Laptop go byebye

[pemdas21]

The story... I was happily working on my computer, doing a few tasks, when I thought I smelt something funny. I was getting a cold, so I thouht nothing of it at first. But the smell stayed, and it smelt like something burning. When I touched the part of the a-c adapter that connect to the laptop, I burnt my finger. I instantly saved my work, and shut down. I then removed the ac adapter, burning my fingers a few more times. When I eventually got it out, I found to my dismay that the plastic at the end of the a-c adapter had melted into the connection point of the battery of my laptop. After I cursed HP a few times, I plug it back in, just to see what would happen. It instantly got hot, so I removed it yet again. I called HP (some people say they would rather be shot than talk to hp support) and was told numerous times that my product was out of warranty. I hung up. I called again, not satisfied with their option of sending in my laptop for $298.00 to do a "total hp repair". (for all I know they just kick it a few times and send it back.) I was on hold forever. Finally hearing that ringing sound, I begin chatting with someone with such an accent, I have to have them repeat things over and over again. I ask them to escalate my call, so instead he transfers my call to another department. I explain my situation again. I ask to be escalated to their manager. They speak with their manager a few times. I then am told that they will have a case manager call me. I leave my cell number. Two days later, they call, but I am at school, with my phone off so all I get is a missed call and a number. I call the number that was missed and get someone's voicemail from HP. I leave a message for them to call me back. I then call hp's main line again, and go through the same routine. I finally get someone withought an accent, who understands my issue, and instantly decides I need a case manager and asks me what number is best to reach me at, and what time. I tell them, and that is where I am now. The laptop is out of warranty. I don't care. It could have burnt my house down. Have you heard about all of the faulty laptop batteries that have exploded?

The question: What should I do?
Steps I have taken to resolve the issue: Refer to the epic above.
Help?

[Jeremy]

Hewlett Packard have recalled 135,000 laptop batteries, as it seems they are prone to overheating.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall by Hewlett-Packard of a range of HP Pavilion and HP/Compaq Presario and Evo laptop battery packs. The problem is occurring in the packs, where an internal short can cause the battery cells to overheat and melt, or burn the plastic casing, posing a fire hazard.

So .. if you bought an HP/Compaq notebook or replacable batterie between March 2004 til May 2005, check out the CSPC's HP Battery recall page for more details.

But look on the bright side, they are offering to fix it for free, the only problem is that you probably waited to long to get a new batterie, not sure, but if you click on that link I have you, you will see a list of batteries that we're affected.

Let me know what happens! Hope this works .. Thanks ..

[Jeremy]

Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Notebook Models that may contain a recalled battery pack

HP Pavilion

dx4000
dx5000
zd8100
ze4100
ze4100/xt1xx
4200
ze4200
ze4300
ze4400
ze4500
ze4600
ze4700
ze4800
ze5155
ze5200
ze5300
ze5400
ze5500
ze5600
zv5000
zv5200
zx5000
zx5200

HP Compaq
nc6000
nc8000
nw8000
nx5000
nx9005
nx9008
nx9010
nx9100
nx9105
9000
9005

Compaq Presario
1100
2100
2500
R3000
R3200
V1000
X4000
X5000
X6100

Compaq Evo

n1010v
n1050v


NOTE: Recalled battery packs have bar-code labels starting with GC, IA, L0, or L1

[pemdas21]

no, they are offering to fix it for $298.00 as of now. I will keep you posted, and thanks for the link, *click*

[Jeremy]

Alright, well that really sux doesn't it? .. you are better off to purchase a new notebook I would say but only buy it after Jan 31st so you can have Windows Vista pre-installed into it.

Because why pay 300$ to fix a batterie when you can get a new notebook with a brand new working bat. and at a cheap price for a notebook with improved features?

[pemdas21]

oh my god, my battery pack is affected!!! They never even told me. I hate them so much now! I even askedif any battery packs were recalled. What cheap ********. Now I have a ruined laptop battery too because of the melted plastic!!!

[Jeremy]

You can take that to court maybe, but it's not worth it.

