Ok, so many big and some not very exciting things have been happening around here lately and I will get to some of them later, I promise. But, for now, I have to have someplace to put the entire chain of events together for my HP Netbook repair mis-adventure. This is a very detailed list of ALL the things that have happened since my misguided purchase of my HP Mini 1116NR. Dude, this is gonna be long... go to the bathroom now, get a cup of coffee, whatever... it's gonna take a while.
So, a man walks into Micro Center... that's how the story begins. I had been shopping for a Netbook online for several months and didn't want to spend much money for something that was going to be just a mobile machine for this little business of mine. I thought I found the perfect solution in the HP 1116NR at the Overland Park, KS Micro Center. It was online for $104 and it was a clearance item, only one in the store. I bought it online for in store pickup and sent my husband out in a blizzard - literally - to get it. He paid for it with our credit card and brought it home to me to setup. The date - 01/06/10 (Wed). I didn't work with the machine much that day but started to "build" it on 01/07/10 (Thur). Within 24 hours I knew I had a problem. I wasn't entirely sure what, but it wasn't going to be easily fixed. I tried some patches, updates, purging the system but at the end of the day I knew that I had a hardware problem.
On 01/08/10 (Fri) I accessed the HP Support site with my Mini and ran some online diagnostics. Tadaa! The Solid State Drive - SSD - was bad. HP Support site recognized the problem, agreed with me that I had a bad part, and electronically promised to send me out a new SSD via Next Business Day shipping. I was told, on-screen, that I would receive one email within a few minutes as confirmation and another within 5 hours with tracking information. I didn't get either.
On 01/11/10 (Mon) I emailed HP Customer Care with my issue via their online form. I explained everything that had happened to that point and pressed the submit button, not knowing when to expect a reply. The first one came at 11:26am. Fortunately, I saved EVERY EMAIL between me and HP! I have a record of everything that was written between the two of us. I have converted all the emails to text and removed MY personal information. Absolutely nothing else has been changed. Anyplace you see ♦♦♦ is where I took out my name, email, address, etc. Here is the sequence of events from Monday...
My online form submission
Original Text
From: ♦♦♦
To: HP Support
CC:
Sent: 01/11/10 22:45:41
Subject: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
hp e-mail support
Webform submittal date/time : 11 January 2010 17:16:28 UTC
language_code : en
language : English
Country of Residence : United States
product_line : KV
product_oid : 3921954
product_name : HP Mini 1116NR PC
part_number : NM125UA,NM125UAR
purchase month : 1
purchase year : 2010
problem area : hardware
serial number : S2MC90923L4
operating system : Microsoft Windows XP Home
Was the CD/DVD writer drive built into the computer when you purchased it? : no
problem description: Yesterday I ran a series of diagnostics on my new HP Mini 1116NR, purchased from MicroCenter on January 6,2010. I was informed via the diagnostc tool that the hard drive is bad and was told that I would be receiving a new one. I was given a case number of 4608911337 and was told that I would be receiving two emails shortly. One was supposed to bedelivered within a few minutes after submitting as confirmation and the other within 5 hours with shipping and tracking information. I have received neither email. If I am not going to be receiving the part, I would like to know ASAPso that I can returnthe Mini to MicroCenter and buy a ne machine. Thanks.
tech skill : Advanced
first name: ♦♦♦
last name : ♦♦♦
phone : ♦♦♦
email : ♦♦♦
form url : https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/email?product=3921954&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us
form country : United States
Their reply to the form submission
From:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM [mailto:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM]
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 11:26 AM
To: ♦♦♦
Subject: RE: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
Hello ♦♦♦,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
After reviewing the e-mail, I understand that you have an issue with HP Mini 1116NR PC wherein the hard drive fails the hard drive self test.
I regret for the inconvenience that this type of issue might have caused you.
♦♦♦, I appreciate that you have forwarded your issue to us and given us a chance to help you in this regard.
I, on behalf of HP Total Care take ownership of your issue. I will definitely assist you in this matter up to the best of my abilities.
