One bad pixel -- and some reneging on the part of HP warranty support -- may spoil Christmas this year for one reader's family.
"I placed an order with HP for two laptops on Thanksgiving day at $1,800 each," the reader wrote. "I received them on December 7th and opened the first unit to prep for network install. I opened the second a few days later to do the same and noticed a bad pixel in the display. While a single pixel is not a serious flaw, the manufacturing process on these displays has gotten so good that I don't expect to see any bad pixels. I called HP and asked to have a warranty repair. I thought I was being fair in asking for a repair instead of a replacement -- HP will allow return with full reimbursement of the product within 30 days of purchase for orders over the web."
The reader could have ignored the bad pixel if not for the fact the laptops were Christmas presents for his two daughters, and the one who got the bad pixel would be unhappy about it. "The HP tech stated that the repair would be covered under warranty," the reader wrote. "I indicated that this was a Christmas gift and I needed it for the 25th, please verify the parts are in stock and allocated to my unit before I ship it back. He checked and told me I was all set. The warranty return box was delivered and the unit shipped back to HP. They received the unit on 17th. I received a call from HP on the 20th stating that the unit would not be repaired under warranty. I missed this phone call, so all I got from the call was the message. I called them back to find out why, and they would only tell me that it was not a repair covered under warranty. I asked why not and they would not elaborate -- just that if I wanted the display repaired, I would need to pay out $650."
When HP finally did give him an explanation, it was hard to believe. "They told me that I had damaged the display," the reader wrote. "One pixel? I confirmed with them that there was no other physical damage other than the one pixel. I could have the unit returned to me unrepaired, but that would be a $150.00 evaluation fee! With fees like this, don't give me any warranties! Speaking with many people in sales and support at HP about this case, each person seems to agree that it should be covered, but no one has the authority to get the repair done. Now it appears unlikely I will have this unit in time for the 25th. One daughter will be happy, while the other will be crying her eyes out. Since these are such large items, there won't be any other significant gifts under the tree. It's sure to be a memorable Christmas. Thank you, HP. My case number is 3208873143."
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