BEWARE of PC Microworks .... Do NOT send in your systems for repair

I think that is certainly the Mediawave Sager was talking about. I called Sager and they gave me the contact number of this Mediawave they were talking about and it matches the contact number that I saw in the link posted above.

 

I tried googling the address of PCMW and a contact number appeared which is this: +15106231776.

Would somebody confirm if it is really an alternative phone number for PCMW? I don't have access to long distance calls since I'm from the Philippines. Thank you.

 

The phone number is the correct areacode for the east bay, however the number listed does nothing but ring.

 

Ohh Ok thanks.

 

I did a reverse phone number on whitepages.com. It lists 2 results for that number
1. Matthew Obyrne
2. PC Mircroworks Corporation

So it would appear that it is a valid phone number for pcmw.
Heres the link to the results i found. http://www.whitepages.com/search/ReversePhone?full_phone=5106231776&localtime=survey

 

Will the phone number check for Matt O' Byrne work if you pay the price right?

 

I have no clue.

 

Yeah, if that works i am so putting a nice desktop quad in my soon to arrive np5797 (out for delivery yay )This is going so far south i'm amazed it isn't at the south pole already.....><

 

You mean you ordered from PCMW also?

 

Thankfully, no. I ordered mine from RJtech because I wanted a barebones. Also all the bs with pcmw had already started so I was able to quite quickly rule them out as the supplier for my next rig. But I do want to try to help you guys get your rigs back! Besides right now there isn't much that i can do besides dig for info and wait for the ups guy to show up.

 

Thanks for the concern. What would you specifically do when the UPS guy shows up?

 

I just need to be here to sign for my package when it arrives. Then I get to build my shiny new laptop.

 

Good for you bro.

 

I have been following this thread because I have also sent a computer back to PCMicroworks on Feb. 19th for repair.

I decided to contact mediawavepc to see if they repaired PCMicroworks pc's. Here is a partial copy of my correspondence.

Subject: RE: PCMicroWorks


Garry,
We only sold barebone units without any components. We didn't configure anything.

We have 3 RMA units here for PCMICROWORKS.
They are ready to pick up. We already emailed Matt to pick up.
Hopefully you can get the unit back soon.

Subject: PCMicroWorks
Hi
I purchased a notebook computer from PCMicroWorks and had to send it back for repair. It now appears PCMicroWorks is in financial difficulty which is a cause for concern for myself and others as we could lose our computers. On one of the forums it was mentioned that PCMicroWorks may be one of your resellers; if this is true could you possibly have my computer in your repair shop?
Regards,

Garry

I have since sent Mediawavepc my RMA and my Blackhawk serial number and he confirmed they had a computer with my serial number on it. He suggested I e-mail Matt to pick it up so he can send it back to me which I will do. Hopefully this information will be useful.

 

That's a great news. Thanks for the head up garway.

 

I would ask Microwave if they will ship it directly to you instead of trying to go through PCMW.

 

Might be worth it to try posting something to http://consumerist.com/ get some "press" on this problem.

 

I have been following this thread and I sorry to all those who have been taken advantage of. I agree with Donald in pushing Microwave to ship direct. If funds permit, legal action may be useful to at least put a hold on the situation before MW ships it back to PCM according to their schedule. I hope a beneficial resolution is reached.

 

Could someone kindly tell me how to check the OEM of my nb?

 

We would need more clues about your nb to try to help identify the OEM.

 

Have you guys noticed something? PCMW is DOWN THE STREET from Mediawave...

Paladin, where are these clues located? (will i have to unscrew the back cover?)

 

Clues like, where and when did you buy it and what is the ODM model number.

It is a hard thing to trace back the original importer, and whoever actually built it up from the shell is the OEM not the original importer. However what I think you are looking for is who might help with warranty repairs if it is in the original one year warranty...correct?

 

If folks whose systems are in the hands of Mediawave could get them shipped directly back to them from Mediawave that would be a plus; however, keep in mind that there might be some stumbling blocks that should be planned for ahead of time.

First off, you'll have to be able to prove that your system really is your system - having a sales/shipping invoice from PCMW showing the serial number of the system and showing that it was shipped to you would be your best bet. Basically, without proof of that sort, Mediawave would have no way of knowing whether or not you were telling the truth about the system being yours, and they would be foolhardy to send a system they got from PCMW to someone who's claiming to be the owner without hard proof such as I described, because if they got it wrong, they could owe damages to both PCMW and the real owner.

Second, you may have to agree to indemnify Mediawave against any claims PCMW might have against them, e.g., if you owed them money for other work they'd already done.

If you take care of those things, though, you might be able to persuade Mediawave to send your system to you directly rather than through PCMW.

 

Bought it (m570ru) from PCMW Last January, bought 3 yr warranty, and want to know if anything happens where to turn to.

 

Most likely, the standard 1-year warranty (which you might have been able to get support for from Mediawave) ran out in January of this year, and the only recourse you would have for the remaining two years of your warranty is the corporate entity PC Microworks, Inc. If that entity fails or otherwise becomes insolvent, you will have precious little recourse, I am afraid.

 

If PCMW does in fact go down, you might be able to buy warranty from another reselller, although im not completely certain. Good luck.

Duane

 

Actually before reading the thread about emailing Mediawave, I already emailed them and they gave me the same response where they told me that they had 3 RMA units ready for pick up by Matt. I gave my serial number and they said that my unit is not there. I am not surprised because my unit was received just recently April 9 by PCMW. So they still have my unit on their hands.