The most possible cause of this issue is hardware malfunctioning.
In order to resolve the issue let us perform a troubleshooting step that will fix the issue.
Hard Drive Self Test:
* Shut down the Notebook if it is running.
* Press the powerbutton to turn on the notebook.
* Start tapping F10 when the HP/Compaq loading display.
* It will automatically go to BIOS screen.
NOTE: Here the mouse pointer will not work
* Then after the BIOS setup utility displays, use the Right Arrow key to select Tools or Diagnostics menu.
* Select HDD Self test.
* Press enter to display a list of HDD/Self test Option.
* Select Notebook HD and then press F10, display an estimated test time.
* Press F10 to continue the HDD test executes a Quick test, or a comprehensive test, one by one
If the hard drive fails it will be replaced free of cost, so in order to proceed revert with some information:
Result of Hard drive self-test
Error code (if hard drive self-tests fails)
Place of purchase:
Country of Residence:
Personal details: (US or Canada Shipping only)
• Name:
• Organization:
• Mailing Address (No P.O. Boxes):
• Apartment/Building/Mail stop:
• City:
• State:
• Zip/Postal Code:
• Email Address:
• Phone Number (including area code) Home:
• Phone Number (including area code) Alternative:
• Preferred call back time
Time zone:
Note: - HP needs US or Canada based shipping address to initiate the process.
Product details:
• Model number.
• Product number.
• Serial number.
• Purchase date.
• Place of purchase
Please revert at the earliest.
If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and wewill be happy to assist you further.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running,please visit our Web site at: http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare
Sincerely,
Arnab
HP Total Care
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
{ticketno:[8033985397]}
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
Our advice is strictly limited to thequestion(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information. Always back up your data. For more information, including technical information updates, please visit ourWeb site at http://www.hp.com/support. HP does not require you to send any financial data in your reply to this email. As a prudent reminder, do not insert credit card details or other financial information in any e-mail replies. Ok, so run some tests and get back to them. I can do that, no problem. So, I proceed as they request and then gave them the answers from those tests...
My reply
From: ♦♦♦
To: MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM
CC:
Sent: 01/11/10 23:16:27
Subject: RE: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
Thank you for your quick reply. I followed the instruction that you forwarded but can’t complete them. Here isthe process… I started the machine and pressed F10 to enter the BIOS.
I right arrowed over to the diagnostics screen and was able to view the testing options.
Primary Hard Disk Self Test – Not Support shows up first and is grayed out.
Memory Test shows up second and is white. I was able to perform the Memory Test with no problems / failures. But the Hard Disk Test is unavailable for me to select.
I Exit the BIOS.
The systems restarts.
Yesterday, I was logged on to the HP Support Site running all required updates. I got to one of the updates and it wouldn’t write to the hard drive. I rebooted and tried again, but still had the write failure. I ran a suggested diagnostic on my hardware and was notified that the hard disk was bad and that I would automatically be shipped a new one. I was given that case number that I provided earlier: 4608911337 and told about receiving the emails that I never did get.
Is there something else that you would like me to try? Another way of diagnosing?
In the mean time, here are the answers to your questions that you wanted me to reply to.
Thanks again for your help,
♦♦♦
Place of purchase: Micro Center in Overland Park, KS
Country of Residence: USA
Personal details: (US or Canada Shipping only)
• Name: ♦♦♦
• Organization: ♦♦♦
• Mailing Address (No P.O. Boxes): ♦♦♦
• Apartment/Building/Mail stop:
• City: ♦♦♦
• State: ♦♦♦
• Zip/Postal Code: ♦♦♦
• Email Address: ♦♦♦
• Phone Number (including area code) Home: ♦♦♦
• Phone Number (including area code) Alternative: ♦♦♦
• Preferred call back time
Time zone: Central time - afternoons
Note: - HP needs US or Canada based shipping address to initiate the process.
Product details:
• Model number. HP Mini 1116NR
• Product number.
