So it's been a bit since I've posted.
I was able to semi use the laptop after reformatting for a bit... had to reformat every few days... replaced the ram myself... no dice. It's actually the Hard Drive this time.
I called acer to give them one last chance. Basically I stated what had happened, and that I know that the person on the phone didn't care, and that I knew they wouldn't be affected by my call. Long story short, after threatening a lawsuit he put me on hold to check on replacing the unit. 10 minutes later, nope... we can only repair it AGAIN.
I'm calling a lawyer.
Anyone want in on this as a class action suit?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
So yesterday
Acer called me back... Asked what the problem is... I told them it burnt up again. They asked some questions, I mentioned linux... they said that LINUX caused it to burn up again and they aren't covering it.
The version of linux I chose is specifically designed to be easy on the hardware and run cooler. It has laptop management functions and is pretty stable. It was not linux. I may be contacting a lawyer.
In the mean time, I don't think it's a heat issue... I was able to reformat linux and it ran fine for a day. Got a chill mat and it still "burnt up".
Haven't reformatted yet, but I don't want to have to every other day.... I'm going to have to figure out the issue. It has to be hardware....
Oh, and I forgot... last time they had it, they replaced the motherboard, processor and heatsink... then the tech said that they "fixed it to make you happy". So they threw parts at it to make me happy.... sounds like a great strategy.
The version of linux I chose is specifically designed to be easy on the hardware and run cooler. It has laptop management functions and is pretty stable. It was not linux. I may be contacting a lawyer.
In the mean time, I don't think it's a heat issue... I was able to reformat linux and it ran fine for a day. Got a chill mat and it still "burnt up".
Haven't reformatted yet, but I don't want to have to every other day.... I'm going to have to figure out the issue. It has to be hardware....
Oh, and I forgot... last time they had it, they replaced the motherboard, processor and heatsink... then the tech said that they "fixed it to make you happy". So they threw parts at it to make me happy.... sounds like a great strategy.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
This has to be a joke....
You mean to tell me... that the laptop has burnt up again? This has to be the most ridiculous situation ever.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Conclusion....
Well, I guess I'm going to take full advantage of the 90 day warranties... I have a back up system for DJ'ing now, (dell) as well as the current desktop situation I'm stuck with... so I can handle going without the laptop every couple of weeks, I suppose.
Please, anyone who reads this... think more than twice about buying an acer, though. Seriously. Worst investment ever.
Please, anyone who reads this... think more than twice about buying an acer, though. Seriously. Worst investment ever.
Thanks for all your help BBB
3/24/2008, MHL, Case closed as Administratively Judged Resolved. The BBB determined the company did address all of the consumer's dispute issues, and offered to repair the product. The consumer was not satisfied with this resolution.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
another google today....
"acer overheating and hung up"
exactly what mine does... ironic.
wait til it catches fire, my fair googler.
exactly what mine does... ironic.
wait til it catches fire, my fair googler.
My Rebuttal to ACER's Final Offer.
Again, I have provided EVERY opportunity to the company to repair the unit. I have used so many minutes on my cell phone that the company disconnected service mid-month... an acceptable solution will only be a full refund, so I do not have to deal with this for a fifth time as well as compensation for the cell phone usage from the hours I've been on the phone with ACER, and the BBB. If appropriate resolution is not reached, this will become a legal matter in which I seek compensation for not only what I'm requesting now, but also for my physical injuries. This will be resolved to my satisfaction. I am not being overly demanding. I am requesting fair compensation for the problems this unit has repeatedly caused.
And the Fight Continues....
On March 17, 2008, the business provided the following information:
March 13, 2008
Better Business Bureau
2210 Washington Ave
Waco, Tx 76701
RE: Case# 90120299 Bradley Makula
Ms. Sue Johnson,
If Mr. Makula's unit is currently experiencing heat issues, we encourage him to contact us so we can have the unit inspected and restored to good working condition. While we are willing to remedy any hardware defect or technical issue his unit is experiencing under our 90 day repair warranty, we will not be able to issue a refund for the unit.
