I have been dealing with warranty law in the us pretty extensively as of recently (as in Samsung is trying to fuck me over, to the point where I'm getting lawyers involved) so I could give my input if I had more information. Note that any input and opinions I give are NOT to be considered legal advice, nor are they for any purpose other than that of personal education.
Has there been a recall of the product? How long ago did you purchase said product? Are you in the US? What exactly did the letter say?
So, looking at this information, the recall is ONLY of the battery pack, you would send it in, and get a replacement battery that has been deemed safe. Since I ASSUME the warranty provided with the computer at sale likely has a provision for component recalls (every electronics warranty i've ever read does), even if you are still within that warranty period, the manufacturers warranty would doubtless preclude you from using this as grounds to request a replacement or refund of the entire unit. That simply leaves the implied warranty of merchantability; that is to say that, when you buy a product that's not listed as being sold "As Is," the mere fact that it is being sold would imply that, for the most part the machine works, and is built to a standard where it should stand up to routine use for a reasonable amount of time without failure. This does not protect against minor issues or defects. An example often cited would be that of a refrigerator. If the refrigerator cannot keep itself at constant, cool temperature, that's a serious defect, as it makes using the product for it's primary purpose impossible, or at least substantially burdens that function. If instead, the refrigerator can keep itself cool, but the drawers inside have a tendency to stick shut thanks to a hanging bit of material, that is NOT a problem that would be considered a defect under the implied warranty, as for the most part the product works, and can be used as you would expect. This battery safety issue likely falls under the category of a minor defect. Additionally, as the manufacturer has provided a resolution to the problem, you would be hard pressed to argue you deserve a full system replacement or a refund.
TL;DR Unless you can demonstrate that this particular defect substantially impacted your ability to use the device in a normal manner from time of purchase onward, its unlikely that you will be able to turn this into a refund or a brand new machine. What you WILL be able to get is a replacement battery that is not defective, in exchange for your old battery, provided your old battery is identified as being from the batch that is dangerous. If your battery is NOT from that batch, you don't have a defective product at all (at least according to toshiba at the moment. Its possible that they might expand the recall later). You should be able to get this replacement in a manner that does not incur significant costs for you; IE, toshiba should pay shipping to you, and should require shipping costs of no more than the cost of a new battery to ship it back to them. In practice, they will almost certainly pay shipping both ways, especially since this is a safety issue; Toshiba would not want the liability of a customer being injured after they could not afford to get a replacement for a product that was known to be dangerously defective.
TL;DR TL;DR
You won't get a new computer, but you should be able to get a new battery for free if yours suffers from this defect
[–] Donbuster 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I have been dealing with warranty law in the us pretty extensively as of recently (as in Samsung is trying to fuck me over, to the point where I'm getting lawyers involved) so I could give my input if I had more information. Note that any input and opinions I give are NOT to be considered legal advice, nor are they for any purpose other than that of personal education.
Has there been a recall of the product? How long ago did you purchase said product? Are you in the US? What exactly did the letter say?
[–] [deleted] ago
[–] Donbuster 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
So, looking at this information, the recall is ONLY of the battery pack, you would send it in, and get a replacement battery that has been deemed safe. Since I ASSUME the warranty provided with the computer at sale likely has a provision for component recalls (every electronics warranty i've ever read does), even if you are still within that warranty period, the manufacturers warranty would doubtless preclude you from using this as grounds to request a replacement or refund of the entire unit. That simply leaves the implied warranty of merchantability; that is to say that, when you buy a product that's not listed as being sold "As Is," the mere fact that it is being sold would imply that, for the most part the machine works, and is built to a standard where it should stand up to routine use for a reasonable amount of time without failure. This does not protect against minor issues or defects. An example often cited would be that of a refrigerator. If the refrigerator cannot keep itself at constant, cool temperature, that's a serious defect, as it makes using the product for it's primary purpose impossible, or at least substantially burdens that function. If instead, the refrigerator can keep itself cool, but the drawers inside have a tendency to stick shut thanks to a hanging bit of material, that is NOT a problem that would be considered a defect under the implied warranty, as for the most part the product works, and can be used as you would expect. This battery safety issue likely falls under the category of a minor defect. Additionally, as the manufacturer has provided a resolution to the problem, you would be hard pressed to argue you deserve a full system replacement or a refund.
TL;DR Unless you can demonstrate that this particular defect substantially impacted your ability to use the device in a normal manner from time of purchase onward, its unlikely that you will be able to turn this into a refund or a brand new machine. What you WILL be able to get is a replacement battery that is not defective, in exchange for your old battery, provided your old battery is identified as being from the batch that is dangerous. If your battery is NOT from that batch, you don't have a defective product at all (at least according to toshiba at the moment. Its possible that they might expand the recall later). You should be able to get this replacement in a manner that does not incur significant costs for you; IE, toshiba should pay shipping to you, and should require shipping costs of no more than the cost of a new battery to ship it back to them. In practice, they will almost certainly pay shipping both ways, especially since this is a safety issue; Toshiba would not want the liability of a customer being injured after they could not afford to get a replacement for a product that was known to be dangerously defective.
TL;DR TL;DR
You won't get a new computer, but you should be able to get a new battery for free if yours suffers from this defect