 

I wonder what's happened to BMonk, he has a good shot on resolving this whole issue because of his lawyer dad.

 

No one's still answering the phone!

 

I called media wave twice now. Last night the guy that answered the phone told me, they do have a couple PC MicroWorks notebooks, fixed and ready to pick up. Here is the thing though. As far as he knows, the only ones they have are still under the one year warranty, so mine is most likely not there. He said they have been fixed but Matt still has not picked them up. I explained my/our situation and he told me to call back, cause his service guy was out, and he was the one that could tell me if my serial number matched any they had. So today I called and the service guy would not tell me whether he had mine or not, because he needed to check and make sure I was being honest.... Kinda lame but whatever. I just wanted a yes or a no, but my guess is no. I am hoping to hear back from the Alameda County Sheriffs office today. No word on my XR5, or anything from Matt.

 

Here's a little bit of info that everyone might find helpful.

-PCMW does have 1 office out of the several that are located at 41829 Albrae St.
-The company has never had more than a few employees. It now has only 1; the CEO.
-There is usually no one for PCMW in the building.
-Packages are generally received by other companies in the building and distributed when present.
-PCMW buys mostly from Eurocom. Their original supplier was Mediawave. They often buy from Mediawave in smaller quantities and use them to do most of the more technical repairs.
-CEO is Matthew Thomas O'Byrne. Some may know the "sales rep" Thomas Matthews...

I would not hassle anybody coming from the building though. It's a 99% chance that it's not a PCMW employee and you'll end up pissing off one of the other companies there. Just some friendly advice. Good luck everyone.

 

Thanks for the info. I am very curious about how you came to find this/these threads and how are you involved in the situation? I really could use any reassurance you may have to offer.

 

i think everyone would love to know..

 

Really I can't offer any reassurance, just that information. I came about this thread and another one through a google search of PCMW. The only other thing I don't mind revealing is that I've met the PCMW employees before.

 

ok well thanks for for taking interest

 

Well jsmith555 I don't blame you for not wanting to reveal how well you know the people in question or your identity. After all it could lead to people taking things out on you, and that's not right.

 

I hope people don't want to take it out on me. I'm not that involved with PCMW. It's more of a geographical thing. But I know about the whole call system thing, and yea you're not going to be getting much help in that area.

Last time I checked, the building is now chalk full of tenants though, not just PCMW. So if you guys are going to start stopping by their address, please remember that there are others there that are not affiliated with PCMW and shouldn't be on the receiving end of any anger and frustration.

 

So what do you recommend we do so as to get in contact with the CEO of PCMW? Since calling him and paying a visit might not work?

 

Just a heads up, I've been able to call them yesterday and told them about all the fuzz going around here. They told me it's the second time that they were having the email and telephone problems and they told me that they may have not received any email for the past few weeks because of this.

They also know about their site being an attack site and that is their top priority rght now. They are sure that the will be back to normal soon and they are very sorry for this.

I asked them if they have any financial problems and they replied certainly not. They told me that they will be having my laptop shipped mid next-week and asked me to call back Wednesday next week to check the status of the repair.

I talked to them for 20-25 minute making sure I use that opportunity for that matter.

 

Thats good news. Hopefully it isn't just smoke and mirrors.

 

Ok... I have been out of the country for a while (playing soldier in Iraq) and I just got onto this website for the first time in months.

HOLY CRAP!!

I bought the XR5 in Nov07 and received it in Feb08. Luckily I was home from Iraq on leave and was able to take it back with me.

HOLY CRAP!!

I have not had a problem at all with the system so far and actually tried to go the PCMW site first to see about upgrades for my computer.

HOLY CRAP!!

Since Firefox immediately warned me about a possible Malware threat on the PCMW site, I figured I could get some good info from NBR.

HOLY CRAP!!

I have to say that I did get some GREAT info from NBR. Unfortunately, not the info I wanted, but it was GREAT nonetheless.

HOLY CRAP!!

 

I just want to say the last couple months have been full of responses like that. Also keep in mind some of the info we know as fact. This guy left Texas, still owing $76,000. I've been fed so much BS from this guy, forgive me if I doubt he'd answer honestly to any accusations we might have, like financial trouble. He has responded to many, if not all of my emails, so that line about the systems being down is most likely a lie. Don't forget this guy doesn't want it to look like its just one . To seem legit they use a lot of glitter and lights, and shiny objects that say, "look at how professional I, errr, I mean, WE are."

My guess is that he infected his own site to cause confusion and distract, or make it look like they are just too busy, thus justifying all the delays. Also think about this. If the site were working, they might still be getting orders. So if you wanted to close down shop, and stop taking orders, but not scare people like us, who feel like hes screwing us, make it look like the site is just broken. Thats actually pretty slick now that I think about it. Its like closing the doors without us realizing it.... awesome

 

Yeah its hard to believe the phone and email systems both going down the same time, and no one in the companies office.

Its like they didnt even exist.

 

But BMonk did you ever receive your laptop yet?

 

At the risk of being accused of double-posting, since the other thread got shut down on account of being duplicative (which it was, even I got tired of trying to cross-reference two rapidly-growing threads ), I'm going to repost a particular mugshot I found last night:

 

He smiled for a mug shot... nice. I have been following the thread and I hope that all these problem are resolved and the company or entity(ies) go out of business and are not allowed to do business again. I'm sure you guys will keep us posted.

 

He's only 24?! I always thought that he looked something like this:

 

that's weird i thought he might look more like:


or this guy:

 

Your avatars are hilarious and amazing. =)

 

That avatar is AWESOME!