HORRIBLE Repair Serice!!!!!!!!

such nightmares... HP is losing many future customers with such sustained suckage.

My DV9000 CTO failed 5 times in 30 months. The hinge failed, the DVD drive popped open at random, the system board was replaced twice, they cracked the case during one of the repairs (causing another repair), and it finally died for the last time about two weeks ago.
Thank God I bought a 3-year CarePack on the same invoice with the laptop...

This time, I didn't ask for a repair: I told the goat farmers in JalalaBaBaBooeyBai that I expect a new one. They issued a support case number, and I called the case managers directly.
Like TheAdam24 above, they are supposedly sending me a replacement... but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Update: the FedEx return label for my DV9000's sleek corpse (it truly was beautiful) showed up today. Maybe there is a dv7t-2000 somewhere in Shanghai with my name on it...

 

Hi oldgraygeek. Please let us know if HP follows thru with the replacement... or doesn't. Thanks.

 

oldgraygeek, any replacement yet?

 

It showed up on Friday:
DV7t-2000
P7450 processor (Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz)
320 GB hard drive
3 GB RAM
1600x900 BrightView screen
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850
Lightscribe, double-layer DVD-RW
Wireless-G with Bluetooth
Vista Home Premium

First, I made sure everything worked. Then, I swapped out the hard drive and installed Vista Ultimate and all my stuff. So far, it works perfectly.

If this one lives out a normal lifespan without dying, I will mostly forgive HP for selling me that lemon DV9000. That's a big "if:" the reason I swapped out the hard disk is that I am almost expecting to send it in for repairs.

 

I've had my own positively horrific experience with HP and have decided to send them a Chapter 93a Demand Letter (I'm in Mass).

Vertical 2010... as an ex-paralegal I know the value of consulting previously successful documents. Would you mind terribly helping me in my quest by supplying me with the letter you sent to HP which resulted in settlement? (Or of course posting a redacted version on the forum...) I have a defensible case in my own right and am still under "warranty" but want to make sure I'm dotting my i's and crossing my t's. My email is [eudaimonious]@gmail.com (without the brackets).

Any additional advice would of course be appreciated (I've read Vertical's prior posts). I'm not posting my full story because it echoes many already posted here, and frankly, every time I even think about the months of stress and wasted time at the hands of HP I get that much closer to becoming a curmudgeon.........

On the positive side, I'm typing this on a Gateway Tablet PC I bought Refurbished from Tiger Direct in 2004. I dug it out of my closet after a year of no use, lo and behold! It works beautifully in comparison!

 

Hey Don'tBuyHP, I'd be glad to help out via e-mail. Am posting this because it might be helpful to readers. My 93a letter got nowhere (for non-Massachusetts residents, most states have something similar. It's a letter saying "fix this or I'll sue".)

Why did it get nowhere? Because, believe it or not, HP used it to ERECT ANOTHER WALL. The case managers said they could not respond because I had "started the legal process." I said, FINE, forward it to legal and they said they couldn't because it was NOT FROM A LAWYER and wasn't on law firm letterhead (that is the whole purpose of the Massachusetts 93A process and small claims court - to allow for consumer action without a lawyer.)

But don't be discouraged. Although there is NO LIMIT to the runaround and lies HP will attempt, anytime you hit a dead-end, it just means you've got them. It "dead-ends" for a reason. They apparently didn't want this to go to legal, and didn't think I would sue. And true to their threat, they did not in fact forward my demand letter to legal.

The very first thing HP legal knew of my case was the court clerk notice informing them of the lawsuit. They told me that they had not seen my CS file, and when HP legal called to settle they were not the least bit familiar with ANY aspect of my case, nor did they care. They just wanted it off the books, period.

So, even in these times of distrust of large corporations, HP has is STILL up to these tricks. Let's bring about an end to these sleazeball tactics and NAIL THEM in this forum until they change their ways. I hate to see the court system used this way, but due to HP's actions, it's what the system is there for and is apparently the ONLY option HP takes seriously. Let's SUE, SUE, SUE until HP honors its legal obligations and provides support as per the warranty.

 

I have to send my laptop in for repairs and I'm extremely worried about it...any suggestions? I do plan on taking pictures of it before i send it.

 

Don't assume every repair is going to turn out the same. I guess to be on the safe side you could take pictures.

Wouldn't HP go out of business if more of their customers were unhappy?

