Is this stealing?

[WittiestUsernameEver]

Keeping this a little vague (because I need to know if I should follow this up)

If you handed your laptop
(but not charger) to a Repair Company to fix, and they sent it away for you under warranty to the manufacturer and the device was declared beyond economic repair. Manufacturer send out an equivalent laptop that is the same spec or higher, but different model. Repair Company sets up the new laptop for you and hands the new device to you without the charger. (Both devices use the same rated charger)

Would you expect Repair Company to give you the replacement charger that was in the box? Or is it okay for Repair Company to keep the new charger for their own as you still have your original charger that works perfectly with your new laptop?

Probably for initial diagnostics and seeing if a repair was possible. Also checking to see if warranty has been voided by after market alterations.

Ok... But this customer was given a replacement charger...

@CatherinedeBourgh

but the manufacturer HAS replaced the cable, the repair company have kept it for themselves.

@WittiestUsernameEver just ask them for it. If they refuse to give it to you then I'd report it to the manufacturing company.

the old one is irrelevant. They've written that off with your faulty laptop

Hmmm no. Because most companies require that a certified repair shop check over the laptop, run diagnostics, and see if a repair or replace. Most manufacturers do not let the end user decide it needs to be replaced on their own accord.

No you weren’t given a charger, this is why you started the thread.
It’s merely a matter of the fact that most manufacturers do not keep laptops and chargers in seperate boxes for many logistical and eco-efficiency reasons. They don’t have laptops with no chargers to send out. This doesn’t mean that you get everything in the box, your warranty was on the laptop not the charger.

Ok, I'm just saying, if I had done the warranty claim, I would have received the charger...

So, if you're saying it's Ok for the Repair Company to keep the charger sent as part of the warranty claim, and not give that to the customer, then ok.

No, because if you’d done the warranty claim, the manufacturer would have had you send it or drop it off at one of their certified/licensed repair depots. E.g. Apple laptop—— call Apple support——Apple says take to Apple shop or this shop that is certified Apple repair provider.

You can’t really avoid a middle man repair person these days whether independent or part of the manufacturers repair arm.

Not in this case they did not require the original charger to be sent.

The charger wasn’t part of the warranty claim. A new charger was sent because no manufacturers have new in the box laptops with no chargers made especially for warranty claims. Just because it was cheaper and greener to ship a new in the box laptop to the repair shop doesn’t mean the manufacturer was giving you a new charger. There is usually an arrangement between repair shop and manufacturer as what to do with the surplus chargers.

Because your charger was not faulty and the new laptop takes the same charger as your broken one, a new identical charger was not part of the warranty claim.

I'd expect the new charger - why should the shop get it to resell?
give tehm the old one back if they're arsey about it.

I had my new work laptop delivered a couple of weeks ago, we always use the same brand, the IT guy said he recommended using the new charger that came with the laptop.

If you want to waste £400 on a solicitor letter on a lost cause to try and get a free £15 charger you do not need, be my guest.

There is no arrangement in this case.
They essentially are filling in the online warranty form on the customer's behalf. Had the customer done it, they too would have received an entire new laptop with charger (with no need to send original charger)

Sorry if I'm sounding vague.

@WittiestUsernameEver As some one who used to service and repair IT equipment most manufacturers ask you to send back the device with no chargers or devices when they are doing a warranty swap.

You provided the shop your faulty laptop and kept your own property the charger. You still have the charger there for it cannot be theft as theft is "the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it." and the new power supply does not belong to you as part of the repair. You still own your property the charger that is not faulty.

The shop has now provided you a new laptop and you still have what you paid for in the initial purchase. It is irrelevant to you what the shop received as the charger was never yours to begin with. IT was just sent with your new replacement laptop.

You got an old for new replacement for your laptop only which is what the warranty was for.

You seem very entitled to believe that you should now receive more because you want the original working power supply changing too. Why should they replace a perfectly working power supply to you for free.

Your laptop was broken they took it and replaced it end of story.

If you are worried that you have been stolen from then you can always go to the police.

Don't be silly, this isn't a police matter.

More of a moral dilemma.

Sorry. Yes. I am the silly one.

You should definitely see a priest over the moral matter of a £5 charger. Not the police. What was I thinking?

Yes OP, but the customer couldn't be bothered to fill in the warranty claim and go through the diagnostic call with the manufacturer's help desk.
The repair shop did all the work. They charged you based on providing you with a working laptop. They fulfilled their promise.
If they would have charged you based on providing you with a working laptop And a charger, then you had to pay more.
I'm confident they work out the markups for best profit.
It's not stealing. It's business. And, by the sound of it, a transparent business.
Why do you care they keep a part they never promised to you, you don't actually need and you didn't pay for it. Let them use it how they see fit or sell it for a profit or as part of a repair job. It's theirs to keep.
If you see it as such a big issue, go back to the shop and demand the spare charger and never use them again. I doubt they'd be bothered about losing potential future custom from you.

Ok, but had YOU sent it away for warranty repair (which you can do through their website for free, very easily) you would have received the charger. You don't know that. They might have removed the charger at source. If they did give you a new charger, it would be a bonus, not something you were entitled to. And therefore you couldn't complain if you didn't get it.

I feel like you have a lot of time on your hands to get worked up about this tbh.

I definitely wouldn't consider it stealing on their behalf. You took in your laptop, they did all the leg work and returned a laptop to you.

If you want the charger, ask. See what they say.

There is no moral dilemma, there's a storm in a tea cup. Whoa re you planning to report this to?

They should give you whatever the manufacturer sent to them for you, in the packaging in which it was sent. It's irrelevant that you didn't hand over the charger, if the manufacturer sent you a new one. The repair company is entitled to nothing except the fee they agreed with you.

And yes, if they knowingly kept a new charger the manufacturer sent for you I think it's theft.

I'm a little amazed that so many people seem to think this is okay, and that OP is making a fuss about nothing!

Contact the manufacturer, OP, to explain what happened and ask what they sent.

Have you actually asked for the charger? You seem certain they intend to deprive you of it, but could they just have forgotten to give you it when you collected the new laptop from them?