PC World UK/MBP problem

[themat]

Hey guys/gals,

I'm sorry this may be the wrong section but i'm not sure anywhere would be correct for this thread =o. Heres the situation:

In December 2008 my 2.5 year old Toshiba laptop died, which sucked but it happend that I had some spare cash, so I went on the hunt for a new laptop. I went to PC world and was taking a look at the MBP's and they have two types on sale, both early 2008 penryn, one with the 256mb GFX card and the other with the 512mb GFX. The prices had been dropped drastically and I couldn't afford to pay for the new uMBP that had just come out and I urgently needed a laptop for going back to University.

I decided on the 512mb GFX card MBP but upon trying to purchase it they realised they had made a mistake and had none in stock and would obviously not get any more. Knowing technology and how quickly things become out of date I wanted the better GFX card as this would be acting as my main machine at home and at university. I was about to walk away from the shop when the sales person called over the Apple specific Tech Guy, who told me that he works on all the Apple products and explained that the GFX card is definitely upgradable, and that it could definitely be done at some point in the future if needed. Upon hearing this I didn't quite believe him but he seemed so sure, which ended up with me buying the MBP with the 256mb GFX card. A few weeks ago I started to look into upgrading parts of my laptop, first RAM, secondly the HD and thirdly the GFX card, but on here and from Apple themselves I have been told replacing the GFX card is not possible.

I'm pretty gutted really that its not upgradable(the GFX card) and I should of probably looked into it more but what am I supposed to believe if an Apple specific Tech Guy from PC World tells me its possible to do and isn't a problem? I'm now in a dodgy situation where I don't know how far to take this, because at the end of the day i've been miss-sold a product, which I would not of bought were it not for being told the GFX card was definitely upgradable. I feel like they've told me this just to secure the sale and get rid of the last Early 08 MBP they had in stock(which it was), and that they are just taking advantage of a customer with less knowledge about Macs.

I've contacted PC worlds customer care line and they keep giving me different stories and putting me through to different lines where nothing comes of it. I've been told I do have a case for being miss-sold a product but they are basically saying to me "How can you prove the Tech Guy told you this??". I've also emailed their customer support line explaining my situation but have yet to recieve a reply, but was told on the phone the email address just goes through to the same people on the customer support phone line anyway.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? Sorry for the wall of text, but any help is appreciated!

Cheers.

 

[brentsg]

The good news is that it's really not going to make much of a difference.

You're in a he said/she said scenario that probably won't go anywhere.

 

[xUKHCx]

How long ago did this happen?

Trading Standards might be able to help you out or at least give you guidance on the steps to take moving your case forwards.

Their website is http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/index.cfm and telephone number: 08454 04 05 06.

There are all sorts of different issues that this could fall under, the main on I believe is the Sales of Goods act. This is my local trading standards office website on this act.

Snippet from a large pages with lots of different issues:

Offences

If the seller is in business (rather than a private seller), he may have committed a criminal offence if he:

• sells goods which are unsafe;
• advertises a misleading price;
• displays a sign which states 'no refunds';
• performs an 'unfair commercial practise' this can include many activities such as placing false claims on goods or services.

If you feel that any of the above could apply, you should report the matter to your local trading standards service before you return to the trader.

If you have been injured as a result of any goods, you should seek immediate advice from a solicitor.

I believe it falls foul of the unfair commercial practise line and as such would go to the trading standards now.

Of course there will be problems as you are in a case of your words against theirs and depending on the time scales involved it may make your case much harder.

 

[themat]

The good news is that it's really not going to make much of a difference.

You're in a he said/she said scenario that probably won't go anywhere.

I thought it would make a big difference, is that not the case :O?

Yeh exactly its a pain in the arse, going to see what happens though and hope for a reply, its alot to do with principle now aswell.

edit- Ok thanks alot xUKHCx I'll take a good look at that . The problem is that yes it did happen 6 months ago but thats the point, I feel like they've told me something that isn't true knowing that I probably wouldn't find out for a long time period due to the nature of the issue (being an upgrade after a period of time).

 

[Consultant]

Most laptops cannot upgrade graphics cards. Of those who can, the upgrade cost is so high it's pretty much useless. Common knowledge.

Do you even know what is the function of GPU? People don't call it GFX. Thus I suspect you probably don't know what to do with a graphics card with more memory.

So the answer is, unfortunately not possible, but the good news is that you probably don't need it.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

PC World know nothing when it comes to Macs. Twice I've been in and asked about Macs. The first time I asked where is the Mac section and the guy just looked at me as if to say 'what the hell is a mac?'.

The second time I asked if they had any G5s I could look at as I wanted to get hands on before I bought one. They had even less of a clue even though I explained it was a computer made by Apple.

When you do find their Mac section it is usually stocked with 2 year old dusty machines that are often mislabelled. Sometimes (if you are looking for an older machine) you can get quite a bargain as they have no clue as to what they are and the price set is quite low.

Truth be told though. I would avoid buying anything, let alone a Mac from PC World.

 

[Cherimoya]

Look on the bright side.

You got a good computer at a good price.

You are way ahead of most people walking out of PC World

I can't see it making much of a difference unless you are a manic gamer or video editor.

 

[Dexter v House]

I feel for the OP here. Being mislead by a store 'Tech' guy who swears blind that something is possible; it's very believable at the time. I suspect they just wanted the sale, of course it's hard to judge his motives or whether he was put up to it. It's shocking they would stoop to this.

Anyway, to the OP.... if I were you I'd obviously be pi$$ed like mad. But I reck you have to decide whether you have the time and capacity to chase this through with trading standards, etc. If you have, then good luck with it - we'd all be rooting for ya.
(I would go back to the store and try and ask to see the Mac 'specialist', incase that guy is still there. It's a long shot but it might bolster your case if you can identify the person.)

If not, put it down to experience gained of always suspecting when someone swears blind, and NEVER BUYING A PC/MAC FROM PCWORLD(UK).
Honestly every time I have been there just to browse I walk out thinking I need a shower to rid me of the blind ignorance and apathy which shrouds the whole place.
/Rant over

 

[themat]

Thanks alot for all the replies, its good to get other peoples perspective on this. I'm sorry for using the wrong terms and appearing to not understand GPU properly but that adds to my point, at the end of the day i've been sold a product that cannot be upgraded when I was told it could be, which is an abuse of someones lack of knowledge.

I'm going to ring up PC World customer support later on tonight and mention taking it further and going to Trading Standards, hopefully it will put some pressure on them. I've been told the Apple specialist at the store I purchased it from is on holiday and will be back next week unfortunately.

Will let you all know how I get on as it developes.