• Serial number. S2MC90923L4
•Purchase date. January 06, 2010
• Place of purchase Micro Center in Overland Park, KS
So, the hard drive test didn't work because it won't on a SSD. You would think that someone in IT over there at HP would have paid attention to that, but alas, no. They didn't. So, I email them back again with those failure results and get the following brilliant and confidence inspiring response.
Their email back to me
From:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM [mailto:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM]
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 12:13 PM
To: ♦♦♦
Subject: RE: RE: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
Hello ♦♦♦,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
After going through your e-mail I understand that your issue still persists.
I regret the annoyance you have faced in the course. I comfort you that I, as a part of HP Total Care, take the ownership of the issue you are experiencing and would try to make your mind up the issue to the best of my abilities and up to your contentment.
♦♦♦, thank you once again for getting back to us with the required information has been asked in to the previous reply. I would like to inform you that we are HP hired technicians and we have to abide by certain rules and regulations of HP. According to the company until HDD self-test result fails and the particular failure error message comes up. Please update BIOS from the link below and after that perform HDD self-test by following theprocedure mention in to the previous reply and get to us with the result and consequences. We willdefinitely go ahead and do the needful to fix your issue completely.
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp45001-45500/sp45107.exe
NOTE: Clicking the link may give an error indicating it is invalid. If this occurs, copy the address portion of the address on the remaining lines and paste it at the end of the address showing in your browser until the complete address is displayed in the address box.
If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site at: http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare
Sincerely,
Raul
HP Total Care
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
{ticketno:[8033985397]}
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
Our advice is strictly limited to thequestion(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information. Always back up your data. For more information, including technical information updates, please visit our Web site at http://www.hp.com/support. HP does not require you to send any financial data in your reply to this email. As a prudent reminder, do not insert credit card details or other financial information in any e-mail replies.
Oh, well that really makes me feel so much better. They are comforting me now that they are, once again, taking ownership of my problem. Whew. What a relief. So, my computer's fixed now? Wait... it's not? And once again, my awe-inspiring technician is asking me to do the impossible by making a HDD test work on a SSD. Well, I'll just get right on that for you. Hold your breath, huh?
My response again
CC:
Sent: 01/11/10 23:59:53
Subject: RE: RE: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
Hello again –
I am really not sure where to go from here.
I had already updated the BIOS via HP’s website, before running my other updates and getting the write and hard disk error. Because you requested me to, I did it again.
I got a message saying that that update had already been performed, but would I like to do it anyway and I chose yes. I let the system update the BIOS again and did a reboot. I shut down again completely and then went back into the BIOS via F10 on start up. The exact same thing happened. The Hard Disk Test is grayed out and is not selectable. It has a note next to it that says Not Supported. I can’t do anything else from there except chose other settings to modify or just exit the BIOS screen. When I exit and reboot everything goes back to how it has been all along.
You are going to have to give me another way to check the Hard Disk. I am notentirely sure what the problem is, since I did all this testing through HP’s website yesterday, received notice that my SSD was bad and was told that I would receive an email with tracking and shipping info within a matter of hours. Can someone not go back and find those results that led to the generation of my Case Number?
What would you like me to do next? Should I just take the Mini back to Micro Center?
Thanks,
♦♦♦
Ok, so the updates that they want to me to do I have already done, but do again. The BIOS test still won't work and now I just flat out ask if I should take the machine back because you guys can't seem to scrape enough knowledge together between you ALL to be able to do something about this. I have been handed off to a different person each time, who then takes ownership of my problem, but from what I can see... we aren't getting far with that. So now it's back to them... God help us.
Their reply to me
From:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM [mailto:MININB_SUPPORT_EN@MAIL.SUPPORT.HP.COM]
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 1:33 PM
To: ♦♦♦
Subject: RE: RE: RE: HP Mini 1116NR PC e-mail support
Hello ♦♦♦,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
I noticed from your last email that you are again unable to perform hard drive self-test even after updating the BIOS.
