Angry about lemon computer

[Janeway]

I spent $1300 on a new lap top from Best Buy summer 2015. In November 2015, I sent it in to be fixed on warranty. It came back but fell apart again. It was the hinge. I have been trying to reach them for a month now to repair it. Now they respond with an email stating that they did not even do the repair the first time. They said "no technician touched it." I am so mad! I know people have mentioned ways to get above the level we are at with Lenovo. How do I do this?

[Jenn in FL]

Do you have any documentation re: sending it?  Perhaps a postage insurance receipt or tracking number or a paper trail from Best if it was sent through them?

[UCF612]

That stinks. I hate Best Buy. We've always had something go wrong with them so I refuse to shop there. I got a Lenovo desk to at Staples last year. It was a lemon too, wouldn't turn on 90% of the time out when it did once it fell asleep you couldn't wake it for a few days. Staples took one look at it and immediately replaced it. Haven't had an issue with the new one.

 

Definitely find a paper trail if at all possible.

[Lanny]

I am sad that you are having this issue with Best Buy. I seem to recall reading several previous threads here on WTM, where people had bad experiences with Best Buy and what I think is called their "Geek Squad". 

 

That said, how can you try to resolve the issues with your extremely expensive Lenovo laptop?  Our family purchased 3 Refurbished Dell Latitude E6400 laptops from Blair Technology Group. They guarantee satisfaction, with a one year warranty.  We have also purchased three Used INCOMPLETE Dell laptops from an eBay Seller in PA.  

 

First of all, I would keep the originals of any paperwork you have, about the time you took the Laptop to Best Buy to have the Hinge replaced, in a very safe place and I would never permit anyone from Best Buy or Lenovo to touch them. Give them, or let them see, photocopies, but never let them touch originals.  I would print any emails you have received about this issue.

 

Lenovo is the largest seller of PCs in the world.  A  very reputable company.  I am assuming that your laptop was covered by a manufacturers (OEM) warranty for a minimum of one year, which should have covered this repair.

 

I would find the name and FAX number for the head of Lenovo in the USA and send a polite FAX to him or her. As short as possible, but with all of the important details. You can send a short FAX, free, with FaxZero.com or other services, to U.S. Fax numbers. A longer FAX might cost a dollar or two.

 

The worst case, if you cannot get Best Buy or Lenovo to fix your Laptop to your satisfaction, will be for you to buy the Hinge(s) and replace them yourself.  If you purchased the Laptop in a Retail, Brick and Mortar store, I am assuming it was designed and built for the "Consumer" market. Those laptops are probably harder to service, and get replacement parts for, than models designed and built for "Enterprise" customers, but, fingers crossed,  you can, hopefully, find the Lenovo Service Manual for your Laptop on the Lenovo web site, and, hopefully, get replacement parts for it. 

 

Another worst case, would be for you to file a claim in Small Claims Court in the state you live in, against Best Buy.

 

If you paid for the Laptop with a Credit Card (Gold, etc.) there may be additional warrranty coverage provided by the Credit Card company (MasterCard, Visa, AmEx). 

 

If you purchased an extended warranty from Best Buy, they should fix it. But, the original OEM warranty from Lenovo should have covered it, had the repair been done during the initial 12 months after the purchase date, as you thought had been done.

 

I WOULD BE MAD, BECAUSE THEY'VE NOW TOLD YOU THAT REPAIRS WERE NEVER DONE.  GO AFTER BEST BUY! 

 

ETA:

I don't think it is a Lemon if the Hinge is the only issue.  A defective part like that is what the OEM (Manufacturers) warranty is specifically designed to cover. 

 

The LEMON in  your case is Best Buy and how they mishandled your issue. 

Edited October 20, 2016 by Lanny

[mamiof5]

No advice here, but just good thoughts. How frustrating!! I hope you can have them fix it

[Janeway]

Do you have any documentation re: sending it?  Perhaps a postage insurance receipt or tracking number or a paper trail from Best if it was sent through them?

They admit there was a repair and it was sent it. They say "no technician touched it" though. So..what does that mean? They didn't really fix it?

[Janeway]

 

I am sad that you are having this issue with Best Buy. I seem to recall reading several previous threads here on WTM, where people had bad experiences with Best Buy and what I think is called their "Geek Squad". 

 

That said, how can you try to resolve the issues with your extremely expensive Lenovo laptop?  Our family purchased 3 Refurbished Dell Latitude E6400 laptops from Blair Technology Group. They guarantee satisfaction, with a one year warranty.  We have also purchased three Used INCOMPLETE Dell laptops from an eBay Seller in PA.  

 

First of all, I would keep the originals of any paperwork you have, about the time you took the Laptop to Best Buy to have the Hinge replaced, in a very safe place and I would never permit anyone from Best Buy or Lenovo to touch them. Give them, or let them see, photocopies, but never let them touch originals.  I would print any emails you have received about this issue.

