Hewlett-Packard Company Laptops Consumer Reviews - Page 3

I appreciated reading several of the posts here while going though my "ordeal" with HP. If you want some detail on my case, I've provided it at the end. It is clear that HP needs to improve the processing of situations where they have failed to perform to contract. The "Quality Case Manager" who is expected to resolve these issues apparently is not given the authority to do so. The customer is told by the Quality Case Manager that they "represent Corporate" and there is no course of appeal. My case manager seemed uncaring about the impact on my business and, based on what I've read on "complaint" forums, this is the norm.

Also, my case manager did a poor job of returning my calls and keeping me informed. In my case, the Case Manager sent the first email to the Repair Center inquiring about the status of the case on October 22, but was unable to get any response from the Repair Center until Nov 8. Obviously, she did not have the authority to require a response by the Repair Center. Once the Repair Center spent a little time researching the missing PC, they quickly determined the status... but I was given no status for 17 days.

Based on my experience, and that of others who have posted to complaint forums, HP should: Give Quality Case Managers authority to demand response to problem status inquiries. Require Quality Case Managers to care about customer satisfaction by teaching them customer interaction skills, having customers rate their performance by survey, and removing case managers who perform poorly on the surveys.

Clearly these people have a tough job and are always dealing with customers who are already dissatisfied, but they could still display empathy with customers, return customer calls promptly, and explain up front the process that will be followed and that there will be some kind of compensation for late turnaround of the PC repair.

Advice: Set your expectations; a) the Case Manager is able to do little (although they won't admit it), b) expect a long spell without your PC and develop a workaround. Call the Case Manager at least every other day. Write out the voicemail you will leave (they are very unlikely to answer) and then email it to the CEO email address. I received email responses from some of these so I believe that they do get viewed by someone other than the Case Manager (not the CEO, of course).

Open an online case and update it regularly. This keeps the techs involved and while they have little authority, they at least ARE concerned about customer satisfaction and how your troubles might impact their performance review, and they will get back to you and try to help. Post the original case number and the “quality case” number to the new case your open. I was interested to see a post today that indicated someone had success with a small claims court case. I wondered about that, but the service contract indicates all proceedings must occur in California, so I dismissed the possibility. Hmmm.

Example of my voice mails (and emails to CEO): “Good morning, Heather... this is **, case # ** and it's Tuesday, November 6, 2007, 11:30AM. I received someone else's PC two weeks ago October 22, from the repair center instead of mine. I'm reporting in again to help you manage what is apparently a situation that your Company is unable to handle.

It's now been 11 business days since you told me that I would receive a call from the service center with status and instructions. I still have not received their call... I still have received absolutely no information on where my PC is, when I will get it returned, or why HP seemingly does not care that I have someone else's PC and provides no information on returning it.

In your last voicemail, Thursday November 1, you said you were continuing to try to reach the repair center and would let me know status as soon as you talked with them. Since you have not called back in 2 business days, I assume you were unable to reach them. So, in 11 business days, you have been unable to get anyone at the repair center to talk to you? Does HP give you any authority at all?

Anyway, it has now been 16 business days since HP received my PC, 13 business days beyond the 3 business-day turnaround specified in HP's Care Pack. And, it has been 18 business days that my business has been impacted by not having the PC. As always, if you have time, I would appreciate a call with status of my case. You can call me at either **, or my cell at **.”

Summary log: October 11, 2007 - Laptop failed under extended warranty; went through normal 6-hour on-phone process to eliminate software suspicions (including wiping the harddrive and reinstalling the OS) and get HP to send the box in which to send the laptop to Repair Center in CA. October 16 – Laptop received by HP Repair Center.

October 22 – I receive the WRONG laptop... completely different model (no battery, no power supply) and I notify HP. After several hours on phone, dropped call transfers, etc., I am told a “Quality Case Manager” will phone me within 24 hours.

October 23 – I receive voicemail message from Quality Case Manager (Heather) who cannot provide status but that I will receive a phone call with status from the Repair Center in 24-48 hours. I phone back and leave voicemail for her requesting call. October 24 – Receive call from Case Manager... tell her I still have not received a call from Repair Center, and doesn't she want me to send back the PC I have that some other poor customer is looking for? Get a gruff response telling me to just wait for the Repair Center to call.

October 25 through October 31 – Call Heather every other day and leave voice mail saying have not received call from Repair Center. Email text of each call to the “CEO” email address. November 1 – Receive voicemail from Heather... she is trying to phone Repair Center... November 2-6 – Continue to leave voicemails and email text to CEO.

November 7 - Receive call from Heather... she has finally been able to talk to Repair Center and they are investigating. She asks for serial number etc of PC I received. Receive second call from Heather saying they have located PC and will be calling me. I inquire about what HP will do to compensate for the fact that the extended warranty 3-day turnaround contractual agreement has been violated.

She said she will extend the warranty by 9 months or give me $x cash... I choose the extension. November 8 – RECEIVE CALL FROM REPAIR CENTER – My PC is in the mail and also mailing label to return (wrong) PC I received. November 10 – Receive my PC... 3 hours to configure and reload all apps.

