Comet and the HP laptop saga

swingofthings

Three years ago we bought a HP laptop and HP desktop from Comet. Not had any problems with the desktop but BIG problems with the laptop.

It is a HP pavillion dv9500 with a 15" screen and a nVidea graphics card. A month before the warranty support expired I noticed that the laptop was getting really hot when we used it ... i wasn't sure if this was because the laptop was in the living room sitting on the sofa arm all the time. Anyway, suddently one day the screen goes blank and comes up in very low resolution. The following day it was ok so I thought it was a one-off - but a few days later it was permanently in low-resolution.

I did some research and it turned out there are faulty video cards in a number of pavilion laptops and HP have actually increased the warranty of affected laptops by one year to cover the problem. But because mine is not an affected laptop (in their list of affected laptops) they wouldn't increase the warranty for mine (and hence fix the problem).

I moaned in store at Comet - well moan is a strong word - I told the customer services in the store where I purchased it from about what had happened and she said nothing to do with us - take it up with HP.

No problem I thought I would contact Consumer Direct. They told me to write to Comet with details etc ... I did so ... twice. The first I sent to the manager of the store where I got it from, the second I sent to Comet HQ ... and then silence ...

Since then, our second child has come along so I have not had chance to chase this up again but I am so aggrieved that I thought I should air my thoughts again ...

I loved the HP laptop when it worked - it was stylish and did everything I wanted it to do. But an inherent design fault meant that it is an expensive (800 pounds) doorstop.

(incidentally if anyone has a HP pavilion laptop please do check the hp website to see if you are affected (hxxp://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01087277&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3308892&lang=en) although as earlier stated hp dv9500 is not on the list)


Comet - I expected some sort of response - be it from the store or Head Office. The lack of courtesy in their customers is not to be applauded.

swingofthings

How do I chase after Comet if they are ignoring my letters? I think I sent three in total, one to the store and two to the HQ (well the same one twice) ... not recorded post though which may have been my mistake?!

Mr_Lahey

Give these a call and they will advise you better than anyone on here could:
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Errata

Send this member a PM

Comet company representative
Has MSE’s permission to post for company

swingofthings

Unfortunately the representative does not accept PM messages. How ironic ... ha ha

AdamMerry

I would also check to see if it is deff out of warranty with HP, i have seen cases before were the customer thought there laptop was out of warranty when in fact it was still under warranty.
Check here using the serial numberer on the base of the laptop and if it's still under warranty arrange with HP to get it fixed

http://www13.itrc.hp.com/service/ewarranty/warrantyResults.do?admit=109447627+1269182285962+28353475

ciderboy2009

If you google "nvidia defect" you'll find a uk based forum that will give advice on how to resolve this isssue.

Unfortunately Comet are coming out as the worst company to have to deal with!

lapcure_2

swingofthings wrote:

Comet - I expected some sort of response - be it from the store or Head Office. The lack of courtesy in their customers is not to be applauded.

Hello,

Saw your post and thought I would pop in to help.

I run a forum to help consumers secure a refund or replacement laptop when their laptop is inherently defective.

In my opinion Comet have to be one of the worse of the high street retailers and you are going to be in for a bit of a battle with them.

But don't worry because you will win in the end.

Comet will probably try and fob you off, they have tried to done so with nearly every member of my forum that purchased from them. Thankfully we were there to help the member and ensured that each and every one received either a replacement laptop or a refund.

A repair to these units is out of the question as there are no reliable parts available at this time.

If you Google Nvidiadefect forum you will find us.

Pop on over and let's see if we can help.

Best wishes

Paul
Nvidiadefect.com

olly300

lapcure you are not allowed to advise your website in your posts.

However if you go to your user control panel you can put your website in the "homepage link".

Comet_company_representative

swingofthings wrote: »

Three years ago we bought a HP laptop and HP desktop from Comet. Not had any problems with the desktop but BIG problems with the laptop.

It is a HP pavillion dv9500 with a 15" screen and a nVidea graphics card. A month before the warranty support expired I noticed that the laptop was getting really hot when we used it ... i wasn't sure if this was because the laptop was in the living room sitting on the sofa arm all the time. Anyway, suddently one day the screen goes blank and comes up in very low resolution. The following day it was ok so I thought it was a one-off - but a few days later it was permanently in low-resolution.

