I Snapped My Laptop!

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Snake Man

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Andy
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Opened it up and the hinge on the left has snapped. And I'm not just talking about the plastic bit. The metal piece is in two and has pushed up through the laptop cracking some of the plastic! It's still working and I'm currently backing up some files in case the whole thing fails.

What makes it worse is, it's only 14months old, so just outside of warranty, grrrr.

I'm going to ring Acer tomorrow and see if they will do anything about it but I'm guessing they will probably just say tough, it's out of warranty and you will have to pay.

Anyone had any dealing with Acer customer services?
 
look for the same model "spares or repair" on fleabay?
 
Steep said:
look for the same model "spares or repair" on fleabay?
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Yeah thats a good idea. I'm not sure how the hinge connects inside the laptop and I'm reluctant to open it up until I've heard from Acer and what they might do about it.
 
Snake Man said:
Yeah thats a good idea. I'm not sure how the hinge connects inside the laptop and I'm reluctant to open it up until I've heard from Acer and what they might do about it.
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Dont want to put a dampner on things but im not sure they will do alot to help you as its out of warrenty, you maybe lucky who knows.

If not spares or repair same model off fleabay is your best idea:)
 
Hmmm, my argument would be that it isn't of sufficient build quality and thus not of saleable quality under the sale of goods act. The premise that something has a 12 month warranty and nothing more is a fallacy. It should last for "a reasonable period".

A reasonable period for a Laptop for example could be considered several (up to 6) years. A light bulb however cannot be expected to last that long!

As long as the Laptop wasn't mistreated in any way then you can claim against the original supplier under the sale of goods act (your contract is with them and NOT the manufacturer) stating "Not for for purpose".
 
Thanks for that Nathan. I will certainly push that point when I contact them tomorrow. My laptop has had high use, as I use it every day for work but it very well looked after.
 
reasonable use won't cut the mustard here I feel as the device has been used for commercial usage.

Fit for purpose could also be rebuffed by acer if they claimed their warranty repair level was low on that component.

My feeling is that a polite chat with acer's customer care dept. Asking for assistance towards the cost of repair would be the best course of action.
 
tend to agree with DF here
 
Laptops are 'designed' for commercial use , that's the whole point of them. I'd contact Acer & work my way up the tree of excuses and see what they offer & only then if it's not good enough I#d hit them with the Sale of Goods Act.

I believe this is why Microsoft extended the warranty on the Xbox360 to 3 years as they were getting such a kicking using the Act as ammunition
 
mrgubby said:
Laptops are 'designed' for commercial use , that's the whole point of them. I'd contact Acer & work my way up the tree of excuses and see what they offer & only then if it's not good enough I#d hit them with the Sale of Goods Act.

I believe this is why Microsoft extended the warranty on the Xbox360 to 3 years as they were getting such a kicking using the Act as ammunition
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Exactly!

I've had Sony over the coals with several VERY expensive carbon fibre laptops which failed in exactly these circumstances. While sale of good does not technically cover commercial use, knowing what should and should not be acceptable under common sense can get you a long way!

As above, work your way up and kick up a fuss if need be. They don't HAVE to know it's used for work ;)
 
mrgubby said:
Laptops are 'designed' for commercial use , that's the whole point of them.
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A laptop is designed as a portable personal computer in a compact format to facilitate ease of transportation and storage.

The build of the device would be the deciding factor in deciding what's robust enough to be classed as suitable for commercial use.

You'd hardly expect a cheapo laptop to stand up to a harsh enviroment in the same way as something more robust like the "toughbook",

Now the OP hasn't hinted as to the costs or specs of the laptop, but if the manufacturing company were going to warrant a hinge / body of a laptop thats going to be opened and closed multiple times per day, everyday for over a year it would have to be a top of the line machine.
 
I am always nervous about opening or adjusting my laptop which is a top notch Toshiba. In my opinion they make the hinges far too stiff for my liking, The hinge mount flexes well before the hinge operates, wife's Novatech is the same.

