Sony rip off?

[#1]

My daughter bought her laptop (Sony Vaio VGN NR32) 14 months ago at a cost of just under £400 & the mains adapter/charger has stopped working. She contacted Sony & they have told her it will cost in excess of £138 to replace it, (no negotiation would be entered into as it was just 2 months out of warranty)  to add insult to injury they asked her (in the email) to phone a premium rate telephone no @ 36p per minute so they can take her order for a new one! The catch phrase of the grandma in the Catherine Tate Show is uppermost in my mind!
I have seen generic adapters for as little as £25 on the net can anyone advise me whether this would be wise move or whether to bite the bullet & buy Sony, any advice would be gratefully received!

[#2]

I think I had a similar quote when my Mum's Dell's adaptor decked it.
I was similarly unimpressed!

[#3]

Hi James, when you consider the price we were quoted represents around 1/3 of the price of the lap top & charger combined nothing makes sense economically. Did you buy a universal replacement for your Mum's Dell?

[#4]

I have bought a "universal" psu (from ebay) for my missus Dell (when it was mine) and found no problem with it.... It is still working 2 years on !.... (only thing with Dell, is to make sure the Plug/socket setup is the same as the original.... i.e. some have a 3 pin plug/socket into the psu from the mains, and others have a 2 pin (figure of 8 ) plug/socket.... Also make sure you get the right Voltage and amperage. the same as the original...  (some Dell machines will not recognise the 2 pin version (even if it is correct volts and amps) because it does not have the 3rd pin (earth) and they won`t charge the battery.
Don`t know anything about the Sony setup....

[#5]

I had to buy a replacement for mine as it isn't a branded laptop and also was out of warranty, still working fine a year later.  But I can't remember the site I got it from but a quick google should find a few you can use.

[#6]

@chrisco
It was basically a flaw in the design of the power adapter and it kept on falling apart, so we ended up wedging it in there and trying to move the laptop as little as possible.

[#7]

@gus, I think I have tracked down one that will fit I'm just waiting to hear back from the company before I place the order.
@jameseh, sticky tape & string job then James & I thought you were going to come back with a really technical solution

[#8]

BluTack is better

[#9]

Anyone used this company www.laptop-chargers.co.uk ; they seem to have just what I'm looking for but I'm dubious about their authenticity - no particular reason womens' intuition maybe

[#10]

I bought a "generic" one off ebay a couple of years ago for a Sony LT that I got from work at the time (Free since it had no PSU and only 512Mb ram) and it is still working fine. Just make sure the plug is the correct one for your LT and the voltage/amperage are up to it as well.

[#11]

Understand all that, just have to careful to match like for like, things aren't all they seem sometimes!

[#12]

Used a local company who supplied me with the correct adapter for £30.................result!!

[#13]

Anyone used this company www.laptop-chargers.co.uk ; they seem to have just what I'm looking for but I'm dubious about their authenticity - no particular reason womens' intuition maybe 
I bought a PSU for my monitor from them, excellent service.

[#14]

Seems to be a regular thing, this "corporate suicide" as I call it.
Companies always come the "We recommend only genuine "Blahdieblah" accessories to be used with "Blahdieblah" appliances/devices." Some will even go as far as voiding any warranty if they find out you haven't taken that advice.
A while ago I was looking for a Bluetooth dongle to fit my printer. I looked at the "recommended" dongle and was shocked to see they wanted between £50 - £70 for the thing. Was pleasantly surprised to find that my £5 bargain bucket dongle did the trick.

[#15]

Shocking isn't it they just don't deserve the business, Belkin are also on my list of "offenders" emailed their tech help over a week ago & am still waiting for a response. In the end I got fed up with waiting & have solved the problem by other means. I wouldn't buy another Sony or Belkin product just because their "after" sales support sucks.
Unfortunately the same can be said about most of the multi-nationals, my motto now is if you want a decent service stick to the small independent retailer, the big boys aren't always selling at the best price & personally I'd rather pay a tad more & get a decent service.
Excuse me while I jump off my soap box  :D!!!!!