Laptop Repair Consumer Advice Needed.

[KennyPowers]

Hi all, hoping to get advice from the knowledge banks of nsc.

I recently took a laptop in to a local repair shop where i was quoted £130 for a new D.C. connector to be fitted, because i was in a hurry to have the device back and my limited knowledge of laptop service i signed an agreement for him to go ahead with repair.

Since then i have got another quote for £75.

Now i feel i have been stiched up. I am picking up the laptop today and was wondering if there is anything i can do/say when i confront the repairman.

To make me more annoyed he said my A/C charger needed replacing at a cost of £60 bUT he would do it for half price. I then looked online and found out they are only £30 anyway.

Normally i would do my research but as i was in need of the device back fast i threw caution to the wind... and paid the price it would seem.

Regards.
K.P

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Sounds like you shiuld havedone the research before you opted to go with this guy. If he's done the work he promised, unless you can talk him down, I doubt you can do anything.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

You have not been stitched up. People charge different prices for the same product / service all over the world. They have to consider what their running costs are, what profit margin will enable them to stay in business etc.

Being 'stitched up' is just an interpretation.

 

[ifuhatepalacestandup]

nothing you can do except let the guy in the shop know you know you have been conned over the price and let him know his bad service/pricing will be passed on to every one you know along with the advice not to use his shop . Allso might be an idea to name and shame on here and elsewhere (dose the shop have a web site )

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

nothing you can do except let the guy in the shop know you know you have been conned over the price and let him know his bad service/pricing will be passed on to every one you know along with the advice not to use his shop . Allso might be an idea to name and shame on here and elsewhere (dose the shop have a web site )

The shop has not done anything wrong. They were asked for a quote which they gave. The OP was free to accept or decline it. He accepted it and is now trying to backtrack over an agreement he has made. He wants to break his word, in other words.

 

[Aadam]

Unfortunately you'll have to pay and learn the lesson to shop around before you buy something. There's nothing wrong with what he has done. You have not been stitched up, as you put it. He quoted you a price for a service and you agreed. You could have asked him to come down before, but asking him after the work has been done is a little wrong.

Just look around next time

 

[bravohotelalpha]

I agree with the nsc advice offered.

For the future i can vouch for Darren krug of dekk computer services, just along road from duke of yorks cinema in Brighton. We use Darren at work - great service, fair prices - no fix no fee policy.

 

[KennyPowers]

Cheers for input people, perhaps the term "stiched up" was incorrect but i only used it to decribe how i felt.
Im not trying to back out of an agreement, happy to pay full price and take it on the chin, lesson learnt.
Im sure the service and workmanship i receive will be very satisfactoy, if perhaps a little on the expensive side.(imo)

 

[Rowdey]

Hi all, hoping to get advice from the knowledge banks of nsc.

I recently took a laptop in to a local repair shop where i was quoted £130 for a new D.C. connector to be fitted, because i was in a hurry to have the device back and my limited knowledge of laptop service i signed an agreement for him to go ahead with repair.

Since then i have got another quote for £75.

Now i feel i have been stiched up. I am picking up the laptop today and was wondering if there is anything i can do/say when i confront the repairman.

To make me more annoyed he said my A/C charger needed replacing at a cost of £60 bUT he would do it for half price. I then looked online and found out they are only £30 anyway.

Normally i would do my research but as i was in need of the device back fast i threw caution to the wind... and paid the price it would seem.

Regards.
K.P

The price you agreed also included a quick turnaround; that has an associated cost. Which you agreed to. You sound like a sniveling moany git using words like 'Stitched' and 'Confront'

Ref the charger, the charger he offered may have been a better quality brand, for the same money as your online version - You just don't know.

nothing you can do except let the guy in the shop know you know you have been conned over the price and let him know his bad service/pricing will be passed on to every one you know along with the advice not to use his shop . Allso might be an idea to name and shame on here and elsewhere (dose the shop have a web site )

He hasn't had bad service at all. As above, he actually might have paid more than a slower service due to his 'being in a hurry'

If he carried out your advice, and i found out, i'd look to sue for slander.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I agree with the nsc advice offered.

For the future i can vouch for Darren krug of dekk computer services, just along road from duke of yorks cinema in Brighton. We use Darren at work - great service, fair prices - no fix no fee policy.

It would be delicious irony if this was the service the OP was using!

 

[Beach Hut]

You agreed a price so just pay it and move on - lesson learnt is shop around however you perceived it was a good deal at the time.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

If he carried out your advice, and i found out, i'd look to sue for slander.

This is something I've been worried about for a while. At what point does opinion become slander - I'm thinking about online stuff specifically, but the law does not differentiate.