Could do with a drop of WD40:LOL:
 
Snake Man said:
Opened it up and the hinge on the left has snapped. And I'm not just talking about the plastic bit. The metal piece is in two and has pushed up through the laptop cracking some of the plastic! It's still working and I'm currently backing up some files in case the whole thing fails.

What makes it worse is, it's only 14months old, so just outside of warranty, grrrr.

I'm going to ring Acer tomorrow and see if they will do anything about it but I'm guessing they will probably just say tough, it's out of warranty and you will have to pay.

Anyone had any dealing with Acer customer services?
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Same thing happened to my dauhters Acer (bussiness use) less than two weeks from warrenty's end
She bought from "Staples" who were not really helpful a quick call to Acer sorted it, but the same thing happend a few months later :bang: No luck that time though :( So I guess you have a 50 / 50 chance of getting it sorted going on past experiance
 
They replaced the dvd drive in mine whilst under warranty, 2 months later when it packed up again, out of the original warranty period [and having been used ONCE], they wouldnt play ball. However, its not much consolation, but the hinge is fairly straightforward to replace if you can get one off a SorR unit.
 
:LOL::LOL::LOL: mad dash to see if I had actually posted that Marky, thankfully I hadn't but hey that's the best laugh I have had in days:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:
Yes it deserves 6:D
 
The laptop is the aspire 9500. About a £1k worth of kit when new. It has been treated well. When I say it comes with me to work, it goes from my desk at home to another desk at which ever company I'm working at the time. So it's not thrashed around or used in outdoor conditions being constantly being picked up or put down etc. And it did actually break at home just by simply opening it up.
 
digitalfailure said:
A laptop is designed as a portable personal computer in a compact format to facilitate ease of transportation and storage.

The build of the device would be the deciding factor in deciding what's robust enough to be classed as suitable for commercial use.

You'd hardly expect a cheapo laptop to stand up to a harsh enviroment in the same way as something more robust like the "toughbook",

Now the OP hasn't hinted as to the costs or specs of the laptop, but if the manufacturing company were going to warrant a hinge / body of a laptop thats going to be opened and closed multiple times per day, everyday for over a year it would have to be a top of the line machine.
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I couldn't disagree more. If one of the basic functions of a laptop (ie it's ability to open/close the screen) isn't at the top of the agenda when designing the thing then it shouldn't be on the market!
 
So you'll be needing a new one?

Fancy a free one? There are clues......
 
NathanJT said:
I couldn't disagree more. If one of the basic functions of a laptop (ie it's ability to open/close the screen) isn't at the top of the agenda when designing the thing then it shouldn't be on the market!
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I didn't say that hinge design was'nt a consideration.

I was pointing out the fact that products are built to a cost and within an expected duty cycle.

Do the military use cheap "super market" laptops or do they use a device with a sturdier construction ?

Intent and fair useage is the key.

If acer value their customers, they'll contribute to a repair.
 
digitalfailure said:
Do the military use cheap "super market" laptops or do they use a device with a sturdier construction ?
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No, I think they can only just afford to feed the carrier pigeons!

I know what you're saying, but my point is that if they know it's built to a price then they should at least expect to have returns and thus offer repairs. What gets my back up is the excuses manufacturers conjour up for what is effectively costs cutting to increase profit.
 
NathanJT said:
I know what you're saying, but my point is that if they know it's built to a price then they should at least expect to have returns and thus offer repairs. What gets my back up is the excuses manufacturers conjour up for what is effectively costs cutting to increase profit.
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I don't want to take this too far off topic here, but you,I,we don't know what Acer have or will say with regards to the failure. They could quite easily say they'll replace the laptop for all we know. The decision is their's wether we like it or not.


Building to a price and market range position is visible in all aspects of life, it's never going to go away. So with that in mind, IF a part had a cheap build and replacement cost, it's not going to be a high priority outside of it's warranty.
 
Sounds like general wear and tear to me. If it was a component failure it would have done it the first time you'd opened the laptop

Did you shut the lid with a pen trapped between the keyboard and the lid? That's a common cause of hinges failing.

