Complaint Review: Hewlett Packard - Nationwide

I had a HP computer and purchased an HP accidental damage plan waranty. This plan covers accidental liquid spills.

It has no exlcusions based on the type of liquid spill. NONE. No exclusions for the liquid being a biohazard.

I was at a coffee shop, and a friend bumped the table and knocked over water, coffe and tea. It spilled all over my computer. There were many witnesses.

3 keys on the computer stopped working after this liquid spill. I contacted HP and they offered to send on site repair staff, but I couldn't take 6 hours off of work to wait for them to come. HP preffered for me to send in the computer anyhow. They confrimed the liquid spill of coffee. tea, and/or water is a covered event.

They sent me a box and I mailed the computer back in to them. I took photos of the computer condition before shipping. It was dry on the outside and we had shaken out as much of the liquid as we could. I sent the computer in. When it got there, I immeidately got an email about a cracked LCD. It did not have a cracked LCD when I shipped it and it was well packed.

I called them and they said someone would get back to me.

I then got a text about an hour later stating my computer was being shipped back to me. I figured it had been repaired. They gave no info about the computer itself.

I got the box on April 27th. There were no biohazardous or dangerous material labels on the outside of the box. I opened it and pulled out my computer. The inside of the box was wet. the computer was dripping with a whiteish brown liquid that smelled of coffee.

I immeidately took pictures and emailed them to HP to tell them they shipped me back my broken computer, they need to fix it. I figured the liquid on it was some of the spilled liquid that had shaken out of the computer on shipment. The liquid had been all over my hands. It seemed like an awful lot of liquid. I had the photos to show I shipped them a computer that was dry on the outside.

I called HP and they informed me they had assessed the computer and had determined there was a "dangerous biohazard" liquid on it and they could not repair it because the liquid posed a "safety and health risk" to their staff.

I looked in the box and saw a soaked white piece of paper with "biohazard" checked off as a reason why they would not fix it. This alleged "biohazard" was all over the notice itself, and was all over my hands.

I had to go get medical care to help determine if my health was relaly in danger or not.

I called HP and they did research and determined their service center thought the white/brown liquid was "urine." HP further accused the coffee shop of selling us drinks with urine in it. I went to the health dept and had a friend who is a biochemist assess the situation. All agreeed it was coffee, not urine, and HP was making serious and very wong accusations they had no basis to make. All agreeed HP was trying to pull whatever they could to get out of a covered repair. I called HP again and they looked at their own photos and they agreeed there was an error made by the service center and they agreeed to re-assess the computer.

They sent me a box to mail the computer back to them. That box arrived May 2nd and I sent in the computer documenting the condition of the computer throughly and sealing it up at the FedEx office. I did not put biohazard labels on it becaus emany witnesses and professionals had determined it was not a biohazard and never had been.

HP signed for the computer on May 3rd. On May 4th, HP agreed to refund the full amount of the computer, and said they would send me a box to send the computer back to them in. I pointe dout that they already had the computer. They signed for it on May 3rd. HP wrote me on May 5th to tell me they had searche their records and they again claimed there been a biohazard and the computer was shipped back to me on April 27th. They told me the case was closed and indicated nothing about sending my computer back to me - or anything about the second shippment THEY had set up and paid for, again with no biohazard labels.

I called and emailed HP. I taped the called and HP once again agreed they had once again made another error. They agreed they had the computer in their possesion.

They then told me many things verbally over the next 48 hours. They never clearly offered to issue a full refund. They never offered any specific replacement after sending me the email stating they were closing the case. They never provided any info othe rthan "we are working on it." I proposed a resolution for my damages and suffering form the situation.

They again claimed the computer had a biohazard on it and they shipped me a biohazardous material.

I found the law that states biohazard like urine can not be put in the mail without labels on the box and inside, and that shipping biohazards without this label is a federal felony and punnishable by up to 20 years in prision. I decided to hold off an citing the terrorism codes around the mailing of biohazards without proper labels... But yeah, I even found those laws. It took about 2 minutes to find them.

I took photos of the box they shipped the computer to me in. It has the shipping number on it that they said they mailed a urine soaked computer back to me in. Zero biohazard labels. I called FedEx and got proof they did not ship with proper biohazard labels. I have the photos of theirs indicating how they say they shipped the computer with visble brownish white liquid on it, and my photos of what it looked like when it arrived (same brownish white liquid). I have their written statement that the liquid is by their claim, "a dangerous biohazard" and that they shiupped thius using that exact same tracking number on the box I have that has NO biohazards on it. I called the service center and got their staff on tape admitting they do claim biohazards on computers fairly regularly as a reason they will not do an otherwise covered repair. I got them to confirm they never put biohazard labels on the boxes when they mail it these computers back to customers.

I contacted the shipping company they used for me, and appear to use for others: FedEx. I told them I have no reason to believe FedEx has done anything wrong at this point in time, but I'm contacting them to find out and confirm their rules, and to let them know HP may be endangering their staff and drives and customers withoutr FedEx knowing, and I felt like I needed to give Fed Ex a head up. Fed Ex looked at my documents and freaked out. They quickly got me in touch with corporate and said they are already in contact with HP.

Then I called HP and I called the post office and HP told the excutive customer relations manaer this is a serious violation of federal law to claim something is a biohazard and then to ship it without proper labels.

