PC Repair is it con?

[BensGrandad]

I normally have my pc repaired by somebody who posts on here but the tray of my DVD Rewriter got broken, granbddaughter fell on it when it was open.
Went to buy another tray from local shop but they said I needed to replace the rewrite complete £35 and they would fit it for free as it only took a minute. I accepted. They phoned to say it was fitted but the pc wouldnt power up after moving and saying that it was working prior to taking it to them they looked into it. Then phoned a hour later saying it was a faulty power unit which they would replace for £29 instead of the usual £49.

The shop said its is a common fault and often happens when you are moving a pc tower. Is it usual for this to happen or are they just using it as an excuse to get a charge for fitting the dvd rewriter and thus make a profitable job out of it.

I hate being conned through ignorance.

 

[gullshark]

I used to repair PCs and I've never heard of that fault! The new DVD could have blown it but to be honest a monkey could install a DVD player, it's literally 2 plugs. Although if they've blown your power supply then I would fear for your hard drive and motherboard to be honest...

 

[clippedgull]

I normally have my pc repaired by somebody who posts on here but the tray of my DVD Rewriter got broken, granbddaughter fell on it when it was open.
Went to buy another tray from local shop but they said I needed to eplace the rewrite complete £35 and they would fit it for free as it only took a minute. I accepted. They phoned to say it was fitted but the pc would power up after moaning and saying that it was working prio to taking it to them they looked into it. Then phoned a hour later saying it was a faulty power unit which they would replace for £29 instead of the usual £49.

The shop said its is a common fault and often happens when you are moving a pc tower. Is it usual for this to happen or are they just using it as an excuse to get a charge for fitting the dvd rewriter and thus make a profitable job out of it.

I hate being conned through ignorance.

hmm, hard to say. If you bite the bullet and cough up, ask them for the old power supply back, to prove that they have replaced it. Just say that your usual repairer is on holiday and you are going to claim back from him as you only had the power supply fitted before xmas.

 

[liverpool_one]

Yes it's a con.
Brand new 20x pioneer dvd writer is only 12 plus vat.
Brand new 500 watt power supply is only 16 plus vat

 

[beorhthelm]

yes its a con, never heard of apower supply going due to being moved. problem is now they might well broken it so it doesnt work (acciedntly or deliberatly) and you cant prove it

Brand new 500 watt power supply is only 16 plus vat

only if you live in a world of perfect mains power and dont mind if it gives up after 6 months. wouldnt touch anything so cheap, first spike will probaby kill it and induce interference nearby.

 

[liverpool_one]

yes its a con, never heard of apower supply going due to being moved. problem is now they might well broken it so it doesnt work (acciedntly or deliberatly) and you cant prove it



only if you live in a world of perfect mains power and dont mind if it gives up after 6 months. wouldnt touch anything so cheap, first spike will probaby kill it and induce interference nearby.

Been using these power supplys for over 3 years so probably around 50-60 of them and never had one returned yet. made by a company called cit.

 

[Laptop Ell]

Brian, Is it ok now (after you appear to have been conned) ?

I concur that a new DVD drive would have cost you approx £17 from me and fitting would have been free as it's a 2 minute job.

 

[disgruntled h blocker]

Some PC repair firms take the piss! It's obvious they are either on the fiddle or have broken the PSU themselves, which is quite unlikely. But if the PSU was damaged when they installed their new component, shouldn't they pay for full repair to put it how it was before the machine was taken into repair?

 

[cw00]

name and shame the place then if they conned you!

 

[BensGrandad]

What is more I had to take the pc back to them as the DVD drive didnt work and they had to replace this with another new one free of charge. The total cost was £69.50 for the new dvd rewriter, fitting and a new power unit.

The people I used but will never use again was The Laptop Shop in Sussex Road Haywards Heath.

Despite me telling what people on here said in their words " if you want to listen to amateurs do so but this can happen whenever a tower unit is moved".

They gave me the old power unit back to prove they had replaced it.

 

[auschr]

You shouldn't have paid for a power supply or power unit. They broke it, they should pay for it. I never heard of replacing a disc drive setting off a power supply.

 

[cw00]

what an absolute twat some of the comments on here sure arn't amateur (like the guy who runs a repair business). no offence but they probably noticed your age and took advantage of this by charging you £69 for something that should have been no more that £20. theres no way a power supply can just "die" when its being moved, ridiculos. :US: go back there a put a brick through their windows that should set them back a few quid!

 

[BensGrandad]

I paid because I wanted my pc back I am now considering what action I can take to recoup the money, not sure that I can but am looking into it. I wonder if I could have the power unit checked to see if it works, may not even be my old one.

 

[cw00]

I paid because I wanted my pc back I am now considering what action I can take to recoup the money, not sure that I can but am looking into it. I wonder if I could have the power unit checked to see if it works, may not even be my old one.

if you ever go back there quote what they said about the "ametuers" tell them to look at their own website first! http://www.laptopworkshop.com/shop/repair/repair_process.php cant even write a fully functional php script which for a proffesional organisation is shite.. you could always test the other power supply on another computer thats would be the easiest way.

 

[Laptop Ell]

:US: go back there a put a brick through their windows that should set them back a few quid!

Goodness, violence is never the correct option....

This says more about the poster of this comment than the repair shop in question.

 

[cw00]

Goodness, violence is never the correct option....

This says more about the poster of this comment than the repair shop in question.

obviously hes not guna do it hes a grandad... anyway just makes me sick people taking advantage making shit loads of money out of vunerable people

 

[ChapManiA]

It's a difficult one, the PSU could genuinely have died of natural causes, but very unlikely to have been down to movement.

The shop probably thought you are someone they could make a bit of money out of.
It's just like when you take your car to a garage and they magically find faults that don't exist so they can make a bit more money.

I'd ask them for the 'broken' PSU back, but then they'll probably break it for real so that they aren't exposed as liars.

£35 for a new optical drive isn't too bad considering you went to a shop and they have their overheads, but clearly it wasn't 'free' fitting.

Edit:
I was slow to type my message and seen many posts since. So it was the Laptop Shop, I've been there before when I was looking for a system for my Sister, the staff member I spoke to seemed a bit arrogant.

I'd be happy to test your 'broken' PSU out for you, I'm in Haywards Heath regularly.

 

[Scoffers]

Part of the problem here is that there is very little money in running a shop like that these days, and it's all too easy to rip people off, as most people don't know any different.

 

[BensGrandad]

I am a grandad but it doesnt make me senile or unable to do anything, although my grandchildren may disagree. The problem is that if the person you are talking to doesnt know enough about a subject you can fill them with any bullshit. Most young people/ teenagers have been brought up with computers so know enough to tell them that what they said at the time was rubbish. I wasnt and dont have that knowledge instantly, although I can probably find somebody who does have.

 

[beorhthelm]

...The people I used but will never use again was The Laptop Shop in Sussex Road Haywards Heath.

Despite me telling what people on here said in their words " if you want to listen to amateurs do so but this can happen whenever a tower unit is moved".

interesting that they should qualify it in that way. and ironic too, since they dont call themselves the "Laptop and Tower Shop", who are they to say who's professional?