[pemdas21]

I checked again, and the first two digits of the battery pack are not included. And what case would I make? It would be a he said she said thing because I failed to record the conversation... Well, I can always threaten it. :) I think that my battery pack was affected... It has all the right symptoms...

[Bethers]

The battery problem is on almost all computer brands, Dell, HP, Gateway, etc - there have been stories all over the news. You need to check the complete websites for information on your computer. Mine got lucky - I have a battery made during the effected dates, but not one that is recalled.

But, my question is - you were not running on battery but on electric power and you are saying your electic cord is what got hot. That is an entirely different story.

[pemdas21]

oh my god! I just got off the phone with one of the people, and they are sending a box via fed-ex next day shipping for me to put my computer-harddrive and ac adapter in. Once they recieve it they are going to replace ALL parts damaged and return it free of charge. All free. And, I recorded the conversation with the guy, and they sent me a customer service order confirmation!!! 6 conversations, 3 online chats and a partitridge in a pear tree! Woohooo! New battery for my 3 year old laptop!!! It was getting old, and its battery life was nearing 10 minutes!!! The new one of the same thing lasts for one hour when brand new!!! Hip-Hip-Hooray!!!

[Jeremy]

Wow,

PROPS TO PEMDAS21! .. good for you! Keep us posted on how it goes (how long to get it back, and what happens when you get it back)

Let us know!

[allstarfaces]

well done you for sticking it out

[pemdas21]

Well thank you Jeremy and allstarfaces! I have removed my hard drive because I don't want some hp guy logging on and doing something like format c:\ That is the hard drive with windows vista, and xp pro. They are even sending me a box to put it in! Wow, I just hope that I don't get a bill... I just feel like pointing and laughing at all of the people that said you have to pay 298 dollars or whatever to have your computer completely reserviced. :) I will take pictures of the laptop and post them here. :)

[Jeremy]

Haha! Alright! .. this is going to be interesting! ..

[pemdas21]

well, the latest:

I recieved the box as of yesterday that was sent from a facility in Freemont, CA. It came with packing instructions, cool packing things that went on the ends of the laptop, and a special place just for the ac adapter. :) I put on the mailing label, and taped it shut, but not before I took a zillion pics of the laptop... Hp hasn't exactly won my trust... They said that they have recieved it as of today, just a few hours ago. They also said that it should be shipped back at the latest on tuesday, or wednesday... We will see! Comments?

[Jeremy]

Hmmm ...

I did the same thing with a simular product, my **** broke (don't ask me why I am using ***** products - getting a Zune soon) .. anyway! .. so I still had a warranty on it so they shipped me a box using UPS Airmail, and made me put it in the box, seal it with the tape they gave me and then put the sticker to mail it back with UPS (which is neat because I just had to call UPS and they picked it up for me for free!) .. and I am now waiting to recieve my **** on Monday since UPS doesn't work on Sunday or Saturday.

I would say that ***** paid about 30.00$ - 40.00$ just to ship the box here, to ship it back to them and to ship it back to me - you can't go wrong!

.. all though I did not take pictures of it which was a good idea, my **** was sent without any scratches in the back of the stainless steal as well, so if I see one scratch, it's gonna be hell! .. I will keep ya posted on that my friend and see how each of us turn out! haha!

[pemdas21]

sounds like a plan... I hope the best for your... *barfs* ****. :)

[Bethers]

So glad to hear somethings are happening as they should. Can't wait to hear the final outcomes - all good, I hope.

[beebrothers]

As The Laptop Turns....

All the best,
I'd be lost (at school) without my puter...
Keep us posted

[pemdas21]

well you guys know my RITA website? All of that was on my laptop... Every single file... As soon as I noticed it was getting hot, I did a copy paste onto my thumbdrive... I then stuck it in my main computer, which causes the puter to restart not sure why) so then I went next door with my dads flash drive and used the neighbor's puter to copy the files from my flash drive to his, then I used his to copy them onto this computer so that I can update RITA's pages. How is that for complex? I am gonna call HP again and ask for an update... See whats going on with my computer. (see if they are in the process of kicking it, or punching it) :)

[Jeremy]

Hey,

Just want to let you know that you've got them tied around your finger right now, but don't take advantage of it, because in the end you will be very dissapointed if they turn you down.

