I ordered a new laptop from HP. I configured it online and then called sales to have them answer some questions. First mistake, because the salesman wanted to close a deal right then. So I "negotiated" with him. He offered me a notebook bag free, I said I liked the leather one better that was $20. more. He "consulted his supervisor" and said he could give me $50. off to get me to buy right now. I said if he could give me the $60. bag, he could take $60. off the price of the other, which was $80.00. He agreed. I said my spouse would have to sleep on it (it was for my S.O., who always has to "sleep on it"). So he called me back the next day. By then I had discovered the free printers shown all over the home page that if purchased on the same day as a computer over $1200. were "qualifed for a rebate" that would make the printer "free" (before tax). So I pointed that out and requested the specific printer. He said fine. Sold me a $20. cable too. Printers used to come with cables back in the day, but now that they are only a vehicle to sell ink at outrageous prices, one must pay for the cheap Chinese made cable as well.
So the printer and bag and cable get here first, because they have to custom build the computer in ! crap! CHINA! So I'm already praying that the laptop won't be a DOA piece of crap, and wishing I'd bought a Dell instead. So what does HP do? Send me the WRONG printer. After an afternoon (3-4 hours)on the phone trying to get a Return Merchandise Authorization, talking to I think it was 9, maybe 10 people, transferred from one Indian outsourced agent to another, and disconnected once, I finally got one Indian guy who could understand that I wanted to return the item because it was not what I ordered. Because it was not the correct printer, I also could not get a rebate, so I could not get a "free" printer, though I bought a $1600. plus laptop pc. No one offered to credit my card for the amount in lieu of a rebate because of their screw up, no one offered to send me an email confirmation that I was eligible for the rebate becuase they were out of the offerred printers so substituded one without notifying or asking me, no one could give me a supervisor with any authorization to correct the error. They did offer to exchange the printer, but could not guarantee my rebate. Plus they would not ship the correct printer until they got the other one back. I had already spoken with the rebate center, and had verified there was no way I'd get a rebate.
I bought my first four desktops from HP starting 9 years ago, and got free printers several times. It used to be hassle free and the product was great, or, if it failed, the warranty replaced it. I have a printer and no room for another so was not about to PAY for another one. Also, I had ink left over when my previous HP printer died, and even though the cartridges WERE IDENTICAL, they would not work in the new printer, so I lost $60. worth of ink. Know why they wouldn't work? The printers read the bar code on the side of the cartridge! This goes way beyond planned obsolescence! Making the identical ink cartridge NOT work is thievery. It's a con job. It's crummy customer relations. Advertising a "Free Printer!" and then substituting something other than what was ordered and which is NOT ELIGIBLE is FRAUD! HP has lost all my future potential business over this, because they fucked with my trust. They not only did nothing to rectify the situation, they wasted an afternoon of my time with their incompetent Indian "Customer Service" representatives. I'm only one person, but I was one person who recommended their products left and right for years, even when I owned Dells, I said HP was a good alternate choice. Not anymore. My next printer will be an Epson. My Epson scanners have way outperformed both HP scanners I've owned, and my Dells will probably still out perform this new laptop, assuming I don't end up sending it back for being a cheap Chinese piece of crap, like my iPods, also assembled in China, and apparently considered to be a "disposable" product by Apple.
OKAY: I wrote the above rant about HP a month ago, then I finally got someone at HP a day or two later who GUARANTEED that the printer they sent me would qualify for the rebate! So I deleted the post. SO GUESS WHAT?! THE FLAWLESS PAPERLESS ONLINE SUBMISSION, WHERE HP FILLS IN ALL THE BLANKS AND KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT ITEM I QUALIFIED FOR, DENIED MY REBATE!!!!
AND the HP salesperson lied about giving me a credit on the laptop bag, it never showed up on the credit card like he said it would "After the item shipped". PLUS the computer was too big for it, even though it said "17 inch", but, it was an HP bag....
AND he told me that I could run this Vista OEM laptop with XP as an OS. Nope.
AND the laptop, while nice so far, arrived with TWO DENTS in the metal palm rest part of the case!
So be aware and alert when making any purchase that advertises a "rebate", even with the companies you may have thought were reputable. It used to be a legitimate deal, now it's basically outright fraud!
Here's a site where you can report Rebate scams at RipOffReport.com. If you have been scammed, contact the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney general, and put together a good detailed rant, and post it everywhere you can!
And stay away from Hewlett-Packard, they have fallen and they can't get up. HP is now Hopelessly Pathetic.
