Wrong Hard Drive included in new T410

TL;DR -
Ordered a T410 with the Intel SSD on Black Friday. UPS lost it. Called Lenovo Customer Support and they sent a replacement. Replacement order confirmation shows a 500GB HD instead. Customer Support won't let me cancel my order and assures me it's the HD I ordered originally and the description is off (even though they have different part numbers). I received the laptop laptop last week with the 500GB HD and not the SSD I ordered.

It's been nearly 7 weeks since I ordered the computer, I've placed 8 calls to Customer Support and I've been on the phone nearly 7 hours with them. They keep telling me it's what I ordered. When I got to my original order it just says Part No. 45M4832 SBB HARD DRIVE:HD. Anyone have any advice?

Full story -
I ordered a Lenovo T410 on November 26th during their Black Friday sale. The primary reasons I chose the T410 was because of the great experience my son had with his T400 and because Lenovo is one of the few manufactures to offer the option of a solid state hard drive. During customization, I chose the Intel 160GB SSD with an upgrade price of $350. I had read good reviews about this SSD and the price seemed comparable to that on Newegg.com. I placed my order and the laptop was later shipped via UPS on December 6.

On December 17, I grew concerned about my laptop. The tracking on UPS reported that the packaged had arrived in Louisville, KY on December 9, but its status had not been updated in over a week. I called Lenovo and they said that it was in customs and that there was nothing they could do. I then called UPS to check the status. They told me it passed through customs on December 9, shortly after it was received there, and it had a scheduled delivery of December 13. Since it was the 17th and I had not received it yet, I was told by UPS that I needed to contact Lenovo and have them initiate an investigation with UPS to track down the package. I immediately called Lenovo, told them the situation, had my call dropped, and finally was told it would take 5 business days to track down the package.

Later that evening, I receive an email saying the package was in fact lost and that a replacement would be built and sent to me. Over the next 5 days, I wait for an email letting me know if the replacement had shipped. I grew curious, so I gave Lenovo a call. After an hour on the phone, they finally tell me my order was placed and I should receive an email within the next 11 business days to let me know the laptop was shipped.

The next day, I received an email with the order confirmation for the replacement laptop. I go through the order to verify that the replacement was the same as my original order. I immediately see the phrase “500GB HD” next to the hard drive description. I say, “This is not what I ordered.” I check my original order and all it says is “Hard Drive: HD.” I then compare part numbers; the order with the SSD HD has the part no. 45M4832 and the order with the 500GB description has the part no. 45M4828. So I get on the phone with Lenovo again, and after two hours, two dropped calls, the customer service assures me that the replacement laptop includes the HD I originally ordered. I tell them, “but they have different part numbers and different descriptions. “ The customer service representative tells me that when parts become unavailable or are updated, the part numbers will change. At this point, I’m uncomfortable with the situation and I tell them that I want to cancel my order. I am transferred to the financial office. The financial representative is now doing everything she possibly can to prevent me from canceling my order. Everyone keeps assuring me that I will receive what I ordered. Eventually, my call gets dropped, so I decide to call technical support. I reach IBM in Atlanta, and he tells me that the part numbers on my order status are not the same as his part numbers, so he can’t verify it. But when/if I get the laptop and it doesn’t have the correct HD, then I can call them back and they will overnight the correct HD to me. This makes me more comfortable and I decide to wait until the laptop arrives.

On December 31, I finally received the laptop. I turn it on and hear the hard drive start spinning immediately confirming that it was not the SSD I ordered. I check “My Computer” and find that the HD is around 460GB. I go back to the phone and call Lenovo. I called technical support in Atlanta again since they seemed to understand my situation and would be able to help me. I am eventually told that since the 500GB HD, not the SSD, was on the order of the replacement laptop and I received a 500GB hard drive, there was nothing he could do and I would need to call customer support.