I appreciate your patience and cooperation for you have forwarded your concerns regularly to us and given us so many chances to assist you. I on behalf of HP Total Care take ownership of your concern. I will definitely assist you in this matter up to the best of my abilities.
I deeply apologize for all the inconvenience caused to you due to delay in resolving the issue.
♦♦♦, I checked the product specification of your HP mini netbook. It has an SSD hard drive. Hence the hard drive test is not possible.
In that case, since you have received the message that the hard drive has gone bad as per the diagnostics tool so I would request you to take a backup of all your important data in order to prevent if from loosing.
At the same time I will say you not to worry about the hard drive because if the netbook (at this moment) somehow is working fine, simply take back up of all your data and work with your netbook.
In case of a sudden crash of the notebook, we will go ahead and help you to get the hard drive replaced. At the same I time I would request you to get back to us with any symptoms, which you are currently experiencing with the notebook
Please get back to us with your observation; new error messages if any, answering these below mention queries to make us comprehend the issue in a better way:
1. Is the netbook taking a long time to boot up?
2. Is the netbook very slow in terms of performance?
3. Are you getting any clicking noise?
If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site
at: http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare
Sincerely,
Addey
HP Total Care
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
{ticketno:[8033985397]}
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information. Always back up your data. For more information, including technical information updates, please visit our Web site at http://www.hp.com/support. HP does not require you to send any financial data in your reply to this email. As a prudent reminder, do not insert credit card details or other financial information in any e-mail replies.
Well, that certainly cleared things up. It would appear as if the drive has gone bad, per the diagnostic tool. Really...? Check again to be sure, because at this point I've only lost about 6 hours with this little techie back and forth we have going here. But, now they have more questions and I will give them answers... oh, yes. I will give them answers.
My response
Thank you again for your reply.
I am, however, getting a bit frustrated with this process. I gave my model number at the very beginning of all my contact with HP. I have diagnosed the machine through HP’s own website and was told by HP that my hard drive was bad. I was told that I would be receiving emails regarding shipping and tracking information of my new part –emails that I didn’t receive. I have been told to run diagnostics that won’t work, download patches that have already been made. I have given my case number several times during this whole thing and just recently someone thought to look it up and find that the diagnostics that I have been told, all morning to run, won’t work on a SSD? Please understand, I have apparently purchased a machine that doesn’t work, have brought it home, run diagnostics, confirmed through HP’s website that something is broken and so far, all day, I have been asked for more and more information, test, error message, fixes… without ever getting was I wastold I was going to receive, in writing, less than 24 hours ago!
So, here are the answers for this round of questions…
The netbook takes a very long time to boot up.
It takes a very long time to shut down, if it will even shut down on its own. I have had several instances that I have had to just power it off because it locks up in whatever it is doing.
I can’t install some updates and programs because I get writing to hard drive errors. I am asked to reboot and try again, which I do, but it changes nothing. Some of my programs don’t work and others won’t install.
The delay when accessing programs is unacceptable. I can click on an icon and at can be 30 seconds or more before it responds… if ever. Sometimes you just have to keep trying and then end up with 5 windows open for the same app.
The only error messages that I have received are the writing to hard disk errors but there were no codes attached. I have not gotten to the point of blue screens ortotal crashes yet. I do not need to make a backup, as I have not yet loaded any personal data on the machine. I just purchased it from Micro Center a few days ago.
I do not notice any clicking or grinding. Just significant delays in processing, large lag times at boot and shut down, write errors on installing programs / updates, etc.
Since I have discovered the hard disk errors I have stopped working with the machine entirely. I have just shut it down and left it plugged in to the AC Adaptor. I am not going to take any chances with losing anything so I just don’t deal with the machine at all. It will boot, it will shut down, but there is virtually no performance to speak of.
Please let me know what to do next. There is absolutely nothing else that I can tell you about this situation. I have described, in detail, through these emails and on HP’s site what the problems are. Either it’s going to be fixed or it’s not, but a decision needs to be made either way so that I canget back to work.
