Reader Amy’s HP laptop is defective and HP offered to fix it for free–then changed its mind and wanted $800. Amy asked them to return the laptop, and when she got it back, she found that it was even more broken than when she sent it in. She contacted HP again and again they offered to fix it for free. This time, they let the laptop sit around for 3 weeks before calling her to let her know that they were voiding her warranty because of “liquid damage.” Amy says the first repair ticket has no mention of this mysterious liquid damage…
hewlett packard
This HP Customer Service Rep Thinks He's A Genteel Salesman
By 6.17.08
A Consumerist reader called HP to ask whether they could help him with a broken computer. They couldn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop the CSR from trying to ever-so-politely upsell a brand new HP computer at a low, low price. Thanks for calling HP Total Care for Desktops! What can we do to put you in a new computer today?
Hungry HP Repair Dept Captures Another Laptop
By 6.12.08
You gotta hand it to Hewlett Packard—they’re able to improvise quickly when it comes to making up excuses. Dustin wrote to let us know that so far, over the three weeks that HP has had his laptop in for repair, he’s heard these reasons for why they haven’t sent it back yet:
- laptop warranty voided because of dog hair under keyboard
- repair placed on hold because they need to reformat the hard drive
- hard drive needs to be replaced
- OS could not be replaced because product sticker in back was gone
It may not surprise you to find out that Dustin sent in the notebook to have the AC jack repaired, because it had started to come loose and the power cord wouldn’t stay securely connected. The keyboard, hard drive, and OS were all just fine.
Possible Class Action Against HP Over Cruddy Pavilion Notebooks
By 6.4.08
If you own an HP Pavilion Notebook and you’ve had problems with it—specifically overheating, problems with the power supply, and an inability to update the BIOS—then you might want to contact this law firm and tell them your story. We know class actions rarely help the individual consumer, but they do succeed in punishing the offending company occasionally, and we can’t think of a computer company more in need of a good class action smackdown than HP.
Thrice Has HP Attempted To Fix This Laptop, And Thrice Has HP Failed
By 4.24.08
Despite three attempts, HP cannot fix the video vomit that is going on in Willy’s laptop. After Willy sent it in for the third time, describing the problem to HP as “Video Related Problem: Lines, Spots, Scrambled,” HP replaced the audio PCA and sent it back marked “Repaired.”
Round 28: Sprint vs Hewlett Packard
By 4.22.08
This is Round 28 in our Worst Company in America contest, Sprint vs Hewlett Packard. Vote which sucks more, inside…
Dear HP: It's Been 6 Weeks Since I Last Saw My Laptop Can You Please Return It?
By 4.11.08
Reader D misses his laptop. A lot. He hasn’t seen it in 6 weeks. Despite tirelessly working to escalate his complaint up the ladder at HP, he keeps getting shuffled back around to “Jim,” an executive customer service rep who just keeps repeating the same old story about a delayed part.
Hewlett-Packard Takes Shipping Malware-Infested USB Sticks Very Seriously
By 4.11.08
WHO: Hewlett-PackardWHAT: A batch of USB keys for HP’s line of ProLiant servers have been shipped infected with the worms W32.Fakerecy and W32.SillyFDC. Both can allow attackers to take over a system.WHERE: HP ships USB sticks with malware [CNET] (Thanks to Jimbo!)
HP Replaces Missing Laptop After 3 Months
By 3.16.08
Remember N? He last saw his laptop in December after shipping it to HP for desperately needed repairs. After posting the story HP reached out to N, who tells us that he just received a spanking new machine. Read N’s reaction and his tips for handling similar situations, after the jump.
HP Won't Issue New Drivers For Leopard, Tells You To Buy A New Printer
By 3.15.08
Matt’s Officejet 6110 scans perfectly under Ubuntu, but won’t play nice with Leopard. When Matt called HP for support, he was told that the company has no plans to issue new drivers so he should just buy a new printer. To soften the blow, the tech mentioned HP’s trade-in program, which would give Matt a whopping $16 for his printer.
HP Announces Big Fat Tech Support Investment
By 3.3.08
HP customer service has a bad rep and it seems they finally got around to noticing it. Here’s a press release announcing the completion of what they call, “the most substantial investment in consumer technical support in its history.” Highlights:
Dear HP: It Has Been Three Months Since I Last Saw My Laptop
By 3.2.08
For three months, HP has promised to return reader N’s laptop within the next ten days. N sent his HP Pavillion for repairs in December after his screen became a blurry mess incapable of displaying anything as basic as say, oh, a tracking page. HP insists that they fixed the laptop, but they won’t ship it back to N. Conveniently, the one-year warranty expired last month.
HP Takes Three Months To Repair Laptop, Then Ships It To The Wrong Address
By 12.1.07
Hewlett-Packard took over three months to fix reader Mark’s ailing laptop, which they then shipped to the wrong address. HP charged Mark several hundred dollars for the repairs in July, and gave an expected delivery date of August 5. In early September, Mark was told that the laptop would definitely ship by September 24. On October 10, Mark learned – after sending an email to the CEO and leaving ten messages – that his laptop could not be repaired, and that he would instead receive a new Compaq Presario by October 23. The laptop finally shipped on October 25 to Lavergne, Tennessee. Mark lives in Iowa.
Morning Deals
By 10.10.07
UPDATE: Hey Geek Squad, I Haven't Seen My Laptop In A Month
By 8.27.07
As of July 25, Lorraine still didn’t have her original laptop back from Best Buy. It seems to have vanished into the nether of a 3rd party repair center. Inside, you can read the update to her story posted on July 13th
Hey Geek Squad, I Haven't Seen My Laptop In A Month
By 7.13.07
Reader Lorraine would like her laptop back. Geek Squad sent it to HP for repair then never contacted Lorraine again. Eventually she drove over to the Best Buy (she couldn’t get anyone on the phone) where they told her that her laptop would be replaced, but only after HP sent it back. When would HP send it back? No one knows. It is a mystery for the ages.
A Camera That Takes Slimming Photos?
By 6.8.07
Sick of looking fat in pictures of yourself? Buy a camera that stretches the photos vertically so you look thin. No, really. Now you can do to your family photos what MySpace sluts have been doing to theirs for years!
