[Resolved]  Compaq Presario Laptop — Complaint against HP Service center Chennai‏

Dear Sir,

I purchased a Compaq Presario (CQ40-108TU/CND8454FSV) from Compudata and Communication PVT LTD in Chennai on the 17th of December 2008. For almost a year, I have been satisfied with the product and had no issues whatsoever.

On the 15th of December 2009, I noticed that the display on my laptop was producing vertical coloured lines surrounded by a white smudge that kept appearing every now and then. When this happens, the laptop would hang.

I understood, as any consumer would; that the warranty for the product is valid for a period of 1 year from the date of purchase. No other information pertaining to this was issued at the time of purchase for me to think otherwise.

Now, when I took the laptop to a HP service centre in Chennai (Maha Electronics) on the 15th of December 2009, I was first told that the warranty period for the laptop had expired on the 7th of December 2009. This shocked me and further questioning led to the service attendant (Mr.Sam) to accept the fact that the warranty period for the laptop was still valid and would only expire on the 17th of December 2009.

He had a hardware professional examine and 'rectify' the issue in less than 10 minutes,claiming that it was a loose cable in the display area and that it was fixed.

Over the next two days, we noticed that the display was showing signs of a re-occurrence of the same problem. By then, the warranty period had expired. We visited the service centre again on the 26th December 2009 and met Mr.Sam again.

This time, his composure and attitude towards the problem seemed very absurd when he started accusing me of having waited till the expiry of the warranty to turn up! He also went on say that this time the display had some other problem and denied the fact that we were just back there with the same issue.

He mentioned a 'flickering' of the display and that the OS was not functioning when that was obviously not the issue.

Being a computer professional, I felt that he was clearly denying the fact that they had either not identified the actual problem on the 15th December 2009, when the warranty period was still valid or they preferred to offer a temporary solution to the problem until the expiry of the warranty. Either way, this service attendant had an attitude that clearly indicated that he was in no way promoting the otherwise excellent service of a reputed company like HP.

I had to give the laptop for servicing again today (26th December 2009) for the re-occurence of the same issue and Mr.Sam said I should visit him at the service centre on Monday (28th December 2009) for an update. I am clueless as to what I should expect this time.

I am absolutely disgusted and disappointed with the service rendered by Maha Electronics in Chennai, who are paving the way to destroying HP's reputation.

Mr.Sam may think that he was showing off his shrewd business antics but that certainly will not impress any consumer like me. It will not take long for anyone to start spreading negative news about any service provider (considering the many mediums that are now available for the public to do so) and I certainly hope that you will see to it that such service centres and staff do not tempt us to take the step.

I don't mind paying for the service offered but I certainly do mind the means by which I am forced to do so when it could have been avoided.

Was it necessary to test a consumer's intelligence to make some money? I hope that your authorities will look into this issue ASAP and give me a valid reason for it.

Here are the details of my Compaq Presario:

Serial No: CND8454FSV
Model&Product No: CQ40-108TU/FU667PA

Date of Purchase: 17/12/2008

Purchased From: CompuData and Communication (P) Ltd, Chennai 600107

Service Centre: Maha Electronics Pvt Ltd
Chennai 600040

Demo Engineer name: Mr.Sam

1st Service Date: 15/12/2009
Obligation Type: Warranty
2nd Service Date: 26/12/2009
Obligation Type: Trade

Looking forward to a positive response.


Thank you.


Sheeba Riyas