Compaq - HP - Hewlett Packard, Compaq Refusal to repair known manufacturer defect in product even though it is on their own support site Palo Alto, California
I have a HP Compaq Presario, I believe I purchased in 2007.
Earlier this year, when I was travelling for business, it developed a problem. The problem is that the Wireless stopped working and doesn't properly enumerate any longer in the Device Manager. I did not have the time with work to address this earlier, since the wired network still worked, I thought it would be sufficient until I had time to address this issue.
I found that there is a known problem with my device:
SN: CNF71124Y8
PN: RZ329UA
From HP's site on this model:
"The following symptoms apply to Compaq Presario F500 notebooks:
The notebook does not detect wireless networks and the wireless adapter is not detected in the Device Manager"
So I called on 11/27/2009 and spoke to a very friendly service representative, who conferred with his management team multiple times. The end result and I am still "reeling".
They will not repair it for free, as I have passed the warranty period. They believe it to be the motherboard. Which they could repair for what they said was a reduced rate of only $250.00 US.
I asked if I could extend the warranty. He informed me that if my machine were in proper working order they would extend my warranty for only $179.00 US, but since it has a fault, "The manufacture defect!!!!", then I am not eligible to extend the warranty.
That is amazing. If it were customer damage that would preclude me from the warranty that would be understandable, but a manufacture defect is excluding me?
So they have poor manufacturing and I don't find out until my normal warranty expires and now I am not covered, nor can I extend my warranty to get coverage.
I think this whole 24 month limit of a manufacturer defect is a smoke screen.
This should be a recall, not a call me when it is broken and then HP hopes that most don't break until the warranty expires.
It is one thing to build in obsolescence, it is quite a another to have defective merchandise and then be told, if you had called us 8 months earlier we would have fixed it for free.
Yes they now the defect is theirs, but they will only take responsibility if you contact them within their timeframe.
So much for customer service, or standing behind your product. This will be the last HP I ever own, or ever promote in any of the companies that I architect virtual solutions for, as I would not have them have to deal with shoddy workmanship and a company that does not stand behind their product with support.
Link to their KNOWN ISSUE:
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Diana
Hoisington,Kansas,
United States of America
Compaq - HP
#2Consumer Comment
Mon, November 30, 2009
I purchased a HP Compaq Presario F572US Notebook PC and it had the same problems. At first I had problems with the wireless internet connection. Then all of a sudden the screen went black. This happened just around the one year mark of having it.
I sent it in to have it fixed through the company that I bought it from which is Radio Shack. It cost me $100 dollars to have a new motherboard put in. At least, as far as I know it was a new one, but much to my surprise they replaced it with one that had the same defect as the one they took out. Just after the warranty of having it fixed was up it happened again.
I had it checked out by a computer tech and he informed me that HP was doing a recall on certain models, which includes this particular model. I contacted HP but they informed me it was two months after the two year warranty was up and they refuse to repair it.
Since HP refuses to repair a product that they knew was defective and have done a recall on models with that defective product that I will no longer purchase HP products or do business with a company that supports HP computers as long as I can help it. If more people would take a stand against companies that do this, this would happen a lot less often.