HP dragging their feet with in warranty replacement part

I've had such a bad experience with HP's customer support that I had to share it. I've purchased 3 notebooks from HP's website in the past 4 months for me and my family. The hard disk in my dv9500 notebook failed and i've been trying for weeks to get a replacement part as it is still under warranty.

I truely feel that i've been getting the run around. my order status' expected ship date has slipped from Feb 19th, to March 3rd, to March 7th, and now its March 21st. Over a month since I originally requested the replacement part!

The phone support is a nightmare. you cant dial an operator directly. you have to go through the menu system. you can not press buttons to navigate the menu. you have to speak and hope to have the computer recognize the option you said. i have to say "COMPUTER" then "PAVILLION" then it asks me which kind. the system lists the options such as "desktop pc" or "notebook pc" for some reason its not accepting my request for "NOTEBOOK PC" after repeating the phrase several times and through a few other menus i finally get to a customer support rep outsourced to India.

The customer support rep with the thick indian accent seems very pleasant but is unable to help me. they can only ask me to keep waiting indefinately. i get transferred to tech support, then back to a regular opterator, then back to tech support and then they tell me i have to wait for a case manager to call me. Please note that I've called multiple times in the past three weeks to get a replacement hard disk. I have to go through this routine every time.

FINALLY! the case manager calls me today. Says that the hard disk is on back order from the factory(duh) So i say "If the 120Gig drive is not available, just give me a 160Gig or a 200Gig or whatever" and the Case manager says "All of the hard disks are on backorder" are you kidding me?
"wait, you mean to tell me HP is NOT shipping out any notebooks to any customers because they dont have any hard disks?"
"no they are shipping out new notebooks, but there are no hard disks for replacement parts. We cant take one from them and give it to you."
"Okay," I say, "just cut me a check and i'll drive over to the store and buy my own hard disk" but guess what, they cant do that either.
at this point I get fed up and tell him i'm done. I just want to return the notebook because they are unable to repair it under warranty. He says its past 30 days since i bought the notebook so i cant return it. Okay so exchange it for another notebook. He says that he cant exchange it for another notebook unless the replacement part is delayed like a year.

Has HP Customer Service screwed me? What can I do? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Report this to the better business bureau. They have power and influence and are more than happy to listen to a frustrated consumer. They might be able to fight on your behalf to get you what you need.

 

I thought there was a clause in HP's warranty about 'what if it takes more than 30 days to repair it.'

Call HP and tell them you will consider them in violation of their own warranty terms and conditions if it isn't fixed within a week. Then contact the BBB and your Attorney General.