The Sales of Goods Act
basically makes the majority of Extended warranties useless (apart from accidental damage)

Wind the clock back 5 years I was 10 days outside my 12 month warranty with Comet. I had bought a HP laptop (quite a decent model at that time) and it had died.

Looking up the symptoms on the net revealed it was probably the motherboard... which pretty much meant replacing the entire laptop to getting it fixed. I rang Comet who told me to f' off as it was outside the warranty and to contact HP. HP told me it would cost £360 to get fixed - not including labour and postage.

Then i heard about The sales of good act, and that the laptop was not fit for purpose as it didnt die from accidental damage etc.

One quick re-worded phone call to Comet later, and a guy from their service desk was actually at my house to collect the laptop.

1 week later, a brand new motherboard fitted, laptop fixed, and a very happy me.

The motherboard failed 12 months later, by which point i had had enough.

I think it was down to the AMD processors, as they get very hot.
(Dan dan dan They tik urh jerbs!!!, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 15:11, 5 replies)

And there's more
The Sales of Goods Act also renders the generally accepted 12 month guarantee as meaningless too. It has to last a reasonable length of time. The public in general have it ingrained that most stuff comes with a 12 month guarantee, and it's total bollocks. The average TV will last longer than those selling extended warranties will have you believe.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 15:23, closed)

AFAIK you can claim up to six years
depending on the type of item. Two years seems to be generally accepted for electrical goods, except by the retailers of course.
( edjogs Collared doves are shit., Mon 14 Nov 2011, 15:31, closed)

Aaaarrgghhh AMD processors
Could heat a four bedroom home with one of those little buggers. I know so many folk who have had laptops die or intermittently cease to function because of AMD chips and their ability to reproduce the surface temperature of the sun.
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Mon 14 Nov 2011, 15:31, closed)

They suck the life out of batteries too.
I have an HP laptop with an AMD processor, which runs hot. Means the fan is almost contantly on too.

Comes with 2 batteries, one large, one small. HP say the small battery should last 2.5 hours. I get 45 mins out of it. The large battery is supposed to be good for 7 hours. I get 2 hours max.

It's a good machine, but you need to carry spare batteries and a charger.
(username failed moderation, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 15:41, closed)

My HP laptop died after about 18 months
I think it was a combination of motherboard and graphics card that got it in the end. I just called HP's call centre and enthused about how much I loved my laptop and how disappointed I was that it wasn't working - the first two times I was rebuffed with "sorry, there's nothing we can do" but the third time I got through to someone nice and sympathetic to my cause and within the week I had a brand new laptop (internal components - the case was still scratched to shit)
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 16:51, closed)