Complaint Review: Gateway - Poway California

I turned to Gateway because of the companys good reputation. I was so excited with the purchase of my very own computer; a computer that I would purchase on my very own (through financing) without the help of my parents. I called over the telephone to order my computer. Right away I informed my salesman, Isiah, that I knew very little about computers. I told him that I didnt really need anything too fancy, just enough to suit my student needs. Needless to say, Gateways reputation was not enough. I received my computer in the mail, devastated to learn that my 500 SE Deluxe PC did not come equip with a writeable drive.

They wouldnt sell me a computer without a way to save files! WRONG. All I thought about was the fact that I could be in the middle of a huge paper, my hard drive crashes, and everything is lost. The first thing I did was call Gateway, again. The representative informed me, computers will come that way from now on.

If you want anything like that then you will have to purchase it yourself. I was repulsed. I didnt really think that there was anything that I could do. I figured that I should have shopped around better in the first place and shouldnt have gone straight to Gateway. That was consumer stupidity on my part. I emailed a message three days later to the company.

I explained how disgusted I was; that I thought Gateway was operating in monopolistic ways because I was forced to buy a Zip Drive just to protect my files. My mother bought me a Zip Drive as a Christmas present at a cost of $148.56. I was not pleased but I didnt think that there was anything that I could do.

I was told last year by Isiah, my salesman, that I was sold the machine that I was because I had bad credit. I paid $1,344 dollars for a computer that didnt even have the essential basic computer hardware. My question is that if I had bad credit why was I not sold a cheaper computer? Why was I not sold a $900 computer? I could have gone to Compaq and spent $900 and received a floppy drive, CD burner, printer, and all of the other essentials like the monitor. I did not get what I paid my money for.

Again, I dont know very much about computers so I asked someone who works, selling computers for advice. I learned that the computer I was sold is actually an Internet workstation. I didnt receive a Personal Computer; I received a computer designed for a computer lab. I think that it was very clear that I wanted a PC. I am not computer educated enough to know the difference between the types.

Basically, I feel that I have been ripped off. I hate to use such strong language but I think that it is appropriate. I am very dissatisfied and disappointed at this point. I do not have the computer that I expected to get, or the computer that I paid $1,300 for. For the amount that I paid, I did not receive the essentials that I needed.

As if that weren't enough, I was contacted by the collection agency last year. I found-out that Gateway had sold my account to some random company. In effect, I didn't receive a bill for several months but apparantly was expected to pay without knowing where to send the bill or even that the status of my account had been changed. Because I would have bad credit if I did not pay the full amount (which was still approximately 800 after paying on it for at least a year) my parents paid the computer off for me. Without them I would have terrible credit because of Gateway. Now, because of Gateway I was not able to purchase the computer on my own, something I was determined to do.

Today, I found out that I have had $28.90/month automatically withdrawn from my checking account also because of Gateway. Apparantly when I purchased my computer Gateway "generously" gave me 1 year free of AOL service. After that one year they just started charging me.

Because of the setup of my bank account I thought the charge was only $2.00. However, I did not realize that my statements place the charge on the first line and the description on the next line. Logically I thought it would be the other way around. In essence, I have been paying 28.90 for the past two years totalling approximately $720.00 that I can not get back due to federal law. I hate Gateway and would never even let my worst enemy (of which I have none) purchase their equipment.

I will never buy another Gateway product again, and I certainly wouldnt recommend the company. This may be one case in a thousand, but it did happen and it isnt right and Gateway does not care as long as they get undeserved money out of it. Maybe at least some of my money is going to the AIDS cause in Africa since Bill Gates donated a ton of money. No wonder he is the richest man in the world. His company has attained AT LEAST $2,000 from me alone.

Andrea

Marietta, Ohio
U.S.A.

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