I have faxed this several times to Todd, EVP - Personal Systems at HP headquarters with not even an acknowledgment. I am hoping you can help in what I call the Hewlett-Packard debacle. I have a 9 page set of notes plus as many attachments documenting what follows but I will summarize as best I can.
- I bought a new laptop (TX2) with a touch screen Oct for almost $1,000 from HP.com
- From the first week it started to behave “oddly” and started calling HP tech support (HPTS).
-After several calls with HPTS I called “VISA” and asked to file a dispute. I later found out I was actually talking with someone at Bank of America (BOA). The BOA rep said I could not file a dispute since I had not yet received my VISA statement.
- I continued with HPTS for more than 2 months, 12 calls and over 20 hours of my time. After a 4-hour phone call with HPTS, I told the HP tech that I obviously had gotten a lemon and wanted a new unit. I said that no customer should have to be required to use so much effort to get a new product to work and that I was exhausted. I had even purchased a “registry fixing” program which found over 6,700 errors. The HP tech would not authorize a replacement and said I was required to ship it back to the HP Service Center (HPSC) for repair and that HP would be sending me a shipping box.
- I then called VISA (BOA) and said I wanted to file a dispute and repeated all that had transpired. The BOA rep agreed that it was ridiculous but despite all my efforts I could not file a dispute since HP offered to fix the TX2 and was sending me a shipping box for returning the unit for repair. I asked how long I had to be able to file a dispute since I did not trust that HP could fix the TX2 and was told I had 60 days after I got the unit back to file.
- I got the box from HP, shipped the TX2, and in about a week I got it back.
- It kind of worked for a few days but then it started to have the same issues as before and I was back to calling HPTS on a regular basis. On Christmas Day the TX2 was unable to play videos of my grandson opening his presents so I even called HPTS on Christmas Day.
- The day after Christmas something else went “fluky” so I was on the phone with HPTS again. The HP tech said to me, “Do you know you have called 17 times about the TX2” and told me he would elevate this to a case manager to arrange for a refund or replacement.
- A case manager called me and refused to refund my money or replace the TX2 saying that the tech did not have the authority to say what he had. He told me it was HP’s policy that the HPSC got 3 chances to fix a machine.
- I told the case manager that the warranty only stated that it would be fixed within a reasonable period of time. After almost 4 months and 40 hours of my time I did not think it was reasonable nor did BOA.
- He was very rude telling me only HP could decide what was reasonable or not. He read my file and noted that that I had threatened to file a dispute with VISA and I told him that I had been calling VISA (BOA) for almost 3 months.
- At that point he told me he would not send me a shipping box to return the TX2 for service. This was not a friendly exchange.
- The next day I called HPTS and another tech looked at my file and told me it was ridiculous and said he would send me a shipping box so I could return the TX2 for the 2nd time. I did not want the TX2 but it was the only way to get the TX back to HP.
- I called BOA to file a dispute which was started (Jan) and was told that I needed to supply proof I had returned the TX2.
- On January 4th I got the box and sent back the TX2 with a 9 page letter documenting the past 4 months and told them that I did not want this unit returned to me and that I was filing a dispute with VISA. After an email confirm from HPSC I immediately forwarded the proof of return to BOA
- Within 2 days I got a call from the same rude HP case manager. He said, “I see that you changed your mind since I had sent the TX2 to the HPSC.
- I said I had not changed my mind and asked if he had read the 9 page letter that I sent with the TX2. He told me that he was in a different location and that he had not seen the letter. I immediately faxed him the 9 page letter plus a cover letter.
- After he got the fax he called me, was very rude again and told me HP would not give me a refund or a different unit. At that point I did not care since I had a formal dispute in process.
- A couple of days HPSC called to verify my address so they could return the TX2 to me. I told the HP rep that I did not want it but he told me that the TX2 would be “recycled” if I did not take it back. I asked why would a “fixed” unit be “recycle” and got no answer. I got nervous and said OK, but added that I was not going to be home for a couple of weeks so to wait until I returned.
- I called BOA to update my file and the BOA rep stated that if I took possession of the TX2 the timetable for the dispute would have to reset. The BOA rep specifically said, “If you do not want the product and want to continue the dispute process, you should not accept possession of the product. I was then asked to send BOA all supporting documentation and that HP had 30 days to reply to my dispute.
- After the call, I sent BOA more than 10 pages documenting the past 3 months and immediately called the HPSC and told them what BOA had told me. The HP rep told me, “Either you accept delivery or the unit will be sent to the “recycler”. I reminded him that I would not be home for a couple of weeks but also reiterated that I did not want the “lemon” returned to me. Another bad exchange of words ensued.
