PC World's Whatever Happens Fiasco

pamelac858

To make a long story short, I bought this coverage after my then year-old computer had been in the shop twice just to get the faulty keyboard replaced.

Since then, I've had to send it in 2 or 3 more times and it's due to be sent back again on Friday - even though I've bought the so-called 'premier' membership so I could have quick pick-ups and turn-arounds - ha!

When I was sold the insurance, they emphasized 'priority treatment' - faster service, replacement after 10 days, AND a loaner laptop - all of which was why I bought the protection.

NONE of those promises made at the time of sale have actually been honored. The last time it was in the shop, I had to drop it off at a store (Aylesbury) and was told they would pick it up first thing the next morning - I was going out of town, so this was the only way I could do it. They didn't pick up the lapto for TEN DAYS and I was told that it didn't 'count' as time until they had booked it into the system at the repair center!

I was also told that this level of insurance meant a next-day pickup if you call by 3 pm - which is not true and has not been true re: any of the times I've had to send it in for repair. I called today - Tuesday - and they won't pick it up until Friday.

I'm really angry that NONE of the promises made by the company have been honored and of course none of the CS staff you speak to on the phone has any power or control over things. Never ONCE have they actually initiated a call to tell me what was going on - waiting for parts, etc. - I always had to pay to call them on their non-toll free phone line.

Last time I started documenting everything that went wrong, but it soon got to the point where it was like the 3 Stooges doing the work and I got so upset, I just gave up. I know it's not the way to handle things, but it really got frustrating after we hit week 3 and still no laptop and still the same old excuses followed by inaction.

Any suggestions for actually getting what we are paying for - or being sold?

Pam

CoolHotCold

Hey

Send a email to letusknow@knowhow.com

Include your Whatever Happens Covernumber (top right hand side under your address on the A4 paper you got when you purchased the system) and also your address details and a contact number.

Explain whats happened (also if you can put down repair times (and JRS numbers (if you dropped it off at a store it should be on the service docket report you got when you picked it up) and how the level of service isn't what you'd expect or what you've been paying for.

Where do you live? It it does state some areas in remote areas are not included in the next day (if phoned before 3pm)


But send a email to that email address I supplied and also if you want you can write down a more detailed letter and take it into a store for them to follow the SaveOurCustomers procedure for complaints, which should be resolved within 24/48 hours. (try and include 2 contact numbers)

Esqui

If it's failed (i.e. not been damaged) and had to go for repair more than 3 times, you can request a new product. It will have needed three repairs completed on it, and it will be assessed for the fourth fault and written off.

StuieUK34

CoolHotCold wrote: »

But send a email to that email address I supplied and also if you want you can write down a more detailed letter and take it into a store for them to follow the SaveOurCustomers procedure for complaints, which should be resolved within 24/48 hours. (try and include 2 contact numbers)

haha!
That made me laugh!!
When companies become big, and in your face (meaning you get to know the brands quite well), they become a law to themselves as to what they can do...
DixonsRetail in all fairness is quite big, so losing customers over shoddy service is probably something they dont care about.... I just waited 3 weeks to get a partial refund for a TV i bought from Currys, after 4 chase ups and multiple departments who deal with X, Y and Z!

pamelac858

I DID send an email to that address and got a sweet little message back basically saying she was sorry I did not receive the service I expected.

I got the laptop back the morning I was supposed to, last Friday, and it was fine for 3 days. They said the power switch board had failed. I fired it up and left it running for 2 days, trying to get all my data backed up. I turned it off after the 2 days and was going to back up all my system info and any last-minute stuff like my Outlook data, etc., and it wouldn't start again! Same problem. It's the mother board, I do have experience in this sort of thing, and wrote them a detailed note to the repair folks about what I'd tried and what I thought was wrong and why.

I was livid and wrote the the sweet CS gal and told her what had happened and that I once AGAIN had not been offered a loaner laptop and that I wished to have my complaint sent to her supervisor or someone else who could actually provide some help.

Yesterday I got an email from the CS person above her who said that if the technician actually DID find it was having an issue - it won't POST so DUH! - that they will provide vouchers for a replacement. Because of the issues I've been having, I only by chance saw the email in my online email box - for some reason it didn't come through to my netbook.

In addition, when the driver picked up the laptop this morning, lo and behold, he was carrying a LOANER! Yes, folks, a LOANER! It's great, except I can't change any settings and if I turn it off, it reverts to the factory settings, but other than that, hey, I'm happy. If you've ever tried to work on a netbook, you understand my joy of a loaner.

Two questions.

One. I have looked online and cannot find anything near the spec I have now that is not quite a bit more than I paid. How does this voucher system work? I am also going out of town for almost 2 weeks, which is going to cause a bit of confusion re: getting the loaner back to them, plus how to get the vouchers. Does anyone know if I can drop it off at a store for later pickup?

Two. Will I be able to retrieve my data and settings from the old drives? I have written back to the person who emailed me to request the drives (the documentation says the old drives will be sent to me, but so far, I've not found much about the documentation blurb to be honored). It also says there is free data recovery, but I don't know if exactly what that means. There is nothing wrong with the hard drives (there are 2).

Thanks for your help everyone. Sorry to have dumped this out there and not come back until now, but it's very hard working on a netbook.

Pam

lolarentt

Hmmm, well it is PC World, your expectations for customer service were probably not high!

pamelac858

CoolHotCool, it has not been damaged, I baby that thing like nobody's business.

It had a faulty keyboard when I got it, it took 3x to get it replaced. I was told it had to have 3 faults in a year to get it replaced (which was not my first choice - do you know how long it takes to configure a new computer?) and because one of the repairs was at from the end of last year spanning into this year, this counts for the third time.

Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to FIX it the first time instead of making the customer return it 3x?

I live 30 miles outside of London, it's not like I live in the outer Hebredes or some far-flung place. I don't understand why it takes 3 days to pick it up!

Pam

pamelac858

What's the alternative to PC World? I'm not from the UK, I'm American, I have learned to not expect customer service from anyone over here, BUT this is a very important piece of equipment in my world, that is why I bought this insurance, thinking it would be a good deal.

Pam

lolarentt

Plenty of smaller suppliers but of the big stores I'd recommend John Lewis for professional unbiased advice, and no hard sell

pamelac858

Not sure John Lewis is in my budget. I looked for small stores last time, but I don't know of any around me. Not saying they don't exist, but I don't know of any. Might be easier now with FB and other ways of searching the net.

ajones456

Hopefully we can get this sorted for you and squash some myths at the same time!

If you have the Whatever Happens Premier Care Plan then you should be getting the features listed on the website. http://www.knowhow.com/uk/repair-protect-pillar/protect-premier---computing.aspx?country=uk

I can tell you conclusively that the 7 days starts from the time that the unit (TV or Computer) has left your house, or you dropped it off in store if a store disputes this or the customer service then you should escalate the call immediately. Staff should see this available on there intranet and it clearly states its from drop off that the clock starts.

The vouchers work on a specification system. Meaning they will give you the value to purchase a laptop with the same specification as you currently have - if the suggested replacement does not have a specific feature that you require (for example, bluetooth) then you can ask the store do get the voucher over-ridden or phone up the customer service line and ask them to do it.

Vouchers are sent to you in the post. However if your laptop has already been written off, pop into your local store to see if they can ring up H/O and get the voucher code over the phone, you will need to bring 2 forms of ID with you (picture, and address).