How long will it take to deliver my laptop?

Advice re. computer repair shop/faulty laptop?

• I apologise in advance as this may be a long story. On 13th October, I took my laptop to a computer repair shop advertising "no fix, no fee" as I was having problems getting the laptop to boot. They were supposed to provide me with a free estimate as to what was causing the problem. Several weeks passed and I hadn't heard from them, so decided to try and chase the matter up. I took some time getting a response, due to them ignoring my phonecalls and failing to return any messages I left, and eventually I was told that it was a faulty motherboard, which they were going to replace at a cost of around £90. I agreed that this would be okay and called them (again another couple of weeks later) to see if it was repaired, and if it would be ok for me to collect it. At this stage, I was told that it had been fixed, and that there was no need for me to collect it - they would deliver it to me that weekend (I received this phonecall on a Thursday/Friday). I then waited until the Tuesday... still no laptop, and still no phonecall, so again, it took me a considerable amount of time to get a hold of them and when I eventually did, I was told that although the laptop had been repaired, it still wasn't working, and they would have to contact the manufacturer for a BIOS upgrade. It was then December, and my dad visited the shop on my behalf, and was then told after further ado (they didn't seem to know which laptop was mine) that it was in London as they had to send it off to a specialist). More time passed, and I became increasingly annoyed so decided to seek further advice from Trading Standards, who advised me to send a registered letter asking for the laptop back - repaired or not, and still I did not get a reply, so they then steppin in for me. They had trouble initially getting in contact, however then returned to me, saying that the laptop could not be repaired, and I was to contact the people concerned to arrange getting my laptop back. Eventually, on the 20th Jan (bearing in mind they had my laptop from 13th October) I received a phonecall to say that they were going to drop my laptop off, but there would be a £25 charge - for shipping to the specialist. I wasn't entirely comfortable with this, so I had written them out a cheque, and my laptop was returned. I tried to switch it on, and it is now in a worse state of repair than when I had given it to them, and after talking to my dad, he said I should cancel the cheque due to the advert on their website - no fix, no free, and also, their failure to communicate - i.e. they did not even ask my permission/mention anything about charges to send it to a specialist. I since cancelled the cheque, and have just had the man appear back at my door in what I would deem to be a fairly threatening manner. He asked me for the money and I said I didn't have it, and he said I could take the easy way or the hard way??!! What he meant by this I don't know. He said I have been fraudulent in writing a cheque and then cancelling it, but I do not consider this to be so, and think I have every right to cancel it, due to the trouble I have had with the company. Is there any sort of action they can take against me? I am so annoyed that they had the audacity to ask me for money after 3 months of me trying to track the laptop down, and eventually getting it back in a worse condition that I had given it to them.

• Answer:

  I'm more concerned that someone knocked on your door. Did this man mention that he was calling from this computer shop? Get back to trading standards and report this immediately. Nobody should be visiting you at your premises and demanding money at your doorstep. They are allowed to charge you, because there's an element of service involved in doing anything from tightening a screw to rebuilding the machine from scratch. These "no fix, no fee" offers are nothing more than a gimmick. If you read the small print, there are bound to be some conditions attached to this.