I must confess I was a fan of HP. I loved its humble beginnings, when they invented things at the garage. It was kind of romantic. So I patronized their products. I had HP laptop, HP desktop, HP printers, HP iPad. I was even recommending HP to other companies that I know. However, each unit began to break down one after the other. First, the printer, then the laptop, and then the iPad. Each one broke down after the one year warranty had ended. The printer took 5 years after the warranty period. The laptop broke 1 month after the warranty period. The iPad broke down 2 years after the warranty period, but it was caused by downloading and updating the BIOS though HP website. The desktop is still working.
I have no complaint about the printer, as 6 years service is fair. But when its 'top-of-the-line' (then) laptop broke down almost immediately after the expiry of the warranty period, it made me wonder about the quality of HP product. I took it to repair shops, including HP authorized service center in Buendia Avenue, but it was not worth fixing the motherboard. The repair price of P15,000 was prohibitive. and there was no guarantee that it would last for another year. It was advisable and better to buy a brand new model than have the HP laptop fixed. The scrap value of the P100,000-laptop is now only P5,000 with no more than 2 years of light use. That is, if there is any buyer at all.
Then came the HP iPad, which originally cost me around P42,000 in 2005. It was doing quite well for 3 years but when I upgraded its BIOS (operating system) that was downloaded through its website, the unit broke down! I complained to HP through its website, and the customer service representative referred me to its service center in the Philippines that is located in Buendia avenue, and also provided me an email address to contact. I sent emails where I explained my predicament, but it ended up with me shouldering the cost of the brand new unit as they do not modular repair. No matter how I tried to explain that I was not at fault, but it was their BIOS driver that caused the malfunction, they would not understand and accept responsibility for the repair of my iPad. So I file a complaint to DTI through its website. There was no response for almost a year and so I took time to go to DTI NCR in Makati to follow up my case.
It was then that I learned that the DTI website where I filed my complaint broke down too. Anyway, DTI let me file a complaint again, and they calendared it for mediation. An HP lawyer was present during the process of mediation, which met for about 4 times. At first, HP is considering repair of the unit but later on it reverted to its old stand of full unit replacement and they were asking how much am I willing to share in the cost of the brand new unit. I explained again and again that I was not at fault, and ought not to bear any cost. All I was asking and entitled to, was to repair the defective unit. They even raised the issue of depreciation that should be deducted, but I told them the unit is fully depreciated, and therefore even the brand new unit has no value at all, if depreciation is considered. So why would they ask me to pay tough pesos for something that was fully depreciated and has no value. Finally, HP agreed to replace the defective unit with a brand new iPad, free of charge.
It was a tough bout especially if you're going against a multinational company with top notch lawyers in their payroll.
But if you believe you are right, they will listen too.
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