Know your rights when you buy a PC

The term caveat emptor - 'buyer beware' - is often used as a grim reminder of what can go wrong when you go shopping.

All it really means is that you should go into a deal with your eyes open and some facts to hand, which is good advice for any situation.

While for some people it can be quite daunting to buy a PC, particularly in the run-up to the festive season when there are so many attractive but confusing deals available, it doesn't have to be that way.

With a little careful preparation, you can buy with confidence and rise above those scare stories of predatory salespeople, jargon-infested ads and retail rip-off merchants.

The best defence, as always, is to educate yourself about what you can reasonably expect from suppliers, your rights under the law and your responsibilities as a consumer.

The advice we offer here will provide a useful starting point for how to think about buying equipment, even though we can't claim to have thought of everything.

These guidelines are designed for buying a new PC safely but the principles behind them can be applied to any kind of computing purchase.

The main points are to be clear about what you want, do some research, keep good records and take a little extra time or advice before you commit to a purchase.

Be prepared
The first thing to decide before starting your shopping trip, whether it is to the high street, online or by direct sales telephone line, is what you actually want.

It may seem obvious but it's easy to lose sight of your purpose when confronted with a huge range of festive PC bundles.

What you want will be determined by what you want to use the PC for. Simply asking for advice from the sales outlet is not always enough.

If you start with a clear idea of what you want, it is far more difficult for over-eager sales staff to change your mind.

We recommend making a list of your requirements, starting with who is going to use the PC and what kinds of tasks they want it to perform. It will also save you from embarrassing mistakes.

Carolyn Worth, external relations manager at Evesham, said that she once spoke to a lady who wanted to complain about the notebook PC she had bought for her daughter's birthday. "It turned out her daughter had wanted a desktop machine with a flat-panel TFT monitor!" she explained.

Once you have a good idea of what you want, it's time for some research. If you're relatively inexperienced, we recommend that you visit a company's shop or showroom, if that is possible, to get an idea of how the company operates.

Don't feel embarrassed about asking questions if you don't understand something. Asking questions shows you have done your research and will not accept any old rubbish.

If an assistant makes you feel uncomfortable about asking a question, then there's a simple solution: assert your rights as a consumer and give your custom to a company that values it.

Now use your specification list to obtain written quotations from several sources, whether they are online, in stores or ready-made specifications from ads.

It's easier to make a like-for-like comparison if you insist that the seller quotes for your exact specification, but you may have to compromise to get the best deal. Most sales outlets will cut prices if you take on their warranty terms and special offers.

We could spend a whole article discussing the merits and pitfalls of warranties. But the main points to remember are that high-value, long-lasting products may be worth covering but low-cost items are not.

Always read the small print carefully, consider the product's value at the end of the warranty period, compare the cost of replacing the product and think about manufacturers' own warranty periods.

Anthony George, customer services manager at vnunet.com's sister title Computeractive, warns readers to look at any paperwork very carefully and ask themselves whether they will get true value from the warranty.

"If things go wrong in the first year, there is a built-in warranty under the Sale of Goods Act," he said. "Section 75 offers protection for consumers in just about every circumstance, except where the consumer has behaved like an idiot."

Quote, unquote
The written quotation is a vital document that should feature every relevant detail about the purchase, from the specification to the delivery date.

Make sure that all chargeable items, such as VAT, are included. VAT cannot later be added unless the supplier made it clear that VAT was excluded from the quotation.

Once accepted, a written quotation effectively forms a contract between the buyer and the supplier. This is not the same as an estimate, which states the likely cost of the goods and therefore the eventual bill can be higher.

Unless a quotation states specifically that the given price may vary, suppliers cannot charge more even if labour or material costs go up before the work is finished or the goods are despatched.

Some retailers will ask for a deposit, especially if the machine needs to be assembled to meet a specification.

When you deposit money on goods, you should agree with the seller what will happen to the money if the sale falls through. If you don't, the retailer is entitled to keep the money.

If you later decide to withdraw from the sale because you have found a cheaper alternative in the meantime, you are not entitled to a refund, although the trader may offer you one for purposes of goodwill.

If a PC has been built to a specification agreed and quoted in writing, the seller could also make a claim against you for loss of profit in addition to the deposit if it cannot sell such goods to anyone else.

While we are on the subject of getting things in writing, it's vital that you keep good records of the purchase, regardless of what kind of outlet you buy from.

Make a note of the names of people you have spoken to. This is particularly important if you are speaking on the phone to a direct sales company or to a website's online advisor. It's not to identify scapegoats but to establish a clear audit trail of the sale should a dispute arise.

The facts in writing will add weight to your argument if you need to make a claim to your credit card company or another third party such as the small claims court.

One of the most common causes of dispute in purchases concerns delivery and a lack of clear communication about what is realistic is often to blame.

Delivery times can be a cause of frustration if you are not clear about your expectations. It's important to be reasonable, as suppliers are under more pressure at this time of year.

