Tyler needs his laptop repaired, but he’s got the bad luck to own an HP product. If you read Consumerist regularly you know that Hewlett-Packard has one of the worst track records for taking care of its customers. The last time we posted a complaint, the person who reached out to us from the corporate side was a third party at a PR firm hired by HP, if that tells you anything about how little they care about doing a good job. Read Tyler’s recap below and remember it the next time you’re in the market for a computer.
computers
Meet The Virtual ATM Skimmers
By 6.22.09
Just when you thought that you and your ATM card data were safe from criminal eyes, Scientific American brings a different sort of threat. This time, the skimmers are inside the machine. Malware within the ATM itself harvests enough data to do some very bad things.
Try These Search Terms If You Want Some Malware
By 6.11.09
Computer virus company McAfee has assembled a list of the top search keywords that are most commonly linked to malware exposure. The winning phrases are: word unscrambler, lyrics, myspace, free music downloads, phelps, game cheats, printable fill-in puzzles, free ringtones and solitaire. In addition, the general categories that are considered riskiest are: screen savers, free games, work from home, Olympics, videos, celebrities, music and news.
More Info On Replacing An HP Laptop Motherboard
By 6.10.09
We asked John, who wrote to us earlier this week about replacing the motherboard in his HP laptop, to send us a link to the listing he found for $150. Below is his response.
How Much Should It Cost To Replace The Motherboard On A Laptop?
By 6.8.09
John’s wife’s laptop died, and his local Geek Squad wants $800 total to replace the motherboard. John says he found the motherboard for $150, and he wants to know why Geek Squad thinks it will require $650 in labor. So all you IT and geek readers out there, we ask you: is this a fair price?
Sears Settles With FTC Over Spyware Charge
By 6.5.09
In 2007 and 2008, Sears invited select customers to join the exclusive “My SHC Community,” which involved installing an app that would monitor online browsing in exchange for $10. The app was called spyware by researchers and the FTC, because the data it collected on customers included “details from their online shopping, bank statements, drug-prescription records, video rentals, library-borrowing histories, even the names and addresses of their e-mail correspondents,” as well as “data about the users’ computers, printers, and other devices.”
Best Buy Offers Enticing -$120 Off Laptop Price
By 6.5.09
Looking for an insane deal on a laptop? Look no further than Best Buy. They have a sale going on now that you wouldn’t believe. We got a screencap just in case you miss it.
HP Overdrafts Your Checking Account After 4-Day-Old Laptop Breaks
By 6.4.09
The hard drive of Chris’s HP laptop failed within its warranty period. Technically, it was four days after he bought the brand-new computer, but who’s counting?
Dell Offers You $310,000 – What Credit Crunch?
By 6.4.09
Travis is well aware that there’s a credit crunch on. That’s why he was surprised when, according to a mailing he received, Dell decided to increase his credit line. Not by a little, either. They increased it from $2,500 to $310,000. Wha? How does that happen? He’s just a regular consumer. Does anyone who isn’t an IT professional need a $310,000 Dell credit line?
Best Buy Employees Find $10,000 Hidden In Computer Tower
By 5.28.09
A man in St. Louis dropped off his computer for repair at the area Best Buy, but apparently forgot that he was also using it as a bank. “Employees at a Best Buy store in South County discovered about $10,000 cash inside,” writes the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
HP Calls About Pants Burnin' Laptop
By 5.21.09
HP called Consumerist about our inquiry about Jillian’s sparking and flaming HP dv2845se laptop adapter that she says burned a hole in her pants and caused a welt on her leg. Jillian had also alleged that HP customer service, regular and escalated, was both unresponsive and rude. HP told us….
HP And Compaq Laptop Computer Batteries Recalled Due To Fire Hazard
By 5.14.09
HP announced today that laptop computer batteries have been recalled as a fire hazard due to risk of overheating. Affected models are HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP, and HP Compaq computers sold from about August 2007 to March 2008. Find out if your computer is affected and get a replacement battery at HP’s site.
USPS: Your Five New, Insured Laptops That We Lost Are Worth $74
By 5.7.09
The US Postal Service lost five new Lenovo laptops that Pedro’s friend bought and shipped to him. Pedro expected that this might happen, so he wisely insured the package for $3,000. After stalling for about two months, USPS finally agreed to pay his insurance claim, but reduced the payment, claiming his merchandise was only worth $74.
Dell Breaks Customer's New Laptop Remotely, Won't Send Him Replacement
By 4.20.09
Anthony has been a long-time Dell customer and has shared his positive experiences with friends and family, but that’s come to an end thanks to Dell’s abysmal customer service. It’s been one month since he first received his new Studio 15 Laptop, which worked correctly for 4 days. Since then, he’s been on the phone with Dell for a total of 14 hours, he’s watched a Dell CSR remotely break his laptop by interrupting the BIOS flash, he’s been locked out of the data on his hard drive, and there’s still no replacement laptop on the way to him. When he copied us on this email, he added, “All I wanted was the computer that I paid for long ago.”
Reader Uses HP Executive Customer Service Number, Great Success!
By 4.7.09
Chris reports getting sweet satisfaction from HP after he searched for their executive customer service number on our site and gave them a ring:
Texas Bans Vista For State Gov
By 4.1.09
The malignment of Windows Vista has reached a new height: A Texas lawmaker added a provision to the state budget that would effectively ban Vista from being purchased by any state government agency.
Is The Patriot Act Stopping Gateway From Fixing Your Laptop?
By 3.22.09
Gateway claims that the Patriot Act is holding up delivery of the part needed to fix Redwoodflyer’s laptop, which has been broken since October. Seems believable to us!
