for that company, then you opening the laptop will void the warranty. Unless stated otherwise

        (i can't think of a company who doesn't have those little stickers saying warranty voided if removed)

        However if there is no warranty left with three years ( Shouldn't unless it has been extended)

        In that case it shouldn't matter.

        • [Deactivated] on 24/12/2015 - 19:42

          You have to remember a lot of the parts are user replaceable i.e. hard drive, ram, battery and usually keyboard. Even so I've never seen laptops with devices which prove a laptop has been opened. I have had to refuse a warranty claim on a broken LCD because the user cracked the glass trying to repair it himself though, so be careful.

        • Tehcookiemonsta on 24/12/2015 - 22:02

          @voolish: User Replaceable depends on the wording of the manufacturer, the HP laptop i had did not cover ram as user replaceable therefore warranty was voided if the ram was changed…

  • supnigs super skids on 02/11/2015 - 16:51
    +1

    I would assume any warranty is void seeing it's been opened up. A manufacturer would argue that it was recently damaged as you can still see the fluid.

    • whats up skip on 02/11/2015 - 17:30
      +4

      Actually no. The shop or manufacturer would need to prove it was damaged by simply opening it up. It isn't Schrodinger's cat you know.

      You don't actually go through the ACCC for these sort of things.

      You contact the store or manufacturer, provide them with the information and state that it is still covered by the statutory warranty. If they say no, then tell them you think it will be cheaper for them to fix it than paying the VCAT/QCAT fees (costs them about $550 and you about $50) along with their time to attend QCAT and the cost of fixing it when there is a ruling against them.

      I had a notebook screen replaced via this method from Acer and it might have been even a little more than three years. There were many of the same model that failed much earlier. This unit hadn't been used much. It was around $1,600.

      • supnigs super skids on 02/11/2015 - 17:35
        +1

        Wow! Australia's consumer laws are fantastic if you are a consumer :)

      • paulojr on 02/11/2015 - 19:15

        Just wondering where the information comes from. I looked up the VCAT fees on the VACT site and it suggests the cost is scaled based on the item under dispute. About $174.10 for items between $500-10,000 (which would be a laptop like this I assume) no mention of the fee to the store/manufacturer that I can see.

        I assume also attending VCAT would require attending one day in court as part of the process.

      • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 19:24

        I'm looking for a similar service to VCAT/QCAT here in WA…is there one??

        WA= WWW (wild, wild, west)

        :P

        • team teri on 02/11/2015 - 19:34

          There used to be the 'Small Claims Tribunal'. Worked a treat back in its day. I never had to lodge a claim there, just mentioning that going there would be my next step helped along every case to a speedy solution.

          Unfortunately the Small Claims Tribunal is no more, has been disbanded by the Barnett government. I think now Magistrates courts take on that role, but from what I read the process is no longer as user friendly for a consumer. Luckyly I never had to resort to threats of legal action since that change happened.

        • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 20:00

          @team teri:

          https://www.justice.wa.gov.au/SATeForm/default.aspx

          Would this possibly be a "fair trading" issue? As in, expectation of lifetime of product, product advertised as basically "state of the art", etc…and then found to be defective?

          Or, is this entirely for something different?

          Anyone?

        • team teri on 02/11/2015 - 20:26

          @Geekomatic: If you are having trouble with any government decision, that's where you can find help.

          From their home page: "The Tribunal is the primary place for the review of decisions made by Government agencies, public officials and local governments."

        • team teri on 02/11/2015 - 20:28

          @Geekomatic: According to the ACCC you'd have to go to a Magistrates court now in WA: https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/other-helpful-agencies/sm…

        • Geekomatic on 03/11/2015 - 13:19

          @team teri:

          I opened Fair Trading & found the WA FTA which references this:

          http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/fta1987117/…

          Which sounds very like the seller is "implying" to the buyer that the laptop is of a good build quality…

      • [Deactivated] on 03/11/2015 - 12:39

        I don't think the cap contains hydrocyanic acid.

    • Geekomatic on 02/11/2015 - 19:18
      +1

      Computer manufacturers tried to pass along that nonsense & it got shot down. Obviously, if you need to add some RAM to a computer, you're going to open it to do so.

      And with this particular model— get this: RAM slot is on the underside of the motherboard! The bottom is solid/sealed. You have to remove all bottom case screws, then pry open the top layer (which holds the keyboard), then remove: fan, left-side USB/power, another dozen screws, ribbon cables for KB/touchpad, VGA connection, then have to turn the whole thing over to get to the slot.

      That, is what I was doing- thinking the RAM had gone flaky— & is when I noticed the cap.

      Best thing is the data is safe. Now, it'll be up to the woman if she feels like taking on a complaint.

  • Geekomatic on 03/11/2015 - 12:48
    +1

    Turns out that the laptop is just over 24 months. Might help her if the seller/Asus isn't a d*ck about it.

  • wretchd on 18/12/2015 - 10:12

    Some of the ASUS notepads had a 2yr warranty anyhow

  • Geekomatic on 18/12/2015 - 23:33

    Look, a dodgy keyboard (might have been misused), dodgy touchpad buttons- same thing, failed HDD, ditto…

    But burst CAP? No, I'm sorry. If they don't do right by her, I'll be sure to let every forum I know about it. I tell you, this was the cleanest unit I've seen in 15 yrs.- like out-of-box— she even had the inner fabric liner!

    • shmahoo on 22/12/2015 - 17:10

      can you keep us updated? We need info like this to help motivate us to keep "fighting the fight" in case this happens to us.

  • Geekomatic on 23/12/2015 - 01:37

    The last I'd heard back was that Asus was giving her a hard time & she was bringing it to ACCC. I'll try to contact her tomorrow & ask how she got on.

    Cheers

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