Who should fix a faulty laptop bought from an Ebay seller?

I bought a Dell laptop with Windows 7 Pro in April 2010 but have had problems with it from the start.

I rang Dell and the company helped me get the laptop going because I had a premium warranty.

The company has been out to rebuild the computer at least twice now but I am still having problems with the PC. I bought the laptop from an Ebay shop as refurbished. But when I made a complaint the seller said I had a warranty, so should claim on it.
David Gibbons

Mr Gibbons said that he had received good service from Dell under the warranty but, not surprisingly, he is fed up with the computer continually malfunctioning.

However, under the Sale of Goods Act, his contract is with the Ebay seller. He told us that, when he had called, the company wasn’t interested in helping him or replacing the PC.

What also concerned us was Mr Gibbons said he paid £929 for the laptop but Dell said the selling price should have been around £525.

We asked him if he had contacted the Ebay seller again to ask about this, but he told us that the company appears to have disappeared. He also had no address although he had emailed and called the seller.

This means he is relying on the warranty to fix the computer. A warranty is legally binding if offered by a manufacturer and Dell is fulfilling its obligations under this. But it does not have to give Mr Gibbons a replacement or a refund. However, he told us that Dell had offered him a new laptop at half price.

We couldn’t find the seller on Ebay either so have asked Mr Gibbons to send us the phone number he was given. If he does we will contact the seller.