9 Month Warranty Process Ends in Downgrade - Need Help Escalating Further

[ESCAFF73]

Hello, I have been working with HP since January on my computer to get it fixed or replaced. Not only have I been without a working computer of equal value for so long, but I committed so many hours working with HP and have been yelled at over the phone. My computer itself had a lifespan of 4 months, yet the warranty process has taken over 9 months. I have spent countless hours trying to work with HP and asking for my case to go to a different escalations team, and to have someone else from HP look into this team for their unethical practices. Every time I contact HP to pass this case to someone else, the case falls back onto the laps of the previous representatives who decide that I should either keep the downgrade, or send it back for a buyback option that will depreciate my purchase by $1,200. I pay over $2,700 for a computer to last 4 months, and spent an additional 10 months working with HP while my computer is down, to be offered $1,500. Please read my history below and tell me if I deserve these choices. Also, I have asked my case manager a series of questions that he refuses to answer, stating that the questions are unrelated to the case.

I ask that you decide whether or not these questions are related, and try to answer them for me.

I have the HP Elite Mini 800 G9, WITH the 3050 Ti RTX (proprietary laptop GPU made for this specific HP computer, can't be bought). I personally couldn't find much info about this PC with the additional GPU online, I got it because I have a small apartment and a baby at home, with another kid on the way (I didn't even know my wife was pregnant at the start of this case!). I use the computer for video editing, a side job. I work in healthcare full time with 13 hour shifts. I purchased this computer brand new in September, but in January I heard a loud click and smelt some burning. The computer was still running, but I got no visuals. My guess is that the graphics card burnt out. My computer had a lifespan of about 4 months. Good thing I had warranty on my computer I thought at the time. Looking back buying this computer was a mistake from the start. I'll give a small history of what had happened and spare many details.

1/27/2024: My case is opened with HP, I tried troubleshooting over the phone but it ultimately leads to the representative having me set up a case for repair. I got updates on the appointment as the weeks (more like months) went on.

4/17/2024: 3 months later is our second update! The part was out of stock and the technician finally comes over to attempt and fix my computer! Only he doesn't. He has to order other parts and reschedule, there's other issues that he finds during each appointment that he missed. Bummer. To save you time, the same third party technician comes over 5 TIMES total. On my days off. The technician works weekdays only, I work alternating weekends. Each visit was at least an hour in my living room, on my days off, on a weekday. Not only was the scheduling a piece of work, but we had to wait for parts to come in. Mind you I was picking up overtime, this computer messed with my income so I couldn't work from home until I get this issue resolved. I picked up extra 13 hour shifts because of this. We saw each other every few weeks and chatted away while he worked on my coffee table. My wife hated the technician because he was a waste of time. 5 total visits, still no repair. Funny enough, the technician brings over the motherboard on his last visit, and disassembles my computer completely, only to see that before re-assembling my computer, he received the wrong motherboard. He took so much time taking apart the computer for no reason; if he had noticed the wrong motherboard from the start he wouldn’t have taken apart my computer.

5/29/24: This is the 5th appointment with the technician. He schedules a 6th appointment, I tell him I''ll think about it. As soon as he leaves, I call HP on my phone saying that this is unprofessional, spending an hour over the phone waiting on hold to reach someone and re-telling my entire story from the start, and convincing the agent over the phone that this is not right. After 5 repair attempts and waiting 5 months, I want to know if there’s a better solution. A solution that should have been done long before the first attempt was even made, considering how long I waited for the parts to come in. My case gets escalated and I get a case manager named Kamren who plans on helping me get a replacement.

6/26/24: Another long step. I learn that my computer with the graphics card is end of life and out of production. Kamren couldn't tell me this any sooner? I called every week, many times with him being out of office because of food poisoning, family emergencies, COVID-19, the flu. This guy must be having a terrible Summer, can't catch a break to come work in the office I guess. When he is in the office,, he says he'll call me back the following day, but I always give him the benefit of the doubt and attempt to contact him days later over the phone. He never calls me when he says he would. He also never responds to any emails.

7/9/2024: Finally, Kamren gives me a replacement offer, and it's a huge upgrade! It's the Z2 G9 Mini, with an upgraded graphics card. I accept the offer over e-mail. Time to wait for the shipment to arrive, and send back my PC. Fun fact: My PC had a lifespan of 4 months before breaking down. It's now almost 6 months in a case for replacement/repair. Life has
changed so much since then. I get used to all the over time at the hospital, I take a vacation for the first time in years, my son learns to walk, I learn my wife is pregnant. And we finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel after countless long phone calls and visits with the technician. Or so I thought..........