MAPLE SHADE, NEW JERSEY -- This is it! I've had it! I'm here to tarnish the reputation of a company that employs over 140,000 people in 178 countries for the personal hell they have put me through, but let me begin at the beginning... I use my laptop for a variety of things... work, hobbies (like music composing, writing, and my game programming), Gaming, and for basic Internet use (email, web surfing, etc...). Needless to say, my computer plays a very large part of my life, so when my Gateway laptop was starting to show its age, I decided it was time to get a new laptop.

I did not have a bad experience with Gateway. The laptop lasted about 4 years and its battery had to be replaced once, but that was the worst thing that happened. At the end of its life, it had a malfunctioning Optical drive, one bad USB port, and a battery that can't hold a charge. It also overheated and shut off while playing games frequently.

I did not make the decision on a new laptop lightly. I compared laptops from IBM, Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba, Acer, and Gateway. I compared them on price and on available specs. Over all of these companies, HP came out on top as far as amount of technology for the price. I finally settled on an HP Pavilion dv8000t. This machine was perfect combine good graphics technology with a good amount of RAM and a large enough hard drive. It could even support 2 hard drives! And the full sized keyboard with a separate number pad was also a great benefit. In all, I loved this computer.

I bought it in May of 2006 shortly after Memorial Day, I ordered it over the phone with the rep from HP, who was really great, and I received it about a week later. Shortly after that I developed lines on the screen. You know those long vertical lines that go from the top of the screen to the bottom. They spread like a cancer and so I was forced to send in the computer to have it replaced. No big problem there, they replaced it within 3-5 days and the newer model worked fine. Fast forward 14 months...

August 18, 2007 - while playing my MMORPG (as I do most evenings), the whole system suddenly freezes and then the screen becomes overlaid with green static. Imagine the "snow" you see on a TV screen but green. Now imagine seeing your normal windows desktop behind it. Now my computer won't boot into windows normally, it just locks up.

I boot it into Safe mode and It comes up after about 10 minutes saying that the video drive is malfunctioning.... oh and I still have the snow. As a computer programmer and technician, I'm fairly sure that what happened was that due to overheating, either the GPU (graphics processing unit) or VRAM (Video RAM) was damaged. As all these components are on the motherboard so a motherboard replacement is what is required. So... I do what any self-respecting PC owner does in such a situation, I called HP support. I have some problems with understanding the support reps thick accent, but I eventually get the service order written up.

August 19, 2007 - the empty box arrives and the computer is sent without the AC adapter of Battery as per their instructions. August 27, 2007 - I get an email. OK, so I immediately call tech support to get an answer as to why the computer is being delayed a month! All they said is that the part is back ordered and that is the expected delivery date. So I let time pass by. I'm using my Aunt's older Laptop to play my MMORPG so I can still play, and my game programming group has been very understanding of my situation. I also can do basic web surfing on my Wii. All in all, I've been able to get by, but I still miss my laptop

September 14, 2007 - I called tech support asking for an update on my laptop. I figured since it was only 2 business days before the expected delivery date (9/18), they would be able to tell me whether my part was in. All the person on the phone would tell me is that the computer should arrive by that date. OK.

September 17, 2007 @ 5pm - The order status still says the laptop has not shipped, so I access the online chat feature. All the rep would say is that it should arrive tomorrow. September 18, 2007 - I call and they say that they are putting priority status on my order and I should receive an email from someone in the repair center. It never comes. September 19, 2007 - I start a chat and they say that they are putting priority status on my order and I should receive an email from someone in the repair center. It never comes. September 20, 2007 - I start another chat.

So basically here I am 1 month and 3 days since I sent in my notebook and they're telling be that not only is the part still back ordered, but not even a clue as to when it will be in. I know all the ranting in the world is not going to make a part suddenly appear, but they knew full well on 9/14 that the part was still on backorder. Why didn't anyone tell me then? Why hasn't my Order status screen been updated? Thanks for listening to my rant.

BRENTWOOD, NEW YORK -- Just going to stay to the facts or try. 8/3/2007. the back light on my laptop kicked the bucket, the laptop isn't even a year old and so knowing it was under warranty I called up to have it fixed. Upon talking with a tech (I am also a tech) I was told that I could purchase an extended warranty and receive my laptop "guaranteed" back to me within 2-3 days. I declined as I could not afford the warranty, and I was told I should be receiving my laptop back in 12 days. OK no problem.

8/16/2007. I had looked up the status of my laptop and noticed that it was expected to be delivered, but on the page it also said "Hewlett-Packard is currently trying to get in touch with you regarding the current status of your order. If we have been unable to reach you, please call us at the customer service phone number listed in the Contact HP section at your earliest convenience. Expected Delivery Date:09/04/2007".

I thought it was odd because I had not received any calls so I called them, after an hour and 26 min. I got a rep on the phone who told me that a part is out of stock and I should be getting my laptop on Aug. 28th, he then informed me that if I want to extend my warranty I could have my laptop back by Tuesday. Again I didn't have the money but wanted to know how purchasing a warranty would make a part appear in their repair center, there was no answer but my case was going to be escalated. OK? I was transferred to another rep who tried to sell it to me. When I again asked how that was going to make the part appear I was placed on hold then dropped.

