Custom Built Computers

Warranty Details

A fair deal for all concerned - your warranty explained

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We pass on to you the 12-month warranty given to us by the suppliers or manufacturers of the individual parts making up your computer. We'll do everything to get your faulty part replaced by the manufacturer or supplier within its warranty period. In most cases, your PC will long outlive any warranty. At which time it will probably be time to consider an upgrade anyway.

Now to the quick: if the faulty part has been abused, misused or broken due to negligence then we will still try to get the part replaced from our supplier but, if they do replace it, a fitting charge will be levied. If the supplier refuses to replace the part because it was broken by you then you will have to pay for both parts and labour, or choose not to replace the part.

What is not covered?

Pets damaging parts
Children damaging parts
Acts of God (weather, flooding, lightning)
Bad wiring in your home or office (wherever the computer is located)
Sockets or plugs or other ports suddenly becoming inoperable (eg pins being bent or snapped off)
Your own negligence to care for the computer
Remember you may be able to claim on your house contents insurance for some of these mishaps

What is covered?

Parts that fail all by themselves
Parts that have intermittent faults (we'll work with our supplier on this one)
Parts not damaged by accident or wilful act

Note: You have a return to base warranty. That is, you return it to me at your own cost for assessment and repair. Collections cost extra!

We have no intentions of trying to take away your rights as a consumer to a fair deal. If something fails through no fault of your own then you can expect to have it put right. Conversely, if you (or someone) damages the computer (even if by accident) then how can you expect us (or our suppliers) to fix that? If you do cause damage to the PC, we can always give you a quote for your home contents' insurers. Also remember that individual components may not be that expensive. Whilst you will have to pay for both the part and fitting, the charges can be quite reasonable.

Example: little Johnny manages to squeeze a toy soldier into the floppy drive, totally destroying it. Replacement might only be in the order of £10-12 including fitting. Not exactly a King's Ransom!

Points to consider

Motherboards, CPUs and memory rarely fail after the first month. We've had memory go slowly bad over a period of about 1 month. We just got more and more blue screens of death until one day the computer failed to boot entirely and all we got was a series of beeps telling us we had no memory fitted. So these things do happen. But after the first month you can be pretty sure things are going to keep working.

More to the point, suppliers and manufacturers take the same view. If you return memory after 8 months they are definitely going to be suspicious that you damaged it [with static electricity, for example] whilst refitting it in your PC and will probably bounce your claim.

There are certain things you can do to keep your PC working:

Don't fiddle with the internals unless you assume the risk of what you are doing
Keep children and others away from the PC (do you know how many Lego parts we find jammed into CD/DVD ROMs?)
Keep pets away from the PC - they shed hair that blocks the vents and tend to chew things
Use a surge protector for the mains supply AND modem (telephone) cables - one lightning strike could fry the computer
Don't eat or drink whilst using the computer. Crisps, greasy fingers, bits of cake all cause keyboards to become "non-functioning". You can be sure we check the contents of a keyboard before replacing it!
Be gentle with your PC. Forcing plugs into holes, yanking on cables, bumping the base unit with the vacuum cleaner (especially when running) can all lead to a failed computer.
If you move the computer (eg when decorating a room) put it down gently! The number of dislodged boards and fans we have seen as a result of less-than-gentle handling...
Don't clean your monitor screen with anything other than products designed for that specific job.

Why all this sabre rattling?

Our margins are slim to tiny in making a computer. That's why you get a computer more cheaply -- and to a certain specification -- when supplied by us. We don't build thousands a week, so we don't have the resources to just replace a part you deem as faulty. If you are uncomfortable with the restrictions on this page then look at the warranty supplied by "the big boys".

You'll find a very similar set of rules, although if you take out an extended warranty with them (for a relatively huge sum of money when compared to the cost of the computer) then they may be more sympathetic to "accidental damage" claims - but you paid for that with your extended warranty payment, not them!

Queries? Questions? Comments or suggestions? Then email me by clicking to send me an email in the workshop.

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