- A few days later HPSC shipped the TX2 to me. No one was home to sign for it so after 3 attempts FedEx returned it to HP. On January 28th the HPSC called to verify my address so they could re-ship the TX2 to me. I told them there was a formal dispute in process with VISA and I could not accept it.
- In March I got a form letter from BOA asking that I get an independent business to verify that the TX2 was not working. I called BOA and told them if they checked their records they could see that I returned the TX2 to HP on Jan 4th. The BOA rep said it was obvious that I could not comply with the form letter and that he would follow up with VISA.
- I think it was late April when I got a second letter from BOA which stated that since I failed to get a second opinion as requested in the March letter, VISA had found in favor of HP. I told BOA to check the file when I called in March and they would only say it was out of their hands and that this was VISA’s policy. I asked for a number for VISA and they gave me the number.
- I called VISA Worldwide Customer Service and was told that it was the bank’s policy, not theirs so now I have no idea who is telling me the truth, or who even knows the truth.
- I called the bank, they reiterated that they could do no more and I should try to work it out with the vender. Imagine, 8 months later and I am told to work it out with HP directly.
- I called HP, told them I had lost the dispute and to send me the TX2. The HP rep did not know where it was but she would find out. About 2 weeks later she called to say my TX2 had been dis-assembled since HP considered it abandoned by me because more than 90 days had passed since my last call on January 28th.
- She asked me why I had not called and I said I was disputing the charge so what was I suppose to call them for. I was further told that it was my fault because I was not home to take receipt of the TX2 when it had been shipped in January. End point, no refund and no TX2 – period.
- I called BOA, told them what HP said and they told me they were sorry. When I told BOA that I had been instructed not to take receipt of the TX2 by a BOA rep they said it was not in their records. I referred the rep to my letter of January 28th which included the name of the BOA rep’s and the instructions I was given. He found he letter only adding that my letter proved nothing.
- So I followed all the rules, all the time frames, documented the whole process to the very end. So now HP has my $1,000, they have my TX2 and I have nothing. At this point I have spent over 100 hours on this matter and there is no one, or company willing to take responsibility for anything.
- I am sorry that this summary is so long but considering that BOA has over 17 pages of documentation I did the best I could. I am exhausted. I am hoping you can help in what I call the Hewlett-Packard debacle. I have a 9 page set of notes documenting what follows but I will summarize as best I can.
- I bought a new laptop (TX2) with a touch screen Oct for almost $1,000 from HP.com
- From the first week it started to behave “oddly” and started calling HP tech support (HPTS).
-After several calls with HPTS I called “VISA” and asked to file a dispute. I later found out I was actually talking with someone at Bank of America (BOA). The BOA rep said I could not file a dispute since I had not yet received my VISA statement.
- I continued with HPTS for more than 2 months, 12 calls and over 20 hours of my time. After a 4-hour phone call with HPTS, I told the HP tech that I obviously had gotten a lemon and wanted a new unit. I said that no customer should have to be required to use so much effort to get a new product to work and that I was exhausted. I had even purchased a “registry fixing” program which found over 6,700 errors. The HP tech would not authorize a replacement and said I was required to ship it back to the HP Service Center (HPSC) for repair and that HP would be sending me a shipping box.
- I then called VISA (BOA) and said I wanted to file a dispute and repeated all that had transpired. The BOA rep agreed that it was ridiculous but despite all my efforts I could not file a dispute since HP offered to fix the TX2 and was sending me a shipping box for returning the unit for repair. I asked how long I had to be able to file a dispute since I did not trust that HP could fix the TX2 and was told I had 60 days after I got the unit back to file.
- I got the box from HP, shipped the TX2, and in about a week I got it back.
- It kind of worked for a few days but then it started to have the same issues as before and I was back to calling HPTS on a regular basis. On Christmas Day the TX2 was unable to play videos of my grandson opening his presents so I even called HPTS on Christmas Day.
- The day after Christmas something else went “fluky” so I was on the phone with HPTS again. The HP tech said to me, “Do you know you have called 17 times about the TX2” and told me he would elevate this to a case manager to arrange for a refund or replacement.
- A case manager called me and refused to refund my money or replace the TX2 saying that the tech did not have the authority to say what he had. He told me it was HP’s policy that the HPSC got 3 chances to fix a machine.
- I told the case manager that the warranty only stated that it would be fixed within a reasonable period of time. After almost 4 months and 40 hours of my time I did not think it was reasonable nor did BOA.
