Is creaking laptop a design fault?

I bought a new laptop from Dell in January 2009, along with a four-year warranty. In May this year I noticed that the hinges were making a creaking noise whenever the screen was opened and closed.

I contacted Dell support and they said this problem was not covered under the warranty, because it is considered reasonable wear and tear. We have used this laptop carefully and so I believe this is a design fault. If I take my laptop somewhere else to be repaired, how it is going to affect my remaining Dell warranty?
Mirza Baig

Extended warranties are a form of insurance policy. Like policies for home or car insurance, there may be some things that are not covered if there is something wrong.

Therefore getting the laptop hinges repaired by a third party should not invalidate the warranty in our opinion. Since Dell doesn’t believe it is responsible for this problem, we don’t see how it could then invalidate continued cover for problems that are insured under the warranty.

However, it may depend on whether opening the laptop would be taken into account. If the laptop was subsequently damaged during the repair, then the responsibility would be that of the company that has done this work.

In this situation Mrs Baig could not make a claim against Dell under the warranty but she could sue the repair company for the damage it caused.

To make sure there aren’t any legal loopholes that could catch out the unwary, we have asked Dell what its terms and conditions are regarding this.

At the time of going to press Dell had not responded to our request for information. We also asked Ralli solicitors for a comment and will update you on this in a future issue.

Alternatively Mrs Baig could try to get a repair under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as she disputes the problem is caused by fair wear and tear. A design fault would make the fault inherent but she would have to prove this.

The best way to do this is gather as much evidence as she can. Her best chance of success would be to have the laptop examined by an expert, but this is likely to entail a fee. If her case isn’t proven she will not be able to claim this expense back from Dell.