Preview Review

Next Review

Hewlett-Packard Company Laptops Consumer Reviews

Most Popular | Newest | More Options >
More filter options:
HP Top-of-the-line Laptop HDX Premium Series - Worthless Warranty - HP HDX Premium Laptop
By -

I have the same problem as Lakehouse Bob. I bought a premium HDX Series laptop. I am two days short of my warranty and called to report that 6 or so of the keys, the E, D, C, N, M and the space bar key are all smudging to the point where they will shortly be unreadable. In addition the ink from the keys is smudged on a few other keys.

I'm told it is outside the warranty for the keyboard. She kept using "normal wear and tear" as she talked. I kept pointing out that smudged and unreadable keys are not normal on a laptop. I've purchased 4 HP/Compaq computers since this one this year and won't purchase any others as they clearly don't stand behind their product. I don't even want to go near the horrendous operating system that came with this laptop they also have also refused to do anything about.

I've had Dell computers in the past where a technician was sent from Buffalo to Rochester to repair a keyboard that had bad keys and some friends who have a Dell laptop with a defective battery had a tech come to their house and replace three different parts for no charge. I had read and heard that HP was a better company than Dell or Sony to deal with. While they were certainly polite, they offered no remedy for what is clearly a defective product. She only said if I bought a new keyboard it would cost "hundreds of dollars."

I then mailed in pictures of the laptop to HP customer care. ** wrote back and said they would take care of the computer keyboard. I was on the phone with the Escalation department at the time who proceeded to waste 45-60 minutes of my time and told me "it's not under warranty but if you will send the laptop in a well packaged box we will repair it, but know that this is not under warranty..."

I hung up on the dude. Dell would have come to my house and made the repair. This is my business laptop, can't be mailed and I asked when I bought to the computer if the price included in home service and was told it did. Amazing what these big corporations will say to make a sale. Here is what Lakehouse Bob said. I haven't gotten to the "escalation people" yet, but they are supposed to call me next week. LakeHouse Bob-see the whole review on this site:

I bought an HP HDX Premuim laptop 6 months ago. A couple months back I noticed that a few of the keys had the ink smudging. These are metallic keys with the key etched in. Only 8 keys are affected. Other frequently used keys are just like from the factory. I called HP and they said even though it's under Warranty, this constituted 'worn' keys and it would be $374 to get it fixed, including requiring me to send the whole laptop back to HP.

Replies
HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA -- I fell for the line of exaggerated claims made by the staff at BestBuy Gresham, Oregon and purchased the HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 13.3" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7.

BestBuy defended their claims by stating that this is the information that the HP representative had shared with them at training.

I called HP Technical support several times on the horrible battery life of the factory installed Lithium Polymer battery.

My HP Technical support person was Steven He can be reached at 1-877-917-4380 Site Code 52 Ext 7814174. Steven was absolutely useless.

I have never achieved anything that approached the miraculous twelve hour battery life that HP is claiming in their marketing propaganda.

Most of my calls resulted in the HP Indian or Pakistani technical support staff mocking me. They would typically say that my battery life is better than most. I found the HP Technical support team to be untruthful and disingenuous.

My Spectre X360 is currently achieving around four hours and I suspect this is beginning to degrade.

My mistake was in not purchasing an Apple computer. According to multiple sources the Apple computers are capable incredible battery life.

I even asked HP to warranty the battery out. HP refused to send me a new battery and suggested I return the Spectre X360 computer to BestBuy.

Steven of HP 1-877-917-4380 Site Code 52 Ext 7814174 also advised me that my only warranty option was to return the computer to BestBuy for service.

I visited BestBuy and they said that what HP said was not truthful. BestBuy said that I should return the HP Spectre X360 directly back to HP for warranty service.

I smell a class action lawsuit brewing in the hearts of the HP Spectre X360 owners. HP deceived the owners with exaggerated battery claims that are simply not achievable.

Sadly Hewlett Packard lied to everybody involved in this transaction. If HP censored this post out I will repost it on a website where they don't have access.

Replies
Buying from HP and being treated like idiots
By -

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- HP CASE # **. HP Quality ID # **. I purchased an HP Pavilion DV2415 laptop in the middle of July 2007. It crashed on the first day. On the 3rd day it crashed 9 times and each successive boot resulted in the blue screen of death. I contacted HP troubleshooting via online chat. After the 3rd online chat was told I would receive a recovery disk that would resolve the issue. Based on this 3rd conversation, which seemed reassuring, I purchased an HP extended 12 cell battery so that I could work during a series of day trips to Boston. I put it in and charged it.

