IâÂÂm not sure what part of the world you live in IâÂÂm in the UK hereâÂÂs the law below.
Paddy..

8. âÂÂYou have to return a broken item to the manufacturer, not the shopâÂÂ
Oh no you donâÂÂt. When you buy something in the UK, your contract is with the person who sells it to you, not with the person who made it.
It is the sellerâÂÂs responsibility to replace broken or faulty goods, not the manufacturerâÂÂs. It is sometimes quicker to deal direct with the manufacturer because many have dedicated repair departments but you must make the initial complaint to the organisation that took your money.
That is important because if you want a refund (for example, if multiple repairs are required and you decide to opt for a refund) the manufacturer has no duty to provide this. That is down to the retailer. If you cannot contact the seller, perhaps because it has gone out of business, the item could cost more than ã100 and you paid for it by credit card then the credit card company is also responsible, and you can contact them for assistance. You can also ask them to intervene if the seller refuses to deal with you.

Here is a link that might be useful: See Link

Hi Paddy,

Thanks for the info but I live in California. Two Sony reps in the last month have told me that I need to work it out with Best Buy but BB says the laptop is under Sony's warranty and they must repair it.

I called Sony re the newest problem (the Bluetooth won't work) and the continuing problem with IE8. I admit that my frustration with the whole process so far had me in tears. I was fortunate to get the San Diego repair center, as opposed to the South American call center that can only authorize a return for repair or home repair. After 90 minutes on the phone with Sony today the rep drafted an email to her manager and the tech repair manager asking what, if anything, can be done.

While I'm very appreciative of today's rep's efforts I do not believe that Sony will do the right thing, either replace the laptop or actually fix it.

Needless to say, no one in my family will ever purchase any Sony product ever again.

I am so sorry to hear about your problem and although I read here all the time not to waste your money on extended warranties. I have always bought them for the cameras and computers I buy. One of the items I bought was a DSRL camera and I kept having problems with it. Afer 3 years and 3 times when I had to take it back for repairs, BB just exchanged it for a NEW camera of equal valve! If I did not have that extended warranty then I would just had 1 year from date of purchase from Nikon and I think 90 days from BB.

When it comes to buying a laptop I would not think of buying one without the extended warranty. Just to many things can go wrong, especially with the keyboard and screen which are very costly items.

Sure hope Sony ends up doing the right thing for you because its definately not good for their image. Its a shame they are acting like this. I have always had such good luck with Sony products, but will have to think twice next time I even think of buying something they make :o(

Thats sad to hear because almost all my electronics are Sony. I'm sorry you are having all these problems but I hope you paid with a credit card because it seems that is your alternative.Always pay for high ticket items with a credit card, they are on your side.Shame on Best Buy.

Needless to say, no one in my family will ever purchase any Sony product ever again.

I hope you haven't mentioned that in any conversation with Sony. They have little incentive to fix your problem if they've lost you as a customer.

What about BB's lemon policy????Did you keep your paperwork to confirm the amounts of times its been in????

http://click.emailinfo2.bestbuy.com/?qs=c2b4f6c899dbd030ff05991085d21a9f1cbc72ef5c7db96d7e2ca8e8f5bfabec354aa3d36245d14a

sfvera,

This is a shortcut to Best Buy Customer service,copy and paste your original msg.to them and let us see what they answer you.They are trying with all their ads. to get customers. Don't drop the ball, they must make it right for you,Michael

msn84 - thanks for your response but I must take exception to spending 3 years to get satisfaction. This laptop was less than 15 days after purchase when the first problems arose. Most consumer groups advise that extended warranties only benefit the company/manufacturer and that has been my experience as well.

If I spent the next 3 years attempting to get this laptop to work I would waste far more in time spent, lost productivity and frustration than the laptop is worth.

I'm glad your problem with Sony was resolved by BB but it should have been resolved by Sony. The fact that it took 3 years and BB to resolve it only confirms my position that Sony products should not be purchased as Sony will not take responsibility for their defective products. BB did not manufacture the product, they are merely a agent of sale. Sony deliberately refuses to take appropriate action for their defective products.