 

Take detailed pictures, especially on the glossy cover. Also, take pictures of inside. My laptop came back with scratches all over the glossy cover and I demanded that they fix it. They didn't ask for proof and when I got my laptop back, they replaced almost every part of the case as well as my screen for some reason. My keyboard was slightly damaged and they replaced the whole thing too.

 

My experience dealing with HP Business Warranty support has been great.

Contrast that with my brother-in-law who had to send in Gateway laptop 4 times because it kept coming back with new issues.

I didn't even have to pay for shipping while he had to(4 times!!).

 

Absolutely take pictures, AND let them know you did. Also, look it over very closely when you get it back and don't throw out the FEDEX box until you're sure there is no damage to your laptop, so you can take pictures of it too.

Don't be misled by comments similar to " they would go out of business" if their service was so poor. In fact they count on the fact that most people will put up with their BS. Mark Hurd (CEO) has cut support to the bone, and it's only getting worse. They routinely try to deny laptop warranty coverage - most people will say OK and go away. Then they will likely accuse you of damaging it (liquid damage). DON'T trust them and take very good notes on every communication.

 

I recently bought an HP HDX 16t. The DVD tray didn't open everytime i pressed the buttton. For the tray to open, i have to move the screen for it to open. Everytime i'd turn on the Wireless signal, I'd get a blue screen and the memory dump. I finally get fed up and opted for an already built model that is supposed to come in a couple of days. Thing is the customizable laptop i bought was assembled in CHina so go figure... I had to talk to a manager for them to resolve the issue and have me pay the 243 dollar difference between the customizable one and the quick ship model.

I don't plan to own it for more than a year though... because it is not safe to own an laptop without a guarantee. What the funny thing is, Dell got great customer service to repair laptops and they got ty laptops. HP got great lookin laptops and terrible customer service.

 

Dude ALL laptops are now made in China, even Sony, which is a Japanese brand. The only ones that are made in other places are from Acer MSI, or ASUS as those are Taiwanese companies and are made in Taiwan.

By that logic, I don't think made in China laptops suck because if it did, then all laptops would suck. Too bad tho, I wanted a made in Japan one but there is none. Even my PS3 and PSP and even iPod Touch are made in China.

 

They even have the worst tech support. Cases are not followed by one technician, and they'll keep asking the same stupid questions over and over again.

I recently was trying to update the bios for my dv6 1045ee, I was surprised to read that the bios update HP offered claims to update ATI vBios. This notebook, however, came with nVidia chip. I tried to contact them by different means… They finally replied that my bios is ATI and my Graphic chip is nVidia 9200M GS and the bios update they are posting is OK. What a load of crap. I just said "Have a nice day!"

Let me say it. This is my first and last HP purchase.

Here is a link for the bios update they are offering.. Scroll down to Enhancements.. Read it and laugh!

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=2093&product=3877259

 

Whatever made you think that a ATI vBios update won't work with an nVidia chipset?

Just kidding. You are correct, and HP is wrong. The update you linked to is definitely for a video/graphics chipset. It would totally FU your system. How can anyone in HP support be that stupid?

 

Since they sell and install Intel 4500, Nvidia 9200 and 2 ATI Radeon cards in the DV6, the BIOS would be fine to install and would not brick your system. If you don't have an ATI card in your system, the BIOS would not update your Nvidia card.

There are many HP systems with BIOS updates that list that they target a component that may have been sold with the system. All updates are actually based on the CTO and not on your specific model number. In other words, all updates apply to all systems. Just compare the DV6-100CTO to your specific model code.

So, HP was right, they just didn't explain it to you properly. Likely because the techs in India don't know other than what's on the script sheet.

And yes, the customer service rep shuffling which requires that they ask the same questions over and over is silly.

 

So, I guess what you're saying 2.0 is that HP names a BIOS update a vBIOS update targeting only a particular card that your model does not have, and we're supposed to somehow realize we need it anyway and trust the otherwise incompetent HP tech reps. This could all be resolved with a simple note on the update page explaining exactly who needs it and who doesn't, as most other manufacturers do, as well as by naming updates properly. Since any BIOS update has the potential to brick your computer, why bother risking it if you don't NEED it?

A related problem: HP tinkers with the BIOS of most MB's so it differs from the manufacturer-provided BIOS, usually limiting/disabling features or the user's ability to make adjustments. This limits the features HP has to support and may prevent unskilled users from causing damage (overclocking, etc.), but it only works well if HP does a good job in writing & updating the BIOS, which they don't. They can't even properly NAME the BIOS versions.