I call Lenovo’s customer support, and as predicted, they tell me that I got what was on the order, a 500GB HD. I tell him that I want to return the laptop because it isn’t what I ordered/paid for. I am informed that I would be charged a 20% restocking fee because I opened the box. How was I supposed to verify the HD without opening the box? The only paperwork on the outside of the box was in reference to either UPS or the warranty. After an hour on the phone, I go up two levels of supervisors and I am told that he will need to “discuss it with his team” and that he will get back with me after New Years.
I never heard back from him after New Years, so I gave customer support a call on January 7th. I am told to send an email to the supervisor I talked to on December 31st.

Finally, I got a call on January 13th from the supervisor and he told me that since my original order confirmation only had the ambiguous description “Hard Drive: HD”, then I got the hard drive that I ordered. I mentioned that the part numbers are not the same and he told me he would get back with me and hung up.

I’m at a point where I don’t know what to do next. I don’t get anywhere with the customer support. I have a feeling that the representatives in customer support know that they made a mistake, they just won’t admit it. When I call and question them about the issue, they always come up with some excuse and try to get me off the phone as quickly as possible. What’s unfortunate is every person I talk to at IBMs technical support in Atlanta understands my situation, but there is nothing they are able to do for me.

 

You deserve a metal for sounding so calm about this. I doubt there is much that we can do here, as only a few actually work for Lenovo.

When most people come here about these type of problems, most are directed to the Lenovo forums as people there can truly help you out.

Lenovo Community - Lenovo Community

But some people here may know what to do and try to help you out.

 

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

 

What's worse, it's not like any other customer supports are any better. Everything is outsourced and the mental capability of these people is on the level of a child who somehow managed to drop out of kindergarden.

If all comes to worse, I'd call the credit card company and report the fraud case. There should exist some kind of consumer-protection law in these kind of cases (which realy, aren't that rare) to make the incompetent company pay for these mistakes and waste of time and money for a buyer.

 

Definitely go post on the community. The mod there works for Lenovo and pretty much addresses every consumer complaint, I think his name is Mark_Lenovo.

 

jbrown237 - welcome to the forum!

apologies for the mixup and thanks for posting your issue on the lenovo forum.   someone will look into your case and be in touch.

on a personal note, thanks for the "TL;DR" version as well.   that's honestly a tremendous help when seeing walls of text all day long.

i sent you a PM on the lenovo forum with instructions on what to do.

 

If you purchased with a credit card, and have the original order showing an SSD, and showing the $350 upgrade, I'd not hesitate, and call your C/C company. They only give you so many days to file a claim.

When Lenovo gets a chargeback request, you can rest assured they'll get off their laurels.

 

That's not really necessary now that Vanessa is on it. It would just muddy the waters.

Re: Wrong Hard Drive included in new T410 - Page 26 - Lenovo Community

 

Do remember I sent that before Vanessa jumped in

You also have to remember, most C/C companies have I think a 60-day deadline, and since his order was 11/26, OP has 12 days left to file.

Just a thought. Once that deadline expires, OP has no recourse outside of Lenovo, excepting legal, which might not be even worth the $$.

Just sayin'...

 

I don't think that is necessary.

 

I would like to think so. Would save OP and Lenovo grief.

And just to be clear, my advice is generic. I have zero experience with lenovo, so I cannot myself say it is/is not necessary.

At this point in time, I can neither berate them, nor commend them.
I'm not one that passes judgment based on experience of others, without experiencing myself.
That would be a total disservice to both parties involved.

Again, just sayin'...

 

Good news! It seems like everything is going to work out. I got a call from Lenovo today and they should be crediting my credit card for the amount I paid to upgrade to the Intel SSD within the next 8 business days.

Thanks everyone who offered help and suggestions.

 

What about the SSD you wanted in the first place?

Best customer-centric resolution: A technician will soon drop by your place with an SSD, preloaded with Windows 7 and all the necessary drivers for the T410, and swap out the wrongly installed HDD.

But only the best company does that, of course.