Who’s responsible for missing months on my laptop warranty?

QTwo weeks ago I bought a new HP PC from John Lewis. I logged on to the website within 24 hours of purchase to register my 12-month warranty to find only 10 months remaining. This makes me think it’s a second-hand PC, but John Lewis denies this. It claims HP must sort this out. Is that correct?

Michael Fothergill

AYes, HP is responsible for this because it offered the warranty (and we think it’s unlikely John Lewis would have mistakenly sold Michael a second-hand laptop).

HP sets out the terms and conditions for what it calls a “quality guarantee”. As we’ve explained before, companies don’t have to offer warranties, but they are legally bound by their terms.

HP first told us that Michael should have been able to register the laptop for a full 12 months. It said it wasn’t sure why Michael was offered only 10 months online, and promised to investigate if he emailed a screenshot of that page.

In the end Michael didn’t need to do this because HP got back in touch a few days later to acknowledge the error, and to confirm it will increase Michael’s warranty to 12 months.

Had HP concluded that someone had previously registered the laptop warranty, then Michael would have had a case against John Lewis for selling him a second-hand laptop as new. This complaint would have been unconnected to the warranty.

John Lewis may have continued to claim the laptop is new, and that the fault lay with HP’S warranty numbering or registering system. If it was unable to prove this, Michael would have been entitled to ask John Lewis for a full refund, and return the laptop. Alternatively, if he wanted to keep the laptop, he could have asked John Lewis for damages by taking money off the original purchase.