Dissatisfied With a poor quality of Proline laptop and the bad customer service from HiFi Corporation team

I am writing to formally escalate a dispute regarding a Proline laptop purchased from HiFi Corp on 24 October 2025under invoice/receipt number (see attached invoice). Soon after my purchase on the 17 November 2026 my husband and I were involved in a car accident which left me badly injured and he passed on. The reason I am pointing this out its mainly because I have spent more than 2 months in hospital as an in and out patient and was discharged mid January to recover at home because of all this I only stated working mid April.

I recently visited the store to request assistance with physical defects on the device, specifically that the unit no longer closes properly (indicating a hardware/hinge failure) and the physical casing is chipping prematurely within less than a year of ownership.

The customer service consultant was extremely helpful until the sales manager dismissed my claim on the grounds that the software is functioning correctly.

I am disputing this outcome. Software functionality does not override hardware failure or structural defects.

Under Section 55 of the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), consumers have the right to receive goods that are of good quality, free of defects, and durable for a reasonable period. A laptop failing to close properly within its first year of use represents a failure in physical durability and construction quality.

As the retailer, HiFi Corp is obliged under the CPA and standard warranty terms to address physical hardware failures. Dismissing physical structural issues as non-actionable because the operating system boots up is unacceptable.

Requested Resolution:

I require HiFi Corp to take accountability for this defective unit by offering one of the following remedies:

A repair of the physical chassis and hinge mechanism at no cost. A replacement of the defective unit. A store credit or refund if repair/replacement is not viable. However that must not be Proline.

They took the laptop and the manager stating that it will not be repaired because they view it as customer negligence. I stated to him that I have older laptops Lenovo was my recent one and still looks new how is it that the paint of this one is coming off and its not closing properly? Yesterday I did receive a call after booking it on Thursday that the repair center is asking if I as a client am I willing to pay for the repairs because physical damage is viewed as negligence.

I am confused what is 1 year warranty stand for?