8/28/2007. When I did not receive my computer, I called again and spoke to a rep named Michael. He guaranteed me that I would be receiving my computer on the fourth and then tried to sell me a warranty, again my case was also escalated.

9/4/2007. No computer... I call again and am told that there is no Michael (of course not) and that my computer was shipped and I even got a tracking number. I hang up. Tracking number was for when I send laptop to them. I call back and was told that I should have received my laptop, but wait, the rep looked again and there is a part that is in backorder and I will receive my laptop when they receive the part. did all laptop production stop in the month of August? Then the rep has the nerve to offer me a chance to purchase an extended warranty and "have my laptop back in less than a week".

I'm very up set with them so I ask for a manager. None available, and I am told I have to speak with an account manager, who is not available but is between the hours of 9 and 5. As of today, 9/7/2002, I have no new info and no contact with HP.

Note this is a long saga with multiple issues involved. A briefer conclusion is at the bottom. I bought a Hewlett Packard HP Pavilion DV2000 Laptop from Costco. When I first had it it functioned well. I was able to easily do a home landscaping/architecture program and surf the internet quickly. At the bottom of the screen however there was a small irregularity to the screen about a millimeter in size. One day I left it upside down on by couch so it wouldn'€™t overheat and when I went to work on it the next day there was a black spot in the LCD screen near the irregularity.

I tried calling Costco but they were closed. I tried squeezing in some of the liquid crystal from the screen into the black spot, and a crack or two radiated out from the irregularity, and then there was very little of the screen that worked anymore. About a ½ cm by 2cm at the top was all you could see. Desperately trying to get a back-up of my program onto another computer, I tried to attach it to another computer and TV screen but I couldn't get it to output to a screen that way either. I think you needed to be able to get into the Control screen to do this, and I couldn't see much of anything so there was no way to do this.

Next day I called Costco Service Number and they quickly got a three way call going with HP/ Hewlett Packard. I described the screen issue to the HP representative and was told that the screen would be replaced free of charge. I also told him that I was worried that I hadn'€™t been able to get anything off my hard drive and that I had some important work on it. He told me that because all they had to do was replace the screen, Nothing would happen to the hard drive.

A box was sent to me the next day to send to them. My computer was supposed to get back to me in 4-5 days according to the HP rep. After a week and a half the computer still hadn't come and I had to go on a trip without it. When I returned it was now 2 weeks, and hadn'™t come back, so I tried to find out what was going on. They had sent me an email that said that I had to approve a 751$ repair fee for the screen. Even though they had my computer and my phone number they hadn't called me to inform me of this.

I called them back and explained that I had already been told that the screen would be repaired for free. I was told that I would need to discuss this with a Customer Service Representative Case Manager. After 2 days I received a message with the number to call to talk to the case manager, **. When I called she told me that because it was a screen it wasn't covered by their warranty. I explained that they had already told me it would be free which was why I sent it to HP instead of returned it to Costco in the first place. She told me that I had been misinformed.

I was told that I could either pay for the repair or have it shipped back to me. Since this was nearly the same price as the original computer I wasn'™t going to pay that much to repair it. She told me that I shouldn'€™t have left it upside down and that this wasn't HP'€™s problem. By this time I only had 1-2 days left within the 90 return policy at Costco so I asked if the computer could be sent to me to arrive in time for me to try to return it there.

She said that it's return could not be expedited. And that she expected it would return after that time period. I asked if she could call Costco and explain the delay in my returning it. She told me they probably didn'™t accept returned computers with broken screens. I asked her to call anyway and told her the store'™s location where I had bought it. She called them, spoke to the manager, and told me that I should speak to the manager when I tried to return it, but that she suspected they didn'€™t accept returns on broken computers. I asked if HP could do anything about getting the program I needed off my computer and was told that they were not responsible for doing that.

She told me that if I didn't repair it the screen would become more black with time, so that I should expect it to look worse when it came back to me. She asked if there was anything else she could do to help me. I told her that given what she had already told me that there didn'™t seem to be. While I waited for my 1st computer to return, I was told by a friend that the hard drives are easy to take out of the computers. I decided that I would buy the same computer again so that I could switch the hard drives.

I had thrown away the information on the computer screen repair and ** phone number so while I was at Costco ready to buy my new laptop I called them up to make sure I got the same model number. My prior model number had been DV 2213 CL. Costco now had a DV 2313 CL instead of the prior model. I explained my whole prior computer's issue and how I needed to switch the hard drives over to get my program off the computer.

The HP rep, **, I talked to told me that my old hard drive was incompatible with the new 2313 model. After having to put me on hold to talk to various people he told me that the only computer he could say would be compatible was the model DV 2410, for 850$ (and an additional 350$ for extended warranty and then more for tax ). I asked for them to ship it quickly free of charge because of the prior issues and was told I would have to pay an expensive additional shipping fee so I had it shipped standard.

When it finally arrived I went to switch the hard drives and found that the computer that had just returned from HP no longer had the two screws that hold the hard drive in place. Also there was a notification that HP had performed a Complimentary 22 point inspection of my computer, but I didn'€™t know what that meant. I switched the hard drives but the new computer wouldn't start properly. I called 1(800) HPINVENT to explain the new hard drive issues.

