My husband and I purchased an HP pavilion desktop computer a850e (product number PU004AV, serial # MXP4530014) back in December with the standard 1 year warranty. Starting in the early spring of it began to experience periodic and intermittent freeze-ups where the screen would go dark and a buzzing sound would come from the speakers. Sound was frequently erratic and faulty as well. It was also clear that the computer was running very hot, becasue the back of the computer where you plug things in would become hot to the touch after being used for any length of time.
After several calls and e-mails to customer service where I described this situation over and over again and after the reinstallation of various drivers and a destructive system recovery, we arranged to send it in for bench repair in July (e-mail log KMM8116797V46954L0KM). The product was not repaired. We sent it in again in August (e mail log FY330801) and again in October (e-mail log KD070001), but the product was not repaired either time. I e-mailed HP to this effect and received and e-mail saying that they would get back to me when they had a solution to the problem (e-mail log KMM9313386V89307L0KM).
In Early November we had a phone conversation with a customer service representative who told us that we would receive a replacement computer that was equivalent to our own computer. We were assigned a case ID number of 6300335548 at this time and assigned a quality case manager (Chris at 877-917-4380 site 79) at this time. We spoke to Chris and he informed us that he had ordered the new computer and that it would take 2-3 weeks for it to be built and shipped to us.
In early December, we called to find out when we could expect the delivery of our new computer. After some back and forth phone calls with our case manager Chris, we were informed that for some reason there was no record of the replacement order for our computer ever being placed or processed. Our case manager was very apologetic and he placed the order again.
In late December and early January, we called our case manager again, and he gave us a model number for our replacement computer (PX191AV), serial number (MXG55201Y5) and a Fed-ex tracking number for our computer. While I was on the phone with Chris, I entered the Fed-ex number into the website for Fed-ex tracking and was informed that it was not a valid Fed-Ex tracking number. Chris told me that he would get right on getting a new number assigned and that the computer was ready to ship right away.
A few days later, a computer arrived at our home. Thinking that this was our replacement, I attempted to set it up. Strangely enough, the sound did not work. After several hours on the phone with the customer support folks in India (the computer arrived after 6:00 PM EST, which is when Chris goes home for the day), I discovered that this replacement computer had only half the RAM that our replacement was supposed to have (which was supposed to have 1 Gig of RAM like our original faulty computer computer) and had a slowe processor, inferior video card and was clearly not up to the specs of our ordered replacement computer OR the original faulty computer, as well as not working properly.in addition, the product number (PY196av#ABA) and the serial number (MXG54805q8) did not match that given to us by Chris for the replacement that was supposedly being shipped.
After several more days and several more calls we were told by Chris that the computer we received had been sent to a service center for repairs (in Idaho?) by another customer and had been sent to us in error, while our own computer had almost been shipped to the repair center. We had gotten a different customer's broken computer instead of our own! Chris said that our replacement computer was back in in the facility now and would be shipped to us promptly. We had received an air bill to ship our own faulty computer around the time the other customer's computer arrived. The letter accompanying the air bill stated that we did not have to return our faulty computer until after we received the replacement and Chris confirmed this. Chris also said that he was arranging for an air bill and paperwork to be sent to us so that we could route the erroneously-sent computer back to the proper HP repair facilty.
Over the next few days, nothing arrived. My Father passed away unexpectedly January 21, so coomputer issues were on the back burner at this time. However, they forced their way back into my awareness abruptly when I received 2 final demand letters from HP, dated 1/24/06 and 2/6/06. These essentially stated that since our replacement had been sent to us, we had to send our original computer back.
I left several messages at the phone number given in these letters explaining that I had NOT yet received the replacement computer and in fact had received another customer's computer. I received no return calls. Our case manager Chris said that he would straighten this out, because apparently someone in shipping thought we had received our replacement computer and now our replacement couldn't be shipped until it was straightened out.
Around this time I received an nearly incomprehensible message from someone called "Ricardo". All I could make out through his very thick accent was the words "computer" and "HP". I naively though that maybe this was at last a message telling me that our computer was being shipped. However, about a week later, he called again and it turned out that he was asking how our computer was doing. I told him that the computer that we bought from HP in December was still not working properly and that we still hadn't goten our replacement as promised and that we still had another customer's computer waiting for the paperwork to ship back to them. He seemed very confused and hung up.
I wrote a letter on February 8 to HP corporate offices telling the story and describing my dissatisfction with the situation. My husband received a call a few days later from a Vice president at HP. This VP gave us a number (800-756-0688, extension 7) and told us to call anytime if the problem wasn't resolved promptly. I have called this vP three times over the past month. The first time, I got through to him and he promptly transferred me to Chris the case manager. The second and third times he was with another customer when I called, so I was forced to leave detailed messages with receptionists. I have received no call backs from this VP, although the receptionists told me that he would call back. One of the receptionists pulled up our case file and said that according to HPs records, our replacement computer was shipped to us the first week of January. She seemed surprised when I told her that we received another customer's computer at that time, and the VP did not call back after that call.
To date, we still have not received our replacement computer. Nor has an air bill arrived so that we can ship the other customer's broken computer back to HP. Every time we talk to our case manager Chris, he tells us he's on it and just needs a little more time. He has gotten worse about returning our calls and the case manager center has had their phones on voice mail during their normal business hours more and more often as of late. Chris is supposed to be on duty until 6 PM EST M-F and the case manager office is supposed to be answering the phones until 9 PM EST. I typically call between 1-2:30 PST When I leave messages, the calls are not returned.
Every time we do manage get in touch with Chris, he says things are about to be resolved, but they have not been. My husband called him yesterday at 2:00 PM PST and told him that it was time to puruse otehr options for getting our computer. Chris sounded genuinely frightened and swore that he just needed another 24 hours. He swears that our replacement computer exists and that it is in the offices ready to ship but that there is a problem generating a Fed-Ex tracking number for it (the old bogus number that was generated back in December is still in the records for it) and that is holding things up. He will not give us the names of the people in the shipping facility so that we can verify this situation. It is now 2:15 PST and Chris has not called back.
At this point, I do not know what we are supposed to do in order to receive our replacement computer. I suspect that it was either never actually ordered by Chris or that the order was lost or mislaid again and that it ws never built. It is also very possible that it was shipped to the wrong place somehow in early January and Chris can not track it down and someone is covering his or her own rear end by stalling and stonewalling. Maybe the customer whose computer I received in error received ours instead. I just do not know and it seems like no one at HP cares enough to help me find out.
Erica
Sacramento, California
U.S.A.
0 comments