Whatever happened to quality control in electronics?
I swear, half the electronics you buy nowadays don't work at all. I just received an HP Photosmart C6280 from Newegg. I was really excited to get it, but when I plugged it in, it didn't work at all. I've now wasted the last hour in a chat with tech support as they finally determined that it was broken. First, it wouldn't boot up. But then I figured out if I took the printer half apart and then pressed ok+help buttons while I plugged it in, it worked... kind of. None of the buttons seem to do what they are supposed to and there's still a weird color gradient at the bottom of the display screen. But it actually shows the animation for how to install ink over and over again. I mean, that's worth the $180 I spent on this, right?
Finally I insisted that they ship me a new one. They responded with the following message:
"To ship you a replacement printer we need your credit card information. One of our HP Total Care Representatives will call you to collect your credit card information. You will not be charged for the replacement All-in-One. Once you receive the replacement printer, you will need to send us the defective part/printer. If we do not receive the replacement part within the next 15 days, only then you will be charged. The credit card number is for security reasons and we can assure you that you will not be charged if you send us the defective part."
As I read through that carefully, I realized it doesn't make any sense. It's supposed to ship in 5-7 business days and I'm supposed to send the broken printer back once I receive the replacement... but it's supposed to be there within the next 15 days or they charge me? Let's count days:
5-7 business days => ~10 real days
I ship the broken one back on the 11th day. It takes another 5-7 business days to get back to them => ~10 more real days
That adds up to 20 real days... and if I don't return it within 15 days from now, they charge me?
Clearly this spiel is messed up, so I gave him a hard time about it. Eventually, he said that I will RECEIVE the printer within 5-7 business days and that I have 15 days AFTER that to return the defective printer. Ok, I can agree to that. Now we shall see how all of this really goes down.
Finally I insisted that they ship me a new one. They responded with the following message:
"To ship you a replacement printer we need your credit card information. One of our HP Total Care Representatives will call you to collect your credit card information. You will not be charged for the replacement All-in-One. Once you receive the replacement printer, you will need to send us the defective part/printer. If we do not receive the replacement part within the next 15 days, only then you will be charged. The credit card number is for security reasons and we can assure you that you will not be charged if you send us the defective part."
As I read through that carefully, I realized it doesn't make any sense. It's supposed to ship in 5-7 business days and I'm supposed to send the broken printer back once I receive the replacement... but it's supposed to be there within the next 15 days or they charge me? Let's count days:
5-7 business days => ~10 real days
I ship the broken one back on the 11th day. It takes another 5-7 business days to get back to them => ~10 more real days
That adds up to 20 real days... and if I don't return it within 15 days from now, they charge me?
Clearly this spiel is messed up, so I gave him a hard time about it. Eventually, he said that I will RECEIVE the printer within 5-7 business days and that I have 15 days AFTER that to return the defective printer. Ok, I can agree to that. Now we shall see how all of this really goes down.