At this point in time I wanted to get the program off my old computer; use the old computer to work connected to my TV (since my conversation with Cathy had left me under the impression that it was likely a waste of time to go back to Costco to return the computer so I tried to find some other use for it); I wanted my two screws back.

I explained the prior problem and why I needed to do this. The HP rep/repair specialist ** was super nice and helpful, but explained that this wasn'€™t something that HP had to help me with. He said that because I had been told it would work by the sales person he would help me out. We spent an hour on the phone trying everything to make it work. He diagnosed the models as incompatible. He talked about something that might be able to be done to get the program off my old hard drive and make the hard drives both work on the new computer. He told me that he would discuss this with his manager and call me back in 30 minutes, and that the manager would call me back in a day or two.

He didn'™t call me back. I didn't hear from a manager in 2 days. On the 3rd or 4th day I called, concerned because I needed to know if there was a way to make these work so I could get my program off, or what I was supposed to do. I was told that I had to wait for the case manager to call me. I asked if there was a number, or email address, I could call to speak to the case manager, or if they could email me the information, because I was going on a trip where I wouldn't be able to answer my phone. I was told I had to wait for the call from the case manager.

I did receive a review your case manager™ type of form (I think by email) and HP gave me 10% off another HP product. I noted she had been very "€œprofessional"€ but not actually helped me. I called HP and they let me apply this credit to the computer I had just bought. The trip came, I returned. No messages had been received. It had been 14 days.

Additionally, A new problem had developed with my new laptop. I was getting "€œunexpected shut downs" on my new computer that started after I tried to use my iPOD Video for some movies. And on my HP pavilion I couldn'™t download photos to my iPod either. My main problems remained making the old computer work without the screen/ getting the program off the old computer, getting the screws back, and getting one of these computers in for a refund.

I called 1(800) HPINVENT again and explained this issue to a rep **. She told me she would transfer me to her manager, but I was disconnected instead. I went through the same thing again to get a hold of and explain the issue with Rep **, and asked him if there was a number I could call directly so that I didn'€™t have to go through the whole introductory HP answering machine to talk to a manager or to him if I was disconnected/ had issues. I asked him what the direct phone number would be. He told me that if I was disconnected I could call 1(800)474-6836. (AKA 1(800)474-6836.)

When I got a hold of his manager/case manager Susan she was very nice. But told me that there was nothing she could do because another case manager was already assigned to my complaint. I asked her if there was a way to get another case manager since the current one hadn'€™t called me in 2 weeks and because of that I didn'™t actually want to deal with whoever it was; I wanted someone who would actually call me.

I was told there was not a way to change the case manager, and that I should give her a chance to help me. I was told that if I still wanted to complain I could email corporate from the hp.com website. She told me the case manager's name was ** and her phone number was 1(877)917-4380 x94 x1. At the time I didn'€™t even recognize that this was the same case manager as before.

In the meanwhile it had occurred to me that I might never be able to get a hold of someone at HP who could help me make these things work together, but I could check on the internet how to change over the actual LCD screen in order to try to get the information off my old computer and then the hard drives might not need to match to do what I wanted. The LCD screens on eBay were about 250$. After an easy 10-minute install process I had a new LCD screen in my old computer.

But it wouldn'€™t turn on. It stayed black, even though it worked in another computer. I wondered if HP had somehow turned off my computer's ever being able to use any screen when they had it. Eventually after all these phone calls I was able to speak to **. It was now about 27 days after my Costco return policy had run out. I explained what had been going on.

1.)She told me the fact that the hard drives weren'€™t compatible wasn'™t HP'™s problem because I was supposed to have called her back with any problems I had. She said that the two models I had were completely different so even if the hard drives were the same shape they wouldn't work together. When I expressed frustration about having been told that they would work she told me, "well you were misinformed".€ She told me that it was my fault that things hadn'™t worked because I had called the 1800HPINVENT phone number instead of her.

I told her that I had been under the impression that she was supposed to be in charge of just the computer screen repair issue. She told me that any problems I had with the prior computer should have been brought to her attention. Since they weren'€™t it was my fault. She said I had never mentioned any desire to get things off my hard drive when talking to her about the screen problems and that I was supposed to have taken the computer back to Costco as soon as I got it. She noted that she "had gone out of her way"€ to get a hold of **€ at Costco and explain everything to her, and how ** had been receptive to helping me.

I told her I still needed to get information off my hard drive and that I had found out that my computer now no longer worked even when an unbroken LCD was placed in it. She told me this was my fault because I hadn'€™t repaired it soon enough and the LCD screen fluid would have leaked into the whole computer by now "corrupting" the system. By now it could include the hard drive too.

She told me that the program on my hard drive had probably been erased when they did their diagnostic testing anyway. I told her I had specifically asked about that and been told that nothing would happen to the hard drive prior to sending it to them. She told me I had been "€œmisinformed".

