Sending back to Lenovo

Hey,

I'm going to skip the problems of my T400s and just go straight to the point.
A courier is getting my laptop to get it researched and I will (hopefully) get a new laptop. Now they asked me to NOT send the following items, I was wondering if someone knows why I shouldn't do that. If they say that I will get a new laptop what do I need to do with the following items, will I get new ones or just the laptop without those items.

Items:
AC adapter
Battery
Hard Drive
CD/DVD ROM
optional memory
Carry cases or laptop bag

 

Well, without knowing what kind of problem they're researching, all any of us can say is that they don't need you to ship them because they don't think they're part of the problem. The general rule-of-thumb is to never ship anything in for service that isn't part of the problem because it might get lost or damaged. And, after all, they have all those things in their lab.

I have no idea whether or not you would get duplicates if they decide to replace your notebook. My guess is not.

 

Its kinda strange that they don't need my harddisk though. The problem is that I just bought my T400S like a week ago and already have problems with crashes and I have had a fan error. A laptop that's really expensive shouldn't have these problems right away -.- I think I'm just going to call them and ask for clearance, I don't want any trouble with sending them the parts afterwards.

 

You're better not sending the hard drive as they often format it.

 

Maybe I get a chance on getting pre-load windows 7 when I also send in the hard drive If I get a new laptop
Plus I don't care if they format my harddrive as long as I get a working laptop. I haven't even got a chance to use my laptop for normal things.

 

It's standard for Lenovo to ask you not to send in your hard drive, as they have test disks. Also, it prevents problems such as them clearing your data, etc.

 

Also when I could get a new laptop and not a refurbished one? How are they going to do that then with the new laptop? Do I have to send the old hard drive, dvd rom etc?
I expect to get a new one anyway because nothing is self-conflicted.

 

Let me ask you this. If they can fix the current laptop with a motherboard replacement, would you have a problem with that? If everything else is fine, I can't see why that would be an issue, unless it took some physical damage during shipping.

Also, if they do replace the laptop, I'd guess they'd send you a new laptop without all the stuff you didn't send back. Just pop in the hard drive, boot, wait for Windows to configure the hardware since the ID's will be different, and you're good to go.

If you want to include the hard drive and have that swapped as well, with a fresh install of Windows and everything, call and ask them to make a notation.

If you're worried about them going back on their word, go to the link they emailed you to track your service and print it out. If I recall, it includes their initial notes. If it doesn't mention replacement, call and ask them to clarify and notate somewhere visible to you.

 

Sure the laptop may be working after they fix it properly. But that's not the way it should be going for. You never know what happened with that motherboard before they replaced it with mine. You pay a lot of money for quality and not a refurbished laptop. I'm sorry but that's just not the method I want.

 

Well then call for clarification on their planned process, that's the only way that you'll be sure. Keep in mind, if you somehow get from exchange/repair to return, they do advertise a 15% restocking fee.

 

what do you mean?

 

Just that if you give up on their processes and decide you want to return the machine, they'll charge you 15% of original purchase price.

But I would definitely give them a call and tell them that you were told they were going to inspect the laptop and then exchange it. That you're concerned that both parties might not be on the same page, seeing that they're requesting you remove the hard drive and not ship back stock accessories.

 

Will do, there will be a courier on monday to pick it and I'll just call them early and ask them if I can include everything. The man I spoke on the phone yesterday said that it could take about a month. Is that really true?

 

It really depends on stock levels. On simple stuff the turnaround for depot can be as little as 5 days. But sometimes it takes longer, and sometimes much longer. But if things get crazy with a long wait you can typically get free stuff out of them. I wouldn't expect it to go too quickly if they need to do an inspection, and then send those results to some sort of loss prevention department. But I would be surprised if it doesn't take half that time when everything goes smoothly.

I'm not even going to try to attach likelihoods to such and such wait time. My sample isn't nearly big enough, and you're much more likely to hear about discontent on forums.

 

Okay Thanks for the explanation I will post on the forum if something comes up(which I hope there won't be anything).

 

It's borderline. You expect a new, working machine. That's what you paid for. On the other hand, it costs them more to refurb your current machine than to just swap the motherboard, or whatever is wrong with it. But your machine with a new motherboard will be the new, working machine you purchased. The repair and validation process will ensure that.

But, if you feel you have a lemon, you may well be better off pushing for an entirely new machine now, and it's really not out of line. Even if you have a lemon they'll make right in the end, but it might take some time and headaches.

The one thing that you certainly have a right to is the current machine in working order, or a new working machine. Being so close to purchase, you shouldn't get stuck with a refurb.

 

You make me look like the bad guy but I have the right to do this anyway, it is to be expected that you get quality with Lenovo and the price combined. When it's not you should complain.

