Sony Broke my LCD Unit

[mrk]

Hello Vaio Users,

Recently i dropped my Sony Vaio SZ1XP/C accedently from the heght of a bed. On dropping i found its two things damaged:

Housing Bezel
Cover Hinge

Both above things got damaged from the left botton of the Lid these are the parts of the LCD console which just chipped off a little so i was finding difficulty in Opening and closing the Lid, otherwise my Laptop was perfect i can use it without any problem and the LCD was in perfect condition. But since i had to ask Sony to do some of my In warranty things like scratches so i thought to send it to Sony to fix this LCD console things as well. But before that i visited Easy Computers from where i bought my Laptop and showed it to thier Technicians and they found it perfect exacept those two things i mentioned above, So they suggested me to book a call with Sony Vaio Support and send it to them to get it fixed.

I called Sony straight away and on telling them the situation the gave the estimate of 150GBP they picked my Laptop through DHL and sent it to France Support Centre. Now what has happened that the next day onrecieving SONY sent me the estimate of 563 GBP mentioning that my LCD Unit is broken too, on inquiring they sent me pictures of the LCD which clearly shows that its broken and you cant see any pictures on it clearly.

This shocked me as it wasnt the case when it was with me. Before sending i placed a note on the top of my machine that please be careful while opening the LID as if you will not consider this and without pressing the hinge try to open the LID you will might damage the LCD itself. And i feel thats what the Sony Technicians did. They ignored my note and they forcefully opened the LID and on opening they found the LCD broken and thought that they have recieved it like this. Or might be that Technician avoided his mistake and claimed that he has recieved it like this.

I have got Easy Computers Technicians as witness and they are willing to tell that they have seen the laptop LCD screen and it was not borken before sending it to Sony.

I am intouch with Sony Support people but they are keep on delaying my case and not willing to accept thier technicians fault.

I am now fed up of this and kindly require any advice you people have any strong complaint procedure or anything you can suggest me. Money is not the problem to pay for repair but i feel its unfair and unjust to pay for the damage i have not done.

So please help me any advice me what should i do..

At the moment sony gave me three options :

Get your laptop back without any repair
Get your Laptop repaired leaving LCD Unit and pay 150GBP
OR Get your Laptop back by paying 563GBP for full repair..

Waiting for your Suggestions and advice

Regards

[romi2]

sorry to hear yet again (personal experience) that Sony Support is a non-supporting department. In my case, Sony is aware of faulty batteries all over (a case from Italy lately) and they are not willing to accept it. I have a similar model SZ1VP than you. Sony Support suggested to have my laptop sent which I shall oppose as they are well known for breaking things and charge the customer for them... your case is just another example.

Sony doesn't have a customer or complaints procedure, just the very same people, email, tel and fax than Sony Support department!!

Other "complaint procedure"? Is any Sony customer of Which? Perhaps they can look into this.

Regards

[rich912]

Hi mrk,

If you have irrefutable proof that the LCD was undamaged at dispatch, and I doubt that Easy Computers Technicians testimony will suffice - as they did not, I assume, assist with packaging prior to dispatch, I suggest that you take your case to the small claims court.

The damage, allegedly caused by a Sony technician, will be difficult to prove but I wish you the best of luck.

[marzipan99]

When I sent my Sz2 for repair I was not allowed to pack it myself as part of the conditions of carriage Sony insisted on (via DHL) - was it the same for yourself? If so, it helps your case that when it left you it was intact, at least a little. Does the DHL insurance not cover it though - if you say it was intact and Sony say it arrived broken it might have been something that happened in between?

[kee-lo_]

Seek advice from Trading Standards, they'll know what you should do next

[apierc1]

When I sent my Sz2 for repair I was not allowed to pack it myself as part of the conditions of carriage Sony insisted on (via DHL)  - was it the same for yourself?

I must say Sony have always told me that I have to pack returns myself, although I have let the DHL guy do it before. THey sometimes send literature about making sure you pack you Vaio yourself. it is a problem with it being physical damage and not faulty hardware, I would have advised you to take photos of you packaging the Vaio to show it's condition upon you sending it off, and or got the DHL courier to sign something to say what condition it was in as now withought any hard proof you will find it basically impossible to make a sucesfull claim.

Andy

[nickt3]

I've just done the same thing( in terms of damage), the shoulder strap for my bag unclipped when I was leaving work leading to my notebook taking a hit. The right hinge is damaged so that the screen is not aligned/ was difficult to open (leading to the right securing hook breaking) and now wont close properly. I came here first for advice- the computer works fine (still pretty annoyed with myself though!). Would like to get it repaired - now wary of sending it away with reports like this of further problems. Is there anywhere I could take the computer to be assessed (I live near Bournemouth). I originally purchased the computer from John Lewis (still within 2 year warranty), do I need to get it repaired by Sony to keep the warranty valid? Many thanks for any help!

Nick

[rich912]

Hi nickt3 and welcome to the forum.

Some manufactures have accredited repairers that are able to carry out repairs without voiding the warranty; unfortunately I don’t think that this is the case with Sony.

Leaving aside the “further problems” question, do you have any household insurance that may possibly cover the damage?

[nickt3]

Unfortunately no home insurance at present. Will probably have to get Sony to repair it for peace of mind. I suppose I will need to get some evidence that the laptop is working (in the form of pictures) especially demonstrating that the LCD is fine. I presume that repairs with sony can all be arranged over the phone/via email enquires. Any idea about the turn around time for fixing the computer (can't go long without it for work?). I will purchase an external hard drive to backup all by data just in case!

Many thanks for any other advice!

Nick