Need advice on how to deal with HP customer care / HP Policies

Short summary of the problem:

Bought a very costly HP laptop around Sep 08
Experienced heating problems from around Dec 08.
Dealt with their customer care to get it returned or replaced in Jan – but they simply would do nothing for it.
Heating problem as got worse. It turned off due to over heating with just windows and 2 windows of Firefox and a streaming video.
Trying to understand the options I have now. So people who have had similar experience with HP customer care, PLEASE tell what can I do now.


Reading the expanded version below will give a lot more insight to my problem.


Laptop config

HP Pavilion DV4T-1000

Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
Core(TM)2 Duo T9400 (2.53 GHz)
14.1" WXGA High-Definition HP LED Widescreen
3GB DDR2 RAM
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS
250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with Hard Drive Protection from Fuji
Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN
High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery




Full story :-


I got a HP laptop around end of Sep 08 for $1500+ . For three months it ran decently without giving me much trouble (mainly because I was travelling a lot and didn’t use it much – on an average 2-4 hours a day). Around Dec end, I started to experience excessive heat problems. The laptop would become too hot to use it on laps. (After few days I saw some skin rashes) So around Jan mid. I called up HP customer care.

After lot of dropped calls and call forwarding, they finally told me that they will register a case so a manager would call me back and see what can be done. This was Friday evening, and the time of contact I was told was Monday 3-5 PM. Nothing happened for a week. Since I got very busy with college work, I didn’t care to call again after my horrible experience in the last week.

So after 10 days (or 20, not sure) I get an email from another manager in HP telling me that since I haven’t replied to them in xx days, they are closing my case, considering it “solved”. I immediately replied back. So she finally called me up. She said, that their manager tried to contact me for 5 times a day for more than 5 days. How the hell I missed 25+ calls from, I have no clue. Also, since my mobile phone grew Anti HP, for its excessive use to call HP help line, it didn’t show me a single missed call from an unknown number.

So, I decided to talk the matter with her. I told her that I was very unhappy with the quality and make of the laptop and am facing excessive heating problem so I want to returned or replaced. Cutting long story short, she said they cannot and will not. At the max, she can get it serviced for me. Angry, I decided against it because they would just clean my laptop’s fan and return it after few days.

Since then I faced heating problems every now and then. But today, it suddenly turned off (for the first time, due to heating problem) while I was watching a streaming video in Firefox. When I started it again it refused to start. The base was hot as hell. It was positioned on a table with good open space around the vents. I was only running my windows and 2 windows of Firefox. I find no reason for it to get that hot. Absolutely no application which will use its processor or memory or hard disk drive to the max. Also it was on “balanced mode” on AC supply. This means its processor usage was set to 70%.

I placed it outside in the cold at night. After 20 mins of 60 degree F , it started again.

Now I am using it to ask you guys for advice. What should I do ? The problem is with the bad HP design and also the quality of material they used. I want to return it. It is not worth passing to someone else, knowing the problems I am facing already.

I have “1-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with HP Pick Up and Return which will end in this Sep. Did anyone has any good experience with that ? Also, I replaced their copy of vista home with vista business. It also has a Linux partition. Will it affect the warranty in any way ?
Is there no “consumer court” in US where I can file a case (without paying hefty lawyer fee) ?


Other problems which I faced with this piece and also reported to them in the former case:
Too much of fan noise.
Bad battery life for the customized config. I got.
Bad screen quality in day light or open space.
Bad body build quality.
And the experience was not as fast as I had expected.

I do clean up the vent every month to make sure nothing is blocking it.


Please let me know what can I do with it.
I cannot afford another laptop having invested heavily in this one
( and with my grad college expenses )


Thanks in advance !

 

www.hplies.com may give some ideas.

 

In the US every state has some kind of a Small Claims Court, usually with a maximum claim limit of about $2,500 (some states more, and some states less). You cannot have a lawyer in most Small Claims Courts, so you won't have any lawyer fees. HP can't have a lawyer either --- they won't like that!

Filing a claim in Small Claims Court is usually very simple and very inexpensive. You can call your local Municipal Court to find out the details. You will have to go down to the court to get the proper paperwork to fill out, file and serve. The instructions are always provided with the papers, so it is not overwhelming. Just follow the directions exactly. Usually, once the papers are filled out by you, and a small fee paid, you give it to the Sheriff's office, (or whoever is going to serve it for you) and wait for your court date.

That's it. Be sure to bring ALL of your paperwork, photos, (witnesses, if you have any), and other proof to court and tell the judge your story. You should, of course, bring your computer to court too, all plugged in and HOT, so the judge can see for himself/herself how hot it gets!

