Poor Customer Service

[Justice_League]

Hello. This is a really long story please be patient and I apologize in advance for the length of this post. It has been over 4 MONTHS and I still have not received a fair solution from HP.

I received a HP Spectre x360 laptop as a gift in January 2022. I live in the USA, but at the time I was on a trip in India and the laptop was from someone who lives in India (so I assume they purchased it there). After my trip ended I brought my laptop back with me to the USA and continued to use it. I realized I forgot to buy an extended care pack for my laptop so I reached out to HP Customer Support USA (because I live in the USA) in April 2023 to make this purchase. I asked if I would still be able to purchase the extended care pack because the manufacturer warranty had expired on January 28, 2023 but they said there is a 90 day period after the manufacturer warranty ends when the customer would still be able to purchase extended care pack. Since I was still within that 90 period, they told me it would not be a problem. I spoke to HP Customer Support multiple times while trying to purchase extended care pack as I had general questions about what would be covered etc. I had to attempt to complete my purchase several times due to some unknown issue but finally I was able to make the purchase with the help of a Customer Support Representative on April 17, 2023. They told me it would take around 7-10 days for the warranty to automatically show up with my serial number and not to worry about it, and I left it at that.

At the end of June 2023, I was using my laptop and suddenly the screen went black. I tried to turn on my laptop but couldn't. It was plugged in and charging at the time so I know the battery was fine. I reached out to HP Tech Support and they helped me try some things to see if my laptop would work, but unfortunately it was concluded that the motherboard was damaged and needed to be replaced. As I had already purchased the extended care pack they tried to set up a service request for me but they couldn't. The representative informed me that the care pack would not be valid for my laptop because the laptop is from the Asia Pacific region and the warranty is from the USA, and that there are no parts available for my specific laptop in the USA to have it fixed. I was surprised, because while purchasing the care pack I gave them my serial number and other details and if there was any problem I assume I would have been told while making the care pack purchase in the first place. They said the warranty is "not valid" because of the difference in region of the laptop, and nothing could be done except take it back to the region of purchase to have it fixed there. I had no plans to travel to India and asked for alternate solutions. I asked if they could order parts for my laptop to the service center in the USA and help me get it fixed if I paid myself for it, but they said that was not possible. They advised me to go to Best Buy or UBreakIFix (authorized third party service centers) and try to get it repaired at my own cost. I went to both of those locations and they also told me that they had no parts for my laptop. They also told me that they had seen several HP Spectre laptops which had faulty motherboards that stopped working for no apparent reason. I asked the HP Spectre team about this and they said they were aware of this issue.

Because the only solution for me was to have the laptop fixed in the Asia Pacific region, I reached out to HP Customer Service to see if they could help me get my warranty transferred to HP India, so that if I get my laptop fixed there at least it would be under warranty. I must have called them atleast 30 times and spoke to several people in several departments. They all said they would try but none of them followed up with me. I had to call back myself each and every time and every time, they said the only thing is take the laptop to India and that the warranty could not be trasferred, sorry we can't do anything else.

I asked friends and family to find someone travelling to India who could take my laptop there (because I was not able to go myself). Finally, I found someone who was able to take my laptop to India for me. But I have not been able to find someone who could take it to the service center yet.

For 4 months, I have not had a working laptop and no way of getting it fixed. I followed every representative's advice, I reached out to supervisors, case managers, tech support, customer support, care pack support, Spectre support Team, every single department I could possibly think of. I made over 30 calls and spent atleast 50 hours trying to find a solution. I also emailed HP with all of these details upon the advice from a HP Supervisor, but I never got a response. I am a student and I rely heavily on my laptop to study for board exams and access to course material. Since June 2023, I have been frustrated without a working laptop which has messed up my study schedule. I value my laptop and I know that I am lucky to have my own.

My issue is this: at the beginning of this whole ordeal, if any ONE of the multiple representatives that helped me purchase the extended care pack had properly checked the serial number of my laptop and told me then that I would not have warranty for it in the USA, I would have bought the warranty from the correct region and I would not be in this frustrating situation. I am stuck with the consequences for something that was not my mistake.

During the multiple calls with HP Support, many of the representatives I spoke with encouraged me to advocate for myself and ask for compensation because this whole situation was due to HP staff's mistake. They encouraged me to ask for a replacement laptop or atleast compensation equal to what the repair cost would have been. I followed their advice and asked for the same, but the case manager assigned to me is telling me the only solution that can be offered is to refund what I paid for the care pack and an additional $125 voucher to use on the HP website. I feel that the refund of my care pack is a given because obviously I was unable to use it (which, again, was not my mistake). But I strongly feel that a $125 voucher does not reflect the degree of inconvenience I faced at all. I mean, I had to send my laptop to another country to have it fixed. Also, the reason I asked for adequate compensation was because multiple HP representatives encouraged me that it was a very real possibility and I know I deserve better service.

I tried to reach out through phone and email to HP Support. But the response has been less than satisfactory which led me to try and reach out here on the Community Forum. HP is a global company with a reliable reputation, and the ability to solve these kinds of unique situations. I really, really hope someone from HP can help me out here. Thank you to anybody who has the patience to read all the way to the end of my post and I hope I hear from HP soon.

[Alden4]

Hi @Justice_League,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

Due to limited support, I would request you contact our HP Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link.

https://www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance.

Have a great day!

Alden4
HP Support 

[Justice_League]

Hello @Alden4,

Thank you for your response. I tried clicking on the link you posted, but the page is not opening and says "sorry we are unable to load your information please try later".

Is there any other way for me to get in touch? How do I contact HP support engineers?

Thanks and regards.