Chargeback. Call the bank and let them know what's going on. And then call HP and threaten to report them to the attorney general of California (I believe that's where they're based) for fraud.

A great reason not to use a debit card or similar. Credit cards protect you from this kind of thing.

@corsec67:

Exactly. Why anyone uses debit cards is beyond me.

Not to go all "blame the consumer" but the article implies he never sent the dead hard drive back because he never got the shipping label? The article said the shipping label would be sent out the next day, and then "fast forward four weeks". Assuming he never got the shipping label, he should have called HP about it after a couple days of not having gotten the label.

Not blaming the OP, but knowing that he could *possibly* be charged for that hard drive, maybe he should of sent it back on his own dime- just to make sure. I wouldn't of let 4 weeks slip past without the label, I would of been calling them every week.

The charges are completely outrageous regardless, and he should file a dispute with his bank. I would of contacted the bank as SOON as I saw the pending charges- never wait that long! Fraudulent charges are fraudulent, regardless of whether they are pending or completely posted. Has he returned the hard drive yet? Technically, they have the right to still charge for that, just not $1700!!

I also wonder why they still have his credit card/debit card info...?? Do they keep this on file while you have a product under a warranty period, or did the OP have to provide the information to fulfill the warranty? When I bought my laptops thru Dell, they never asked for any kind of billing source when fulfilling warranties.

It's too early for analyzing--coffffeeeeee.

I'd really want to know their reasoning for the 1700$ in charges. 100$ for the hard drive, and 1600$ for their (maximum 30 minutes) customer support? That's one hell of a commission.

LOL gotta love the people who scream "chargeback" regardless of the payment type.

Did the OP ever return the drive? Because my guess is, even though a couple of HP "case workers" claimed to work on cutting him a check or even reversing the charges quickly, in fact they aren't doing anything because their systems won't let them resolve this issue until the drive is returned.

I realize it's a lot of cash outlay for the OP, but I'm betting that this doesn't get resolved, regardless of what their case workers say, until the drive is returned and they can release those funds.

@verucalise: To be fair, I've had trouble with disputing charges that are pending, specifically with Chase. When I stayed at a resort one time, I was told that there would be one night's rent placed on my credit card. Long story short, they ate a good chunk of my available credit when they put the entire amount of the stay, plus 50% on hold on my card.

Checked back at the front desk, they said that it was customary to apply 50% in addition to the amount of the hold for incidentals. After a little bit of back and forth, they "reversed" the hold and applied a new hold on a separate card (since they couldn't get my original card to take the new hold... should've been a sign for me there but I was ready to get back to my room). Call Chase, and nope, hold is still there, and now there's a new hold on my second card. But I'll just have to wait until the hold drops off (in 3-5 business days, conveniently at the end of my vacation). I call back and ask for a supervisor, and finally get someone who tells me they can manually remove a hold if they have the merchant's authorization. Another 30 minutes later, and I finally have available credit again.

In other words, disputing a pending charge is a pain in the tookus.

You know, I never used to use my credit card for stuff like this and over Easter I was out of town and my wife wanted to buy some framed art. Despite having the cash I used my credit card instead of my debit card. Sure enough, the woman at the register charged us 10x what the picture actually cost. Luckily I put it on my credit card and didn't send my checking account into limbo.

Also, I can see someone screwing up and typing 800 or 900 dollars instead of 80 or 90 dollars for a hard drive but making an 800 dollar charge and then a 900 dollar charge is outrageous.

If he still has the bad hard drive then he has no case and HP is in the right for part of the charges, but something is missing from the story. The way this is written, it would appear that the OP still has the hard drive (unless I'm misinterpreting "flash forward 4 weeks: still no labels" comment) so why wouldn't HP charge him for it? Just because you don't have a label that doesn't mean you can't ship something.

Why couldn't the OP call HP and just get a shipping address from them and send it on his own dime? Knowing that you'd be charged for the pricey hard drive if you don't send it back is worth paying the price for ground shipping. Then he could have argued the shipping costs with HP rather than $1700. Something is missing from the story. The way this is written, it would appear that the OP still has the hard drive (unless I'm misinterpreting "flash forward 4 weeks: still no labels" comment) so why wouldn't HP charge him for it?

@hexychick: why that comment has double-posted info is beyond me. I swear I hit preview and it looked fine!

@bonzombiekitty:

Exactly. There's no reason to have waited 4 weeks for a shipping label, knowing he could have been charged.

However, as verucalise points out below, the charges the HP debited are absolutely criminal, ridiculous, and borderline theft. I would hound those bastards until I got every penny, including fees, back. At the most I would accept the cost of the drive, nothing more.

@NeverLetMeDown: The only reason to use a debit card is if your credit is so bad that you can't get a credit card. And if that's the case, you probably don't have any money to begin with, so you wouldn't be able to use a debit card.

So then the only reason to use a debit card must be "it speeds things up." Haven't you seen all those visa check commercials where everybody's dancing and whizzing their way through the checkout lines until some bozo uses cash and disrupts the groove?

Bullshit!