When I was satisfied that it worked and would hold the charge, I went to remove it so I could replace it with the battery which had originally come with it. But it was NOT possible to remove it. The latch had jammed and there was no way it could be removed. Again, I contacted HP online support. The first person I spoke to had the gall to suggest I broke the latch. Two hours later, online with a second support representative, he did not hesitate to tell me that 12 cell and original batteries are exactly the same dimensions and are designed to be easily removable.

Further, it sounded like the latch had simply jammed, so I could send it in for repair. I asked him how long it would take and he immediately said I would get it back by overnight Fedex. Fedex indicates that HP received the laptop on July 23. 3 days later I received an email stating that instead of getting my laptop on the 23rd, I would now receive my laptop back no later than July 31st.

This time I phone the HP 800 number and was told by someone in Canada that they were facing some kind of unquantifiable backlog of work which might explain the delay. In response to my repeated questions about whether my laptop had been seen by a technician at all, she continued to avoid the question and kept telling I had nothing to worry about and that I would see my laptop on the 31st. On August 1st, I still had not gotten my laptop back. I made numerous phone calls, spoke to someone in India. Vaguely polite but completely unhelpful.

Spoke to someone in Canada. Was matter of factly unresponsive to my direct questions, and robotically replied that someone would call me within 4-24 hours to answer my questions and to make sure I get my laptop back. After several more phone calls I was again talking with yet another representative at some call center in India who assured me he had logged the details of my call and apologized for the person in Canada for having refused to give me the case number she had apparently been obliged to assign to my case.

He would then in a few minutes transfer me to someone in the "right" department, as he put it, one who would be able to deal with my case. The voice who came on the line minutes later was singularly rude but consistent in telling me that the case manager is unavailable at this time and only the case manager could tell me what the problem was and when I would get my laptop back. On the morning of the second, I had to buy a ticket for a trip out of the country to deal with an unexpected family issue.

While I was out, an email had come in to tell me that I was to now expect the laptop on the 7th Aug. I did not get a phone call from a case manager. Hours later, an agent from HP phoned to let me know that I should expect to get my laptop around Aug.7. I phoned the HP 800 number once again and asked to speak to a case manager. The person (Canadian accent) told me I would be transferred to a case manager.

Sixteen minutes and loop looping music later, a recorded voice said thank for supporting HP and the line went dead. I went online and found out suddenly, I was just one of thousands of HP customers who have been treated with such disrespect. See class action lawsuits in 2005, 2006, customer service complaints throughout 2004-present 2007.

I had purchased a laptop and saw it for less than 4 days. It was defective and I sent it in with HP's reassurance I would get it back overnight. I invested more money in HP with the extended battery based on this reassurance. I had no reason to worry they said. Someone would call me in 4-24 hours, THEY SAID. The overnight turned into July 31st. I ask what the problem was in Canada, India, Canada, India and get zero response in the US.

On the evening of Aug.1 I call HP and tell them to send me back my laptop today since they cannot tell me one single reason for the delay, and I must go out of the country with my new laptop in hand. I am told no one except the Case Manager can help me with that. But a case manager is still not available because all of them have gone home for the day. No one is interested in helping Shouldn't I have gotten the hint by now???? I am faced with an unexpected but urgent situation that requires me to go overseas and there is no one who will do anything to help me?

On Aug. 2, Jeremy, a case manager called me to ask me if I am certain that I would like my laptop to be sent back unrepaired. SAY WHAT? You have had my laptop since the July 23. I was assured I would get it back overnight. Then I get an email from you saying I would get it back on the 31st. On Aug.1 I phone to ask what happened. All day, your agents around the world insist they don't have any idea but I was not to worry, that I would see my laptop very soon, that someone would call. I then get an email saying I would get my laptop on Aug.7. I phone again and your agents around the world cannot transfer me to anyone who can actually help.

