Can I get my laptop hinges fixed?

The lid of my four-year-old laptop has always been loose and meant it was difficult to close. I recently took the laptop apart and attempted to reattach it but one of the hinges cracked while I was doing this.

The laptop is now virtually useless and PC World, where I bought the computer, says I can’t get a free repair or a replacement under the Sale of Goods Act because I caused the damage. But the laptop hinges were faulty.
Mike Rose

PC World is right that Mr Rose can’t make a claim because his botched DIY job will be seen as accidental damage. The Sale of Goods (SoG) Act does not give consumers protection for this damage, or for fair wear and tear.

The best thing for Mr Rose would have been to take the laptop into PC World so it could fix it. He would have had protection under the SoG for inherently faulty goods because he says the lid and screen were not properly attached in the first place.

However, by leaving it this long, Mr Rose would need to prove that the problem was inherent and existed in the first place and not caused over the last four years by fair wear and tear, or other accidental damage.