Odd laptop battery problem

Jannyfox said:
I don't have a problem with paying more to get a good quality, or better still genuine, product, but I can't find a battery for mine listed on the HP site. If I found one there I'd buy it no matter what it cost. So, Elliot, how do I know if an online retailer, with a UK address, is going to sell me a good battery or a dodgy battery? I've now found just one more site, after pages and pages of searching, also charging less than £40. Am I safer taking it to the local shop?
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Unfortunately it is a mine field. There are hundreds of Chinese companies set up to look like uk businesses because they sell to thousands of customers like Mr Bump and Gramps. The best advise I can give is to look at the website carefully. Look for phone numbers, proper addresses, VAT registration numbers, returns policies and grammar.

I’ve just had a look at what we offer and we do not currently stock a compatible battery for this model. We can only offer an original and even that is ordered on request. That says to me that this is not a very popular laptop so we won’t buy in stocks that would sit in a shelf for months. Batteries have a finite shelf live. Once they drop below a safe voltage, they will no longer charge or work. At least the good ones won’t as it’s a safety feature because charging an under voltage battery could cause an explosion.
 
gramps said:
The scaremongering of batteries exploding/setting fire would not stop me buying one as it's a simple risk/benefit decision with the odds of a problem being extremely low.
However I don't like the Trustpilot report of this company I've just found, a lot of reports of not receiving the goods and that would carry more weight for me than fears over the battery itself.
Personally I cannot find any other source for a compatible battery and if it was my decision I would go for it in the knowledge that if it didn't arrive I could reclaim from Paypal and I would be no worse off ... if it did arrive I've got my replacement.
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Scaremongering :rolleyes: I’m not trying to scare anyone. I’ve purposefully not tried to push my products as I don’t want to sound biased or that I have a vested interest. The scaremongering is fact as Mr Bump kindly pointed out, even Samsung and Apple have had batteries catch fire in peoples pockets and they are supposedly quality products, so if they can be a problem can you imagine what a cheap battery slapped together for a few quid could do?
 
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Jannyfox said:
I don't have a problem with paying more to get a good quality, or better still genuine, product, but I can't find a battery for mine listed on the HP site. If I found one there I'd buy it no matter what it cost. So, Elliot, how do I know if an online retailer, with a UK address, is going to sell me a good battery or a dodgy battery? I've now found just one more site, after pages and pages of searching, also charging less than £40. Am I safer taking it to the local shop?
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where do you think the local shop will get the battery?
It will just go to the internet like everyone else.
 
Jannyfox said:
I don't have a problem with paying more to get a good quality, or better still genuine, product, but I can't find a battery for mine listed on the HP site. If I found one there I'd buy it no matter what it cost. So, Elliot, how do I know if an online retailer, with a UK address, is going to sell me a good battery or a dodgy battery? I've now found just one more site, after pages and pages of searching, also charging less than £40. Am I safer taking it to the local shop?
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I found this. I have no idea who the seller is (they seem to be a computer company in Netherlands) but it does say it's a genuine battery and the price is right. You'll also have some recourse through Amazon if it turns out to be a dud

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-796219-421-796355-005-Battery-Li-Polymer/dp/B01NAW3QI2
 
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Jannyfox said:
I seem to have opened a bit of a can of worms. I'm sorry about that. I will get the connectors checked first then see where I go from there. Thanks for the help.
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you haven't opened worms, @ecoleman works for a high quality battery supplier and he suggests you pay full whack for what will probably be a high quality product.
Others like me have used non OEM batteries for years with reasonable results, the whole setting fire to your underpants thing is debatable.

To be fair I would pick a reasonable supplier £40 ish seems to be reasonable and have it fitted.
 
Just to clarify, I have nothing against non OEM batteries. We sell them.

The issue I have is with cheap non OEM batteries shipped in from China by companies that do not have your best interests at heart and don't give two hoots about the quality of product they are shipping into the country.
There are 100's if not 1000's of these so called .co.uk websites flogging cheap crap. They do not pay UK wages, they do not pay UK VAT or tax, they do not comply with EU/UK consumer laws and they do not reinvest any of that cash back into our economy. They take business away from legit business that are busting their balls trying to compete with them and still comply with consumer and tax laws.
 
ecoleman said:
They do not pay UK wages, they do not pay UK VAT or tax, they do not comply with EU/UK consumer laws and they do not reinvest any of that cash back into our economy. They take business away from legit business that are busting their balls trying to compete with them and still comply with consumer and tax laws.
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and there we have it, why not just say that in the beginning?
 
gramps said:
and there we have it, why not just say that in the beginning?
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Mr Bump said:
yup
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Guys, buy what you want. If you think cheap Li ion batteries are fine, then good for you. I just hope it’s not one of you or your kids sitting behind you laptop when a battery does go up in flames.
 
Just to add a second note of caution.

A couple of years ago I needed a replacement battery for an old laptop (also an HP), and eventually turned up a company which had a supposed compatible replacement.
However, on receipt, it was a dud - plugged in for 2+ hours to charge, and didn't get over 5% - and at that point I decided I'd rather not try to see if longer helped.

The company then initially offered me a replacement for 10% discount on original (IE they wanted me to pay and additional 90% to get a replacement!)
After several emails, they reduced this to 'only' 50% of the original price to get a replacement!

I then went down the PayPal dispute sequence, and was eventually refunded (though their first response on that was again a discount on buying a replacement).

All in all a lot of hassle.

As Elliott suggests, do think carefully before buying from somewhere like this

PS: It also arrived via Royal Mail, in a plain package without the standard Lithium Ion warnings!
 
Faldrax said:
Just to add a second note of caution.

A couple of years ago I needed a replacement battery for an old laptop (also an HP), and eventually turned up a company which had a supposed compatible replacement.
However, on receipt, it was a dud - plugged in for 2+ hours to charge, and didn't get over 5% - and at that point I decided I'd rather not try to see if longer helped.

The company then initially offered me a replacement for 10% discount on original (IE they wanted me to pay and additional 90% to get a replacement!)
After several emails, they reduced this to 'only' 50% of the original price to get a replacement!

I then went down the PayPal dispute sequence, and was eventually refunded (though their first response on that was again a discount on buying a replacement).

All in all a lot of hassle.

As Elliott suggests, do think carefully before buying from somewhere like this

PS: It also arrived via Royal Mail, in a plain package without the standard Lithium Ion warnings!
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I had a similar problem with a UK company called LED Hut when I ordered a dozen or so of their LED light bulbs to replace my standard bayonet fixing ones.
Most of them 'blew' within 14 days and I contacted them for a refund ... they didn't want to know, said my fittings weren't suitable even though they had never seen my fittings or had any knowledge of them.
I made a claim through Paypal who instructed me to send them back to LED Hut and get proof of receipt, which I did ... however LED Hut refused to accept delivery!
Fortunately Paypal accepted the refusal notification as proof of return and gave me a full refund.
I've had similar types of customer service issues with UK companies but interestingly never had any of my (albeit few) 'external' purchases suffer from such problems.
 
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