Due to a family matter I now have to leave. I ask for my laptop to be sent back urgently. You now call and tell me IT'S UNREPAIRED???? Furthermore, you think it might be a part on order and it takes time for it to get there. I ask you what exactly is the part in question and your answer is "I DON'T KNOW. THE TECHNICIAN DID NOT SPECIFY". I tell you that I have owned 7 laptops, never had any serious problems with any of them until this one. And you PATRONIZE ME by telling me that it doesn't make a difference what part it is.

While you condescend to your customer because it is your right to do so, you violate the customer rights by withholding information requested pertinent to the customer's property which you have promised to repair and promptly send back. You insist that you cannot do anything to expedite the UNKNOWN / UNNAMEABLE / MYSTERIOUS part in question, but you insist that the you expect the part to arrive on Aug.7 and it will be sent out overnight to me. YOU PROMISED ME BEFORE HANGING UP YOU WOULD CALL ME TO LET ME KNOW THAT PROGRESS WAS MADE.

It is Aug. 9 today! I still have no laptop! You have cost me more than my expenses; I have delayed my departure with no new department date in sight and you have not called me to tell me what is happening with my laptop! It is a new and defective computer. Repair it or replace it immediately and send it to me today! HP, do you get the hint?

I want the all HP customers to know I share their grief. If you are thinking of buying HP consider this experience is not an isolated case but is a clear example of HP's ongoing quest to get wealthier while you suffer and agonize over your purchase AT YOUR EXPENSE. Obviously, THEY STILL DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE ANY CONSUMER RIGHTS.

Between these so-called representatives in India, Canada, and the one blip of the one in the US, the common phrase is "THANK YOU FOR CONTACTING SUPPORT AT HP". Yeah? Giving your customers the run around on a global scale, when they invest their hard-earned dollars in your company, you get richer, you continue to reap the benefits, in spite of blatant disrespect for your customers, now would it be surprising to us if you were simply laughing as you read this????

Replies
I Needed Technical Support to Get My HP Envy Laptop Working Correctly Again
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DANVILLE, OHIO -- My HP laptop was freezing up and running slow. I phoned HP tech support and they wouldn't help me without a $99.99 fee on my credit card which they guaranteed a solution that came with a 30-day guarantee. They were unable to even retrieve my data and back it up to an external hard drive. Took it to a local repair shop and they were able to immediately retrieve my data and repair hard drive for a very fair price. I phoned the HP support department for a refund and they informed me they put in a "request" that had to be approved.

Five days later I received a call that my request was denied and that the fee was a "troubleshooting fee" which is not what I was told. I was told that when I gave them my credit card number to fix my laptop that I was authorizing them to use the fee how they wanted to use it.

Replies
Advertisement
Why do I Hate HP Customer Service. Let Me Count the Ways.
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Why do I hate HP customer service. LET ME COUNT THE WAYS. This has been on my bucket list for so long. I finally decided, today, that I cannot take it anymore. I am going to share this with everyone because I know you all have similar stories and are equally frustrated, but do not have the time to do anything about it. I am going to speak on the behalf of everyone who hates the service we are getting in America, the beautiful.

The worst part of all is that most companies in America are outsourcing everything. Some of these customer service representatives can make you go from one to ten in a nanosecond. Their thinking is very concrete. Many do not have a good grasp of the English language. I believe they rely on flowcharts. If you say, “No,” they look to see what it says in the corresponding box and repeat it verbatim. They should start answering the phone, “How may I be of absolutely no assistance to you today?”

Two years ago, I sent my Special Edition HP laptop to be serviced. I really loved that computer. The hinge was coming apart, which I realize was my fault because I sometimes picked it up by the cover. I had just a few days left on my three year warranty. I got the computer back and it was working well, but five days later it completely crashed. I ended up buying a new HP laptop, which is not nearly as nice. Just recently, I sent the new one to be serviced. I made a joke to my sister that in five days, it would crash.

Lo and behold, that is exactly what happened. It is telling me to use my recovery disc. I just find this to be too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. I remember buying a three year home contract when I bought this computer. When I called for service, the representative said I did not have a contract. I read off the product number from my invoice. The service representative said that it was not a valid number.

I kept calling to see if I could get a representative who could help me. They kept saying, “No, you do not have a service contract.” How about the customer is always right. How about saying they are going to check into it and get back to you.

I eventually found the paperwork for the service contract. I had to register my service agreement. This must be one of their latest tricks to make money. I did not read my receipt because I was too busy and that is what they are counting on. By the time you make your first service call, you cannot remember if you bought the extended service contract or not.

