My laptop broke when I fell into a ditch, but Currys won’t fix it for free: SALLY SORTS IT

In August I had an unfortunate accident and fell into a canal along with my backpack containing my laptop, which was of course damaged by the water. Because I purchased a Currys’ Knowhow Care Plan at the same time as my laptop in 2015, I thought my device would be covered. I took it to a shop in London to have it repaired for free. However, Currys refused to properly honor the contract. This exacerbated my already traumatic experience. Can you help?

MD, London.

Sally Hamilton replies: What a terrifying ordeal. You told me you were walking along a marina when you slipped and tumbled inside. As you clung to the edge of a pontoon, your screams were heard by a resident whose ship was moored there. He struggled to help as your backpack filled with water, but two passersby managed to get you to safety. Luckily you were unhurt – although you couldn’t say the same about your laptop.

When you took it to the Currys store a few days later, along with your health policy contract, you were relieved to be told that you were covered for the repairs.

The only caveat was that you had to buy an external hard drive which cost £47.99 to store the recovered data. You wanted to comply as this exception was stated in the policy. The laptop was sent to Currys repair shop.

A week later the company called you and demanded a further £380 to cover additional repairs not covered by your plan. You argued that the policy said nothing about such exclusions – only that you were covered for accidental damage. You reminded them that you had paid over £800 for the insurance over the years, but they didn’t want to know.

You coughed up the money because you needed your data.

You went to pick up the device at the end of August. You rightly wanted to check if it was fixed before leaving the store, but the battery didn’t work and Currys said there was no cable to connect it to the mains.

Once home, you turned it on, only to find that the essential Microsoft Office 365 apps hadn’t been restored – and the battery wouldn’t charge.

You went back to the store and asked for a proper repair, for a refund of the additional £380 cost, or for a voucher for the same amount so you could buy a new laptop.

The latter was offered to you as a guarantee if the additional repairs did not work. Instead, Currys sent the computer away again. A week passed and you heard nothing.

You were fed up with having to pay a total of almost € 1,230 for a computer that you could no longer use, and you came to me.

I believed you were on solid ground as your plan clearly stated that once you set up direct debit for insurance, support would be provided ‘for as long as you need’.

It also agrees to cover ‘accidental breakdown’ and promises a replacement if the device cannot be repaired within 14 days. Currys had your computer for three weeks, and it was still broken. The promise that you ‘will not pay a cent more’ on top of the monthly amount did not hold true.

I asked Currys to live up to its current slogan ‘Beyond Techspectations’. I’m happy to report that the response was quick.

Within a few days, Currys will have refunded you a total of £799, including the £380 data recovery fee and £399 depreciation value for the laptop. It promised to find out why your battery wasn’t checked and the apps weren’t reinstalled, so it could improve processes for other customers in the future.

A Currys spokesperson said: “We have apologized for any inconvenience caused. Our investigation is ongoing and we will report the findings back to the teams to ensure this does not happen again.”

I am a 79 year old pensioner and recently used my Tesco credit card to make a £200 investment after seeing an advert featuring Martin Lewis, the well-known money commentator. Shortly afterwards, a man calling himself Mike Lee called and asked me to go onto my computer, where he led me to a performance graph, which I did not understand. I decided I wanted my money back.

I emailed Mr Lee and gave him my card details as he requested so he could issue the refund. This didn’t happen and then I discovered he had taken another £121. I canceled my card and asked him by email to refund me by check. I haven’t heard anything and his email no longer works. Please help.

CH, Bournemouth.

Sally Hamilton replies: It is wise never to invest money in something that is difficult to understand. You were seduced by the advert which appeared to be endorsed by Martin Lewis.

I’m afraid you have been duped by a known scam. The name of Mr Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, has been hijacked by many scammers to lure people into investing in fake schemes. He does not support any form of investment. The scammers often suggest a low amount for an initial investment to gain trust, but then proceed to solicit victims for larger amounts.

You also tell me that you have received numerous calls from a woman with a foreign accent who described herself as your financial advisor. This was clearly an accomplice of the person who called himself Mike Lee. Luckily, you put a stop to it before the scammers could gain access to your computer and commit further fraud.

There were other red flags, including the fact that the callers never gave you an official company phone number and called from different cell phones.

This was a way to cover their tracks and confuse you. I think you were lucky to escape with a loss of only £321. However, for you as a pensioner this is no small amount. I have contacted Tesco Bank and I am pleased to say that they agree that you have been scammed and have offered a refund.

• Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY or email sally@dailymail.co.uk – include telephone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organization giving permission get to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send any original documents as we cannot take responsibility for this. The Ny Breaking cannot accept any legal liability for any answers given.