Household insurance claim?
 
Oh and by the way, Acer are sh*t
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You can say that again!

Right, I've phoned them and basically they are going to do nothing. The 1st person I spoke just kept repeating that it's out of warranty, it's out of warranty.

Phoned again, spoke to a different person, same thing. But they did give me a 50p a minute phone number for people who can't figure out how to turn their computers on!

Thought I'd give it one more try. I'd been ever so polite up til now. Mentioned the above points about laptops being designed to able to be opened and closed. But was met with the same script. Asked them if they thought it was acceptable that a £1000 laptop should only last 14 months. Still the answer was sorry, it's out of warranty and we can't so anything about it. At this point I did lose my cool and let loose on the operator. Line went dead, then switched to some message saying we take abusive and prank calls seriously blah blah blah.

Not sure if there is anything else I can do. None of the operators would put me through to anyone else, supervisor etc. I'm wondering weather it would be worth contacting trading standers? They will probably just say I've had some use out of it and it's out of warranty.

Just have to look up some spare parts and do it myself, or a phone call to the insurance company.
 
digitalfailure said:
Do the military use cheap "super market" laptops or do they use a device with a sturdier construction ?
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We use Dell for almost all office work. Laptops are usually the Latitude or Inspiron series depending on your job and the desktops...actually I have no idea which model they are - mine just sits under my desk and whirrs happily to itself all day.
I use a Sony Vaio for my photo editing.
We also have some Panasonic Toughbooks for people like the Royal Engineers whoi have to use them outdoors in the rain, but even when our Brigade Headquarters deploys to the field (and sets up in leaky tents with huge cam-nets suspended over them like Billy Smart's Circus) we take the Dells and just put plastic over them when it rains. Some guys cling-film the keyboards, but most don't bother.
They get dirty, dusty, muddy and coffee is spilt on them regularly...they still work OK.
 
Arkady said:
We use Dell for almost all office work. Laptops are usually the Latitude or Inspiron series depending on your job and the desktops...actually I have no idea which model they are - mine just sits under my desk and whirrs happily to itself all day.
I use a Sony Vaio for my photo editing.
We also have some Panasonic Toughbooks for people like the Royal Engineers whoi have to use them outdoors in the rain, but even when our Brigade Headquarters deploys to the field (and sets up in leaky tents with huge cam-nets suspended over them like Billy Smart's Circus) we take the Dells and just put plastic over them when it rains. Some guys cling-film the keyboards, but most don't bother.
They get dirty, dusty, muddy and coffee is spilt on them regularly...they still work OK.
Click to expand...

My personal lappy is a Dell Inspiron, this is my second and they are very well built machines. My work machine is a toughbook cf-18....it's been dropped, chucked and dragged on many a trip out and it still looks like new :LOL:

Sorry to hear about the lack of help from Acer, i'd suggest checking your home insurance and then tripping down the stairs with it in hand ;)
 
Or take it back to the place you bought it from and quote the sale of goods act at them. That remains in effect for up to 6 years, regardless of any warranty offered by Acer. I would realistically expect the life of a laptop to be in excess of 14 months.

Another tactic would be to first phone the store and tell them you're interested in buying one and you wonder how long they'd expect them to last. Then go in with the SOGA ;)
 
Snake Man,

Like I said earlier, your case isn't with Acer. The sale of goods act means that it's whoever sold it to you in the first place that has to cover the warrenty etc. If you bought it from them directly then obviously it is their issue.

Your best bet is to put everything in writing to a head office as unfortunately the customer facing muppets are clueless and will simply quote "it's out of warrenty". State you're case, clearly and correctly and then mention redress through small claims court if they refuse your rights under the SOGA. That will normally get their attention ;)

Also, do a quick google for the act, it's actually quite easy reading and you'll better understand it.

Seems like a common issue (design fault maybe ;))

http://www.laptopshowcase.co.uk/reviews.php?id=118
 
^^^ I will give that a go, thanks.
 
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