If I say :

a) "I went to restaurant x and didn't like it"
b) "I went to restaurant x, and it was bad"
c) "I went to restaurant x, and it wasn't worth the money"
d) "I went to restaurant x, and it is dirty with bad service"

etc. - at what point does it stop being just casual opinion and start to become slander. Presumably once you state something that is not true, but it's a broad spectrum and all the above could affect business for the restaurant, and could of course just be malicious.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

This is something I've been worried about for a while. At what point does opinion become slander - I'm thinking about online stuff specifically, but the law does not differentiate.

If I say :

a) "I went to restaurant x and didn't like it"
b) "I went to restaurant x, and it was bad"
c) "I went to restaurant x, and it wasn't worth the money"
d) "I went to restaurant x, and it is dirty with bad service"

etc. - at what point does it stop being just casual opinion and start to become slander. Presumably once you state something that is not true, but it's a broad spectrum and all the above could affect business for the restaurant, and could of course just be malicious.

You are entitled to fair comment. If you say 'in my opinion', 'how it occurs to me', 'from my perspective' etc then it is clear that you are not presenting your comment as fact. If you are making allegations of fact that may be injurious to a business, you will have to have sufficient evidence to back it up.

 

[bravohotelalpha]

It would be delicious irony if this was the service the OP was using!

I know, was thinking just that myself.

A few years ago a colleague with really gorgeous long auburn hair went to her local salon to have her hair styled just before going to Canada for her wedding. Came to work next day in floods of tears - hairdresser had seriously messed up her hair. Husband of a close friend of mine had his own salon near where poor colleague lived so I told her this guy might be able to help improve her hairstyle ..... I cannot begin to describe how I felt on discovering my friend was the culprit. So now very cautious when recommending anyone.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

You are entitled to fair comment. If you say 'in my opinion', 'how it occurs to me', 'from my perspective' etc then it is clear that you are not presenting your comment as fact. If you are making allegations of fact that may be injurious to a business, you will have to have sufficient evidence to back it up.

I would imagine there's a fair few posts on NSC that stray on the wrong side of opinion.

 

[Scoffers]

I used to have my own business a while back making PCs to order and doing repairs and getting machines working again when things go wrong. I went well for a while but it is incredibly difficult to make a living out of it. Nowadays I'd say it is even harder since the price of computer hardware has dropped dramatically and profit margins have tightened up accordingly.

Added to this the cost of running your own shop (which can be significant) and you see why shops like the one in the arcade at Burgess Hill don't last very long.

I guess what I am saying is you'd expect to pay more for a local person since they are trying to run a business and can never be expected to compete with large online stores such as Amazon etc.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I know, was thinking just that myself.

A few years ago a colleague with really gorgeous long auburn hair went to her local salon to have her hair styled just before going to Canada for her wedding. Came to work next day in floods of tears - hairdresser had seriously messed up her hair. Husband of a close friend of mine had his own salon near where poor colleague lived so I told her this guy might be able to help improve her hairstyle ..... I cannot begin to describe how I felt on discovering my friend was the culprit. So now very cautious when recommending anyone.

That's an exquisite story

 

[Rowdey]

You are entitled to fair comment. If you say 'in my opinion', 'how it occurs to me', 'from my perspective' etc then it is clear that you are not presenting your comment as fact. If you are making allegations of fact that may be injurious to a business, you will have to have sufficient evidence to back it up.

Quite - I had bad service from 'X' is very different from ' I don't think i had good service from 'X'
OP clearly didn't, in my opinion. (this could run and run..)

 

[TerryT]

I have my own PC repair business, we have a standard charge on DC replacement which is £75, same for screens and keyboard replacements we have set charges, some original chargers will cost up to £60, but you can get cheap replacements online for as little as £5. I would have a friendly word with the shop owner and see if you can come to an agreement.

 

[Laptop Ell]

I recently took a laptop in to a local repair shop where i was quoted £130 for a new D.C. connector to be fitted, because i was in a hurry to have the device back and my limited knowledge of laptop service i signed an agreement for him to go ahead with repair.

Since then i have got another quote for £75.

Now i feel i have been stiched up. I am picking up the laptop today and was wondering if there is anything i can do/say when i confront the repairman.

To make me more annoyed he said my A/C charger needed replacing at a cost of £60 bUT he would do it for half price. I then looked online and found out they are only £30 anyway.

Depending on the make/model of the laptop, it may be as simple & quick as replacing a cable that plugs into the motherboard (cost of cable maybe £20), or at the other extreme, it may need to be soldered to the motherboard after de-soldering the existing one, plus all the extra time/work involved, which would cost in the region of £70 - £80 if I was doing the job.