DanniStories Blog: More HP Frustration

Saturday, December 12, 2009

More HP Frustration - Open Letter to HP

I am hoping someone at HP has a heart, and the power to help me. I am not confident sending my PC in to get it serviced will fix it, since they had the opportunity to do so earlier. I don't want another IQ. I want a totally different model. I don't care if it's a desktop or a laptop, I need something that will run Linux successfully, a version of Windows that is still supported by Microsoft, and with the specs this IQ had. It can be refurbished. After a whole year of troubles, I feel I am justified to make this request. The world on the Internet is my witness.

Here is a letter I wrote to Mark Hurd, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President, Hewlett-Packard Company. I couldn't put the whole thing there, because of the 3500 word limit. This is the whole letter, without the references to case numbers, etc which probably made my letter too long.

http://www.youtube.com/user/dannistories#p/u/45/CE9KEN2Ng3o
The video is my book trailer, done from my bed with my computer's webcam, before my Vista shut down completely. If anyone from HP wants to know who it is that's making this request, they can see and hear me on this trailer. I am in my bed all day, most every day. Every library I visited to promote my book, I had to literally get out of bed to do this.
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Sat 12 Dec 2009 18:53:38 EST
Dear Sir:
I am writing to you because I feel I am getting the runaround about my HP IQ506t. From day one, I have had nothing but problems. Now I finally get a Case Manager, and he wants to charge me for service saying the machine is out of warranty. I have chatted and gone on HP forums and tried to do what they told me to do. I replace the DVD myself per HP Service, and the machine was sent for repair. It still had problems, and I cannot find my records of past then because I had to reformat the hard drive after yet another failure, and lost files.

I am disabled. I cannot lift my PC and so must wait for help before opening the case, though I am comfortable with swapping boards, seating chips, replacing drives, etc because I am a former computer tech. I know how to troubleshoot a machine. I have given this machine every chance and even installed a dual boot system so when Vista went down, at least I could limp along with the Linux problems, including no sound and iffy video. I have problems with both operating systems. Unexpected screen dimming/freezes/software failures. With Vista, blue screens, unexpected shutdowns, slowdowns, software errors-especially with the TouchScreen software and calendar in that, operating system errors. I provided details in chats to your techs. After many reformats, replacing the hard drive [to add capacity, there is nothing wrong with the original because it worked on my daughter's machine before her LCD got cracked, this was another case with you].

I was told the last time I chatted with a tech before the referral to Richard, Case Manager, that I was under warranty. Richard informs me the warranty expired 90 days after the service, which would have been October.

What I want is for HP to provide me with an equivalent machine [refurbished ok, and you know prices went down on an equivalent machine since my sister purchased this one for me].

It must work with Linux and Windows, and I am willing to install the dual boot myself. I want a machine that works and this year of limping along has left me very frustrated with your service.

All who spoke with me/chatted with me were very polite, but they read off computer screens and have to put me through the drill every time. Your servers don't seem to communicate with each other, and I have to give a lot of info repeatedly. I realize you are working on this, and I have been a fan of HP machines ever since my first Compaq Presario in 1998 [and the subsequent purchase of Compaq by HP only improved things].

I have found that some models are better than others. My HP IQ506t worked wonderfully well, the short times it was up. My nephew got the exact same model and had nothing but trouble with it, also [like me, he is experienced with the nuts and bolts of things through his work]. I saw a lot of complaints on amazon.com and other forums about this particular machine at the time my sister bought it.

I am blogging about my experience, and would like to see what you intend to do. I am not satisfied about the offer of $50 off to get service for $289 plus tax, though I was nice about it to Richard. There should be records of my struggle across HP's servers.

I think I am entitled to a PC that works for what I wanted this one for, editing video and doing 3D animation and book covers for my science fiction self-publishing business, which is not profitable but keeps my mind active. This was my dream machine, and I am crushed that I am left with writing this email on a machine that has no sound, will not boot up in Vista, and the touchscreen doesn't work in Linux Ubuntu 9.04; I tried to install Ubuntu 9.10 and had to roll it back.

As a shut-in, the PC is my gateway to friends and family, since I can't get out much except for infrequent times when the weather is warm enough [summer]. I am on Food Stamps and receive Meals on Wheels. I receive Social Security Disability, and so am on a fixed income. If not for my sister's help, I would not be able to stay in my home.

Please send me a machine that will work for my intended use. Then, I will box up the old one and send it to you. I expect that you will respect the Christmas Spirit, or whatever holiday cheers you, and act accordingly.

Sincerely,
Dannis Cole
dannistories@gmail.com
http://posterous.dannistories.com [my blog]

Dannis Cole
http://dannistories.com
Therapeutic Science Fiction. No profanity. No explicit sex. No sickening gore. No excuses.

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