 

Raise hell. Call and demand a case manager, make it very clear you're not getting off the line without talking to a case manager or a supervisor.... they usually are pretty good about things. Explain to them your story and take it from there....

I look at HP tech support as a wall of feces that you have to destroy in order to get to the case managers, who are actually pretty helpful and courteous.

When you get a hold of the case manager or a supervisor, explain to them your story... they will probably find a solution to your liking.

Now, if they don't, then take down their full name, their employee ID, SS, DOB, sexual preference, (lol) man get all the information you can out of them and tell them that you're taking this to court and that you will see them there. Explain to them all you wanted was a bloody laptop that you could use WITHOUT causing bodily injury but obviously that was too much to ask. Let them know that you have suffered PHYSICAL harm while using your product and that you're going to sue their limey asses. Tell them that they know full well they have many pending lawsuits against them for this very thing and that they can add another one to the top of the pile....

You get my drift....

 

You didn't even give HP a chance to take it in for service and you're demanding that they replace it? I believe YOU are being irrational here. There may be issues with your motherboard or some assembly problems causing the cooling system to fail.

There are tonnes of dv4t's like yours which have been sold all over and used in normal conditions without any issues, so I'd attribute some user fault here. If you're expecting it to function like a workstation, then get a mobile workstation (HP has an excellent business line up which has the industry's best enterprise class notebooks which may actually fit your requirements). The dv4t is a consumer laptop, so it's not exactly a premium notebook, hence you shouldn't expect top quality of it (no consumer grade laptop priced in that range is built any better). If HP has to sell it at such a low price, surely the build materials can't be as good as their more expensive models.

 

Moreover there is a 3 strike rule which HP follows rigorously. If the laptop is unusable after 3 tries of servicing, they will most probably replace it.

 

Thanks everyone for the great inputs, I do hope to take the things in right direction.

@Chrixx,
There are two reasons why I decided to go against it.
She said that she will get it cleaned for me. Its a three months old laptop and I have cleaned the vents with a air can. So for getting it cleaned I cant just send it back. She told on over the phone that there are no defects associated with the model of which the company is aware of or has a policy for.
Secondly,
She blatantly lied to me saying that they tried to contact me for 25+ times in one week and I didnt answer their calls. We argued over this for almost 10 mins. All she said was, that the file of the representative says she contacted me for the required number of times. At this point I was really really frustrated. Indeed, I am supposed to get $70 back on my machine as a part of the offer, which I never got. And because of my experience, I decided to let that go to hell. I cant call up their helpline and beg for that $70 before 3-4 people, who would do nothing but forward me from one person to another.
Despite my anger at that moment, I decided to cool down and talk the matters clear with her. What she said after the argument, I have stated above. Its just sad that my experience with them has to be so bad. I always try to maintain a polite tone to the person who is taking my complain because I have had friends who worked in customer care call centers and had annoying experience with the customers shouting at them.
(def. it is not the fault of the person who is talking you call !!)


Thanks to Nando4, I also came to know that they call in your laptop for service and underclock it and return the same piece.

Thanks to Imperfect1, nu_D and Pranalien, now I know what to do.
I will try to stick to email conversation with their managers, so I have more concrete proofs.

Its just a horrible horrible experience , being a comp sci grad, I am so much dependent upon my machine

Thanks again everyone.

If someone still has any advice on how I can collect proof, please share it with me.

 

Also, dear Chrixx , I never expected the quality to be equivalent to that of a Premium laptop. But in the name of a consumer grade laptop they just cant give away anything.

Due to the heating of the HDD, my lower left palm is always on a hot part of the laptop. Since jan , I am using is at a very underclocked performance. Limiting my applications and graphics to min that I use on it....

 

Get a notebook cooler pad to hold you over until summer. Send in your notebook three times since I highly doubt they will fix the heating problem and then voila! Get your replacement and probably a free warranty upgrade for your troubles.

 

Do they have the right phone number on file?

 

You must let them take it in and then when they fail to repair it, you have every right to shout and scream, but not before they take it in. HP has a replacement policy where they will replace or refund the purchase price of your notebook if they can't fix the problem. However, they will also make you sign a contract where you agree not to take any further legal action when given the replacement/refund.

 

Will call them up today and let them take it for repair ...

@optimustarzan
yes they had the right number , that is where this lady called me up ...

 

still Need More Advice

Such a sad state of affairs with the HP customer care.