Paying with cash is about 4 times as fast as using plastic of any kind (i.e debit/credit/gift card). You never have a problem where your cash turned you down for the purchase and you have to find your other cash. You never have to wait for approval to use your cash. You never have to sign your cash's receipt. Nobody checks the back of your cash to see if it's signed. I've clocked it, and my average cash transaction takes about a minute and a half less than my average plastic transaction.

So, uh yeah, there's NO reason to use a debit card except to put the 2% transaction fee in the banks' pockets and drive up your prices. Marketing. Pure marketing.

@verucalise: Often, it is not easy to obtain the correct address to send the failed drive back to - it must often be marked with a code number so that the right department processes it, and it is credited to the correct account. (But if you are lucky and get a sharp Customer Service rep, they will give you the right address).

you visa/master card check card through your bank still has the same ability to issue a charge back or dispute.... I would dispute the items with the bank and send the old hard drive back certified mail so you have a reciept.

How much onus is on the customer to follow up on outstanding bills?

For example, I'm trying to pay off an RCN final bill. I have an invoice in hand for 150 bucks, but when I go online to pay (as I've always have), the amount due is listed as $0.00 and there is no option to pay. Same account number and everything.

Why do I have to spend my time chasing down RCN to figure out what's going on and which amount due is correct?

I'm a little surprised by the initial premise of this question. The hard drive failed on the 4th day he owned the computer and they just sent a new HD and expected him to do the work to swap them out? I've bought a few notebooks from HP and dealt with warranty service a couple times...never have they offered me the DIY route for repairing my computer. Just sayin...

@chgoeditor: most laptops' hard drives are very easy to take out... probably just 2 screws before the hard drive slides out and you insert the new one...

not something you need a trained tech to do...

anyways... think HP screwed up and should resolve the issue and the extra fees

EECB?

This is somewhat tangental to the original point, but... $8-900 for a 2.5" 250 gig 5200 RPM hard drive? What the hell, HP? Is the case on these things made of solid gold or something? That's about 9x market value. (My friendly local shop offers a 500 gig 5400 RPM unit for $125, and that's CAD including disposal charges.)

@hexychick: Having had a return like this before, here's what tends to happen:

1.) You will get the wrong address, send it to some random facility in the middle of Oklahoma where it will never be seen or heard from again; or

2.) They have no idea what the address is, and in fact don't want you to send the hard drive on your own dime for administrative purposes.

I'm sorry, but the most he could have expected was a $100-200 charge for the hard drive, coupled by a bureaucratic mess. There is no reason for HP to have done this.

@hexychick:

Stop blaming the consumer. HP didn't follow the terms of the agreement, not the OP. He followed up once and they still didn't perform. It's not my job to ensure that you do your job. And it's not the OPs job to ensure that HP does their job.

Why should he pay for it on his own dime? It's under warranty. Again, it's only his responsibility to return the hard drive when they send the prepaid label. Until HP does their part, he has no responsibility to return the hard drive.

I'm tired of the "blame the consumer" crap. The OP is 100% in the right here and HP is 100% in the wrong.

Also, I hope if HP doesn't resolve the situation quickly and refund all bank charges, he sues their blasted butts off. Taking $1700 from the OPs bank account for a broken hard drive that HP failed to get isn't business - it's THEFT. And I hope he sues them as such. It's the only way some companies will learn to stop abusing the system and their companies.

@Cocoa Vanilla:

You can't dispute pending charges. At least my bank wouldn't let me.

@bonzombiekitty: Agreed. At the very least, send it yourself and fight them for minor shipping charges.

yeah the new costs are ridiculous but... might have been avoided... ???

@bagumpity: You're missing the only reason people use debit cards...becuase, unlike Credit Cards, debit lets you spend money you actually have.

Now, obviously OP got screwed. But I sure wouldn't walk into a store with $1200 cash in my pocket.

@robocop_is_bleeding: because you owe it? there's this magic pocket aka envelope.. it takes magic sticky squares aka stamps.... just because you "always" pay your bills via online.. if you have the bill in hand, you have the information necessary to get your bill paid.

lol next you'll say you don't owe any money cause your internet was down.

@bikeoid: Yeah, but this isn't about obtaining an address. It's about obtaining a label. They were supposed to send the label and it never arrived. The OP should have re-connected with HP sometimes during the MONTH that it didn't show up. I have received labels like this through companies like Apple and The Sportsmans guide. They usually ship like a regular envelope, and you rip the edges off, and when you open it, the label is inside. You just slap the label on the box w/the drive, and drop it off at any "mailbox" store.

@verucalise: I wouldn't go analyzing your coffee using carbon dating. The way Dn'D burns coffee, it will throw off the results. ;)

@bogart27: I have all the money in my bank. I don't use a debit card, only credit. I'm not sure how saying that people who use debit cards are actually spending the money they have, cause responsible credit card users also have the money.

@nucwin83:
Unfortunately, when it comes to hotels, you really need a card with a huge credit line.

Why anyone uses a debit card for hotels is beyond me. It's a nightmare for exactly that same reason (huge holds placed, only then it's a hold on YOUR OWN MONEY, rather than the bank's).

@EdnaLegume: Not what I'm talking about, but thanks for playing.

