HP SAYS 'SUSPECTED' WATER DAMAGE!

[uselesswarranty]

I have had a HP Pavilion dv9731ca since March 2008 and I have nothing but problems since day 1 i took it out of the box. The very first one i got had deformed casing and had to be sent back and then after that the problems never stopped. I have had almost everything in it replaced under warranty at least once. (except the battery that $$ came out of my own pocket and 2 x 1yr warranties)


I am not irresponsible and I take care of ALL my electronics, Im afriad to even put my iphone down on a table in fear of scartching it! So I know when I shell out a ton of money for the electronics I love I treat them well. I purchased a HP Pavilion 520n desktop computer many moons ago and it lasted me 5 years it never failed me once,  when i decided to purchase a laptop I figured HP would be trhe way to go but this was not the case!


I had the heat sink replaced at least 4 times as the laptop would get so hot it would be pratcically unusable to even come in contact with.

The DVD rom would work on/off and sometimes just spin forever or click.

The lcd had a bunch of bad pixels and the lcd was replaced,

All of a udden 2/3 usb ports stopped working as in there was no power in them,

Hp replaced the motherboard, after getting it back it started to freeze on and off during boot and even in the bios, it was determined to be the motherboard again.

During one of the many visits to the hp repair shop it was returned with the casing cracked and damaged and it had to returned just as soon as it came back.

As I write this i just keep thinking of all the problems, at one point the CPU fan was vibrating and was really loud and that was also replaced to. All these events are from March 2008 - Present.


Now were in July 2010, mind you with all these problems in the first year I decided it would be a good idea to extended the warranty 2 times to cover from March 2009 - March 2010 and from March 2010 - March 2011. I figured I was covered for everything. (Aparently not!)

In late July I was on vacation sitting in my room on my bed with my laptop while speaking to my daughter on the phone at the same time googling something or on youtube or something... I started to smell a burning and when i realized it was from the computer it was already off in a split second. There was also smoke comming out of the side expansion slot.


I called HP right away and they said it was a burned out capicitator and that they would need to have someone contact me to resolve the issue before a box could be sent out, needless to say no one called, I waited a few more days and called back.

Once again reaching india the guy no work of a lie had me on the phone for an hour and a half, he would not say anything and go dead slient for 5-10 minutes at a time and when i would say "hello??" he would say "yes, i am still here". Hitting the 90 minute mark it was dead slient again and i said "hello?? hello??" and got no answer, i hung up.

I waited a few more days and still no box so i called back again, frustrated and told the CSR about the last guy and assured me he would send out a box, i asked to speak to a supervisor and was denied and he rerouted me to another CSR wanting to open a claim frustrated again i hung up, but he did confirm it would be sent out.

A week later still no box. I somehow ended up getting a phone number to the case managers and they were able to help me. I thought the ordeal was over.It was the most frustration ive had with HP.

I received a call from the Hp case manager today and she informed me that they suspected water damage and that it would cost $400 to repair but she would repair it for $200. I got this laptop from my ISP which I have been paying for since March 2008 and I still have 6 more months of payments to go. Ive already had to replace the battery because the battery had gone bad right after the 1 year mark! I've shelled out so much extra money for warraties and a new battery and now they want another $200??

I take care of ALL my electronics and I have never spilled anything on or near my laptop and at the time it died i wasn't even drinking anything i was in bed! If i spilled something on it I would be man enough to own up to my mistake but the fact they are accusing me of this and will not repair it is so frustrating. Theres nothing that makes someone so mad is when someone accuses of something you didnt do.

So after all this I have no laptop and I cant affort to pay $200 to get it fixed now. I don't know what to do and I don't know who to talk to. All I think is this will be the last HP product i ever buy or ever endorse positively.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

I am stuck and so frustrated.

This is a nightmare and i'm lost and feel cheated.

Thanks.

P.s. below are the pics that were sent to me, HP claims that there are 'watermarks' on the board where they can see some sort of liquid.

Help!

[uselesswarranty]

[castemm]

Same here.  I sent a computer in to be repaired under warranty.  Stated it was water damage.  That is not possible.  I have a second computer and one month later sent it in under my wife's name and cell number and a different address.  Guess what?  The same issue, we flooded it too.  The issue is we can't remember when we took a shower with our computers.  And hers had a battery issue.  They stated the dust on the crack of the cover was water damage.  I think they are water heads!!!  Stated they see corrosion on the battery terminals.  I can't see it, but if it is there, it is due to their cheap batteries and equipment not from water damage.  Anyone ever think about a class action?

[tummala]

Same here....i spent almost 1000$ and i had problems almost since 5th month. When i called they diagnosed battery and replaced battery..... I still had the problem and they asked me send it back. Guess what, they say i induced the damage and now i need to pay 300$ since they diagnosed it. I dont know what to do. I am very careful with my electronics and i am sure they the water cant be from m, because i have a office and i dont take food in that room. So please suggest me what to do.

Thanks

[kayblack088]

I am having the same issue with HP.  I am so disguted and turned off by the company.