 

They should not have offered updates in the support page of models that are not intended for in the first place!... And the way they are trying to cover-up... As if they are dealing with kids.. it really makes me furious, and regret ever buying an HP (Actually, now I’m trying to get rid of my notebook PC, probably for a Vaio, or MacBook)

Anyhow.. They have finally posted the right bios update, but unfortunately, it does not offer any improvement to GPU.

 

That is so familiar... I didn't ask my case manager why he was suddenly back, but who cares...
I worked with case manager Shawn for 3 months to find a replacement for my DV5 laptop they couldn't fix. Custom build DV5's no longer available so I had a choice between getting DV5SE (hate the Mac replica) with Intel integrated video or go with DV6 - design I hate. So I decided to see if we can find me refurb DV5. After 2 months of waiting we finally found one that meets my needs. The week later after my replacement supposed to be shipped I received a phone call from Shawn with apology that it was sent to someone else ). One more months of waiting and Shawn tells me that he is getting a new job and the next week would be his last week. So I got a new case manager Allan who wanted to close the deal right away. Anyhow he offered me money back and I shipped my laptop to them (they didn't even provide a box - good thing I kept the original box). Today I called to follow up on the status and guess who answered the phone? Yeap, it was Shawn. I guess he decided to stay after all (5% salary cut). Though he was a cool guy to talk, too bad he couldn't solve my case... From my personal experience I can say that HP's customer service is far behind Dell's. Though I do like my DV5 (I had 2 - 1 I shipped back) and going to get another one.

 

Well, I just bought a new laptop, and it's a DELL. I guess that's one good thing about my horrible experience with HP: My tech buying decisions are much easier, since I can rule out any HP products.

 

HP does not have terrible service. If they did, they wouldn't be one of the top dogs selling laptops/desktops. Just because you have a bad experience, don't blame the whole company, just the retarded technicians. I had a VERY knowledgeable customer support agent one time I called. I was shocked he actually KNEW what he was talking about. I called back the same day and no offense, got a woman and she was utterly clueless. Trust yourself that you won't break it, and if it does, you can fix it. That's how I see it.

 

I will never ever buy another damn HP product again. I ordered my HP dvt5 late December and sometime in February I started having problems with the screen flickering to the point where I could not use the laptop at all.

I have sent it in for repairs multiple times, and the problem comes right back, I don't even think they care. I asked for a refund, they insisted I send it to repair one more time(which I did 2-3 weeks ago) I agreed and sent it back one last time.

It's now 6/24/09 and my f'n laptop is still at repairs, they called me today to tell me it's being delayed until mid July.

I called them and told them I need them this laptop for school, they said they will try to get it to me by July 08.

...I am telling you, if you are reading this don't buy a fkn HP product, the good might out-weight the bad, but if anything with HP goes wrong, it goes VERY WRONG.

I will never ever buy a HP product, I knew I should have a bought a damn Dell or Mac.

 

They usually follow a three strike rule. Try to get a hold of an HP Case Manager. If on the third repair it doesn't work, they usually replace your laptop with a brand new one. They even give a few upgrades if you ask nicely.

 

hey vertical 2010, remember me? lol, the person who sought advice and later went to sue hp. well, i wanted to update u on my situation...so i filed a small claims and sued them. a woman named francesca from consumer affairs called me back and i think she was trying to negotiate. she offered me three things (all of which i plan not to do):
1) free repair
2) 50% purchase back my computer from me
3) look for a computer up to $1000 and get it for free on hp store site
Now, I just wanted to see if they ever did this to you as well, or offered you these options. if so, how did u reconcile and deal with it? were u still persistent to get the money u asked for? and for settling ur case, which department did u deal with exactly (like, was it consumer affairs)? finally, did u insist on still suing them if they ever gave u any options like the ones they gave me above?

 

firesmaili, she offered you to pick 1 of the 3? None of those are worth it at all. I know I'm not vertical2010, but I would tell her I want none of those. Have her build you a new system of your choice with the components of your choice with 3 years warranty.

Or have them give you a full refund, unless they are willing to build a laptop worth more than your original purchase. If not, get your money and buy a different brand laptop.

 

Hi firesmaili. Congrats for going to battle! Sounds like so far you've made out pretty good. About 2 weeks after I filed my suit, i got a call from someone in legal (not a lawyer) who just asked what I wanted and agreed to it. I asked for the full purchase price refund plus a few hundred $ for my time and expense, which I think was fair (my laptop was only a few weeks old at the time I sent it in for repair). My advice: 1st, DON'T TRUST THEM. Get everything you agreed upon in hand BEFORE either you contact the court to drop the suit or you sign something for HP to submit to the court. In my case HP sent a check along with an agreement form for me to sign that HP planned to submit to the court. Since I had ZERO trust for HP, I actually waited for their check to clear before I sent the form back to them.