Your computer is going to be outdated in (20) days as of Jan. 7th. 2006. due to the new release of Microsoft's biggest launch yet, VISTA! .. and don't expect them to give you a free Duo Core 2 Processor or something ... your computer is what? 3 years old now? .. I try to keep up with the latest technology but I get outdated like every month!

Good luck! All the best, and let me know ...

P.S. I only have an **** because the Zune is not available in Canada yet ^_^

[pemdas21]

I have vista on my 3 year old laptop... :) Runs it just fine,

[Jeremy]

Hey!

I got home with a DHL sticker on my door .. damn! I MISSED HIM! haha! .. so I will make sure to sign this note that makes him leave it at the door, or maybe the back one so I don't get it jacked! haha ..

[Jeremy]

Hello.

I have come home to a brand new **** from *****. They have shipped me a brand new **** replacing the old broken one .. isn't that great? .. yes I know its *****, but heck! They invented the ****** with touch screen! LIKE that is amazing! ... anyway, Microsoft will think of something lets hope, haha!

VERY SATISFIED with ***** at the moment .. I am still #1 for Microsoft don't ya worry! haha

[pemdas21]

wish I could say the same about Hewlet Packard

I begin this post with this simple but true statement about hp: THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!!

Okay, here is the latest conversation, and a story to go alon with it...

So I decide to call customer service to see what the status is on my laptop. This lad with a ver heavy accent says just a minute, and she takes ten to pull it up. (well, she did have to reade my case file which is about a mile long now :) ) She then asks if I was contacted by a technitian. I say no, and ask if I was supposed to be. She says yes. I ask her why. She says she doesn't know. I tell her about my situation, and how my laptop battery was recalled, and gave her the story. She then tells me that she knows everything about my case and that it is all in the case log. She then tells me that the report says it was customer inflicted damage. I then ask her this question: So you are telling me that I need to pay money for something that was recalled to have it replaced. She says yes... Now lets take a brake for a minute and think about that... Tick Tock... Done?

I ask for her manager... She says just a minute. I spend 3 minutes waiting for her to "find" her manager while I am on hold... Is he going to the bathroom? He finally comes on the line. I tell him everything that the lady told me, and he tells me that he needs to read the case file. Understandable. He spends a few minutes reading it, and he says that there was no report of it being customer inflicted damage, and he sai so far so good. I ask him to add to the case file that the keyboard is damaged, (sister couldn't get the little thing that you have to brake in the middle of a glowstick to make it glow break, so she brok it on accident, splattering acid over the keys) and was damaged by me, and that I don't want it replaced, I don't want the laptop sent back because of that, and that I don't want to be billed because of that. He says sounds great, ads the informaton, and asks if I need any other help. I say no, and that was the end of the conversation.

Here is the estimated delivery date: 1/16/2007

The page that I was told to look at says that they recieved the laptop on the 3rd, but everyone always says that they recieved it "today". (today as in whatever day I was calling)

Am I ready to give up? H*** NO! Next time they pull a stunt like that, I am going to go to finance.yahoo.com and look at the internal traded stocks (the stocks that employees buy and sell which is requiered to be available to the public) and look for the person that trades the lowest amounts and ask for him... Good Idea? I am going to add a HP SUPPORT SUCKS to my signature now. :) Thanks for all of your support.

Way to go on getting the new ****!!! Yay! How much of a hassle was it?

[Jeremy]

Hey,

Wow! .. umm .. looks like you are having a great time with HP! Haha! .. you better damn not be paying for something that was recalled! .. if you had to pay on a recalled item, I would call the news, and make them make a big deal about it and put it all over the news, haha ...

.. my **** .. hmmm ... well the day I recieve my new **** I hear there is this thing called the ****** now .. man it is a beauty! .. anyway, the whole process took about a week and a half or so let's say. They paid atleast 30 - 40$ to ship a box here, ship my **** back to them, and to ship it back here with a brand new **** in it at no cost to me.

