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On June 21, 2010, I purchased a tablet p.c. through HP’s Homestore/Paypal for $989.84. The tablet is fully covered by a supplemental “house-call” service plan that I purchased for an additional $331.19 in December of 2010. The “house-call” service plan claims to provide technical support and to protect against damage to the tablet. The “house-call” plan is advertised as providing the customer with convenience and peace of mind by claiming that a service technician will come out to my location within three business days of the reported issue if the problem cannot be resolved over the phone. In my line of work, like so many others, “down time” can generate a tremendous amount of stress while creating significant reductions in productivity and profitability. Therefore, I purchased this machine and invested in the accompanying, relatively expensive service plan so that I would have reassurance in the event that I needed tech support or if the unit was ever damaged.
On March 5th, 2011 my tablet p.c. screen cover was cracked when a peg installed in the keyboard pressed into the screen upon closing. Since the tablet is a touch screen device, my p.c. was rendered rather useless. I immediately contacted HP when I was told that they would send me a box and my tablet would have to be sent to a repair facility, then shipped back to me within 7-10 days. This option was completely unacceptable. First of all, I paid for and expected an in-home repair, with a three-day maximum turnaround time, as explicitly stated in the warranty. Secondly, I use the tablet for law school and for courtroom presentations so I cannot afford to have it sent away for over a week (+) while it is being repaired. Further, I have sensitive client data on the tablet that I cannot allow into someone else’s unsupervised possession, even in the process of repairing the tablet. It was for these reasons, in the first place, that I opted to purchase the much more expensive “house-call” service plan with the guaranteed three-day turnaround time service.
On the first day, I contacted HP and clearly explained my issue, but was met with constant “transfers”, “please holds”, “escalations to supervisors” and “accidental disconnections” which amounted to having to call back twice and spending over four hours on the phone that day. Ultimately, I spoke with Harish Prabha, a Level II Supervisor in HP’s Hardware Dispatch Department, who promised to call me back within 24 hours. I never received a call back from anyone at HP.
The next day, I called back to reiterate the urgency that my computer be repaired and to let HP know that I was very disappointed and frustrated that they were not honoring the warranty I paid good money for. The supervisor again insisted that they would not be able to send out a repair technician and there was nothing she could do. She said I would have to speak to a “case manager” in order to see if a technician could be sent. I informed her that HP’s choice not to honor the warranty was a breach of contract and also represented false advertisement. As many times as I was placed on hold, I heard the commercial for HP’s “in-home repair warranty” play no less than 5 times. The commercial asserted that a technician would come out to the home in the event a repair was necessary. This clearly reinforced the existing terms of the contract. After being on an extended hold, my wife saw that I was becoming increasingly upset so she recommended that I call back the following day and try to speak with someone at HP’s corporate offices.
The following day, I called HP corporate offices. I explained the situation and was assigned a “case manager” named Alexandra. Alexandra stated that this type of repair could not be completed in-home and that I would have to send the computer in. I then informed her that I had contacted local HP-authorized repair shops and they offered to fix the screen within 20-40 minutes. I asked if HP would reimburse me for the cost so I could move on. She declined and said she could send me the part for the computer, but that a technician was not available to come to my home for repairs. I told her this was unacceptable because I am not a technician and don’t know how/ wasn’t comfortable performing this type of repair.
Tuesday, I called HP corporate office again and Alexandra stated she would look into what she could do to get the computer repaired and then call me back. She never did call me back. I called HP back later that evening and was connected to Alexandra again. This time she told me she had good news; that she could arrange to have a technician come out to my office and fix the computer Thursday, March 10th. Although this was 5 days after the incident was reported, I just wanted my computer fixed and so we arranged to have the technician come out to my office that Thursday. I was still very frustrated after spending over 8 hours total on the phone, but I w

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Tags: fraudulent warranty, hewlett packard complaints, hp complaints
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