Once I registered my service contract, they admitted I had a service contract. If I had not found that paperwork, I would be dead in the water. That is exactly what happened to my husband's computer. I bought a service contract via phone and had no way of proving it when he needed technical support. I wonder how much profit they make on this little scam.

I am so sick and tired of these people repeating everything you say by using the alphabet. “A” as in apple, “B” as in boy. A call that would ordinarily take five minutes can take over an hour. I heard that they enjoy torturing us and laugh about it in the bullpen.

When I called about renewing my service agreement for my last computer, the service representative gave me a price, but I realized it did not include hardware. I said, “I did not want to pay for their HOTLINE service only.” She said, “Sorry, ma'am, you are not listening to me.” I said, “No, I get it. You want me to buy your lousy service without hardware support for the same price as I was paying for telephone and hardware support.”

Honestly, I would rather break my computer over my head than talk to them. I started to realize that I was doing everything I could to avoid having to call them. My son refuses to call them. My husband does not even bother to get the service contract extended because he also refuses to talk to them. I decided from now on, I am going to use their chat line. In this way, I do not have to go through the alphabet multiple times. I wonder how many other people feel this way.

Once a customer service representative gave me instructions on how to fix my computer. I said, “Won't this delete my programs and files?” He assured me it would not, but it would take a while. He asked me to call back when it was done. I called back and the next customer service representative said that I had deleted all my files and that there was nothing he could do about it. He said, “I am sorry.” You are not the only one who is sorry, buster!

My son's computer was in warranty. I was told to send it to the HP Service Center. I would call to ask the status. They would say that they did have the part. After a month went by, I called to state that their service contract indicates that the computer would be sent back within 10 working days.

One representative said, “Well, do you want us to send you back your computer without the part.” That was obviously not from the flowchart, just plain stupidity. It took me three months before this was resolved in a satisfactory manner and more aggravation than I have ever known. I could go on and on, but I know you have your own annoying stories. So many Americans cannot get employment and would do a great job at this if given the opportunity. They would even be happy to accept the same salary at this point. I would be willing to pay more for the option.

I remember watching a skit on Saturday Night Live with Gilda Ratner. She was all tied up. She managed to call 911. The recording said something like this: “Touch “1” if you are being burglarized, “2” if there is a gun pointed to your head and “3” if you are getting raped.” That is about the size of customer service in America. I feel sorry for the elderly who need to make a phone call. These phone trees are getting more and more expansive. It is really bad when they cannot recognize a simple “Yes” or “No.”

Oh, by the way, HP will no longer give you a hardware contract for a laptop after three years because it was built to only last only three years. I have had to buy a new laptop every three years. Dell is no better. I hear the same complaints from my sister.

Replies
Appalling Product Quality And After Sales Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

SINGAPORE -- TO HP CEO: I am writing from Singapore to you as I am totally disappointed with your product quality and especially the after sales service in Singapore. I purchased a HP Envy Beat edition notebook last year and started using only in June 2011. Within about half a year, the notebook failed twice. The 2nd time was in Jan 2012, the motherboard failed.

As it was the 2nd time, I am quite sure there's some kind of fault with the notebook and demanded for a one to one exchange since at that time it's still under warranty and expiring on Feb 2012. My request was rejected and the engineer by the name **, assured us that after changing to a brand new motherboard, it should be fine and assured us that we can look up for him if encounter any problem within a year.

We therefore took his word for it hesitantly. Never did we expected the notebook to fail again within 4-5 months, in May 2012. And it was the motherboard again! We expected that HP Singapore will be more responsible to change it for us free. We made a complaint and one of the case manager, by the named of ** who simply pissed us off. (By the way, the engineer **, we were told that he was no longer with the company and what he told us, was not recorded by HP.)

We then wrote in to HP USA, and not surprisingly, it bounced back to HP Singapore and another representative by the name of **, contacted us. It's a long story to go into detail what had gone through with the conversation with these 2 representative of HP Singapore. The main points that I wish to highlight is the insensitivity towards customer's feelings from the service staffs. Based on the number of times that the notebook was brought down to the service center within a short period of times, it enough evidence to show that it is a faulty one. And I don't think our request is so unreasonable.