Sincerely,
♦♦♦
So, pretty much just get something figured out here, because I need to get back to work. Just give me an answer - do I need to return it or are you going to fix it, since you guys are really good at avoiding the big one like WHY IS MY PART NOT BEING SHIPPED TO ME AS PROMISED IN WRITING??? Why are we going through this, why am I having to answer these questions. The drive is bad, I have a 90 day warranty, so just fix the thing already. Not quite that simple, I'm afraid...
Their very clear reply
Hello ♦♦♦,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care. From reviewing your e-mail, I understand that you have performed all the possible steps but the issue still persists.
♦♦♦, I appreciate that you have forwarded your concern to us and given us a chance to assist you in regard to this matter. I on behalf of HP Total Care take ownership of your concern. I will definitely assist you in this matter at the best of my abilities.
In response to your email, I will like to inform you that I have validated your address and the net book would be taken for service. Before taking in for repair I would like to confirm the shipping type.
We have two repair options for you. In both the cases the repair would be free. However, in the first case, you would receive a box without a waybill, and you would have to send the HP Mini PC according to your convenient courier service and after the repair the HP Mini PC would be sent after 5 days. In the second repair option, you would have to pay for the courier services, i.e. $19.99. In the second option it would be a one-day shipment of box and after the repair you would get it within a day or two. USPS in Canada and FedEx in USA would pickup the HP Mini PC for you and after repair send your Notebook PC at your doorsteps within 1-2 days.
Please let us know the service that you want to choose.
Thank you for your time and cooperation that you have shown towards us.
Reply to us with the information for further assistance. We will be glad to assist a valuable customer like you.
Sincerely,
Debashish
HP Total Care
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
{ticketno:[8033985397]}
***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***
Our advice is strictly limited tothe question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information. Always back up your data. For more information, including technical information updates, please visit our Web site at http://www.hp.com/support. HP does not require you to send any financial data in your reply to this email. As a prudent reminder, do not insert credit card details or other financial information in any e-mail replies.
Again with the ownership??? As far as I can tell, each person takes ownership and then forwards the trail of emails along. Did you see how many RE:'s there are by this time? Well, I feel like the rat at the end of the maze and the cheese is right there waiting for me. I just have to pick which method I want to handle this by. Pay them $19.99 more for their extra special shipping or just ship it myself in the box they provide and then wait for it to come back. Seriously, not gonna pay them the $19.99. I may pay that on my own but there is no way that I am going to fork over cash to them at this point! But, by the time stamp on this email, I see that it's after the close of business and I am just not in the mood to do this anymore today. I will resume my campaign tomorrow, or so I thought.
At 7:41pm I get this little jewel of an email and think that all my problems are solved.
HP's email
From: Zhong, Ming (Tom,TSDO-GSC-DL) [mailto:mzhong@hp.com]
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 7:41 PM
To: ♦♦♦
Subject: Regarding case ID:4608911337
Hi ♦♦♦,
We are sorry to tell you that the case(ID: 4608911337) you generated has failed to proceed. We are currently unable to order the part in our system. Please take your time to call HP technical support 800-474-6836, and the technician that you are going to speak to will manually order the part for you.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Best regards
HP Services.
Well, glory be.... that just about made sense. Totally different format, different type of email address and actually referenced the case number that started this whole thing off. Now, it's going on 8pm and I am not going to call tonight. I have a task for the morning... yay...