 

No, you're not a bad guy. Because of people who abuse the system, companies have to protect themselves. Unfortunately, sometimes because of the way companies protect themselves, we have to push back a bit to make sure we get treated fairly.

 

srry if this is a bit off topic but where do the lenovo's get processed and shipped from (specifically ideapads) ? i heard somewhere it comes from shanghai but that sounds too much of a long and costly process. or is it from their office in North Carolina?

 

Mine have all come from China. Where exactly, I can't tell you. Service is done in this country, though I have heard of particularly hard cases getting sent to China. This actually happened to a friend of mine, though they still insisted on sending it to his address in the states even though he started an internship in Beijing over the course of the delays...

 

Geesh Awful service of Lenovo, They first said they would send a courier on (previous)monday. That didnt happen, after that they send a box. I did get that and a courier would return it to them within two days. Friday asked them to send a courier on monday, its not here. Called them today that the courier didnt come, the man of lenovo acted rude and acted like he didnt care. He said that he called DHL and DHL would contact me. They would get my package today or tomorrow. I'm sure they won't be here tomorrow, screw lenovo >.> I should have never bought this laptop.

 

It could be a delay tactic as you are still within the right to return period. BTW you should go for a non penalty full refund and order a new one a few weeks later.

If decide to comply with thier plan, you send it in be sure to note the serial number on the bottom. Also open the memory panel and try to get a serial number for the motherboard. This way you can track what actually happened to the parts. IMO, you should not have to go through this kind of BS.
Also, when you get a machine back, quickly look up the warranty info. If say they gave you a refurbed, they would probably miss changing it on the system right away. You can tell then what they are acutally doing.

BTW call your credit card company and tell them what happened and ask them to assist you to force a full refund. It's really the best course an best for you. Dont worry about what sales wants. Its what you paid, what you are entitled to etc. Plus by selling you a defect they also sold you down time as you dont have the computer you paid for to actuall use.

 

One other comment as I feel the need to help you. You are negotiating in good faith orally with someone who has a lower vested interest in your satisfaction. You need to start putting things in writing ie faxing what you will and will not do and what they agree to do. If you send your computer back put a letter in the box and say someting like by accepting the computer Lenovo agrees to ... and this is my understanding of what Lenovo agrees to and X of Lenovo and I discussed and agreeed to these conditions and parameters etc.

Let us know the outcome or how we can further help you.

 

The problem with tracking of the parts is that I already packed my laptop. I can't open the box anymore without damaging the box. If the box gets damaged the transport won't go flawless either. So I'm going on that but I will keep my current serial number. I should get a new serial number, shouldn't I? A new serial number means a new laptop doesn't it?
If there won't be a courier tomorrow maybe I will go for the "money-back" tactic but still, I've survived these few weeks. Why shouldn't I just keep pushing them, wouldn't asking for a refund be even worse then asking for a replacement?


Thanks for the support though

 

Sorry for not keeping you guys up to date. I finally got a new laptop, just this friday. BUT I'm not that happy as I should be. The laptop that I got was Irish and since I'm not from Ireland the keyboard layout is completely new for me. Also the adaptor has a irish powerplug and that one doesn't work in the netherlands. I did call them right away and they promised me to send a new one. Let's hope that one will arrive in time. Also one problem I'm trying to solve is this LCD screen has a stuck pixel
All in all my experience in getting a replacement was awful and it has not lead to an entire succesfull result. What should I do? Call them and ask if they can do something about the Irish(brittish?) keyboard or just leave it like this. I don't want to wait more then a month(or even more then a week) for a new laptop -.-

edit: omg I actually asked for the part AC adaptor to wallplug and they send me the adaptor itself I asked if the person behind the phone understood me which part I meant and he said yes. -.-

 

you can ask for a replacement keyboard and powerplug, tell them the wire that connects the adapter to the wall plug.

 

Apparantly they don't understand what I want >.> The person behind the phone asked for a picture....

 

then just send them a picture.

 

I did I just hope it doesn't take too long.

 

you are really green so I must chime in again. did it occur to you that you might have been shipped the Ireland speced product because that is what they had available? Was it a return, cancelled order, or refurb? Telling clues are the warranty. Check online. Is it same spec except for the AC and keyboard as the one you ordered?

 

I have no idea if it was an return/canceled order. But it wasn't a refurb, I'm sure of that. It has the same specs though. All of it that I don't like is the stuck pixel, Irish keyboard and the adaptor. I just hope that they send me a keyboard replacement and the adaptor. I can live with the pixel eventhough I do find it strange because you would notice it whenever you turn on the laptop. It was there when I got it. I'm glad that its not a dead pixel, so it could get fixed after time. I can also only see it with dark backgrounds.