Computer Issues: It's rare I get this angry or engage in conflict
... reposted from Facebook:
My computer was purchased on January 22nd, 2009. On October 10th, my computer stopped working. The machine would not boot up. I contacted technical support and they sent a UPS box to ship it back for service as it is still under warranty.
I received the box on the 18th. I completed the paperwork, indicating that the computer would not boot up. As a secondary issue, I noted that the USB ports on the left hand side had been damaged. The box was shipped and it was received at the repair center on October 20th.
I received my computer back on November 10th. The paperwork indicated that "The laptop is being returned not repaired, because the depot service organization could not resolve billable activity/issues for proper repair." The letter was case 33PDBBF and the technician was Chris Townsend.
The first representative I spoke to was Josephine. She looked up the case and said that the technician determined that the USB ports on the left side were caused by user damage. Josephine explained that the USB ports are causing the CPU to lock up, and therefore it would be necessary to replace the entire unit. That costs $750. She also indicated that a Mr. Reagan spoke with me and that I denied the service. I do not recall such a conversation.
I was furious. I spent $1439.17 for a high quality machine from a company known for its high service standards. But I was just told that I would have to pay an additional $750 because the service technician determined I am at fault. Even if I did have a conversation with Mr. Reagan, he certainly didn't explain that this was the issue at all.
I hung up and checked my information, date of purchase, warranty, and called the 1-866-96-THINK number for some advice on who to escalate the issue. They advised me to speak to the Customer Relations Team.
I called back the technical number (1-800-426-7378) and asked for the Customer Relations Team. When I got through, they said they could not help me in any way. They transferred me back to the technical number.
The next representative was Marvin who looked up the documentation and again explained that the technician, Chris Townsend, determined it is user damage and therefore is not covered under warranty. I was quite frustrated by this and asked him if my only options were to pay $750 or have a Lenovo computer that only worked for 10 months. He tried to explain again the same information, but I was quite sure I understood what the message he was giving.
The most interesting thing that Marvin said is that the technician attempted to contact me but did not get through. There were messages left October 22 - 29 at a number I would never ask them to call. They called my home number, which is only used as a data line for the DSL connection. SBC provides voicemail for it, but I do not check it. I did provide them with my cell number, but they never called it.
A manager named Ernest Nally got on the line and explained to me that once a technician determines that it is user damage, Lenovo will not cover any repairs under warranty unless the customer has purchased the service protection plan. Without that, I need to pay $750 for the repair. The thing he did not say is that if I do not pay, I have a useless Lenovo Thinkpad.
The idea that I just spent $1,439.17 and will have to pay an additional $750.00 makes me feel extremely upset. The whole computer will have cost me $2,189.17. The fact that I purchased from Lenovo strictly on the confidence of their quality and reputation as leaders of service leave me severely disappointed. That reputation has not true given my experience.
If the damage was indeed my issue and considered "accidental damage", then the quality of components is not as high as they would leave customers to believe. And if they try to sell the Protection Plan as a way to mitigate this unshared knowledge, that is criminal in my mind.
If the design of the machine is that the USB ports must be operative to have a functional computer, or that these two components are worth $750... that is a terrible design flaw. What bothers me is that I noticed the damage on the computer months ago. And the computer was operative. So it leads me to believe that the USB ports are not integral to the operation of the machine. It feels to me that Lenovo is trying to extract $750 from me in a hard economy to milk the customers that purchase more expensive machines from them.
As it stands now, I've been without a working computer for 30 days. The last three hours of frustration have been extremely stressful. The last 30 days have been completely irritable. In conclusion, Lenovo appears to be standing by their technician's assessment and giving me two options I think are unreasonable: pay $750 or stop calling.
--Note: do not tell me to get a Mac. That just means you don't know sh*t about me.
My computer was purchased on January 22nd, 2009. On October 10th, my computer stopped working. The machine would not boot up. I contacted technical support and they sent a UPS box to ship it back for service as it is still under warranty.
I received the box on the 18th. I completed the paperwork, indicating that the computer would not boot up. As a secondary issue, I noted that the USB ports on the left hand side had been damaged. The box was shipped and it was received at the repair center on October 20th.
I received my computer back on November 10th. The paperwork indicated that "The laptop is being returned not repaired, because the depot service organization could not resolve billable activity/issues for proper repair." The letter was case 33PDBBF and the technician was Chris Townsend.
The first representative I spoke to was Josephine. She looked up the case and said that the technician determined that the USB ports on the left side were caused by user damage. Josephine explained that the USB ports are causing the CPU to lock up, and therefore it would be necessary to replace the entire unit. That costs $750. She also indicated that a Mr. Reagan spoke with me and that I denied the service. I do not recall such a conversation.
I was furious. I spent $1439.17 for a high quality machine from a company known for its high service standards. But I was just told that I would have to pay an additional $750 because the service technician determined I am at fault. Even if I did have a conversation with Mr. Reagan, he certainly didn't explain that this was the issue at all.
I hung up and checked my information, date of purchase, warranty, and called the 1-866-96-THINK number for some advice on who to escalate the issue. They advised me to speak to the Customer Relations Team.
I called back the technical number (1-800-426-7378) and asked for the Customer Relations Team. When I got through, they said they could not help me in any way. They transferred me back to the technical number.
The next representative was Marvin who looked up the documentation and again explained that the technician, Chris Townsend, determined it is user damage and therefore is not covered under warranty. I was quite frustrated by this and asked him if my only options were to pay $750 or have a Lenovo computer that only worked for 10 months. He tried to explain again the same information, but I was quite sure I understood what the message he was giving.
The most interesting thing that Marvin said is that the technician attempted to contact me but did not get through. There were messages left October 22 - 29 at a number I would never ask them to call. They called my home number, which is only used as a data line for the DSL connection. SBC provides voicemail for it, but I do not check it. I did provide them with my cell number, but they never called it.
A manager named Ernest Nally got on the line and explained to me that once a technician determines that it is user damage, Lenovo will not cover any repairs under warranty unless the customer has purchased the service protection plan. Without that, I need to pay $750 for the repair. The thing he did not say is that if I do not pay, I have a useless Lenovo Thinkpad.
The idea that I just spent $1,439.17 and will have to pay an additional $750.00 makes me feel extremely upset. The whole computer will have cost me $2,189.17. The fact that I purchased from Lenovo strictly on the confidence of their quality and reputation as leaders of service leave me severely disappointed. That reputation has not true given my experience.
If the damage was indeed my issue and considered "accidental damage", then the quality of components is not as high as they would leave customers to believe. And if they try to sell the Protection Plan as a way to mitigate this unshared knowledge, that is criminal in my mind.
If the design of the machine is that the USB ports must be operative to have a functional computer, or that these two components are worth $750... that is a terrible design flaw. What bothers me is that I noticed the damage on the computer months ago. And the computer was operative. So it leads me to believe that the USB ports are not integral to the operation of the machine. It feels to me that Lenovo is trying to extract $750 from me in a hard economy to milk the customers that purchase more expensive machines from them.
As it stands now, I've been without a working computer for 30 days. The last three hours of frustration have been extremely stressful. The last 30 days have been completely irritable. In conclusion, Lenovo appears to be standing by their technician's assessment and giving me two options I think are unreasonable: pay $750 or stop calling.
--Note: do not tell me to get a Mac. That just means you don't know sh*t about me.