- He was very rude telling me only HP could decide what was reasonable or not. He read my file and noted that that I had threatened to file a dispute with VISA and I told him that I had been calling VISA (BOA) for almost 3 months.
- At that point he told me he would not send me a shipping box to return the TX2 for service. This was not a friendly exchange.
- The next day I called HPTS and another tech looked at my file and told me it was ridiculous and said he would send me a shipping box so I could return the TX2 for the 2nd time. I did not want the TX2 but it was the only way to get the TX back to HP.
- I called BOA to file a dispute which was started (Jan) and was told that I needed to supply proof I had returned the TX2.
- On January 4th I got the box and sent back the TX2 with a 9 page letter documenting the past 4 months and told them that I did not want this unit returned to me and that I was filing a dispute with VISA. After an email confirm from HPSC I immediately forwarded the proof of return to BOA
- Within 2 days I got a call from the same rude HP case manager. He said, “I see that you changed your mind since I had sent the TX2 to the HPSC.
- I said I had not changed my mind and asked if he had read the 9 page letter that I sent with the TX2. He told me that he was in a different location and that he had not seen the letter. I immediately faxed him the 9 page letter plus a cover letter.
- After he got the fax he called me, was very rude again and told me HP would not give me a refund or a different unit. At that point I did not care since I had a formal dispute in process.
- A couple of days HPSC called to verify my address so they could return the TX2 to me. I told the HP rep that I did not want it but he told me that the TX2 would be “recycled” if I did not take it back. I asked why would a “fixed” unit be “recycle” and got no answer. I got nervous and said OK, but added that I was not going to be home for a couple of weeks so to wait until I returned.
- I called BOA to update my file and the BOA rep stated that if I took possession of the TX2 the timetable for the dispute would have to reset. The BOA rep specifically said, “If you do not want the product and want to continue the dispute process, you should not accept possession of the product. I was then asked to send BOA all supporting documentation and that HP had 30 days to reply to my dispute.
- After the call, I sent BOA more than 10 pages documenting the past 3 months and immediately called the HPSC and told them what BOA had told me. The HP rep told me, “Either you accept delivery or the unit will be sent to the “recycler”. I reminded him that I would not be home for a couple of weeks but also reiterated that I did not want the “lemon” returned to me. Another bad exchange of words ensued.
- A few days later HPSC shipped the TX2 to me. No one was home to sign for it so after 3 attempts FedEx returned it to HP. On January 28th the HPSC called to verify my address so they could re-ship the TX2 to me. I told them there was a formal dispute in process with VISA and I could not accept it.
- In March I got a form letter from BOA asking that I get an independent business to verify that the TX2 was not working. I called BOA and told them if they checked their records they could see that I returned the TX2 to HP on Jan 4th. The BOA rep said it was obvious that I could not comply with the form letter and that he would follow up with VISA.
- I think it was late April when I got a second letter from BOA which stated that since I failed to get a second opinion as requested in the March letter, VISA had found in favor of HP. I told BOA to check the file when I called in March and they would only say it was out of their hands and that this was VISA’s policy. I asked for a number for VISA and they gave me the number.
- I called VISA Worldwide Customer Service and was told that it was the bank’s policy, not theirs so now I have no idea who is telling me the truth, or who even knows the truth.
- I called the bank, they reiterated that they could do no more and I should try to work it out with the vender. Imagine, 8 months later and I am told to work it out with HP directly.
- I called HP, told them I had lost the dispute and to send me the TX2. The HP rep did not know where it was but she would find out. About 2 weeks later she called to say my TX2 had been dis-assembled since HP considered it abandoned by me because more than 90 days had passed since my last call on January 28th.
- She asked me why I had not called and I said I was disputing the charge so what was I suppose to call them for. I was further told that it was my fault because I was not home to take receipt of the TX2 when it had been shipped in January. End point, no refund and no TX2 – period.
- I called BOA, told them what HP said and they told me they were sorry. When I told BOA that I had been instructed not to take receipt of the TX2 by a BOA rep they said it was not in their records. I referred the rep to my letter of January 28th which included the name of the BOA rep’s and the instructions I was given. He found he letter only adding that my letter proved nothing.
- So I followed all the rules, all the time frames, documented the whole process to the very end. So now HP has my $1,000, they have my TX2 and I have nothing. At this point I have spent over 100 hours on this matter and there is no one, or company willing to take responsibility for anything.
- I am sorry that this summary is so long but considering that I have 17 pages of documentation I did the best I could. I am exhausted. After this mess I just want my money back and never have to deal with HP again.
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