On 01/12/10 I started my phone campaign.. I call the number given to me in the email and after a period of time on hold I get to speak with someone. I have a timer on my phone and I can tell you with some certainty that I spent 80 minutes and some change on the phone that afternoon. Wanna know how I know that? I was Twittering about it. You can go to my
Twitter page and see that on 01/12/10 I Tweeted 4 times about how things were progressing with HP. On the 13th I posted the end time was over 80 minutes. During that call, I asked repeatedly for my SSD to be shipped to me and over and over I gave out my case ID as listed above. I didn't get anywhere with that. I did get transferred around on the phone - AND I'M HOPING THEY TAPE THOSE CALLS - because I was asked over and over from some information on the service tag on the bottom of the machine and I stated over and over that the machine didn't have one. Over and Over.. and Over. No service tag. The CSR practically called me a moron and said that there HAD. TO. BE. a tag on the bottom of the Mini. Um, nope. It didn't have one when we bought it. Is that a problem? I was told that it was not normal for machines to be missing the service tag but that they could get the information they needed from the BIOS. We did. Serial number, model number, hard drive size, blood type and my first born were all listed in that BIOS. I made it to the end of the call and was told about the two shipping options as stated in the emails from the night before. Wait... I thought that I could call and get the part shipped to me. Um, nope. Not gonna happen and no explanation as to why. They just kept ignoring that question entirely.
I ended up having to do some kind of validation thing at the end of the call. We went over again the model number, serial number, my address, name, phone number, etc. I was asked to get something off the service tag, but said AGAIN that the machine didn't have one and that it didn't when I bought it. Nothing was said about that, they told me that they had everything that they needed and that they would be shipping out a box. I was to pack up the Mini minus the AC Adapter and the battery and ship it back at my own expense. I agreed and we ended the call.
At 3:12pm I received another email from HP confirming that they were going to be sending me a box and giving me a new case ID number.
On 01/13/10 at 9:23am I received another email that my shipping box had entered the FedEx system and I would have it in two days. At 7:17pm FedEx emailed me confirmation that I had a box shipping out and that I would have it in two days. That would be Friday, 01/15/10.
On 01/15/10, FedEx showed the box out for delivery but never brought it to my house.
On 01/18/10, FedEx brings the box to my front door at 9:15am. I packed up the Mini and took it to the local UPS office for shipping back to Texas as 1:37pm. I do have the tracking number for the package. Delivery was set for Wednesday, 01/20/10.
On 01/20/10, my box was delivered to the repair center in Hidalgo, TX and signed for by Jesse. Check it out. I have removed the tracking number for my own security.
On 01/27/10 (Wed and after it had been a week) we called in to check on the status. At the very beginning of all this we had been given a web address that we could go to, to check the status of the repair. A full week after signing for the packing the website still showed that it had not been received. My husband was told that the unit was unable to be located in the warehouse that that “someone would go look for it and update the status ASAP”. We were told that we would receive a call back within 24 hours to confirm that it had been found. Yeah, that really never happened.
On 01/29/10 (Fri) we called in again and were told the same thing. That they were looking for the machine in the warehouse and that we could call back in and check on it but that the status would be updated over the weekend. Um, no... still didn't happen.
On 02/01/10 (Mon) we called in again. I was told that the machine had been found, was fixed and would be back in my hands in 3 days. The person that I spoke with said that if I had any problems I could call FEDEX!!! and find out from them where the unit was. Yeah, because the problem here lies with FedEx. I was then given my original UPS tracking number from MY shipment into HP as my “order number” and a “service ticket number” of 8034051682. When the Netbook wasn’t back in our hands in 3 days (never thought it would be) we called in again.
On 02/05/10 (Fri) My husband called and talked to a CSR. He was complaining vehemently about the problem that our laptop is missing and the lady that he spoke with told him that they were working on it, as in repairing it, now and that someone would update the status on the website ASAP. He asked to speak to a manager, she told him no. They chatted a while and he asked again to speak to a manager, she agreed this time, put him on hold "to transfer him" and then disconnected him. After all that, we decided to take another route. On Friday afternoon I finally took my complaints to Twitter. I got on HP_PC's site and the Twitter page of someone listed as HPSupport. I have told the total story to the second and have given highlights to the first. No reply from either. BUT...
On 02/08/10 (Mon), my machine had been found! Woohoo! The HP.com website showed that it had entered the "Repair" status and that it was "in warranty" and the money that was due was listed at $0. They seriously didn't receive it on 02/08 - remember tracking had it signed for on 01/20 - but the sucker had been found and someone was working on it. I thought that it was all just a matter of time. Yeah, no such luck.
