Comet threaten gran with police

Nov 20 2008 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

A GRAN told this week how Comet bosses threatened to call police after she complained about a ‘faulty’ laptop.

Joyce Smith, of Fairhill, Hamilton acquired the Fujitsu Siemens laptop from the Palace Grounds store at the end of July.

She claims just weeks later the ‘z’ character on the keyboard fell off.

She took it back to Comet and they managed to repair it.

A few months later the same problem arose and again Comet fixed it.

However, this week when the same key came off again, a “fed-up and angry” Joyce asked the store for a new laptop or refund.

Joyce, a retired council worker, explained: “The laptop was a birthday gift from my partner. My granddaughter, Amy Louise, also enjoys playing on the computer so it was going to be a good investment.

“But I had the computer only weeks when the key fell off.

“The first time it happened, I have to say I was disappointed because the laptop cost over £300. I didn’t want to pay all that money for something that wasn’t working properly.”

Joyce, went to the store on Monday, with eight-year-old Amy, to complain about the problem.

She said the manager at the store declined to offer a refund or provide her with a new computer.

Angry at being refused, Joyce then proceeded to warn other customers about the way she had been treated.

She added: “I wanted people to know in the run-up to Christmas about the way I had been treated.”

“When the manager threatened me with the police, I couldn’t believe it. My granddaughter was upset too. So I just left.”

However, Comet told the Advertiser yesterday (Wednesday) that they had, in fact, been able to fix Mrs Smith’s computer.

They say warranty on PCs and laptops they sell is not provided by Comet but by the manufacturers.

None of the manufacturers’ warranties cover things like keys falling off.

This is because keys very rarely “spontaneously come off by themselves; there is generally some form of physical intervention.”

A spokesman for Comet added: “Keys coming off are treated as misuse and repairs are, therefore, chargeable. It is not possible to simply get a new key and replace it, the entire keyboard has to be replaced and the repair will cost approximately £100.

“We have service-level agreements with our manufacturers which allow for an exchange of a computer if it is confirmed as having a hardware fault within 28 days of purchase.

“Outside of 28 days, a confirmed hardware fault will result in a warranty repair, unless it is deemed as misuse. Our service-level agreements allow for an exchange if a unit suffers a fourth confirmed hardware fault within 12 months.

“This customer is therefore not entitled to a replacement unit as the fault is not a manufacturing fault.

“In the event of the customer purchasing our extended warranty with this unit, she would be covered for accidental damage and Comet on Call would replace the keyboard.”