Andrew’s friend has an HP laptop that suddenly couldn’t detect wireless networks. Although the original warranty period had passed, the internet-less customer discovered HP had discovered problems like this were rampant enough that the company decided to extend the warranty. But when the friend called and tried to set up a repair ticket, the rep laughed at him and told him it would cost $249.

Andrew writes:

Just talked to a friend with an HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop. He couldn’t get on the Internet. His wireless had stopped working. The wi-fi adapter had been fine for over a year, but no longer worked. It no longer showed up in “Manage Network Connections” in Windows Vista. That meets the exact symptoms described in the notice “HP Limited Warranty Service Enhancement.” HP says they provide “free” warranty service and shipping to fix this problem, even after the regular warranty period has expired.

My friend called the toll-free number HP provides on the web page. He asked about the free warranty service. They laughed at him over the phone and said the repair would cost $249.

HP made a promise on their web page, and then laughed at my friend when he asked them to fulfill that promise.

The laughter reaction is odd, because really, even if for some reason the computer is ineligible for the repair, the notion is about as funny as Two and a Half Men.

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