In fact, end of the day, we had compromised to paying 50% of the charges but requested to have a free extension of the motherboard that we going to pay to 6 months instead of 4 months that HP Singapore had offered. However, again, we are rejected. Worst, we received an email by another party by the name of ** from HP Singapore, that we are given 14 days to accept the quotation, otherwise we will be charged even though we intend not to service it.

We have never encountered a notebook that breakdown so frequently within a short period in the past and you guys couldn't even able to assured us of your product quality by simply complied with a 6 months warranty, Is this to show that your product quality is so poor to this extent?? When asked about the caused of the failure, yours guys told me "Don't Know!" "It's Electronics!"

It's simply appalling to heard such words from a global branded company! Then my question is why should consumers choose HP than other brands? Why should consumers like me choose HP Envy Beat Edition rather than other HP lower range notebook?? Your Case Managers repeated mentioned they tried their best to "help" me by giving the discount which pissed me off. I am not seeking for your "Help!". It is not the matter of money but principle.

Even with the 50% discount, my wife and I don't feel good accepting it as we felt cheated. I am totally disappointed with HP, the trust in your product and not to say the horrible after sales service. And to highlight to you, both case managers spoke English with different accent, which I believe are foreigners, which I had a hard time figuring out what they trying to say most of the times. First it came the unsatisfactory service, then now came the threat that I had to made up my mind within 14 days whether to accept such offer. I wrote in to US, and bounced back to Singapore. I really don't know what the hell is going on with you people.

My notebook is still hanging at the service center Singapore and it seemed I have no choice to accept the bullish offer. I think you can forget about your company's philosophy under "Customer Loyalty" which is to "TO provide the highest quality of equipment and Service". To salvage the last piece of trust from me and other consumers, I hope that there's a certain reply especially from the CEO because this letter supposed to direct to you. Hope you won't disappoint again.

Replies
HP Repair Deleted All My Data!
By -

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- I recently bought an HP Pavilion laptop. After several months the AC power jack on the laptop body became unusable. A nice gentleman at HP Customer support (turned out he was in India) spent 20 minutes with me on the phone, talking me through packing the notebook with the battery removed, and explained all the HP policies regarding warranty service. The good news: the repair was lightning fast and free. The bad news: HP repair service reformatted my hard drive. WHAT???

I was FURIOUS. I felt like someone checking into the hospital with a sprained ankle and ending up having a kidney accidentally removed. Why in the world would HP destroy - without warning me in advance - all my digital photos, downloaded music, customized settings, word processor documents, emails, in the course of fixing a broken power jack?

A phone call to HP customer service proved totally unsatisfactory. I was told that HP policy is to automatically reformat the hard drives of all units sent in for repair, and that informing the consumer of that fact is part of the phone support "script". I was also told that HP encourages consumers to remove the hard drive, like the battery, before shipping their notebook.

Well I was NEVER told that my hard drive was about to be wiped clean. I was NEVER advised on how to remove it before shipping (as I was with the battery). In all my years working with computers, I have never lost a hard drive, until now. And for no earthly reason, other than a ridiculous one-size-fits-all repair policy that has surely claimed plenty more victims.

At any rate, the person who I spoke with in customer service, Marcella, told me that my complaint was reasonable and I would hear back from a supervisor within 24 hours. I am still waiting, two days later, to hear back.

Apologize for taking such a drastic and irreversible action without informing me in advance. Review and change HP policy regarding repairs. If there really is some justification for reformatting the hard drive of every computer that comes in (no matter what the problem), then HP should REQUIRE consumers to remove their laptop hard drives before shipping.

Customer service people should clearly state and repeat the fact that all data will be lost should the hard drive arrive at HP. And most importantly, HP should specifically ask for permission to do this before agreeing to accept the item for repair. In other words the script should contain this dialog: "Do you understand that once we take in your equipment, if your hard drive is still in the machine, we may delete all your data?" "I have recorded your answer as 'Yes'. Is this correct?"

I would really appreciated some compensation for the lost data, lost hours of work, and lost time spent on this issue. I still need to spend hours more to restore the computer to the condition it was in before this disaster. What is my time worth? I would be happy to accept compensation in the form of HP product. That would indicate some acknowledgement of HP's fault in not informing me in advance of their intent to clean out my hard drive.