 

Lenovo is the largest seller of PCs in the world.  A  very reputable company.  I am assuming that your laptop was covered by a manufacturers (OEM) warranty for a minimum of one year, which should have covered this repair.

 

I would find the name and FAX number for the head of Lenovo in the USA and send a polite FAX to him or her. As short as possible, but with all of the important details. You can send a short FAX, free, with FaxZero.com or other services, to U.S. Fax numbers. A longer FAX might cost a dollar or two.

 

The worst case, if you cannot get Best Buy or Lenovo to fix your Laptop to your satisfaction, will be for you to buy the Hinge(s) and replace them yourself.  If you purchased the Laptop in a Retail, Brick and Mortar store, I am assuming it was designed and built for the "Consumer" market. Those laptops are probably harder to service, and get replacement parts for, than models designed and built for "Enterprise" customers, but, fingers crossed,  you can, hopefully, find the Lenovo Service Manual for your Laptop on the Lenovo web site, and, hopefully, get replacement parts for it. 

 

Another worst case, would be for you to file a claim in Small Claims Court in the state you live in, against Best Buy.

 

If you paid for the Laptop with a Credit Card (Gold, etc.) there may be additional warrranty coverage provided by the Credit Card company (MasterCard, Visa, AmEx). 

 

If you purchased an extended warranty from Best Buy, they should fix it. But, the original OEM warranty from Lenovo should have covered it, had the repair been done during the initial 12 months after the purchase date, as you thought had been done.

 

I WOULD BE MAD, BECAUSE THEY'VE NOW TOLD YOU THAT REPAIRS WERE NEVER DONE.  GO AFTER BEST BUY! 

 

ETA:

I don't think it is a Lemon if the Hinge is the only issue.  A defective part like that is what the OEM (Manufacturers) warranty is specifically designed to cover. 

 

The LEMON in  your case is Best Buy and how they mishandled your issue. 

 

Lenovo was the one we went the laptop to to be repaired under warranty. They did not fix it right.

[Lanny]

They admit there was a repair and it was sent it. They say "no technician touched it" though. So..what does that mean? They didn't really fix it?

 

To me that would mean one of the following:

 

(1) The "technician" did not see a problem and did not replace the Hinge(s)

(2) The "technician" screwed up and did not repair your Laptop

(3) The "technician" did not have the replacement parts and could not get them

 

Yes, it seems to indicate they returned the laptop to you in the same condition they received it. Wasted time on your part.

[Lanny]

I googled for their U.S. HQ and this is from the google SERPS:

 

"A global Fortune 500 company, we have headquarters in Beijing, China and Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S.; major research centers in Yokohama, Japan; ..."

 

I think this is their Home Page and probably you can find the name of their CEO on their web site and send a FAX to him or her:

 

 

http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/us/en/our_company.html

 

If the only issue with your laptop is 1 or 2 Hinges, I don't think that's a Lemon. To me, a Lemon has multiple problems and recurring problems after being repaired.  

 

That said, it is a simple matter and the Hinge(s) should have been replaced for you last year, under warranty.

[KatieJ]

Keep going within the company if you can find corporate phone number.

If that doesn't work, file a BBB complaint against them.

I just filed a BBB complaint with Comcast and corporate called me within 48 hours.

[Slartibartfast]

The problem with Best Buy's Geek Squad is that they don't pay well enough to get real geeks.

[Lanny]

@Janeway   I do not know if USD $1300 includes Sales Tax or not. With or without Sales Tax, you paid A LOT of money for that machine.  We paid USD $200 or less, including shiping to Miami, for each of the 3 Refurbished Dell Latitude E6400 laptops we purchased from Blair Technology Group, during 2014 and 2015.  I am positive, if we had a problem with a Hinge, like you had with your new Lenovo machine, and we'd sent it back to them within the one year warranty, they would have either replaced the defective Hinge, or, sent us another machine.    The 3 INCOMPLETE Dell laptops I won on eBay, from a Seller in PA, if we'd gotten a bad machine, I believe  we could have returned it, within 30 days, for a Refund.  I'm using one of those machines to write this post...My wife uses another of those and my DD uses the other one.

 

There is, IMO, no excuse for you to need to live with this issue.

 

I would persue it until it gets resolved. 

 

IMO, if "the technician" was able to replicate the problem with the Hinge, and I think that would be FAR easier than trying to replicate a problem on the Motherboard, for one example, that the "technician" should have either replaced the defective Hinge, or, sent you another machine as a replacement, under the factory OEM warranty written by Lenovo.

 

If you have not already done so, I suggest again that you send a polite FAX with the  information, to the CEO of Lenovo in NC, or someone very high up in the Executive food chain.

