A Scottish man has won a 16-year legal dispute over a laptop he bought from PC World in Aberdeen.
Richard Durkin, 44, bought a £1,499 laptop from PC World under a credit agreement with HFC in 1998, after being told by a sales assistant that he could return the device if there was a problem.
When Durkin discovered that the laptop did not have an inbuilt modem he returned the laptop to the store, who returned him his £50 deposit. However, HFC claimed that he was still required to make payments under the credit agreement, and Durkin claimed that they ruined his credit rating for attempting to rescind.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court awarded Durkin £116,000 in damages in 2008, but that ruling was later overturned by the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Now the Supreme Court in London has reaffirmed the original decision, and ruled that HFC should pay him damages of £8,000.
Durkin called the ruling a victory for consumers across the country.
