Six weeks ago the USB ports on my Compaq Presario V2000 laptop ceased to function correctly — one wouldn't register anything connected to it, and connecting anything to the other caused the entire laptop to freeze up. Since my laptop was still under warranty until July 27th I contacted Compaq to see about having it repaired. They sent me a box to have it shipped back to the company and FedEx picked it up a couple of days later.
A week after I sent it out I received an email stating that my LCD was cracked and that since it wasn't covered by my warranty I would have to pay $750 to get it fixed. Since I certainly hadn't broken it and I highly doubted (at the time — I've since learned better) that Compaq might break my laptop and then try to get me to pay to fix it, I filed a claim with FedEx for the damages they must have caused. The next day I received the email again.
A few short hours later, after leaving a handful of messages, I finally received a phone call from a rep at Compaq stating that the email was a mistake and that the only thing wrong with my laptop was the USB ports. She claimed that the USB ports weren't working because of spill damage, also not covered under warranty, and that it would cost $750 to replace the motherboard. I had never had a major spill incident with this particular computer, but I decided not to press the issue and asked her to instead send the laptop back to me as-is, since I could work around the USB ports not working. (A day later, I received the email a third time. Comedy of errors, indeed.)
A week later — a few days after the warranty expired — I received the laptop back and turned it on to discover that the keyboard, touchpad, and speakers weren't working. Since the USB ports had been the only issue when I'd last spoken to Compaq, I called customer service to complain. According to the rep I reached on the phone, the spill damage must have spread (it's like the Blob or the plague that way, apparently) and proceeded to imply that it must be my fault, even though it had worked when it left my house three weeks earlier and I'd only just gotten it back.
At this point, I had to satisfy my curiosity and see this magically spreading supposed "spill damage" myself and removed the back of the laptop. Not only did I discover no visible spill damage whatsoever on the motherboard, but I also found that the keyboard, touchpad, and speakers had never been reconnected to the motherboard! Not only that, but after consulting with a family friend who repairs computers, we both figured out that a plastic wedge which held the touchpad connector in place had broken off.
Livid, I called Compaq once again. The customer service rep was insistent that they couldn't fix it because my warranty had expired some time after THEY had broken it when they were supposed to be repairing it. He said after a little badgering on my count that he would have a case manager call me on Monday. I received no call, and called back again, getting another rep who told me that he would set up yet another callback for today. Still no callback.
I am sick of this. They broke it, they did it while they were supposed to be repairing it, and they did it while it was still under warranty. The hassle and stress I've had trying to get my computer fixed is ridiculous. I'm not even demanding that they repair the USB ports as well to make up for their horrendous customer service — I simply want my laptop back in the condition I had it in before I made the mistake of sending it to them for "repairs".
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