I sent in my dv6 laptop after it stopped working two months after purchasing it. They inturn sent me an email stating I needed to call the number.  After being on the phone with them for several hours they sent me an email with two pictures.  The pictures did not have any indication they were of my laptop. I challenged the validity of the pictures and they refused to send any supporting documentation.

HP claims it was water damage and refuses honor the warranty.  I took the laptop to an electronic's company that does warranty work for HP and they opened it up, took pictures, and proved there is NO water damage. And the pictures that HP sent me in the email do NOT match up with the mother board of my laptop. 

HP IS A FRAUD that is making very cheap and poorly produced computers.

When I escalated my complaint, I was told "well I can offer you a deal at 199 to replace the motherboard."  I told the escalation person that I was not intrested in paying since the laptop is under warranty and there is NO water damage and I have proof of there not being any water damage, he stated "Well it doesn't matter what anyone else says, the HP tech looked at it and stated there is water damage and that is all we go with"\

NEVER AGAIN WILL I WASTE ONE PENNY ON AN HP.

[pax4pax]

Your story exactly matches mine -- HP claimed spill damage but I know I spilled nothing on it.  They billed me 377 but I got them to cut it to 300, I think it was.  Sent it in.

They said they re-built it completely, but, it still overheated (my main concern -- I also have the non-reading DVD player issue you mentioned).

They sent me a box, but, I was up against my warranty and did not get it to them within the 12 months, so, I am out of luck they say.

HP's machines are junk -- don't ever buy one!!! No matter how shiny the case is or how much off "retail" the price is.

I went through a dv7 then custom-ordered a dv8 and had the same issues in both.  NEVER AGAIN!

Customer service is a joke.  Forget it to help you with anything.

[hpgaming]

i agree, hp customer service + laptops suck.. i called them up and i was speaking to an indian guy aswell, everytime i asked a question or anything he just wont reply and then when i say hello, his like "yes" i waited like 20 minutes for the call and no he couldnt even help.

my friends dv6 overheated, he updated the bios and now it wont turn on, he called them up and they came to pick up the laptop.. i was sooo relieved that they are actually trying to help him

but yea honestly hp sucks, i wish i never got this laptop.. srsly depressing. i am a year 10 student, no job and i bought a laptop that cost $1000.. and its so **bleep**, srsly depressing. everytime i look at other laptops i want to smash my **bleep** hp dv6t. MY laptop problems are:
overheating
screen flickering while gaming
I just want a new laptop.. ive had this one for 2 months and i dont like it. My dream laptop is an asus g73/g74, now thats a good laptop.

[bernadettephelp]

Same thing happened to me. 

  I purchased this computer through my company’s HP portal at a discounted rate in December 2011.  Two weeks after I purchased the computer, I noticed the USB ports stopped working.  I researched this issue on HP's website and found literally hundreds of complaints on the same issue.  The customer service department didn’t seem to believe me when I called and told them about it.  They acted like this was an “unknown” issue, even though the complaints about this problem are directly on their own website. 

If you research it on google, you will find thousands of similar USB complaints for this product on other tech sites.

I called HP tech support and spent an hour and a half on the phone with them, but we were unable to resolve the issue.  He sent me a box to send it back.  I got a call about a week or so later from Customer Service.  They said the tech dept. had found “suspected” liquid damage on the motherboard and so my repair was not under warranty and would cost $350.  I was astounded – I live alone, I don’t have kids nor pets.  In the two weeks I had the computer, I never spilled anything on it nor had it in an environment where it could get liquid damage.  She said I had 24 hours to decide.  Because I knew I didn’t spill anything on it, I did a little research.  Turns out, I found at least a dozen articles and blogs from people and other techs that stated HP told them the same thing, even though they KNEW they didn’t have liquid damage. 

At this point, I am frustrated HP does not stand behind their product, warranty, or customer service.  Worse, I believe HP is fraudulent with their responses of “suspected” liquid damage.  I believe they don’t want to repair their subpar product.  I never spilled anything on my computer – I am certain of that.  Where the water damage occurred (if there even IS really water damage), I couldn’t tell you, but even if there is – I don’t believe that is the cause of the USB port issue.  If you look on thier own website, you will see that this is a prevalent problem with your product. 

When I explained this to customer service, they said there was nothing they could do and I’d have to write a letter (REALLY?!?!?  In 2012, I have to send a letter?  Ridiculous!) to the complaints department.  They have shipped me back my computer because I wouldn’t authorize the charges.   

 I am filing a complaint with the silicon valley bbb.

[pax4pax]

I had the same problem with my dv8.  Problems from day 1 and, ultimately, I paid for the repair because of "water damage," which I know is impossible.  (Also, the repair did nothing to improve -- EXCEPT lost all my data even though I paid the fee to save it and they sent it back saying that the data save was successful!)

Never buy HP for laptops.  Don't rely in a warranty,

[spinapainting23]

another hp not standing buy there products and blaming customers !!