I was told once again that it is not HP's responsibility to take care of people's files. I asked her why I wouldn'™t have been told about the LCD screen corrupting the whole computer previously when she had told me about the screen getting blacker. I asked why they wouldn'€™t have given me the option to disconnect the screen to have saved the computer from further damage. She sounded flustered and told me I was supposed to take it back to Costco so it didn't matter.

I told her that two hold the-hard-drive-down screws were missing from when they had my computer and that I would like 2 replacements shipped to me. She said "No we'€™re not doing that"€. I asked this a different way and got the same response. (HP wouldn'€™t even send me back 2 tiny screws they forgot to put back in my computer!)

Based on what ** was telling me there was only a slim chance that my program/project was on my computer, less alone able to be transferred to a working computer. I asked if she would call Costco back and explain why the delay was so long. She said that she couldn't. That I was too far past my return policy date and that I wouldn'€™t be able to return it at this point. I asked why she couldn'€™t call them anyway and at least explain what had been going on. She said "I can'™t"€. I noted that it didn't actually seem impossible to pick up the phone and talk to someone at Costco. Finally she said "œI don't feel like it"€. She noted that she had already gone out of her way for me the first time.

I let her know that I would like to return the new computer then. She told me that I wasn't able to do that because it had been more than 21 days since I purchased it. When asked why they wouldn'™t extend it since I was waiting to know if the situation could actually be corrected so that things would work for me, and
when I asked why it was my fault for it taking so long for her to actually call me back/ so long for me to actually be able to get a hold of someone.

She noted that this whole situation was my fault because I had called 1800HPINVENT when I was having problems. She told me she had given me her phone number when I had the problem with the screen so that I needed to call her back with problems. I noted that I was under the impression that she was only in charge of the decision about the screen repair refund. With a hostile voice she responded to the effect "€œIt doesn'™t matter what you thought, you had to call me."

I asked if I could speak to her supervisor at some point and she told me that she was "the end of the line"€ that there was no one I could complain to, that all complaints would go back to her. She pretty much yelled at me over the phone. It occurred to me that I had already sent in my feedback on her "€œprofessionality". This seemed shortsighted suddenly.

We looked into when the computer had arrived at my house and I had actually only had it for 19 or 20 days as it turned out so she said that I actually could return it and gave me the phone number to call. I called the 1(800)892-6608 opt 4 phone number (and yes they tried to get me to buy another HP computer), but they told me that I was past the return policy date and couldn't return it. I explained I had just reviewed this with my case manager and they checked with their manager and said I couldn'™t return it.

I called ** back and she said that if that was their policy then that was their policy. She noted it wasn't her department it was up to them. I had to ask her to call them and talk to them for me to get it straightened out. She talked to someone and within a minute or two someone from the return department was apologizing for my having been informed that I couldn't return it when I still had time to do so. Finally someone took my information about my return. And then tried to sell me another HP computer. I returned the second computer.

I went to Costco, crying, because ** had convinced me it was a futile effort. I asked for **€. I was told that they didn't have anyone named ** at that store in Vancouver Washington, but that there was a **€ down in Portland, Oregon Store which was the next closest store. I explained half of what I had been through, they cut me off and gave me a full refund. (And a paper towel with which to dry my tears.) I returned the first computer.

I tried to contact HP corporate like Case Manager ** had told me I could do. So that they would get some feedback to make it so that their customers weren't treated like this. But I couldn't find a place to actually get a hold of anyone in "corporate"€. I called HPINVENT to ask them to walk me through how to do that. They told me they weren'™t trained to offer support in that regard. I asked to speak to one of their managers and after being on hold a little more was told that their manager wasn't there currently and told me I could call back.

I did a google search to see if I could get more information about who her supervisor was or what options I had and found another complaint against her on my3cents.com. In that complaint it noted her acting pretty similarly, and that when the person had submitted a complaint through the website it had gone right to her and she had called him back and yelled at him for complaining about her. I tried contacting someone in their PR department by email. But I haven'€™t heard back from them. I noted I was concerned that she might be severely depressed, suicidal, or unstable in some way, that they may want to at least let her manager know problems are going on.

MY CONCLUSIONS: I had multiple problems with HP. I bought their computer because it was cheap and had all sorts of nifty features. It wasn't worth it. I had both hard ware and soft ware problems. But most of all I had a bad customer support experience. I was very lucky to be able to return the two computers at all. And am happy to be rid of them. Some of the people at HP were very nice, about 1/2 of them were difficult to understand because of foreign accents (mostly from India), ** was the best/most helpful, by far. I hope he does well in his life.

HPs customer service should get a new name. Or perhaps ** just needs a new job. On the phone she seems like a very angry unhappy uncompassionate person. She admits at times that doesn't want to help customers and that there is no recourse to take about this fact. You can't trust anything they tell you on the phone. Misinformation is rampant.

There is no good feedback system regarding their case managers. There are actually multiple systems in place to make it so you can'€™t give feedback about case managers, such as notices on the Public Relations site that only media members can call them. If you get a case manager who is unhelpful you are out of luck. Mine, **, wouldn't even send me back my two small screws, let alone help me with bigger issues.