7/19/24: The computer arrives! It's the same model! But the ram is downgraded (16GB, I had 32GB), and there's no graphics card on this model? Integrated graphics? I didn't sign up for this, this is a downgrade! I immediately call Kamren, he doesn't pick up. Not surprised honestly, just shocked. I send him photos of the device with the serial number and box and wait for things to sort out.

7/24/24: I finally get in contact and I agree to the next offer via email, the same Z2 mini G9 with the specs promised originally.

8/8/2024: Device #2 arrives, it's not even the right model. I send Kamren pictures of the box and serial again. It's not even the same box on the outside. It's the same model as my original computer, the HP Elite Mini 800 G9, but WITH NO GRAPHICS CARD. I was promised the Z2 Mini G9, where did this come from? Please note: I was told this model with the graphics card was end of life and out of production. The computer is available to purchase, just without the graphics card, because adding the graphics card changes the product #, which is end of life. The computer itself is not.

8/19/2024: I accept the same offer for a third time.

8/27/2024: I received the same computer; the HP Elite Mini 800 G9 base model. No GPU, downgraded ram. I am offered $1,527.17 for a buyback. I paid $2,703.85 in September. The computer lasted me 4 months, I wasted so much time for 8 months over the phone, writing emails, and working with technicians. Why can't I be reimbursed my full amount, if not
more for my hours put in? I did so much legwork and chased down so many people. What a slap to the face.

9/11/2024: Kamren wants to get to the bottom of this, he'll call me back next week. Every day, from 9/16 - 9/20, I call. I call using my wife’s phone because I’m in disbelief, I thought I was either blocked or that my phone was not working. He is not in his office. I nearly have a panic attack and start dialing random extensions on the 20th until I clear the air with
someone that finally answers, she escalates my case even further to someone else. She is very sympathetic and feels sorry for me. Mind you, I asked my original escalation Kamren multiple times for either his superior or his coworkers extension #, he says he'll send it to me by email, I never get it.

9/23/2024: A new agent calls and says someone sent him my message, he promises to resolve this issue this week. His name is Ray.

9/24/2024: Ray asks for my current serial #, I give it to him. He says the serial that I read to him is not what he has on file, it’s for a different model. He says the computer I received should be identical to my original computer, I say it's not and send in photos WITH TIMESTAMPS OF THE DATE AND TIME OF OUR PHONE CALL. I even offer to video call. Ray says the photos are enough and he will call me the next day, for the third call on the third day working with him.

9/25/2024: Ray calls, it's hard to get in touch with him because I am covering the emergency room at my hospital. I literally talked with him as I admitted one patient and told Ray we'll talk later, he seemed annoyed and said that I don't want to work with him, and this is my choice, despite working with him 2 days in a row prior when I was off. This was one of the busiest days of the year, it's a trauma hospital and a lot of people either got seriously hurt or was sick that day. I finally get in touch during a quieter time, Ray yells at me over the phone saying that I am being dishonest, and that I received a computer that I agreed to. He says I received the HP Elite Mini 800 G9 with the same graphics card I originally started with; he is going based off the serial number I read him the day before. He does not answer my questions and talks down to me like a child, and keeps on yelling at me. He says nothing I can say will change his mind, and asks do I want the buyback or to keep the computer. I say neither, then he proceeds to talk over me, threatening to close my case, and hangs up on me. Shortly after I get an email telling me that my case is closed. Let's take a step back.

I agreed to receive the Z2 Mini G9 when I accepted the offer, but I received the HP Elite Mini 800 G9. The Kamren agrees, but says I legally agreed to receiving this computer by email? That is a contraindication, I received a computer, but it’s not what I agreed to by email. Second, wasn't my computer "end of life" and "no longer in production"? The graphics card is no longer being made, did HP go into production to make me a single graphics card? I waited over 3 weeks to learn this fact alone, this information is valuable in my eyes. Third, I offer Ray a video call and sent him time stamped photos of the device. This device is missing the external mini display ports, missing the GPU, missing the GPU fan, and most notably in the photos, is missing the heatsink. On the base model, the heatsink covers the CPU alone. On my original model that the technicians couldn't repair, the heatsink took up half of the entire PC and had holes for the GPU to screw onto. I had the base model, it’s very obvious by just looking at it, and I don’t have the proprietary parts to fake this. Fourth, HP has sent the technicians the wrong parts multiple times, including the motherboard the last visit. It's entirely possible I received the wrong computer. Lastly, the second day I worked with Ray I read him a serial number, which was different from his records. He said I should have gotten the HP Z2 Mini G9, not the Elite Mini 800 G9. If he didn't even know what computer I got, how can he go based off his records to close my
case?

