Buying refurbished electronics can be a money-saving way to get like-new items at a great price. Or it can be a money-losing nightmare of defective products, wrong parts, and missing accessories. Guess which category Ralph’s recent purchase of a tablet from TigerD irect falls under? The fun began when they shipped him a netbook instead of a tablet PC…and couldn’t get anyone to understand the difference. [More]
lenovo
Lenovo Reads Consumerist, Lets Customer Buy Laptop
By 6.20.12
A couple of weeks ago, we shared the story of Devotee, who tried to buy a computer directly from Lenovo’s site, only to have the order canceled out from under him with no explanation why. You may remember reading this story, and so did Lenovo employees. They wondered what happened, too, and reached out to Consumerist to help Devotee and figure out why they weren’t able to sell him anything and what went wrong. [More]
Lenovo Won't Sell You A Computer, Won't Explain Why
By 6.5.12
Reader Devotee would like to purchase a computer from Lenovo. A laptop, specifically, for his son. But Lenovo doesn’t want to sell him a computer. After confirming the purchase and authorizing the purchase with his credit card company twice, the order just got canceled. Did they run out of stock of this particular computer? Was his purchase flagged for fraud? Did he just catch them on a bad day? They won’t say, and he can’t get in touch with anyone who can tell him. Update: Lenovo has successfully sold Devotee a computer. [More]
Lenovo Has My Defective Computer, Isn't Returning My Calls
By 5.17.12
Bethany’s Lenovo laptop computer is pretty nice. At least, it is when it’s around. It keeps taking extended vacations at Lenovo’s repair depot, to the point that she had to buy another computer in order to get through finals and computerless life in general. After they held on to her machine for three weeks, she finally asked for a refund instead of getting the evidently defective computer back. That’s when they stopped returning her calls. [More]
EECB Strikes Lenovo, Gets Customer New Laptop
By 5.1.12
Patricia’s refurbished laptop from Lenovo could have used more refurbishment. It had a scratched webcam and an unbearably rattly disc drive, and she didn’t find this acceptable for a device that she had just purchased. So she tackled the issue using a time-honored consumer technique: the executive e-mail carpet bomb. Lenovo’s Executive Relations team heard her plea, and sent her a new computer to replace her refurbished one. [More]
Lenovo Replaces Lemon Laptop… In Theory
By 3.30.12
The Lenovo laptop that Aaron bought at Best Buy just a few months ago was clearly defective. The company admitted it, and granted him a new computer. In theory. While he was told that a computer was on its way two weeks ago, there’s been no sign of it, and no indication of when it will ship. [More]
Intermittent Computer Issues? Lenovo's Repair Center Will Break Them All The Way
By 2.10.12
P.’s Lenovo netbook had a wonky USB port that would stop working when the item plugged into it was jostled a little bit. Fortunately, Lenovo’s repair center is capable of fixing problems like that. He sent the computer in, but didn’t want to pay $700 for repairs on a computer he had purchased for $400. [More]
Is Windows 7 Optional At Lenovo, Or Not?
By 2.24.11
Greg wanted to order Lenovo’s new ultraportable laptop, the x120e, without Windows 7. A site error briefly let some customers (including Greg) order the computer without an operating system, but then restored the unwanted OS when he went to check out. He hopped on customer support chat, and found a representative who… well, we don’t want to say that the rep “lied,” but they were certainly misinformed about the company’s own products. [More]
Lenovo Demonstrates How Not To Keep Track Of Your Inventory
By 1.7.11
When you order an item from Lenovo, your item could be out of stock, backordered, shipping sometime in six months, or have falled into another dimension never to be heard from again. At least, that’s what Eamonn discovered when ordering a USB thumb drive along with a Thinkpad. Lenovo first showed an absurdly far-off shipping date, and then finally–days later–admitted that they had sold something that was never actually in stock. [More]
Lenovo Customer Service Is Incapable Of Sending Me The Right Battery
By 10.20.10
Steven would like a functioning battery for his Lenovo Ideapad. The computer is under warranty: he bought it less than three months ago. He writes that every time he calls their customer service center for a replacement battery, they send the wrong one. After the second time, this is becoming sort of tiresome. [More]
Up-To-The-Minute Coupon Codes For Hot Sales
By 6.23.10
The deal aficionados on the FatWallet message boards have various discussion threads devoted to providing the most current coupons for a slew of stores. Rather then dig for them, here’s a master list of their official store coupons and clearance threads. Members routinely get rid of dead coupons and post new ones, so this is definitely one to bookmark: [More]
Surprise Knife In Lenovo Box Cuts Reader
By 2.4.10
Reader Christian says he opened his recent Lenovo purchase only to get a nasty surprise: a deep cut on his finger from a box cutter left inside the package.
UPDATE: Lenovo wrote Christian back to say sorry and offer him a free battery.
Lenovo Screws Up Every Part Of Computer Purchase
By 10.22.09
Dan and his roommate had a crazy plan. They would use Dan’s credit card to purchase a laptop computer from Lenovo. The roommate would write Dan a check for the total amount the computer cost. Lenovo would ship a working computer to the roommate, thus completing a straightforward exchange of currency and consumer goods. Unfortunately, life is not that simple in the Land of Lenovo.
Your New Computer's Free Windows 7 Upgrade? Not So Free, Actually
By 10.1.09
Not many people really want a computer with Windows Vista. The sensible thing for customers who need a computer—but not right away—to do is wait until the launch of Windows 7 and then buy a computer with the much-awaited OS pre-installed. Vendors realize this, and are trying to get Vista-laden machines off their shelves with the promise of a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out. A free upgrade that is not, in fact, free.
Lenovo Forgets To Charge Customers, Then Sends Them To Collection Agency
By 8.21.09
Bart wrote to us about a strange experience he had after purchasing a new Thinkpad from Lenovo. He had a perfectly smooth transaction, until months later when he received a letter from a collection agency. The agency was demanding payment for the laptop he had already paid for. Or so he thought.
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.
By 1.22.09
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This terrible, terrible commercial for Lenovo’s new laptop is clearly meant to go viral a la Songsmith, but someone forgot that it should be amusing and not just cringe-inducing. You got your viral on, Lenovo, but now your new slogan is “That’s What She Said.” [YouTube via Engadget]
Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies
By 11.7.08
Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success.
