Consumers Sue Gaming Laptop Makers Over Upgrades, Non-Refunds

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Two California men claim in a proposed class action against Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. and MSI Computer Corp. that the companies lied to consumers about future upgrades for pricey gaming laptops when newer models hit the market.

The plaintiffs allege in their 25-page complaint that a deciding factor behind the 2016 purchase of their gaming machines—MSI GT72 and MSI GT80 series laptops—was the defendants’ promise, as uniformly represented online and in advertisements, that they could be upgraded to one or more later generations of NVIDIA GPUs. Unfortunately, the plaintiffs allegedly ran into a wall later in the year when they tried to upgrade, as well as when they attempted to get a refund.

“Plaintiffs subsequently learned that they could not do so, due to the material misrepresented or undisclosed fact that their laptops were not in fact upgradeable to the next generation of NVIDIA GPUs,” the lawsuit claims. “In the fall of 2016, [the plaintiffs] or their representatives contacted [the defendants’] representatives about the ability to return their laptops, but were told that there was no refund option.”

According to the plaintiffs, they and other consumers were subject to no more than a marketing scheme perpetrated by the defendants that aimed to induce gamers to pay a premium price for machines that do not perform as advertised since much of the machines’ allure stemmed from future upgradability. Summarily, the plaintiffs argue they overpaid for their gaming laptops and would not have bought the machines had it been disclosed in a timely manner that the defendants would not upgrade or refund the devices.

The proposed class includes anyone who purchased GT 72 or GT 80 series gaming laptops made and sold by the defendants since November 2014.