The status didn't change at all on Monday 02/08 or at all during the day on Tuesday 02/09... but, I checked it last night about dinner time and this is what I get now ( I have removed the Order number and tracking number as security again)...
Um, what? I have a service charge of $246.41, my status is now listed as "out of warranty" and check the list of stuff that is "wrong" with my machine. Yeah, I'll bet it is now...
Not sure what to do about this new turn of events, I figured that I would let it sit for a day and then call them... AGAIN. Well, they got to me first. HP called this morning on my business phone and left me a message. I called them back within about 10 minutes. I was told that I would not be getting my repairs because... Wait for it... the machine has no service tag on the bottom...wait, what??? But I told HP that over and over. And Over. AND OVER. No service tag. Right. I know that and they know that. But, what has happened here is that I started complaining publicly and lo and behold, my netbook has been kicked out of the warranty, it has more wrong with it now that when it went in and I am expected to pay more for the "repairs" that I bought the machine for in the first place.
So, while talking to PAUL!!! Hi, PAUL!!! I told him, maybe not so calmly that I was going to start legal proceedings with the MO Attorney General and with the FTC. He got short with me and simply said "Ma'am, I can't help you at all if you file any sort of legal documents" or something along that line. He told me that there were still options that he could help me with as long as I didn't go that route. I wasn't taping them but they were taping me and I hope that helps because I love this part... I calmly stated "If I promise to stop complaining and do nothing legal, what sort of help can you offer me?" He told me that if I let it go he can either return my machine to me, unfixed or he can have it repaired for the service fees shown. Dude... I think he just threatened me. I said "what can you do for me IF I shut up" and he replies with "I can send back your broken netbook". So, I take that to mean that if a take a long walk down this legal road that I will never see my netbook again. The phone called ended with me telling him to pack it up and ship it back ASAP. I still own it.
So, WWYD. What would you do? I have fought with them over email and phone. I have been promised something in writing multiple times. I stated repeatedly that the unit didn't have a service tag on it when I bought it. I never tried to hide that. I didn't ship it out to the Service Center and have them go.. WTH? The tag is MISSING! No, I told it to every tech that I talked to that day over the phone. And that is the excuse that they are going to go with? So, it was in repair on Monday? And Tuesday? And then... wait. Did anyone check the bottom of this machine for a Service Tag - 2 days later? Anyone? Anyone???
I think I have something legal to stand on here. He told me that if I stop complaining and do nothing legal I will get my machine back. It popped out of warranty after I started griping about it publicly. I have never heard back from HP_PC or HPSupport on Twitter. I don't have my machine back after being "lost" for weeks and I don't have even the part that I was promised, in writing, to fix it myself. I think... here's my theory... that HP figured out how much it's going to cost to fix and that I only paid just over $100 for it in the first place and they are willing to fight me on it vs. fix it. I can't stop them but I don't have to sit here and take it either. At this point I have a $100 paperweight and if it comes back to me unfixed I can't return it to Micro Center either because there was only a 7 day return on it in the first place. I do believe I let HP know that too. Oh, yes. I did. So, what about Micro Center? They are the ones that sold me the machine without the tag. Can I do anything about that? How would I prove it? It would be so easy for Micro Center to just say that I took it off myself after purchase.
Or, consider this... the machine was a refurb in the first place. Ok, it's had problems before. Some other person bought it, figured that out and returned it. It was "fixed" by HP and shipped back out to Micro Center to sell again. Within 48 hours of ownership, I am on HP's Support site trying to diagnose my new computer. What do I stand to gain by removing that tag? I would certainly be removing any chance I have of getting it fixed under warranty. It's not like it's something the Repair Center is just going to miss. I think that this machine is a lemon and HP is hoping that I will sour on this whole thing and that I'll just let it shrivel up and die. Well... to that I say, Pucker up, Buttercup...