Replies
Incompetent Technicians
By -

I purchased a Compaq Presario CQ61 in March this year in the UK to use at my new home in Spain. Everything was going fine until a few weeks ago when the speakers started to crackle badly. I contacted Ebuyer in the UK who said I would have to take it back to UK or contact HP direct. This I did and eventually they put me in touch with consumer support???? in Spain who virtually had no English and I still only have limited Spanish.

Eventually they agreed to collect it for repair on Monday 15/11/2010 - that never happened - then they would collect again on Wed 17th - that never happened as the courier couldn't find my house - I live in a town not the back of beyond - and they refused to call me as I still use an English mobile number as all other call are Skype or MSN or Face book so eventually the guy got here Friday lunch time 19th.

All appeared OK until they sent an email saying the machine was ready and also texted a friend who has a Spanish number so I called the number they emailed me and NOBODY could speak English so was not sure how I would ever get it back. However on return to my home there was a note in the letterbox saying Casa 15 which is next door so was overjoyed when I rang their bell and found they had taken it in on Tuesday 23rd.

I was feeling very relieved as being in a foreign country I use the laptop a lot to stay in touch with friends and family back home. Switched it on and my desktop picture had gone then it refused to open under my password protected log in which had gone so had to log in with the Spanish name they had given it.
Then I found ALL MY PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS TOGETHER WITH WINDOWS WORD APPLICATION HAD BEEN WIPED CLEAN over 6 years of personal family and friends photos including Mum and Dad who are no longer here.

I called them and again no English - so emailed complaining and eventually and now after a multitude of emails they do not accept they have done anything wrong and claim it is my fault. I had already advised prior to collection that I had two log in's and that one was password protected and to use the other if required which was not.

It seems they have got in to both and wiped them clean and refuse to accept that as it was a hardware problem - which they clearly described it in a Questionnaire I completed regarding my experience with their repair - you can imagine my replies to that BUT THEY HAD NO NEED TO TOUCH MY SOFTWARE - all it needed was a new speaker - job done.

If anyone has had a similar problem or any idea how to get past their self righteous attitude please let me know. IN THE MEANTIME DON'T BUY ANY HP PRODUCT AND IF YOU ALREADY HAVE PRAY IT DOESN'T GO WRONG UNDER WARRANTY - IF IT DOES TAKE IT TO SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!

Replies
Advertisement
DO NOT BY AN HP - Terrible Product & Customer Service
By -

I'm in disbelief right now. I just called call tech support at HP only to find out the company is deceitful and not consumer friendly. I purchased a "lower end" HP laptop at Best Buy about a year and a half ago. I was having problems with the power cord charging the battery. I had to keep repositioning the cord to get the battery to charge. It got progressively worst to the point where it didn't work at all.

I'll try to make a long story short... I called HP tech service and spoke to CORY, who just happened to be VERY rude. I told him the problem and he immediately knew what the problem was just by me mentioning the words "power cord" and "not charging". He explained it was a loose (I think he said pin) that holds the power cord in and that it was a COMMON problem in "lower end" HP's. Then he said it was too bad that it was out of warranty and too bad that I did not purchase the extended warranty. So instead of it costing $49 to fix it, it will now cost me $300.

I asked if there was some way to resolve the problem since my computer was not that old. He said no and I was better off PURCHASING a new HP. I said you have to be kidding; why would I buy a new HP when I've had problems with this one. Then he proceeds to tell me that since I bought a "lower end" model, they put USED parts in them. Yes, I said USED parts. I told him I NEVER heard that from anyone. I asked if it's disclosed anywhere and he said in the warranty; then he proceeds to say "but who reads the warranty" and then chuckled.

He made several comments in the beginning of the conversation before he knew I was angry. When I repeated some of the negative things HE actually said about HP, he said he did not say those things. I mentioned that even he said it was a common problem with HP's and he claimed he never said that. I called him a liar and asked if this conversation was recorded and he said yes. I got his name and operator number and I'm going to pursue this. I told him I would never buy an HP again. And I told him I just purchased a new computer and I was looking at the HP's but decided to go with a MAC (which I LOVE) and now with this type of service, I'm GLAD I did not buy the HP.

