Before You Buy Hp, Read This!

I am a seasoned corporate software engineer.

After several weeks of research, I recently purchased an HP business class notebook from HP's Business outlet. New HP business notebooks are warrantied in US and Canada. The outlet sells remarketed (refurbished) product but doesn't distinguish between new and "remarketed" notebook warranties. I told the salesperson I would be using the notebook in Canada. We spoke on several occasions. The salesperson was only concerned that the notebook was being shipped to a US address and never mentioned anything about the warranty. I ordered the notebook which arrived the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I couldn't take advantage of any of the great notebook deals on "Black Friday" because my new notebook was arriving that day.

Ten minutes after I received the notebook I realized for the first time from a pamphlet included with the notebook, the warranty on refurbished notebooks is not valid in Canada; it is valid in the the US only. Understandably, I was deeply disappointed about this. I called back Monday morning and was ONLY THEN told about the "crippled" warranty. I requested an RMA to return the item and was told the RMA labels are sent via email and take up to two hours to receive. Tuesday morning I called back and told HP that I still had no email link for the RMA. Two hours later I received a non-working email link. The RMA email link has never worked. Even a week later, the HP RMA link was not working. I emailed back everyday and involved three department managers who confirmed that HP had a problem with their RMA system. Five days later I got a new RMA link from UPS that finally worked and promptly returned the notebook.

This entire ordeal with Hewlett-Packard cost me a week in lost consulting income while I was down in the US waiting for my RMA, for a product sold with a misrepresented and crippled warranty. I filed a complaint with two different Executive Customer Relations departments. I sent emails to Mark Hurd, CEO and President, and several Executive Vice Presidents. No one at HP cares. I believe Hewlett-Packard does not care at all about its small customers or about customer satisfaction.

HP refused to sell me a warranty I can use in Canada. HP refused to replace the notebook with one that has a valid US and Canada warranty. The only option they offered was for me to buy a brand new notebook at full price and not bother them. However, before I spend almost $3,000 (considering my expenses) for a notebook from HP that sells for $1,400, I will buy a Toshiba or Thinkpad. At least these other companies, have integrity, and might actually stand behind their name and commitment to customer satisfaction.

If I can save a few people from going through an ordeal with HP as I have recently went through, then writing this message will have been worth it.

Buyer beware!

 

You know, I think I've heard this story somewhere else...

This really is unfortunate. I hope our Canadian friends take heed.

 

That's really horrible. HP isn't this bad usually - they're a pretty reliable company that makes solid notebooks with fiar warranties. That's too bad you had to go through all this. I strongly support your idea of sending letters via e-mail to the HP execs. However, I believe that you should note that HP, for some odd reason, is wary of marketing in Canada. My uncle, who lives in British Columbia in Canada, came down to the US to buy his notebook, but never had a bad problem like this. For some reason HP doesn't offer quality warranties for the Canadians I notice, which is really unfortunate because I believe that if HP seriously moved into the Canadian market, they would do well.

 

I forgot to mention: The HP Business Products Executive Customer Relations department is staffed by high school graduates in Costa Rica. Their English is passable, but don't be surprised if the phone line goes offline while you are talking. Considering your call passed through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, its amazing you got through at all.

When these guys hourly rates gets too expensive, who knows, maybe the calls will get answered in Bolivia.

 

Personally, I like HP. Maybe you should have done some research about their warranty policy before buying here in the U.S.?
Just a thought.

 

Very unfortunate. That's one of the problems when you deal with companies like HP and Dell... they're not so concerned with ONE customer. IBM is an exception, and is probably the best business machine you can buy.

 

That may be true for the consumer notebooks sold at retail stores, but the Business class notebooks state the warranty is US and Canada, which is why I went this route.

I just hope no one else has such a miserable time with Hewlett-Packard. I really had my expectations set on one of their notebooks.

 

It may or may not have been stated; if so, it was likely in very fine print. More importantly, it is morally despicable for a product's location to play any role in determining the validity of its warranty.

Regards,
Howie

 

Sorry to hear about that.

I've had Toshiba laptops before but this time I bought a dv4000 from a local Costco. I've been happy with the laptop so far. But should I have any problems, it's reassuring to know that I can simply return it to the store within a 6 months without delay or runaround.

Thanks,
eagle07

 

It's interesting how similar this thread is to another thread.

It seems so odd that HP would be so good to the States but not to Canada. My father has had a couple of HP business machines, and he's always received good service.

 

Threads Merged!

 

The problems I am experiencing are with a US HP notebook, purchased in the US. This isn't a Canada or US issue. It is a Hewlett-Packard issue.

Also you are talking about consumer products routine warranty. They also give adequate support to large corporations.

The product I am talking about is a Business-grade product (not Costco Consumer grade). Hewlett-Packard fails miserably in their support of Small and Medium Business customers.

 

The warranty thing can be different for various divisions inside a company. For example, Miller Welders have HORRIBLE resellers and support groups in Canada. In the US you can get free replacement parts shipped to you overnight, and while in Canada you need to take it to a repair place that usually denies work.

After you found out that they don't provide a warranty in canada on the refurbushed items they let you return the thing prepaid shipping back to them. While it may not have gone through instantly (somewhat like credit card returns these days) you finally were able to get a working RMA with return reciept from UPS.

One instance with HP doesn't mean "OMG HP DEATH HORRIBLE DIE", it could just mean your circumstance had some problems which took a bit to resolve, and some fine print wasn't fully understood at the time of sale.

My one experience dealing with HP small business actually turned out quite well. I had to return a HP business class handheld after I had some issues with the firmware (just released item), and after talking it over with one of the female reps they sent me UPS box the next day to pack all the stuff into and ship back to them. They sounded american, were very polite and helpful, and this was from the first tier of their support structure. Can't say the same about Dell though.