As for the 3 things they offered, I wouldn't now accept a repaired HP laptop if they gave it to me with a $1,000 bonus. And numbers 2 and 3 are both to HPs advantage, as a new laptop doesn't cost them much and they can sell yours refurbished. You deserve to be FULLY compensated under the law for HP's failure to honor the warranty contract. To me that means a full or partial refund (depending on the age of your unit) AND either an additional payment for your time & expense, or a discount off a new purchase (I'd say at a MINIMUM 50% buyback AND 50% off a new unit). Remember, it doesn't cost HP much to make these laptops, and THEY violated the contract, not you. If they refuse, go to court. HP probably won't show and you'll get a default judgment for everything your were asking for. Then HP would have to pay up.

 

They actually treated me pretty good, but they did leave some scratches on my case and screen. I feel your anger.

 

Thanks for your comments John. But with me it wasn't just a few minor scratches - I would have expected that, especially since my laptop was only a few weeks old. Mine came back with HUGE scratches, a chip and a gouge as well as numerous solvent fingerprints all over the screen. Don't think many people would have accepted that..

 

Hey, just wondering if anybody has any recent news about HP repair. I still own HP products and i am hoping to hear they have improved their deceptive and unfair practices, but i am not very hopeful...

 

Hold on Vertical!

I'm supposed to get my DV6 1264CA back from repair today (HP Canada).
Overheating is the reason why I sent it in.
I argued with the case manager a few times and mentioned bringing the case to small claims if he wouldn't offer me another laptop (The AMD Turion Ultra CPU runs much warmer than Intel C2Ds and is much weaker too).

The manager wants to play the 3 strike policy game.
This is my thread on the situation:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=443897

I'm strongly considering bringing the case to court, because of the way the Case manager plays his cards....DENIAL, and telling me it's my fault, that I made the wrong choice, that my laptop is not meant to work hard, to game, or to open multiple windows at once.....

Can't believe he actually said that!!! Anyway, good for me if he steps on his...

 

I just got my laptop.

First, there is the usual scratches on the cover.
I sent it in because of Processor Overheating, and they replaced the...HDD?
?
The HDD I had wasn't running warm in the first place anyway!

And the CPU is now recognized as an Ahtlon X2 GL-64, which is less powerful than a Turion Ultra ZM-82.
I dunno, but Everest and CPU-Z still see a ZM-82....

Anyway..and they installed VISTA Home Premium in 32 bits!!!!!!!!!! Now my RAM is seen as 3Gigs....

What am I supposed to do with that Windows issue? I'm supposed to get my Windows upgrade package in the mail in the next few days! And I'll be getting Win7 Home premium 64 bits!!!

Stupid HP techs

 

Hi exercise. Sorry to see that HP is abusing yet another customer. They definitely downgraded your CPU to one with a slower clock speed, greater power consumption, and HALF the L2 cache.

And if HP says the mobile HD4650 is not for gaming, ATI certainly does NOT agree: http://www.amd.com/us/products/notebook/graphics/ati-mobility-hd-4000/hd-4600/Pages/hd-4600.aspx

HP engineers have just skimped, as usual, and designed yet another product with inferior cooling.

As you already know, HP is feeding you a line of BS. I really don't think they take any customers seriously until the summons arrives to tell them they're being sued. They know that most customers won't take it that far, and they are correct. If you just threaten to sue, the case manager won't care. You have to actually go to the courthouse and file, or do it online if your state allows that. So I recommend: keep a time-line of everything, try to get HP to put what they say in writing (that will be tough), and keep track of your time and expenses (including phone time, etc.). And put what you want in writing, via fax if necessary.

Keep hanging in there. Don't give up! You can beat HP, and it can even be fun (keep telling yourself that, and maybe it will be).

P.S. Be careful not to give away too much on these boards - I know for a fact that HP reads them.

 

To set the story straight tho,
I got to say that after un-installing the CPU in Device manager and rebooting, the true CPU ZM-82 is now recognized. Same to be said from the BIOS.
So it is the right CPU.

For this, I say: Instead of playing Big HP Brother and reading on the forums, they should keep their customers happy. That way, they'd get positive press.