It would probably have cost them about 100$ and 10 minutes of time to fix my 900$ computer, instead I talked to their staff for hours, eventually returned everything to them, told my friends about my hassle, and helped get some people to buy computers other than HP. I never got the program I had worked on for about 40 hours off my first computer, but I'€™m sure I spent that much time trying to work with HP to fix the problem.

If you have to go through some of the same things I have, I recommend that you look upon the whole frustrating process as an opportunity to practice being a more patient or calm person in the face of adversity. Meanwhile, Costco treated me like a human being. I'm very appreciative to them. If they had treated me like HP did, I would no longer be going to that store.

ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA -- I wish I read this before. October 06 I purchased a Pavilion notebook. Eight days later the power switch did not work. It was replaced. Fast forward, June 25th, 07 again the power switch won't work. I call HP and am told that they will fix it and I will have my computer back with 7-10 days. Perfect as we were leaving for vacation and I would have it upon return. I was giving this computer to my daughter to take to abroad to school. This would give me time to transfer my files and hers. First week of July I get a call the computer will be here next week. This happened the next 3 weeks in July.

August 1, I contact HP and tell them I need this fixed my daughter was leaving within 4 weeks. I was assured I would have it back. The part was coming in that was back ordered. August 7th, new update, no computer. Now the part is not arriving until 8/28.

I start emailing the CEO, calling corporate offices I cannot wait any longer. A miracle of miracles I received my notebook yesterday. No power cord with it and a big cut in the top of it and the program's not working. I called fuming and they were sending out a power cord (at the time I had not turned it on and did not know about the other problems). I was told they would send out a cord and could fix the top. I told them I had no more time to send the cord I would worry about the cut in it later.

Today I contact "corp.hq" and am told they would turn it over to a urgent team member. No response called Mr. Rodney ** back 4 times and he finally called back and told me they would repair it, that it wasn't their problem I was on a deadline. I told them I wanted a replacement nothing more than what I had, just a working computer. He told me what he said goes. I could take it or leave it. I asked if after they fixed it was he going to ship it to Italy. Of course not and he hung up.

Called back corp. number Dan this time answered. Sorry of course but what Rodney said was all that could be done. I was the one being difficult not them. Even though they had my computer six weeks, sent it back not working and no explanation why when they make sure it is. No answer as to the damage done to the computer. He hung up. Also I found out when you email Mark Hurd, CEO it goes to these arrogant people. They enjoy letting you know that making them feel like big people.

As of this point I am waiting for someone else to call back and requested a new case manager. So forewarning, if you think you are really emailing the CEO you are emailing these idiots who enjoy letting you know this. I think it makes them feel big.

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA -- On 19 May 2006 I purchased a refurbished Compaq/HP nc4010 laptop with a 1 year HP warranty for a cost of $832.03 (copy of sales receipt attached). In December 2006, I discovered that the laptop would not reliably transfer data via its USB port. In the process of trying to rectify this problem, I experienced the following: After hours of numerous sessions on the phone with HP technical support, I returned the machine to HP as authorized for repair (2/19/07). It was later returned to me with the USB problem not fixed.

After additional attempts to correct the problem over the phone with HP technical support, I was authorized to take the computer to a local HP repair station (delivered on 5/6/07). After a week, the repair technician reported that he was not able to fix the problem, and returned it to me with the statement that the machine did not have the specified “first tier” hardware. (This is consistent with my observation that it would not accept the standard chipset software upgrade available on the HP web site for this computer.)

After the first two failures to repair, HP agreed to elevate the case to a “second level” engineer group and promised that if I returned the machine a third time, they would assure that it was fixed. I forwarded the computer to them again on 5/26/07. Again the machine was returned to me not fixed (furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the repair personnel did not even bother to look at the attached note describing the problem). After the third failure to fix the machine, I wrote a letter (6/13/07) to HP Executive Customer Relations. I received no response to this letter.

Lacking a response above, I sent a certified letter (7/6/07) to you, Mr. **, describing the situation. In response to this letter, an HP representative called to say that the computer was now out of warranty and thus HP had no obligation to repair it (despite the fact that the subject problem had never been fixed)! The HP representative offered to elevate the case to the “second level” engineer (already done in the third return noted above), and promised that the machine would be fixed.

Since I had previously been given such a promise (prior to the third return) that had not been fulfilled, I asked the representative to forward his promise in writing to me. He refused to do so. On further discussion, it became clear that he was not really offering to fix the laptop, but merely to not bill me for further telephone calls with HP technical support. If I did not accept their terms, he said he would “close” my case.

In light of the above events, I must conclude the following: HP is either unwilling or unable to fix the laptop. HP's failure to fix the problem during the three times it was returned for repair appears now, in retrospect, to have been used as a tactic to stall until the warranty period expired. In your failure to fix the problem, you are not honoring your warranty agreement in good faith. You are in default of the warranty agreement.

I expect you to do the following to correct this breach: Return my full purchase price ($832.03) plus $1.00 for damages, or provide me with a replacement nc4010 laptop which functions properly according to its advertised specification, or another machine which meets or exceeds the capability of the nc4010 in all physical and operational aspects. Should you not settle this matter within 14 days from your receipt of this correspondence, I will bring suit to recover my losses on this matter. I can be reached at ** to provide any additional information that you might need in investigating this sorry situation.