I called them up around the end of second week of May, as I had decided earlier.They agreed to take it in service. I was also connected to the tech person who took details of my problems ...
I told him on the phone about three things
HDD Over Heating
GPU Over Heating
Fan noise
Also, I asked him to call me before taking any action ...
He assured me that he will take care of all these things, and the laptop will return in 7 days including the travel time for it.

in two days I got a box to send it back and after 3 days it was on its way to them.

I send the laptop on 22nd.

Today, on 28th May, I called them up to ask for the status of my machine, so the person in charge told me that I should expect it back around 3rd June.
(perfectly fine with me).
When I asked him about the repairs which have taken place and why have I not been called up even once ...
As per him, the only repair that has been done is change of fan and thermal sink.
When I asked him why is the GPU and the HDD being repaired / replaced. he had no clue.
After few mins he decides to connect me to a manager who would better assist me. She says similar things. Finally I hang up.

All this happened around 2-3 PM

So, I am expecting to get it by 3rd june...

At around 7 PM when I return home, the laptop was already there !
funny, how the customer care guys had no clue whether my laptop is with them or the fedex guys.

Nonetheless, happily I open it....

The note in side the box says, that they have repaired 3 things

1 DISPLAY !!! ???? <<< For what ??? and I dont see any change in the display
2 Thermal Pad
3 Fan ....


So I send my laptop for a 7 day Disney ride only to find it back in the same state.

More over, now there is a dent close to the trackpad. which is not a major issue, but not acceptable.

They did absolutely nothing to the GPU and the HDD.

It has been just 40 mins since I am using it and the HDD started to heat again. The only app I am running is a firefox and a PDF reader ....


Funny as it may sound, as I am typing it, I see a ant come out of the keyboard and go on to my screen....

I left clear instructions on a printed paper inside the box, and on my windows desktop...

Should I include an audio greetings card with the complaint recorded in it next time ?

I am also attaching the PDF, if someone is interested in seeing how I gave clear instructions ....

Someone please tell me what I should do?

as of now, I am calling them again tomorrow to take this in to repair again. Too sick of them to hear their voice again today.... This seems a joke for them.


Sorry for such a long post. thanks.
Rohit

 

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If all else fails, just replace the stuff yourself. Getting and installing a new hard drive is easy. Getting some good thermal paste on the cpu/gpu is a bit more difficult and a pain, but it's completely doable (HP has clear,simple videos for this).

Should you have to do these things? No, but life isn't fair

 

"If all else fails"
But the questions concerned are :
Should they have returned the laptop without checking / reporting about the HDD and GPU when I clearly mentioned that
Secondly, If I have a defective product, should I expect a fair deal or simply keep quite ?

In most cases, the customers keep quite, and that is why more and more customers suffer.

Replacing the Hdd wont be a trouble for me, but it is just a matter of justice and behavior. I feel cheated for a purchase I made worth $1500

 

I would feel that way too.

I have purchased two hp laptops (a dv5t and a dv4t) and I have had 0 problems withthem, which I am extremely grateful because I would not be able to tolerate customer service.

 

Appreciate your concern Darth.
Just hope they change the mother board or take it back ...

 

Sorry to hear your story. I had a very similar experience with my HP business (over $3000) laptop. I spent months dealing with HP, filed a BBB complaint (with zero effect). The HP representatives were clueless, their managers were extremely rude and ignorant.
Eventually (after 12 weeks of b.s., and 3 pointless "repairs") they replaced the notebook, which then was at 1/3 of it's lifetime (I replace them every year, roughly).
In short, I think the only and the best solution is to stop talking to HP and go to the Small Claims Court. I wish I have thought about this back then...
Now, I solved my problem somewhat differently. When I purchased my laptop, I got a 4-year "3-5 days turn-around" (btw, it’s a lie!) warranty. That was in 2006. Since 2008 (I got a new primary laptop), I am sending my old laptop to HP pretty much every 2 months or so (Fedex priority overnight). My estimate is that HP spent around the price of the laptop itself in shipping/”repair” (whatever they mean by it) fees already. I am planning to continue sending them the laptop in 2010. I like to think that I’m supporting Fedex...

 

And I really dont know on what ground do they call their customer care award wining.

I called them back yesterday. The fourth person I was talking to was a case manager ( or something similar) He read the reports of the person who took my complaint the first time. He didnt even note down that the GPU and HDD are heating up. And I had to send my laptop for 8 days in a crucial time when I need it the most.

This time, he said he will take care, but if nothing happens this time, I am sure gonna go to small claims court, no point in wasting time with them any more ....

I am using a 2.5 yr old mac book which works better then that 8 month old HP laptop

 

Well, what worked so well for propadanda before, now works just fine for marketing purposes... Not like I want to compare them to the Nazi regime though But their 'customer care' is really bad. The worst I've seen.