I have two bills in hand for the same account number. One says I owe 150, one says I owe nothing. The owe nothing bill, as it's online, I would assume it is more current.

I have no problem paying what I owe. Of course I'd rather pay nothing, but I don't see why I have to chase RCN down to figure out what's what.

Call the bank/CU and get a form for unauthorized charges.

They are REQUIRED to give a provisional credit within 10 days.

@robocop_is_bleeding: wouldn't you know if you owe them 150 or nothing...

and if you want better responses, provide more information. it isn't the first time online information is not accurate.

@solareclipse2: But, the woman charged you ten times what the picture actually cost. So you allowed her to do that anyway? You didn't point to the label and say, "this is only ____, why are you charging me more?"

@pecan 3.14159265: I have a debit card, and nothing else because I don't have the need for a credit card. I pay bills online and make the rare purchase online with my debit card, and everything else I deal with in cash. I don't see the point in getting a credit card for those rare situations, and having to pay some other company interest on something that I can afford to pay for without the extra interest included. But that's just me, if you like paying extra fees to spend your money, more power to you.

@Blackadar: But he waited four weeks to call back.

@wkm001: Well if Chris knows his band, then the charges posted at midnight last night. So... problem solved. Now he's gotta see if his bank will do the chargeback since he paid with a checking account or debit card.

@joel.: *bank. Geez. I gotta finish this coffee so I can spell.

@bonzombiekitty: Right. Wasn't there just a post similar to this about Comcast. I think the lesson was "when a company screws up their side of a business agreement, it shouldn't automatically absolve you from your obligations."

I feel bad for the OP, but HP warned him they'd charge his account if the original hard drive wasn't returned. It sucks that HP's customer service didn't send the return label when they promised, but the OP shouldn't have given up so easily on trying to get one.

@robocop_is_bleeding:

Why do I have to spend my time chasing down RCN to figure out what's going on and which amount due is correct?

Um, because you are responsible for whatever charges accrue on your account, unless they're false. But it's your responsibility to check, even if RCN made a mistake.

Having two disputing statements doesn't absolve you from anything - one of them is correct. Your responsibility as a consumer is to pay the correct bill.

Is it really so hard? I mean, would you really fight them so hard on it when it means that if you do in fact owe the $150 and you don't pay it because you're going with what it says online, it's still your fault when it goes to collections.

@hexychick: I am more surprised that it costs $500 MORE than the original cost of the laptop, for a hard drive. Yeah, he waited four weeks, maybe he's in school, or something else. I'm finishing up my last term, moving, dealing with a lot of other school stuff, I might forget something like a shipping label for a few weeks if I didn't have it tattooed on myself.

@robocop_is_bleeding: I'd personally call them and try to be proactive about settling the difference issue. Yeah it sucks that they don't seem to be processing stuff correctly, but at least it makes you look proactive.

@chgoeditor: If my parents had to deal with this, the laptop would probably be broken. And the warranty would be voided. I can see exactly why they send the hard drive out like that.

@bagumpity: @NeverLetMeDown: The only time I use my debit card for a purchase is at the gas pump. What's so unreasonable about that?

@Jason Renda: If you think you couldn't use a credit card without incurring fees, then I agree that a debit card is a smarter choice for you.

However, you're mistaken about the way many people use credit cards--a lot of us don't pay any fees, and instead get money back from the credit card, in addition to benefiting from the chargeback protection that would have been relevant here. While the credit card situation may change, right now it's quite possible to use them without paying interest or fees and with an end result that makes us pay less than you do for products.

@ShachiAssaracus:

I especially like how he tries to trivialize it by 'fast forward[ing] 4 weeks'. That should have slammed the brakes on this fail-mobile right there. I just don't get the thinking here. Did he think that USPS or whatever was just being extra slow? Maybe he thought that there was a category for 32nd class mail and it would be delivered by pack mule?

I'm old enough to remember that H-P was a brand that engineers and scientists were proud to own. I don't know of anything that they make now that isn't a disposable piece of crap (maybe the HP-12C calculator is still something to show off). But my, how the brand has changed.

@Jason Renda: You seem to be under the impression that getting a credit card means you accrue interest for purchases. I don't pay any interest...ever. I pay my balance in full, every month.

I use a credit card because there are rewards that make it beneficial, I do a great deal of shopping online, and I find it much more secure than using a debit card. If someone steals my debit card and runs up a lot of purchases, the money is gone already before I can file a report with the bank. With credit cards, I can file a report as soon as I see the charge and there's time for them to resolve the fraud problem and my money isn't gone.

You may not have a need for a credit card, but don't go half-cocked assuming that credit cards are only used by delinquents.

@pecan 3.14159265: I think the theory is that some people don't curb themselves on credit cards; they need the external curbing of a bank's limit. I wonder, though--if you're going actually to your limit, you're going to end up incurring fees, and if you're not, you're capable of limiting yourself, so why not get the credit card benefits?

I think mostly it's an "it works for me" situation, which I have no quarrel with. It's just that the defenses tend to involve theories beyond that.

@pecan 3.14159265:

Shhh. You'll ruin the 'OP is 100% right' fail-mobile. Just watch it chug along and grin.