I bought an HP Pavilion laptop from Staples in Charles Town, WV in February 2007. I immediately had problems with it (the monitor screen would turn black but you could slightly see your work in the black screen but not enough to be able to work on it) and took it back to Staples before I even had it two weeks. They told me to notify HP so I did. They emailed a BUNCH of technical things to do to the computer which I had no idea how to do because I am not a computer specialist nor repair person so I took it to a local computer repair business with the emails and had them do the repair work. It cost me $75.

It still was having the same problem so I notified HP again who emailed me more things to do so I took it back to the local repair business and had them do it again (and costed me another $154.71!), and it was still doing the same problem! I notified HP who told me then that it would need to be sent in and instructed me to save all my info I wanted saved. I am a teacher and bought the laptop to be able to use at work and at home and I had already converted a bunch of things on it from my desktop that I had gotten rid of once I bought the laptop. I finally got all my info saved and sent it in and it was back almost within a week!

I was ecstatic! But I found it was STILL having the same problems. So I notified HP AGAIN, who told me to save all my info and send it in again. So I did but I had to finish all my things I had going on it for school to do it. Finally, I got it all done and sent it in. It was there a few weeks and I didn't hear anything so I called them. 800-474-6836 and return call to 877-917-4380 extension ** for Case Manager, Kathy **, then option 1 for notebook problems. She was very rude and also told me that my laptop was not even scheduled to be returned after repair until August 17th, 2007.

I will even will be back at work by then and will not have had a chance to do ANY work ahead of time. I told her that this laptop has been in repair for more time than I had been able to use it and because I had already spent $230 on repair at my local computer repair business so I asked for a refund. She told me ABSOLUTELY no and that SHE was my LAST & ONLY point of contact for this complaint and that it was ENTIRELY HER decision and that she was not even thinking of a refund at all.

I complained to HP about how rude she was and about having to do without my laptop for that long and that I will be paying for DSL services for nothing because I won't even have anything to be able to use the DSL! I told HP they could've at least sent a loaner. The email I sent to Corporate just sent my email to the SAME Case Manager and then SHE called me again and was VERY rude again this time in informing me that no matter what phone calls I make or emails I send to Corporate that it will all just come back to her and she WILL be the one to deal with and that if I would like to discuss this information further to call her AGAIN.

I am NOT happy with my HP Customer Service and I am NOT happy with my HP product. I have saved ALL my phone calls and ALL of my emails. I think I might just get rid of it if it ever does get returned to me because it will just be a re-conditioned laptop with all these new and old pieces put together when I get it back. I will be out $1101 for the laptop and $230 for the repairs that did no good plus all the time I could've been getting ready for my job. ALL OF YOU BEWARE OF HP PRODUCTS!

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA -- Another person on here bought a notebook on November 6, 2006, and that is around the time we bought ours. Eleven days have passed since the hard drive crashed, after only using it for a month. I was told by customer service that a hard drive would be shipped out.

First off, if you need to call them, be prepared to be on the phone for a while. I was told that initially that a new hard drive would be shipped received on Dec. 12, 06. I was told I needed start up CDs, as I had not backed up my system yet, so those would be sent out as well, free of charge. I had to call back later that day because I didn't receive an email confirmation that they were ordered though the hard drive was. To make a long story short, the CDs got here fine, but I never got an email confirmation that the hard drive was sent out.

I placed a call almost daily up to the 12th to check if it had gone out yet, and no one knew why it wasn't sent out. On the 12th, I called back and was told that they needed to order the part, but to be reassured, that it was on its way, and was at FedEx, and should be here on Dec. 15. Well, that date came and went, and so I called them on that day, and so I was finally told that there was a delay in them getting the hard drives, and wouldn't be sent out until Jan. 7, 07. I was upset at that point and asked to speak to a supervisor, and was hung up on. I called back and was told a supervisor was in a meeting, and I would receive a callback within a half hour. Nothing.

Today is Dec. 18, 06, and I called again and was got a supervisor, and he told he would get a case manager for me to review my case. I told him that at this point, I wanted a new computer sent out, for we have a PT business that we use the notebook for.

I finally got an American person, and as she was giving me her number, I got disconnected from her. The supervisor was still on the phone, and said he tried the number, but it was busy, but said he didn't have her number, and that they would call me back within 24-48 hrs. I tried the corporate office number in CA, and there is a message that says for product problems, to call the customer service number. I'm going to call customer service back to get a case manager.

This has been a frustrating experience. They have lost my vote of confidence by the customer service alone. Chatting with a customer service rep does no good either, for after being on there for 30 mins, they tell you that you need to call customer service for a status.

Please read below about our experiences with HEWLETT PACKARD and do not purchase their products. Be aware that I am now in the process of reporting you to every bad business or scam website that I can so anyone with a computer that works can see how you do business.

You need to be aware of an EXTREMELY unsatisfactory experience we have had with your company. I have already personally been relating my experience to other people and encouraging them NOT to purchase anything from HP, including so far this morning my bank (which I was contacting to try to stop payment on an extension of my "warranty" on my expensive lemon of a computer) as well as one of our utility providers.

