Customer support problem with a HP Spectre 13-ac004nf

[vincent-fr]

Hello.

I am contacting this community, after months and months of repeated problems with customer service. I own an "HP Spectre 13-ac004nf" with a Carepack, and I called the customer support on March 31st, 2020 to get my computer repaired before the end of the warranty. The computer had 2 major, and 2 minor problems:

• (Major) The battery was dead
• (Major) The 4K LCD screen was cracked and needed to be replaced
• (Minor) The cooling system probably needed to be cleaned
• (Minor) The keyboard probably needed to be cleaned internally

These 3 last months have been the worst customer experience of my life. I am a computer scientist (I have been doing epidemic simulation and modelling since the beginning of the current crisis) and my computer is my main work tool. Interacting with the customer support has been a nightmare, and I have been repeatedly given false information. My computer was shipped around mid-April to be repaired. Even with the pandemic, I was told on the phone that my computer would be repaired in 4 to 10 days maximum. I totally understand that the current situation disrupts supply chains. However, leaving me with a constant lack of information, or worse, false information have significantly impacted my work because I could not schedule things in advance and take into account when I could expect to have a working computer back. Of course my computer was not shipped 4 to 10 days after. HP received my computer on April 21st, 2020. They shipped it back on June 16th, 2020. This is 57 days after.

But again, we are facing exceptional times and I understand the very particular circumstances. However, after 57 days, my computer has not been correctly repaired, and I have been given false information. First, on May 5th, I was asked to send the official receipt of the computer to "extend the warranty". The warranty has never been extended, and since the warranty expired in the meantime, I keep paying extra on the phone to contact HP teams every single time.

Originally, I was told that given the exceptionnal circumstances, I would have to wait until the end of June because the part (the screen) was unavailable. Again I understand the circumstances, but I was provided with no alternative solution (for example a temporary computer replacement). So I had to find alternative solution myself, and schedule accordingly with the provided information. The end of June quickly became the beginning of August, and then the end of August. But that's fine, because we are facing a pandemic (even though my job as a researcher is to model that exact pandemic).

In mid-June, out of nowhere, the status of my case was suddenly updated online saying:

• Your order indicates that this is the primary issue(s) with your product: CRACKED LCD
• This is how your product was repaired: BAD PART

Because I was worried about the "BAD PART", I tried to contact the customer support to have more information. Reaching out to the person in charge of my case has always been problematic since I was only given a generic email address. Generally it took 4 emails and 2 to 3 phone calls to get called back after a few days. All of that considering that I originally paid for a CarePack, plus I was asked to pay a few hundred euros extra to change the screen. When I was contacted back, I was told to not worry, because everything was done on my computer and I shouldn't have any problem. In short, the "BAD PART" was nothing to worry about.

Then, I finally received my computer. I opened it, and I checked it. And I realized that my original 4K screen has been replaced without asking me first by a 1080p screen. And neither of the minor issues (cooling system/keyboard) seems to have been handled.

In total, after 57 days:

• I paid to replace a part on top of a Care Pack
• I was left without a computer for almost 3 months, while it's my main work tool
• I spent probably around 10 to 15 hours writing emails and trying to have the right person on the phone
• Everytime I had to pay on the phone because the warranty expired in the meantime
• My warranty was never extended while I was told it would
• I was consistently given contradictory information, as well as very rare updates
• The minor problems seems to have remained untouched
• The screen was replaced by the wrong part, even though I was told repeatedly to "not worry"

Only the battery was correctly replaced. Because of my job, I spend most of my days with very small fonts on my screen, and when I originally bought this computer, I bought it with a 4K screen on purpose. Over the 3 last months, I have spent countless hours on this problem instead of focusing on modeling the pandemic, which should have taken 100% of my attention. If parts were not available because HP relied on tight supply chains and got screwed, my problem could still have been solved for good in 48h... by just providing me with an equivalent computer (even if it that would have been temporary) (a "HP Spectre x360 13-aw0005nf"  for example).

The thing is that my problem is still not solved, because the screen was not replaced by the correct part. If anyone around here has an idea of a solution, please, I implore you to share it.

[asmita6658]

Hi @vincent-fr

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