I did some research and it turned out there are faulty video cards in a number of pavilion laptops and HP have actually increased the warranty of affected laptops by one year to cover the problem. But because mine is not an affected laptop (in their list of affected laptops) they wouldn't increase the warranty for mine (and hence fix the problem).

I moaned in store at Comet - well moan is a strong word - I told the customer services in the store where I purchased it from about what had happened and she said nothing to do with us - take it up with HP.

No problem I thought I would contact Consumer Direct. They told me to write to Comet with details etc ... I did so ... twice. The first I sent to the manager of the store where I got it from, the second I sent to Comet HQ ... and then silence ...

Since then, our second child has come along so I have not had chance to chase this up again but I am so aggrieved that I thought I should air my thoughts again ...

I loved the HP laptop when it worked - it was stylish and did everything I wanted it to do. But an inherent design fault meant that it is an expensive (800 pounds) doorstop.

(incidentally if anyone has a HP pavilion laptop please do check the hp website to see if you are affected (hxxp://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01087277&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3308892&lang=en) although as earlier stated hp dv9500 is not on the list)


Comet - I expected some sort of response - be it from the store or Head Office. The lack of courtesy in their customers is not to be applauded.

Hi swingofthings,

My name is Andy and I’m from Comet.

I was sorry to hear of the problems that you have been experiencing with your laptop. It is evident that the problems you have experienced are of a similar standing to that of the particular models which were identified and outlined in the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement that HP were offering. However, this since expired as of June 2009

As you have advised, your particular model is not one of the identified models which would have fallen under the terms of this agreement and therefore any repairs or inspections that may be carried out would be based on a chargeable basis due to the fact that your laptop in no longer under any type of warranty.

Irrespective of the above, our store colleagues are more than able to deal with your queries and should have taken ownership of the matter instead of referring you to Hewlett Packard. I am sorry that this was not the case and would like to assure you that this will be addressed internally. I am also concerned to hear that any letters you have sent to us have not been replied to as all correspondence is either responded to in writing or by telephone, therefore, I would like to investigate this further , so please could you send me an email using the link below.

http://comet.custhelp.com

You will need to register a few details to be able to send your email in.

At the time of your attempt to make contact using the PM system this account unfortunately did not have this ability activated, however we are currently liaising with the website administrators to enable this feature to allow responses to personal messages in future. This was an unintentional oversight to which I apologise.

Regards,

Andy

lapcure_2

Hello Andy,

The information you have given is not quite true is it?

You said:-

As you have advised, your particular model is not one of the identified models which would have fallen under the terms of this agreement and therefore any repairs or inspections that may be carried out would be based on a chargeable basis due to the fact that your laptop in no longer under any type of warranty.

If the customers laptop is inherently defective, and the chances of that being the case are quite high, then the customer would not have to pay for a repair.

In fact, as there are no reliable parts available I know that Comet have refunded numerous customers. Those customers who came from my forum and who Comet refused to refund successfully sued through the small claims court.

The fact that Comet either didn't turn up on court day and the customer won judgement by default or they settled at the 11th hour is testament to the fact that Comet have not been doing the right thing by all their customers.

A lot of my forum members have been lied to by Comet Customer Dis-service staff. They have been told to "take the matter up with HP" or "even if your laptop is inherently defective you will still have to pay"

Why is this Andy?

Why is Comets customer service so shockingly bad?

When you compare it to the service you get at Staples you will see how really bad it is.

As far as Staples are concerned once the customer has presented them with an engineers report they then let them choose another laptop to the value of the defective one.

Why cannot Comet do the same?

Why do your customers have to jump through hoops in order to secure what are their statutory rights and what are their rights under the Sale Of Goods Act?

If Comet do not clean up their act soon then they are going to find themselves the subject of many small claims actions in the coming months.

I know of at least fifteen of my forum members who are currently suing Comet for a refund or replacement laptop.

How much more money is this going to cost you before you wake up and smell the coffee?

Best wishes

Paul
Nvidiadefect Forum