 

That's interesting exercise, because I though the BIOS recognized the CPU before boot. Anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear HP swapped out a CPU with a cheaper one. But then i wouldn't be surprised to hear someone found a dead frog in the CPU socket, especially since HP farms out some of their repairs to the lowest bidder and doesn't properly supervise them.

So keep us updated re your case. I'd like to know if you get anywhere, or have to sue. Good luck.

 

Well, my take on that is that they probably formatted my drive (they say they replaced it) and installed an "image copy" of a fresh install, that was coming from a QL64-based laptop in Vista 32 bits.

It was in the device manager that the CPU was being considered a QL-64.
Vista performance index and the bIOS were seing it as a ZM-82 (the right one).

Now, after 3 hours of re-installing the proper version of Windows (from recovery disks) I run in 64 bits again.

Anyway, imagine if that situation would've happened to somebody that doesn't know better...the techs just installing whatever version of Vista they can get their hands on...not installing the proper CPU drivers, not considering the Windows version (tag underneath the lappy), so RAM is not fully utilized...

 

@Exercise
1)The reason why device manager identify it wrong is because they simply use a tool to image a default Windows installation into your harddisk and that machine that created image from happens to contain a QL-64 Processor

To rectify this go device manager, right click uninstall processors and let Windows redetect them.
Same should be done with any other incorrectly installed devices.
RAM is autodetected.

If you want to know if they replace any device simply record all the S/N of all your hardware components and double check after you get it back.

 

Yes,
I figured it out.
Like you're saying, it was an "image" of a DV6 setup in Vista 32 ,with a QL-64 CPU.
I re-installed my Vista HP 64 with my recovery disks.

Anyway, changing the HDD had nothing to do with the issue I mentioned to them. On top of that, loading the wong version of the OS was a little "special" too...

 

I had really bad issues with acer that have a striking resemblence... the key is to be persistent, I sent my Acer in 4 times IN A ROW, after the 3rd I suggest 'maybe a replacement?' they didn't want to, so I said ok, sent it again. after it again came back defective I ask the same thing, 'maybe it would be cheaper to replace it?'. it worked, I'm one of very few forum members with a replaced Acer computer. don't give up, if your a thorn in there side they will eventually give you what you want.

 

Makes sense exercise. And i think you were very smart to go back to 64 bit before upgrading to Windows 7 64 bit. I don't think Win 7 will even allow you to do an upgrade install going from 32>64 bit.

Too bad HP won't just send out the parts and let you do your own repairs. I think you would be much better off.

 

I am also another with a replacement.
The one I am currently holding now has yet to go back to the service centre because I picked up the art of DIY repair

 

Also had a good experience with with ACER repair lately, and a decent experience with HP re. a DESKTOP repair. Got a tech who actually knew his stuff. HP's weak-point seems to be laptop reliability and repair, with the primary defect being heatsink effectiveness and/or installation.

 

Why don't you people buy from electronic stores? Face to face service is what they are al about.

 

Big box electronics stores in North America will deal with you only within the first 30 days of purchase. After that, you're dealing directly with the computer manufacturer's tech support (or lack of)...

 

Hm thats weird, here the stores are obliged to give you 2 years of warranty. When something breaks, you give them the laptop, they send it to the factory, and you won't see it for weeks :O

 

If they send it to the factory, the "end result" seems to be pretty much the same! If the store manager doesn't t
Funny how the stores don't take direct responsibilities anymore, maybe they know better! They don't don't want to be involved directly with the failures.

 

Sounds good in theory, but I've also had a few bad experiences dealing directly with retail repair facilities. It's not any better getting screwed face-to-face.

I guess the only thing you avoid is someone not returning your phone calls. It's hard to ignore you when you're standing in front of them.

 

Its European law that all electronic devices should work properly for a minimum of 2-3 years.
Depens on the actual price youve bought it for.

Im guessing American citizens arnt protected by such a law? Just a guess though.

 

Here in Canada, there is no set time, it's just "reasonable amount of time".

It's called the legal warranty and had nothing to do with the manufacturer's warranty. If you item breaks a few days after the manufacturer's warranty is over, doesn't matter, you can go to small-claims and they'll help you.

 

Sent in laptop for 2 issues- experiencing bad video quality and connection problem with webcam that was causing 'new hardware' beep. I also included detailed noted with my pc that I wrote myself.

Well, the service was prompt, but neither issue was fixed. Even better, the sheet they sent back didn't mention my probs, but instead it said it replaced they keyboard! WHAT?!

Going to send it back in for repair #2.