I sent a quick letter to HP oinforming them that I am taking their allegation of a biohazard extremely seriously. Based on the evidence I have, I believe that one of the two possibilities are occuring:

1.) HP is being lazy, wrongfully making up that there is urine on the computer repeatedly in order to try to get out of warannty repairs. HP has admitted to this on tape so this appears to be a likely option.

2.) The liquid is an actual biohazard. They actually mailed a biohazardous material in the mail with no proper markings and endangered the lives of many people shipping a loose biohazardous liquid in a carboard box with no federal required warning labels on the box proper OSHA required containement of the liquid.

Option one is a serious probelm because even though all evidence points to the liquid not actually being a biohazard, and HP has repeatedly withdrawn the claim that it is a biohazard, HP continues to claim again and again that it is biohazard and this allegation is extremely alarming and distressing. The mere claim that it is a biohazard is extremely serious. Making that claim, and then shipping it to me without proper labeling, shows an intent by HP to endager the lives of many. HP had the INTENT to endager lives. It is also an act that would cause distress and emotional suffering in anyone reciveing that box. If the box had the proper labeling, I would have never opened or touche dthe product inside without propert proective equipment. Instead, I saw the box and quickly opened it and reached in and got the liqud all over my hands.

I called HP and asked why the computer was shipped to me wet and why it had not been fixed. ONLY THEN, after the liquid was on my hands, was I informed that HP has done an "assessment" and determined the liquid was a biohazard. Only then did i find a small tiny checkmark on a piece of white and soaked paper on the bottom of the box stating that it was rejected as a biohazard and shipped back to me BECAUSE of the claim that the liquid now on my hands was a dangerou biohazard thaht in the words of HP, " would endanger the health and safety of our staff." Telling me that this is a dangerous biohazard via a piece of paper soaked in that alleged biohazard and after I had the alleged biohazard on my hands would naturally and reasonably cause emotional distress and suffering in any customer. This is why we have the law stating that if you are shoipping an alleged dangerous biohazard, you have to also properly label that box that you ship this in and shgip the liquid in a proper container.

I have no idea where things are at. I have notified HP that I consider the computer to now be stolen since they indicate no intent to return or replace or refund it. They have made many written agreements and tape recorded verbal agreements - and all of them they have broken. They have inidicated no specific intent at this time to return my property nor refund my money nor to honor the warranty. They have my computer and give no clear info on any intent to make the situation right.

Furthermore, they laugh off the serious threat it is to mail aldged biohazards without proper labeling. They have no regard for the safety and well being of anyone handling the alleged biohazards and they treated me like trash. I have found stories of many other people online who have had the same experiences and undergone the same serious emotional distress. FedEx has been made aware of HP's practcies to ship what HP claims is dangerous biohazards without ever labeling the packages. FedEx seemed quite alarmed HP would do this.

I have no resolution from HP and I don't know what to do.

A few details to clarify:

Shipping an alleged biohazard without a proper container or label is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The repair is a covered repair under the accidental damage insurance that I paid for. There are not exclusions for biohazards. It's still a covered repair according to what HP wrote me.

I do argue it was not a biohazard - but that's easy to let go of.

It's still a covered repair under the insurance I bought regardless if it is or is not a biohazard.

Furthermore, if it is or is not a biohazard, HP committed a criminal act against me for claiming it was a biohazard and shipping without proper packaging or labels. FedEx said HP broke the law and they and myself are victims of it.

How about we have a company ship you a product with white powder all over it and you get it all over your hands and you call them and ask them what it is and they tell you it's a dangerous biohazard as determined by a separate dept and at first for several days they can't even tell you what kind of biohazard they thought it was but they claim it was a risk to health and safety?

Would you be ok with that?!

and

It was completely dry in the outside of it, and had been dried out for two days. I had even put rice in cloth bags on the top and bottom of it for two days to aboard as much liquid as possible.

What exactly else was I supposed to do to dry out the computer?

Like I said, I took photos that show I sent them a dry computer. It's a solid little machine and I think some of the coffee was stuck inside still and shook out in shipping. There was also much more fluid on the machine than I think could have possibly been a inside it so I don't know what happened and it worries me that someone had tampered with it at HP.

But I dried out the computer as much as possible. What else was I supposed to do?!

Furthermore, nothing in the policy requires a dry computer. I did it so that I wasn't sending something wet. The only other thing I could have done was to open the computer. If I had opened the computer that would have voided the warranty.

I did everything a local professional computer repair shop said I could do to dry out the computer before sending it the first time. They said doing anything else would have voided the warranty.

HP has my computer now. I sent it in. They intermittently agree no biohazard on it. Never present.

I have been in contact with customer support. I have spent over 112 hours on the phone with them mostly on hold while getting other work done. I detailed my experience with customer support.

They will not return the computer nor refund nor repair it.

It was very upsetting for me as a former biologist to be told I had a biohazard in my hands. I was surprised by all the fluid because I sent a dry computer - as dry as I could possibly make it.

I have a right to the services and coverage I paid for without being bullied by HP and having them flippantly throw around the claim of biohazards.

I have posted on HP forums and I have found in a few hours at least 17 other people who have had similar issues with HP and who have been similarly upset and shocked. It's a serious matter. A media outlet has already put me on air once two weeks ago and now wants to do a follow up story on it.

I simply want a solution.