Horrible HP Experience - HP wants me to pay $190 to fix their faulty product.

[Thomas19771]

Hmm I suppose all this hub bub is because of the COVID 19 Pandemic. I don't know why your or anyone elses experience would be this bad. I have always had a good experience with this company but that was many years ago that I dealt with them so I guess things change. I hope you find a answer soon.

[John_EB_Gud]

@Thomas19771 Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Yes, I get these are not normal times we live in, but, OTOH, the impact of COVID has been with us for over six months now.  That should be ample time to get a handle on turn-around times under these conditions.

I received an email notification when the service center received the unit with an estimated delivery date of 9/4 which I thought was surprisingly fast and two days earlier than the maximum promised time.  That date passed and wasn't until three days later that I got another email apologizing for the delay and pushing the date out to 9/11 which is two business days longer than promised.  As I did not receive a notification that the item shipped today, I checked the website which was now showing an estimated delivery of the 9/21 which adds another 5 business days to the turn-around, with two additional weekends in between for an additional nine days delay.  I've not received an email notification of this second delay as of yet, but the total time that the machine is out of my hands will be over 20 days if they meet their second delivery estimate.  So much for that expedited turn-around that I paid for.

The service representative who competently handled the online aspect of the claim, recommended that I purchase an additional year of warranty coverage for $169.00.  That represents a little less than the 1/3 the total cost of the machine, which is outrageous premium to pay for additional year of coverage.  It indicates to me that a high percentage of these machines fail after the first year and the premium is a reflection of that.  I have to say, that overall, my experience with this product and service has been a disappointment.  I'll think long and hard before buying another HP product after this. 

[Thomas19771]

Too each there own. I am sorry that you had to go through this with HP. My Laptop HP 17 CA1065CL which I have now had for 2 months looks like a high quality well built machine. I purchased it through COST CO in July 2020. Something tells me all these computers that are having hinge problems must of been abused at some point  or very badly made. I don't know why HP doesn't do something about this but I would have to say there are probably just as many problems with other companies products as well. 

[Kumar0307]

@John_EB_Gud, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

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[John_EB_Gud]

@Thomas19771
I can guarantee that this computer was not abused, dropped, or otherwise damaged in any way when the hinge broke.  The failure mode was exactly as described by the OP and in other threads.  A clicking noise in the hinge that becomes increasingly worse followed by the separation of the screen from the back cover.

Look, I'm not so much bothered by the fact that this problem occurred only six months out.  Random manufacturing defects are something that we all have to live with, and despite the fact that this seems to be a common problem going back years, I'll give HP the benefit of a doubt and assume that's what occurred here.

What does bother me is the increasingly long and shifting turn-around time that leaves us without a computer.  The 3-4 day service that I paid extra for did not happen.  An email update telling me the repairs have been delayed that arrives days after a missed delivery date doesn't tell me anything that I already don't know.  And, when another date,  a week out, is provided and also not met, customer frustration is inevitable.  I realize that there's all sorts of disruption going on in the world right now. Just give me a date that I can rely on, and let me know prior that date, not afterwards, of any delays.  Right now, it looks like it's going to take at least three weeks to get this machine is repaired.  The fact that two promised dates have already been missed, doesn't give me much confidence that this one will kept either.  We shall see.

Finally, whether other manufacturers have similar QA problems is not the issue here.  It's how those problems are dealt with by the manufacturer when they occur.

[Ish197]

Sorry you are having a similar problem John. It seems to be a common issue with the hinge/arm. I'm glad you are still under warranty though. It's been a frustrating experience having it happen around the time the warranty lapsed. Think the pandemic is probably causing the delay in the repair - from what I understand there's a laptop shortage and I figure that's also affected repair times. Years ago I had an HP laptop that simply died after 9 days or so. I received the replacement quickly back then. 

[Thomas19771]

Surprisingly I have not heared anything about hinge/arm issues until I found this post. Of course I never had a laptop until I got mine in July 2020. I was always a desktop person. I do know that there is a computer shortage from all of the stories about schools going to virtual learning. I suppose like ive been trying to say all a long that COVID has been a big part of the reason why companies like HP are not operating like they normally do. Once agian Im am sorry to both Ish and the other person that you have had this problem with the hinge/arm. just keep trying Im sure something will be done eventually. 

[John_EB_Gud]

I previously acknowledged the possible impact that COVID-19 could be having on this repair time.  If that's the reason, I'm sympathetic, but that doesn't address the problem. The thing is that HP was not upfront about this possibility.  Surely after six months of this pandemic they should have handle on turn-around times, yet I was promised an expedited return time of no more than 4 days for extra fee.  I didn't get the service I paid for.

Worse, the return date keeps slipping.  I received a notification today that the return date has been pushed back once again, now another month to October 16th.  HP received the machine at their service center of September 2nd, making the expected repair time at least six weeks, or more, if they push it back again.  The reason given is they're waiting on unspecified parts.  Do you think this hinge problem isn't common?

How long will I have to wait before HP acknowledges that they're unable to repair the machine and provide a replacement?

[Ish197]

Sorry to hear that they keep pushing back the repair date John.The hinge problem seems to be fairly common and is part of the reason I made this thread - I posted some links I found to other threads related to this problem at the bottom of page 1. There should be more threads too but I limited it to 5. HP will not acknowledge that the arm/hinge is a manufacturing problem in my case. I don't know if they have told you the same thing? I hope HP manages to get your laptop repaired before the quoted date. 

[Thomas19771]

I'm sorry to here that the date keeps getting pushed back for you as well. I have actually kept a log of all the issues I once had with this company reguarding a bad desktop I had  several years ago. I did what ever it took and I stayed on them until the problem was solved. I suggest you both do the same. It worked for me.