I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that we at Acer stand behind our products. We are very proud of both our quality record and our service capabilities
I hope this letter has satisfactorily addressed the Better Business Bureau's concerns. Thank you again for your inquiry and for providing Acer America with this opportunity to respond. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Mark A. Groveunder
Vice President, Customer Service
Acer Pan America
March 13, 2008
Better Business Bureau
2210 Washington Ave
Waco, Tx 76701
RE: Case# 90120299 Bradley Makula
Ms. Sue Johnson,
If Mr. Makula's unit is currently experiencing heat issues, we encourage him to contact us so we can have the unit inspected and restored to good working condition. While we are willing to remedy any hardware defect or technical issue his unit is experiencing under our 90 day repair warranty, we will not be able to issue a refund for the unit.
I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that we at Acer stand behind our products. We are very proud of both our quality record and our service capabilities
I hope this letter has satisfactorily addressed the Better Business Bureau's concerns. Thank you again for your inquiry and for providing Acer America with this opportunity to respond. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Mark A. Groveunder
Vice President, Customer Service
Acer Pan America
Today Google brings us...
someone searching for "mark groveunder and acer". I'm on the first page of those results too!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thanks to Google...
Acer has still not responded to my rebuttal, but I have noticed through my webpage reports that somebody searched "aspire 5100 melted".... on the first page of replies, my webboard comes up.... You know, the webboard that has this entire story.
Looks like the word will get out after all.
Looks like the word will get out after all.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
My Rebuttal
This unit has overheated a total of 4 times, once causing a fire (and the unit melted in on itself), once burning my leg (supposedly caused by dust and hair, though this was mentioned after several excuses as to why they would not service the unit. This was a last ditch effort to not service the unit when it was no longer under the warranty, though with the injuries they decided to fix it after much hassle), the THIRD time the unit burnt up in less than one day. If I was confident in the repair technicians ability to repair my unit... that would be an acceptable resolution. However, as this is the FOURTH time they have had my unit for the exact same issue, I feel that the only course of action is to refund my purchase price, as well as refund me for the hours of cell phone time I've spent dealing with this issue. The unit being broken so frequently has also cost me money in blank cd's, DJ Gigs, and general inconvenience by having to carry a desktop pc to various locations to meet my personal commitments. This is unacceptable and I will not settle for less than my full refund and ample compensation regarding the cell phone and inability to use the laptop during my commitments.
Acer Replies
February 26, 2008
Better Business Bureau
2210 Washington Avenue
Waco, TX 76701
RE: Case# 90120299 Bradley Makula
Ms. Sue Johnson,
Thank you for your recent inquiry on behalf of Mr. Makula. Acer America appreciates the Better Business Bureau's efforts to resolve consumer complaints and to promote communications between businesses and consumers.
An Acer representative has contacted Mr. Makula regarding this matter. While his unit has been serviced for overheating in the past, this problem was once the result of airways being clogged with dust and hair. While inspecting Mr. Makula's unit, our technician also discovered physical damage that is not covered under warranty. While such damage usually carries a fee of $449, we did repair his unit at no cost. Mr. Makula has been informed that if his unit is currently experiencing technical issues, we will be happy to have it repaired under our 90 day repair warranty.
I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that we at Acer stand behind our products. We are very proud of both our quality record and our service capabilities
I hope this letter has satisfactorily addressed the Better Business Bureau's concerns. Thank you again for your inquiry and for providing Acer America with this opportunity to respond. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Mark A. Groveunder
Vice President, Customer Service
Acer Pan America
Better Business Bureau
2210 Washington Avenue
Waco, TX 76701
RE: Case# 90120299 Bradley Makula
Ms. Sue Johnson,
Thank you for your recent inquiry on behalf of Mr. Makula. Acer America appreciates the Better Business Bureau's efforts to resolve consumer complaints and to promote communications between businesses and consumers.
An Acer representative has contacted Mr. Makula regarding this matter. While his unit has been serviced for overheating in the past, this problem was once the result of airways being clogged with dust and hair. While inspecting Mr. Makula's unit, our technician also discovered physical damage that is not covered under warranty. While such damage usually carries a fee of $449, we did repair his unit at no cost. Mr. Makula has been informed that if his unit is currently experiencing technical issues, we will be happy to have it repaired under our 90 day repair warranty.
I want to take this opportunity to emphasize that we at Acer stand behind our products. We are very proud of both our quality record and our service capabilities
I hope this letter has satisfactorily addressed the Better Business Bureau's concerns. Thank you again for your inquiry and for providing Acer America with this opportunity to respond. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards,
Mark A. Groveunder
Vice President, Customer Service
Acer Pan America
This is my letter to the BBB
I would like to report my experiences with Acer, a computer and technologies company operating out of Temple Texas. The company's product, an Acer Aspire 5100, initially malfunctioned, resulting in the unit melting in on itself. Acer offered to repair the unit if I would pay to ship it to them. As the unit was under warranty, I felt it inappropriate for me to pay shipping and requested Acer hold themselves responsible and set up payment on my behalf. After many conversations, Acer finally agreed to pay shipping, yet took one month to comply with their agreement. After one month of repairs, I finally received my unit in working order.