If a specific delivery date is important to you because you have to take time off work to accept it, then make that clear.

Tony Northcott, a representative of the Trading Standards Institute, said: "If you make time the essence of the contract, it must be made clear in writing that the order is subject to a specific delivery time."

Credit's due
Regular readers of Consumeractive will know that if you are spending more than £100 you can't beat the security of a credit card.

For purchases between £100 and £30,000, credit card companies are liable under the Consumer Credit Act if goods supplied are damaged, break during reasonable use or where suppliers go bust. While this gives you a helpful safety net in clear-cut cases, credit suppliers can also help out in disputes.

Suppliers of PC equipment usually have close business relationships with credit companies and, if there is a genuine problem, they can sometimes negotiate with suppliers to reach an acceptable resolution.

If, even after your careful preparation, you encounter a problem, don't despair. It's always better to attempt to resolve disputes by negotiation but, if you cannot reach an amicable result, there are weapons at your disposal.

The Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 dictates that goods must be of satisfactory quality when sold. The legislation says that the most important way of measuring this is 'fitness for purpose' although appearance, safety and durability can also be considered.

Fitness for purpose means that a PC should perform in the manner described at the time of sale. If, for example, you have ordered a PC because you want to play games on it and the unit arrives with a poor specification graphics card, you are entitled to a replacement.

If you are ordering from magazines read the ad carefully. If it states 'photographs for illustrative purposes only' do not order until the exact nature of what you will be paying for has been outlined, preferably in writing.

A good rule of thumb is that if an offer looks too good to be true then it probably is. However, there is help to turn to if a mail order company fails to deliver what it promised.

If you respond to a magazine or newspaper display advertisement, meaning one not featured in a classified ads section, then you are covered by the Mail Order Protection Scheme (Mops).

The government launched the scheme after a high number of consumers complained that goods they had paid for up-front had not arrived or that companies had gone bust or disappeared without delivering their goods.

To make a Mops claim you must make a written claim to the appointed Mops manager at the company that published the magazine in which the ad appeared.

You must allow 28 days for the seller to supply the goods in full. Claims cannot be accepted later than three months from the official on-sale date of the magazine that carried the advertisement you responded to.

You should remember that Mops compensation can only be given when pre-payment was by cheque, postal order, bank transfer, debit card or direct debit.

We hope that by outlining the possible pitfalls of buying a PC, you now feel more confident about your rights and more knowledgeable about what you should prepare.

The vast majority of shops, mail order outlets and online stores are run by reputable companies and most purchases go smoothly.

KNOW YOUR FACTS

The Sale and Supply of Goods Act protects you in the event that equipment you have bought is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold.

If you buy goods from outside the UK you lose many of your rights so take this into account if ordering from foreign websites.

New EU legislation insists that European e-commerce sites clearly state their country of origin, giving both a postal and email contact address.

Site owners must also list the names and contact details of all trade and regulatory bodies to which they belong. Dissatisfied customers can therefore make complaints directly to the relevant authority.

Bear in mind that a written quotation is subject to a time limit and you should ask the seller when the quotation expires.

Written quotes will often list terms and conditions of sale. These do not affect your statutory rights so you do not lose your protection under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act.

Always check that the correct items have been delivered. If not, you have seven days to let the supplier know it has made an error.

Contrary to popular belief, you have not legally accepted goods just because you have signed a delivery note. Legislative details are available online from the Stationery Office.

WORDS TO THE WISE

• If you want to buy a system for Christmas, don't leave it too late to order.
• Don't go in to a showroom on a Saturday expecting to discuss your needs in depth. Shops are far busier at this time and have to use less experienced staff.
• Check any claims or promises sellers make against other reference sources, such as advice sites on the internet or knowledgeable friends.
• Don't buy from suppliers that won't supply a written quote when asked.
• Always use a credit card to purchase goods that cost more than £100. It's worth getting a credit card purely for this purpose.
• Keep advertisements you have responded to and copies of all paperwork sent or received by you.
• If you speak to sales staff, in person or on the phone, ask politely for their full name.
• If you are buying from a website, print out all the pages you have visited as well as the forms you have filled in.
• Open all boxes as soon as the product is delivered and check that everything you ordered is there.
• Keep a dated record of all software you add to the PC. This could prove invaluable to support staff should problems develop later on.
• If you value the data on your hard disk, make sure you use an external back-up.
• Before you pay extra for on-site maintenance investigate the terms and conditions. Will the company collect your PC and how quickly? Also ask about its returns policy.
• Check the cost of telephone support lines and consider dialling them to see how long you have to wait.

CONTACTS

Trading Standards Institute
Can help to resolve disputes between buyers and sellers or take legal enforcement action where no resolution proves possible.

Advertising Standards Authority
Can investigate claims that adverts mislead consumers over the true nature of what is being sold. This applies to illustrations as well as text.

Watchdog
The BBC's consumer investigations programme lists some useful FAQs on your rights and an A to Z of legal terms.