I was able to go online and check my status (item recieved, fixing, packing, shipping) etc. it was really a great feature to add, I knew exactly what was going on, and I had an idea of when I was gonna get my ****.

The **** they give me has a 90 day warranty + the warranty days I still have left on my other ****.

.. keep me posted, this is interesting!

[pemdas21]

I will keep all of you posted. I feel like reaching through the phone and slapping the people a few times. :)

[Jeremy]

You should call them and record it, and post it here so we can all listen, haha :P

[pemdas21]

I have recorded a few conversations... Just how to get it on the computer... and how to bleep out certian things...

[pemdas21]

okay... Here is an interesting twist... I called their directory (automated directory) and asked for the president. I was then routed to the administration builind where I talked to a very nice lady. I explained how long it took for me to get where I am now, and vaugelly described my situation. She agreed with me on everything, and told me she was sorry. She then Told me to check my email in about a day because she was giving me a $50.00 cupoun!!!

$50!!!!

She then sais she was sorry again, and we ended our conversation. She then called me back again within about a minute, and asked me if she had given me her number. I said no, and she gave me her number, and told meif I ever have any more problems like this that I should call it. How nice is that!? Wow! She also added a few notes to my case, things like customer was given false information, and customer was mistreated blah blah blah. She also said that if there were any problems with the repair or it being shipped back to me that I should call her!

I have new feelings for HP!

How do you like dem *****s!

[Jeremy]

Haha .. bleep out certain things! Too funny! Too funny! lol .. I would be the same way if that was my notebook ...

.. glad to hear you finally met some nice people working for HP .. so umm listen I have some ink I need for my HP printer, and I sorta need 50$ to buy .. think you can give me a hand? haha just kidding... but congrads to you ..

I accually bought my **** on eBay, and ***** was nice enough to replace it for me for free without a warranty. I bought a refurbished item becides that and get a brand new **** in return, haha!

[pemdas21]

trying to one up me huh? lol. J/k

We will see what happens... And I didn't mean bleep out certian things like that... I meant my address, full name, laptop pin etc... But your way of interpreting it was much funnier!

Congrats on the ****!

[Jeremy]

LOL ... ah that kind of bleeping! haha .. never would of thought of that, you don't really want some nut coming to your house, haha

[pemdas21]

that would be correct... I don't want a "nut" coming to my house... Come with a check for $1000, and I may be able to change the rules a bit... :)

[pemdas21]

Laptop is supposed to arrive all fixed tomorrow! Let's hope that it has all been repaired, and is in working order. Cross your fingers!

[Jeremy]

*makes a curse* haha just kidding! .. good luck, let me know!

[pemdas21]

I shall. If it comes back half broken, I have the direct line to a vice president of the company... They aren't going to pull a quick one on me... Not PEMDAS21!!! *evil laugh*. I'm done. :)

[Jeremy]

Haha! .. mind giving me that number? I am in the mood to make a prank call pretending I am Dell ... hehe .. lol j.k .. let me know..

[pemdas21#2]

well, I was banned, and the ban will never be lifted until I buy a vodahost account, so I will only use this account to post about my laptop until it is safely returned. I am sorry for my not buying voda webhosting. I will only post on this thread vodahost.

wish I could have all of my post count back. :( I didn't know that it was against the rules to post here withough purchasing hosting from vodahost)

Here is my sweet message:

You have been banned for the following reason:
Get a VodaHost account and I will unban you - until then!
Date the ban will be lifted: Never

[hpissues]

Pemdas,

Can you email me at hpissues******.com. I have a similar issue with a nx9010. We replaced the battery and have now just burned up our second power adapter. My battery was an L2. Any insight on getting this replaced would be great.

[beebrothers]

hmmm..#2?

[Jeremy]

Haha .. awww .. poor you! .. that's a funny message you got, lol .. let us know when you buy an account!

[LadyEye]

I thought you were banned .... how did you get back here???

I can't figure this one out .... blonde moment??

[pemdas21#2]

I was, and sort of still am. This is pemdas21#2... If they ban this one as well, then I will make pemdas21#3 and so on. It is quite simple if you think about it.