This unit worked properly for 3 months before the problem reoccurred. This incident caused physical burns on my legs due to the unit's excessive overheating. I contacted the company and requested assistance on January 19th and spoke to a representative in the lower call center at length about both incidents of overheating. They were initially concerned and expressed interest in my situation, and promised that I would be fully compensated for the loss of the malfunctioning laptop. A few days later, a representative called to ask a few questions about my situation. Their concern vanished immediately after I told them that I had not taken photographs of the burns or sought assistance from my physician.
When another representative next contacted me, I was told that I was not eligible for protection or coverage because I had voided the warranty. I was informed that my claim, which was valid in our previous conversations, would no longer be honored because I had removed my hard drive to create backups of important files needed for my previous agreements with other individuals. It was initially offered that I could pay for the repairs, but the amount was higher than the value of the laptop itself. Upon further disagreement with the representative, they had offered to take $100 off of the repair cost. As my laptop had malfunctioned through no fault of my own, I declined their offer.
At this point, I made multiple attempts to contact upper management at Acer, for several personnel in their Customer Service Department had been rude, abrasive, and insulting to me. In two conversations, I was told that nothing went higher than customer care, and any complaints made would be directed to that department. At that point, I had mentioned that I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau if the situation was not resolved. The next day, the representative called back to state that my unit would be repaired to working order, including the parts that I had been responsible for.
The unit was returned to me in factory condition, and operated properly for almost 48 hours. At this point, I had acquired further contact information about their service staff and upper management from the Internet and attempted to take the matter higher than customer care. Upon doing so I was transferred again to customer care and spoke to a representative who resolved the matter quickly. However, the unit was returned to me two weeks later and functioned for less than 12 hours before the same problem occurred. Furthermore, I was guaranteed that the repairs were correct by a call center representative, and was advised to "leave it on for a couple of days" to see if it overheats. I did not follow this advice, and it overheated still.
I feel that I have given Acer every opportunity to resolve this issue, and am now looking for further assistance in this matter.
This unit worked properly for 3 months before the problem reoccurred. This incident caused physical burns on my legs due to the unit's excessive overheating. I contacted the company and requested assistance on January 19th and spoke to a representative in the lower call center at length about both incidents of overheating. They were initially concerned and expressed interest in my situation, and promised that I would be fully compensated for the loss of the malfunctioning laptop. A few days later, a representative called to ask a few questions about my situation. Their concern vanished immediately after I told them that I had not taken photographs of the burns or sought assistance from my physician.
When another representative next contacted me, I was told that I was not eligible for protection or coverage because I had voided the warranty. I was informed that my claim, which was valid in our previous conversations, would no longer be honored because I had removed my hard drive to create backups of important files needed for my previous agreements with other individuals. It was initially offered that I could pay for the repairs, but the amount was higher than the value of the laptop itself. Upon further disagreement with the representative, they had offered to take $100 off of the repair cost. As my laptop had malfunctioned through no fault of my own, I declined their offer.
At this point, I made multiple attempts to contact upper management at Acer, for several personnel in their Customer Service Department had been rude, abrasive, and insulting to me. In two conversations, I was told that nothing went higher than customer care, and any complaints made would be directed to that department. At that point, I had mentioned that I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau if the situation was not resolved. The next day, the representative called back to state that my unit would be repaired to working order, including the parts that I had been responsible for.
The unit was returned to me in factory condition, and operated properly for almost 48 hours. At this point, I had acquired further contact information about their service staff and upper management from the Internet and attempted to take the matter higher than customer care. Upon doing so I was transferred again to customer care and spoke to a representative who resolved the matter quickly. However, the unit was returned to me two weeks later and functioned for less than 12 hours before the same problem occurred. Furthermore, I was guaranteed that the repairs were correct by a call center representative, and was advised to "leave it on for a couple of days" to see if it overheats. I did not follow this advice, and it overheated still.
I feel that I have given Acer every opportunity to resolve this issue, and am now looking for further assistance in this matter.
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