So we just went round and round. I wanted to speak with someone else (because he was of no help) and he claimed there was no one else he could transfer me to. The best he could do was put in a request to have and higher level tech get a hold of me and its takes 3 – 4 days. I asked for any other HP phone numbers and he did not have any other phone numbers. I said I can't believe that is the only phone number for all of HP. At that point I was getting so angry, I had to hang up.

In the conversation I told him I would never buy an HP again and I'm going to tell everyone I know about the customer service and the deceitfulness of the used parts. I guess you could say "shame on me" for not reading the "fine print" but as I told him, I purchased the computer trusting that HP was a good product and they would stand behind it. I also think the people at Best Buy should disclose there are used parts. But I'm an honest person and would never try to trick or cheat anyone but unfortunately everyone is not like that.

I told him that instead of going to Best Buy to purchase a "USED" computer I could have purchased a used laptop from Craig's list for half the price. The BEST part of all is (and I told him this too) I work for the VP of Technology at a major, major company and we use HP's here. When I asked him for advice on a computer, he told me to buy a MAC!!! That's what he personally has... so what does that tell you!!

Replies
Unreliable products. Incompetent Service.
By -

Buyers Beware! I'€™ve now purchased 3 Hewlett Packard laptops over a 2 year period and I personally will never purchase another HP product again!

My first laptop became excessively hot to touch and by the 6 month mark would give me small electrical shocks!!! It was dead by the 12 month mark. Putting this down to just bad luck and naively continuing to think they're a good brand - I purchased another two HP laptops one for my partner and myself. His laptop had constant startup problems from the 4 week mark onwards and the DVD player and hard drive needed replacement at the 5 month mark.

My system (DV5) at the 4 month mark started to feel very hot to touch (even after 5 minutes of being switched on) and by the 5 month mark became sluggish, slow to start up and often froze. At the 7 month mark it completely failed and had to be sent for warranty repairs where the hard drive needed replacing as did 3 other parts. It when you get to the HP support side of things that your real HP experience begins where their promise of a 7-10 day repair turn around really means in excess of 37 days.

During this time I: made 39 telephone calls to them that I paid for; lost 5 work days while I waited for them to turn up at a time that they made with me to collect/return my laptop where they didn't turn up at all or call to advise of a change of plan and I had joy of talking to at least 12 different people in their South African service and complaints areas and their UK logistics and repair center not to mention I also got to speak to people in their courier company.

I was hung up on 5 occasions; promised to be called on 6 occasions and then not called; and contacted on 5 occasions from people in different departments to be asked the same question that the previous people who called 3,5 and 14 days earlier had asked. I had to lobby one telephone operator who insisted on telling me that my product isn'€™t under warranty even though it was already established that it was 2 weeks earlier - and as she felt she was right - proceeded to infer I was lying and hung up on me. It was only after I managed to get to a complaints area that I received a verbal apology and was told she was reading the wrong date.

On top of this is that the complaints area is based in Cape Town South Africa which in itself isn't a problem however no one has the ability to provide real service or have the ability to influence UK-based operations or service - nor can you get escalated to someone who does as the people you speak to are only authorized to send an email to state your case to "€˜Head Office"™ and also point blank refuse to escalate you to a senior member of staff! Oh and the token external hard disk that was offered in compensation for my troubles, costs and lost time -€“ still hasn't been received.

So if you can afford to waste an excess of time and money which has so far cost me personally at least 2.5 times my original laptop price, and if you enjoy spending hours resetting up your laptop and love the thrill of living on the edge of not knowing whether your precious data is safe as its on a HP product, then go right ahead. Otherwise BEWARE. My advice is to search the laptop performance review sites - I wish I had - apparently 1 in 4 HP laptops are lemons with HP being the most unreliable of a pick of 7 brands reviewed in terms of their hardware reliability.

And for some reason you are still keen on a HP product, then just know that it is likely you will get limited support from HP should you need it (and you will) as central to everything HP do is a bungling incompetent culture that fails to live up to any HP CARE promise. Please value your sanity, your time and your wallet - just don't buy Hewlett Packard.

Replies
Top of Page | Next Page >

Hewlett-Packard Company Laptops Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.0 out of 5, based on 9 ratings and
136 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Hewlett-Packard Company
P O Box 10301
Palo Alto, CA 94303-0890
650-857-1501 (ph)
650-813-3254 (fax)
www.hewlett-packard.com
Product/Services
Compare Computer Companies