 

GL

 

 

[magnificent_baby]

Ugh, so frustrating! I have had really good customer service with Best Buy and Geek Squad, even when dealing with a refurbished purchased online that was locked when it arrived. Apparently they forgot to clean up "Bob's computer" before I purchased it  :huh: When I complained at what a pain this was for me, they kindly issued me a gift card. 

 

You have a very legitimate problem and I would think they would get it corrected ASAP. I would go that route before dealing with the manufacturer where you will likely get bounced around from rep to rep. 

[Lanny]

Ugh, so frustrating! I have had really good customer service with Best Buy and Geek Squad, even when dealing with a refurbished purchased online that was locked when it arrived. Apparently they forgot to clean up "Bob's computer" before I purchased it  :huh: When I complained at what a pain this was for me, they kindly issued me a gift card. 

 

You have a very legitimate problem and I would think they would get it corrected ASAP. I would go that route before dealing with the manufacturer where you will likely get bounced around from rep to rep. 

 

I think the OP wrote that she had sent it to the manufacturer (Lenovo) for repair.  If  I am correct about that (I'm not sure) then I think it is on Lenovo. If a laptop has a faulty hinge, that is a Mechanical problem and should be easy to replicate and fairly obvious..  The first thing a manufacturer does, when getting something a customer says is faulty, it to verify that it is actually faulty.  I cannot remember the percentage of things manufacturers receive that are actually perfect, although the customer sends them for repair or replacement. It is a large percentage,,,

 

So, if a Lenovo "technician" handled the laptop but did not replace the faulty hinge, or, replace the machine, and the machine is now out of the 12 month Lenovo warranty (I'm assuming it has a 12 month warranty, although it could be longer), I believe this is on Lenovo to resolve for the OP.

 

I would be searching on the web, for names of Lenovo executives in their HQ in NC and contacting one of them via FAX. The Secretary of the person who receives that FAX will Forward it to the appropriate person.   I think that would be faster and easier for the OP than making possibly a large numbers of calls to Customer Service or Technical Support and being passed from one person to another or being told they will look into it and get back to her. 

 

If this was Amazon, she could send an email to Jeff.   

[magnificent_baby]

I think the OP wrote that she had sent it to the manufacturer (Lenovo) for repair.  If  I am correct about that (I'm not sure) then I think it is on Lenovo. If a laptop has a faulty hinge, that is a Mechanical problem and should be easy to replicate and fairly obvious..  The first thing a manufacturer does, when getting something a customer says is faulty, it to verify that it is actually faulty.  I cannot remember the percentage of things manufacturers receive that are actually perfect, although the customer sends them for repair or replacement. It is a large percentage,,,

 

So, if a Lenovo "technician" handled the laptop but did not replace the faulty hinge, or, replace the machine, and the machine is now out of the 12 month Lenovo warranty (I'm assuming it has a 12 month warranty, although it could be longer), I believe this is on Lenovo to resolve for the OP.

 

I would be searching on the web, for names of Lenovo executives in their HQ in NC and contacting one of them via FAX. The Secretary of the person who receives that FAX will Forward it to the appropriate person.   I think that would be faster and easier for the OP than making possibly a large numbers of calls to Customer Service or Technical Support and being passed from one person to another or being told they will look into it and get back to her. 

 

If this was Amazon, she could send an email to Jeff.   

 

I couldn't tell by the post either where it was "repaired" originally. Either way, Best Buy should be backing up the products they sell.  

[Janeway]

I googled for their U.S. HQ and this is from the google SERPS:

 

"A global Fortune 500 company, we have headquarters in Beijing, China and Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S.; major research centers in Yokohama, Japan; ..."

 

I think this is their Home Page and probably you can find the name of their CEO on their web site and send a FAX to him or her:

 

 

http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/us/en/our_company.html

 

If the only issue with your laptop is 1 or 2 Hinges, I don't think that's a Lemon. To me, a Lemon has multiple problems and recurring problems after being repaired.  

 

That said, it is a simple matter and the Hinge(s) should have been replaced for you last year, under warranty.

Except that it won't work because of it and they refuse to fix it. A non-working product would be a lemon.

[Janeway]

I couldn't tell by the post either where it was "repaired" originally. Either way, Best Buy should be backing up the products they sell.  

They do not. I do not even know why we still buy from them. We also purchased a dishwasher they failed to install correctly.

[Lanny]

@Janeway If you haven't already contacted an Executive in their HQ in NC, I urge you, again, to do that.  If you sent it to them to be fixed, when it was in warranty, and they did not fix it (apparently they told you that a Technician did not repair it) then I think you should go after them to make it right for you.   I would also be contacting the Credit Card company (or bank that issued the card) and the BBB...