The Horrors of HP Computers and Best Buy

We purchased a HP computer model number A750E in 2004.This is a desktop, not a laptop. I can tell you honestly that this is a piece of crap. We spent approximately 1800.00 with all the upgrades on this computer. We purchased the higher end speakers, the DVD ROM and burner which ca burn dual layer DVDs, CD ROM/burner, the higher processor, the bigger hard drive and windows XP. So keep in mind that this is not a 300.00 entry level computer.

First of all they put the wrong processesor in the computer as we paid for the higher upgrade and got the cheaper one. Then the modem was defective so we couldn’t’t get on-line. The customer support is all India and let me tell you trying to get a problem solved through these people is a nightmare! They barely speak English and will repeatedly tell you that their products are of the highest quality!

The frustration that this computer has brought to my life has convinced me that I will never buy and HP again. We received our computer on October 6, 2004. The next day we were returning it to Best buy to find out that it was broken already! This was the instance with the modem. They had placed a recalled modem into our computer. I can’t begin to explain what a pain this was to commute clear across town from where I live to the closest Best Buy which is a 30 minute drive! Then of course not to mention the hassle of unhooking the computer and getting it in the car and hoping that they can fix the problem, and bringing it home hooking it up again.

Then on October 10 we were headed back to Best buy to deal with the wrong processesor issue. What a waste of time. They did’nt’t want to do anything about it until I spoke to a supervisor, and still nothing was done. They said that they were going to credit the account 50.00 for the inconvenience and it never happened.

The computer has a mind of its own, on occasion it won’t run programs, or it will stop in the middle of doing something like burning a CD and turn to the gray screen and completely freeze up. Then it’s more fun when you have to climb under the desk to unplug it and start all over! There are the issues with the wireless keyboard which on occasion will do strange things like not work. Not due to lack of batteries either. The keyboard is an 80.00 upgrade so imagine my disgust when I had to call India and get tech support which took about an hour and a half for them to figure out what was wrong with my keyboard.

We have given up on dealing with HP’s god awful customer service and for that matter we have boycotted Best Buy. We try to live with it as best as we can and everyday that we use this waste of metal we know we have learned an expensive lesson.

I am speaking from almost two years of experience with this computer, its not like I just got it or it’s my first computer. Best Buy primarily sells HP and e-machines. Although funny enough we purchased an entry level 400.00 computer for our son through Dell. We have had it for about a year now and it is a great computer!

While I am not asking you to care about my situation or frustration with these two unfriendly companies I ask that you do plenty of research before buying anything this expensive. Otherwise it may be a regrettable mistake which is very costly in the end!