Just today Sony's rep confirmed that she has not received any response to her emails to management asking for resolution of this matter. In light of Sony's lack of response (or even acknowledgement of the issue) to their own people, what would make any consumer believe that they would fair any better?

Michael So Fi - thanks for the suggestion but I did contact my cc company and they said as long as Sony is willing to repair the laptop the charge can't be disputed. I explained that we are now at the fifth (the most current HD replacement has stopped working) but as long as Sony says they will repair it the cc company (which was issued by BB) said there is nothing they can do.

Mike Kaiser - I worked with Sony for months to repair a laptop that broke 15 days after purchase. It was after months of Sony not repairing and creating additional problems that I told them no family member or friend would purchase a Sony product again. Sony has proven to me (and the consumer group I'm working with) that they have complete disregard for their customers. This is a laptop that has been defective from the beginning. If Sony wants consumer loyalty they should take responsibility for their products.

Genes and Michael So Fi - thanks for the info re BB lemon policy and link. I've been waiting for an answer from Sony re resolution but after hearing from their rep today that her emails are being ignored I am very disheartened. I will contact BB again and see if they can do anything.

This whole process has been like a Twilight Zone episode. Sony simply refuses to acknowledge there is a problem. I had to purchase a second laptop b/c the Sony won't work, plus more than 30 hours I've spent on the phone with Sony and the 8 weeks of down time while the laptop has been in for repair.

Frankly, I just want to cry every time I think of this.

I, too, buy extended warranties for computers and cameras...with my computer, the monitor died and was fixed to my satisfaction...I have a friends whose computer was replaced,etc. I just feel better with the extended warranty for something like this....

I used to like Sony products over the years. But the past 5 years, I have become very dissatisfied. I only voiced my opinion once to a rep. but I know they come and go like flies and could care less. So needless to say I quit buying their products and don't even consider them anymore when making purchases. I have switched over to HP for all computing and printing needs. Sometimes they need someone to be aggressive and they'll come through. I think their tier 1 desk is payed on performance. If working with the first tier person becomes cumbersome, I ask to escalate the problem. Then you get put on hold and suddenly someone comes on the line that actually helps. I had a UPS go bad and they wanted me to send it back at my own expense even though it was under warranty. I told them I sure will and they can choke on it because I'll never recommend or buy another HP product. A supervisor came on, told me to discard the old one and they sent me a new one Fedex Express. Anyone can take my money, but good service brings me back every time. So HP right now is on my "good guys" list. Their on-line help leaves a lot to be desired. What happens there, if the ticket stays open after 3 days, it automatically escalates. So if you are having a problem, don't let them close the ticket until it is resolved. Opening a new ticket with a reference to the old ticket number doesn't do anything for you.

I wanted to come back and let you know what finally happened with the Sony Vaio. The rep who wrote to her manager regarding replacement or refund wrote back after 10 days to say I had to return the laptop for the 5th repair. Since Sony had already stated their repairs do not include hardware it was obviously just another waste of time.

I had contacted a TV news consumer group and they had a long list of complaints about Sony products. Unlike most other electronic manufacturers they had no contact info for any rep at Sony and had great difficulty finding one. When they were able to make contact with a Sony rep he immediately authorized the replacement of my Vaio. However, the other complaints the group had with Sony products were not resolved as of mid-December b/c Sony refused to honor their warranty on those products, one of which was a Play Station, insisting the products could be repaired (even after they had failed to do so previously).

As for those who believe an extended warranty would have been of use in this case, the Vaio was under its original warranty from Sony, the extended warranty would not have applied.

Since I had to purchase a second new laptop b/c the Vaio was in for repair or not working for 2 full months out of 5, we gave the new replacement Vaio to a charity and are hoping it works.

We will never consider any Sony products again. Even the FedEx driver who delivered the return boxes/picked up the packaged up laptop/returned the unrepaired laptop has said he will never buy Sony. Buy Sony at your own risk.