[LadyEye]

I was, and sort of still am. This is pemdas21#2... If they ban this one as well, then I will make pemdas21#3 and so on. It is quite simple if you think about it.

lol good luck with all of that, just dont come back as ladyeye2 lol

[pemdas21#2]

now that would be funny...

Ram arrived!!! (doesn't do me much good withought the computer, but hell, it is here!)

[Vasili]

man, it is just too expensive for me. I am merely a kid. I can't dish out money like that. I know that sounds petty, but remember how much a dollar seemed when you were a kid?

I was making $0.25/hr when I was 12 working 4 hours a day after school polishing jewelry in a repair shop, and saved all my money to buy Christmas presents for everyone. It was important to me that I be able to do this, to "participate in life" even if it was only once a year....
Everyone should have priorities.......how much do you spend on video games?

The real point is that there are rules and expectations in life.
ICANN, (the agency the governs the internet) requires a minimum age to purchase a domain name, and VodaHost is also required to have minimums too....so it is all legal. It is not about the money, and you know it. It is about doing things responsibly. If you had the mind to it, you can still find means to continue your online progress.....if you really wanted to.

Personally, I believe if you had acted with more decorum, you would have been fine. Had you kept under the radar, we would have not minded (everyone knew last summer already!)....but you continued to act out, to call attention to yourself on top of your lack of even common courtesy -- a dead giveaway. As it turns out, it is simply an excellent lesson to learn how things in the real world truly are, and how you need grow up a bit and follow the rules to fit in so you can enjoy the action like everyone else......it never really was about the money, so you need not keep telling that story. It was (and still is) about the choices you make, and being accountable for them. A lesson better learned sooner than later.....trust me!

[pemdas21#2]

Video games= close to nada. No time for them. And Vasili, had I stayed under the radar without disclosing what I actually was doing, I would have felt like I was lying to you guys. My priority is to buy a car. So I found a bank with %5.1 interest, and have been investing since I was 5. I know how to manage money. 12 bucks a year versus 97... I will go with 12 thank you. Another way to save money.

It was (and still is) about the choices you make, and being accountable for them. A lesson better learned sooner than later.....trust me!

Learned that last year... Was suspended from school for loading programs on the school computers so that I could test them out and write about them in the school newspaper... I was in a "Newspaper" class. How odd is that. Although, I learned my lesson. I was held accountable by serving three days of suspension. (one of those days I was crushed by a boulder in our creek. Not fun. :( )

I understand all of your points compltely Vasili. I am mending myself now. Thanks for letting me know now so that when I am in the real world, I will know how to act.

[pemdas21#2]

oh, and about the icann... My domain is under my Dad's name... He signed up for it, but I have to pay for everything I do.

[Jeremy]

You learn something everyday don't ya?

[pemdas21#2]

that I do. :) Missed the guy again!!! Curses. I have an extra 512 ram, and nowhere to put it!!! Ahhh!

[pemdas21#2]

well, we went down to the place and picked it up... I opened up the box, and there was a piece of paper, along with a new ac adapter... It said: PARTS REPLACED: Keyboard, Switchboard, MotherBoard, Battery, Ac Adapter!!! All for free! And, the laptop is out of warranty!

The catch... (there always is one)

The laptop doesn't recognize the new ram!!! Time to call the big V-P again... :( I am not looking forward to this. :( Condolences?

[Jeremy]

LOL .. well at least you got half of a new laptop now!

[pemdas21#2]

that is true. (it is 3 years out of warranty too. hehe)
Waiting paitently for monday to talk to another VP.
My case file was so long that they decided to just fix, and upgrade everything... By the way, they gave me a new processor! It is a lot faster than the old one!

[pemdas21#2]

good news... They are sending me another 512 mb. ram stick for free, which I will test, and then I will put the other 2, 256 mb ram sticks in box that will be sent back to hp. Pretty cool huh?

[Jeremy]

Wow, you have them tied down my friend ..

[pemdas21#2]

that I do, that I do. I mean, direct line to someone who can "
act on the presidents behalf".