Back to the conversation, Ray tells me that I can either send back the PC and accept the buy back offer ($1,527.17, I paid $2,703.85), or keep the PC. I want neither and demand to speak to his superior. He says he's above everyone. Since we can't come to terms he assumes I want to keep this downgrade, and hangs up. I shortly get an email stating that my
case is closed. I'm super bummed out. I'm still at work, I don't get out until 7:30, it's only 4:00 after he hung up. A side note, I grew up in a troubled household and have PTSD. I went to a dangerous school and was the only white kid. I got jumped many times and was bullied (by teachers as well, not just students) up until middle school. Ray yelling at me triggered my PTSD WHILE I was at work. I tried warning him that this is not healthy for either me or him. He threw me off. I work with life support machines, this could have gotten someone seriously hurt from my small slip ups. I was literally shaking while he yelled at me over the phone. Is this how you treat people?

9/27/2024: I recover from my little episode and spend 20 minutes dialing random extensions to finally connect to someone who answers their phone. This phone call lasted over an hour (again, on my day off). I don't blame him, I called him and threw a task onto him, things take time. He was helpful and had my case escalated to a manager. The best part? I learned that both Kamren and Ray are both tier 1 agents. Ray is not a supervisor as he claimed. Both Kamren and Ray failed to give me the contact information of their managers. I feel that both of these employees do not possess the empathy and skills to do their jobs.

10/03/2024: I get a phone call from Ray, why am I working with him again? I try a different approach and ask him a few questions, he refuses to answer them saying they are unrelated. He does not change his mind and is stuck on his previous 2 options.

The questions I asked him, and that I have to ask HP are:

1.) Why did I have to wait 3 weeks to learn that my computer is end of life; the graphics card is no longer in production? No one at HP realized any sooner?

2.) Why was I offered the Z2 Mini G9, if HP was going to ultimately send me the EliteDesk Mini 800 G9?

3.) If HP determined my computer's upgraded model was end of life on June 26, 2024, how is it possible for HP to send it to me months later on August 27, 2024?

Ray refuses to answer these 3 questions, saying they are unrelated. These questions are asking about the case itself. See below for specs of al l devices, including my original, what was promised to me, and each replacement, including the one I am holding onto.

MY ORIGINAL PRODUCT:

PRODUCT #: 895C5US

MY ORIGINAL COMPUTER AND SPECS: HP Elite Mini 800 G9 

Intel i7-12700t 

32 GB ram DDR5 (2x 16GB sticks) 

512 GB NVME ssd 

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050

PRODUCT # I AGREED TO RECEIVE: 4Y5Z0AV

COMPUTER AND SPECS I AGREED TO RECEIVE:

- HP Z2 Mini G9

- Intel i9-13900K

- 32GB SODIMM RAM, 2x 16GB sticks

- 512GB PCIe NVME SSD

- NVIDIA RTX 4000 ADA

——————————————————————————————————————————

DEVICES RECEIVED

REPLACEMENT 1

Model: 87C24UT

Arrived 7/19/24

COMPUTER AND SPECS:

HP Z2 Mini G9 Base Model

 Intel Core i5-13500

16GB

512GB SSD

no external GPU (integrated graphics)

REPLACEMENT 2

Product # received: 8C122US

Arrived 8/8/24

COMPUTER AND SPECS: HP EliteDesk Mini 800 G9

Intel Core i7-12700T

16GB ram

256GB SSD

no external GPU (Intel integrated graphics)

REPLACEMENT 3

Product #:895CUS [although the product # is the same as my original computer, there is no GPU, and the rest of the specs are the same].

COMPUTER AND SPECS: HP EliteDesk Mini 800 G9 Intel Core i7-12700T

16GB ram

256GB SSD

no external GPU (Intel integrated graphics)

And that's it up until now. 9 months later. Still no conclusion. I got my hopes up many times but every resolution was not up to any standards. And I’m not the only one. Others on other forums such as Reddit, Linus Tech Tips, and the HP forums have very similar issues as well. The earliest detailed complaint I found was on a forum from 2006. Also HP has an average of 1.6 out of 5 on TrustPilot (scored as "bad" with 7,181 total reviews), as well as 1/5 on Consummer Affairs (scored as "bad" based on 1,883 reviews), as well as 1.09/5 on the Better Business Bureau with 390 reviews. This computer and case has changed my life. It has ruined my work from home video editing job and made me work outside the house much more. What a year it's been.

Please, someone escalate my case to a different escalations team and have this team investigated. I need a proper resolution, this is just depressing.