I purchased just over one year ago an HP Pavilion zd8000 laptop computer. This is not a cheap computer and I was purchasing it in order to do my job as a Medical Transcriptionist remotely. Within one week I was sending it back to you because it would arbitrarily go into hibernation and not come out - would just lock up.

None of the measures taken over the phone under the "guidance" of your "support" team worked and eventually we had to send this new computer in to be fixed. It took several days longer to get back than I was promised as it turned out because your staff could not find anything wrong, so they just ran some kind of "update" on it (an update on a new computer??).

Due to issues related to faulty information provided from the sales staff where we purchased the thing at Circuit City (not your fault) it took us months and several hundred dollars to get this computer adapted to the point where it was compatible with my employers systems. Now, it is doing the same thing. The very first thing we are told is that our warranty ran out 34 days prior and if we want any help we need to purchase an extended warranty to have it worked on again. My husband and I looked at other options but finally against our better judgment and with great reluctance last evening decided to do that.

Only AFTER purchasing the "warranty" were we told that it only covered virus protection and phone support - nothing else!! Your phone support tried to tell us that our AC adapter was bad and we needed to replace it (on a computer with very little use) which also bothers both my husband and I to have to purchase an AC adapter for an essentially new computer! This was not the problem as it turns out, anyway. Your support would not provide any other help.

When my husband demanded through three different support people to speak to a supervisor no one would patch him through. He asked for a number to speak to someone in the United States (since you obviously outsource American jobs and understanding many of these folks, while they are well intentioned, is very difficult) and after three phones calls and spending a couple of hours on the phone with your company, was finally provided with a number that was supposedly in the United States (1-800-243-9816) which ran him around and ultimately sent him back to tech support.

I have had problems with your desktops in the past and now own a Sony. I allowed myself to be talked into trying the laptop. It has been nothing but trouble. Your tech support is incompetent as well as dishonest. I will NEVER again purchase a product from your company under any circumstances and I will work to get my money back on my so-called "warranty" extension.

What a joke! I have a computer that was basically an expensive piece of crap right out of the box and it will not work. We are NOT going to pay you one penny more to send it to you since your staff apparently could not fix it the first time. My husband has also been relating his experience to as many fellow employees as he can to lose you as much business as possible.

I can not express how unhappy we are. I wish I had just returned it or exchanged it right after I bought it, but now, believe me - I will never have to make that decision again because no one in this family will ever purchase another one of your products.

Please see that I am also forwarding this to my friends and family to make them aware of the issues we have had, and have already sent to my co-workers, all Medical Transcriptionists who make their living on their computers at home. DON'T BUY HEWLETT PACKARD!!

I recently purchased the new HP Pavilion 8380 Media Center Laptop. I paid to have CompUSA do the install and document transfer. That was 15 days ago. I thought all was fine as I played on the computer for the first 15 minutes. In that small time frame the Kensington Bluetooth stopped working. I checked the appropriate areas and attempted to have the computer "discover" the mouse again. The computer was stating that it could not find a Bluetooth device that I had sitting on top of the computer keyboard.

I phoned HP and spoke to a tech that told me to reboot my computer every time it did that. This was totally inappropriate as the computer was losing the device nearly every 15 minutes. The second option, the tech advised me to purchase another Bluetooth device to check the computer. This also was idiotic advice. I told him so and hung up. I called Kensington and the tech could not figure out why the computer could not see the mouse.

I returned the Kensington telling CompUSA that the 8380 could not read the mouse and they sold me the Bluetooth Logitech ($59.99), this only after suggesting that I buy an Optical Mouse. (But I bought a Bluetooth computer so I wanted a Bluetooth mouse). The Logitech was installed and worked for about 15 minutes. I called HP and the Tech tried to tell me it was the mouse, this after sitting on the phone for over 2 hours. HP sold me another mouse, Targus for $79.99. The computer came with a coupon that had expired before I even purchased the computer. HP would not honor their coupon.

The Targus arrived, I attempted to install the software and this time the software would not install. Instead I started receiving error messages. I called HP. After 3 hours, the tech told me to go to "recovery", wherein he wiped out everything in "my documents" that I had paid CompUSA to install. After the "recovery" finished I called HP as my computer could not connect to my Netgear router to find the internet. This tech had me "recover" program software and drivers. After this second 3 hour telephone call, my computer is still not working, the Bluetooth function is gone, the computer cannot find many .dll files and I hung up.

This morning I called crying and pleading not to send me back to a tech, but get me a supervisor and I was told that a case manager would get back to me with 48 hours. I called CompUSA and told them I wanted to return my computer. The young man was very kind and said he would check on it and call me right back. He did only he transferred me to Chris ** the Manager, who said he would take back my computer even though it was over the 14 day limit, but would not waive the charges for the new set up. I have paid so far for this computer $2900.00. I think he could extend a little help for the setup.

HP will not do anything but ship me a new computer and will not help with the setup. I suggest that once you purchase a HP computer, if anything goes wrong within the first 13 days, take it back, do not attempt to fix it with the tech support. Take it back, cause a stink or just buy a SONY instead.