Netbook warranty on spongy keyboard

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hellonearthisman

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#60944 6-May-2010 11:19

I got one of them Boxing day Netbooks from HN, my mom got one too.
I recently used my moms one and discovered that the keyboard on mine was really spongy on the left part of the keyboard, like a support screw was missing or something. The whole keyboard flexes as the keys are pressed.

So I took it back to HN to get it fixed, as it under warranty.

Today I got a call from HN and told, not to worry as it is ok to have spongy keyboard. IF I was not happy, they would sent to the repaired centre (where they will take it apart and look inside to see if something is missing), but if the repair centre says that it's ok to have a spongy Keyboard too, I would be billed $200.

Is that right, is this fault too minor to be classed as a fault.

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#327325 6-May-2010 11:54

Doesn't sound right to me, I suggest you read up on your rights under the CGA
http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/consumer-guarantees-act/the-guarantees

hellonearthisman

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#327577 6-May-2010 23:20

It was one of the ASUS EEE PC, thanks Siideways and Ragnor, it's a minor defect I have so it should be covered by the CGA.
Got in contact with thee HN guy on twitter, he said he's send a couple of emails.
I hope tomorrow that when I contact my local HN I will get some better news.

MikeB4

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#327595 7-May-2010 08:15

Quite simple if the keyboard was not like that when you purchased it and others in the store now are not like that then it is not working to specification and is faulty. As there is a minimum 12 month factory warranty it must be repaire under that warranty.

You have a written guarantee and the CGA tell to stop messing around and fix it. I get really angry when retailers spout this type of BS.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

bazzer

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#327596 7-May-2010 08:29

Plenty of things change with use, in this case a few months at least. Just because it wasn't like that when it was brand new, and the new ones are not like that is not a sole reason that this is faulty. I'm not saying it's not faulty, but it could be different and still be "normal". How does it inhibit use of the netbook?

hellonearthisman

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#327600 7-May-2010 08:53

I thought the Keyboard was spongy from day one, but though it normal, until I compared it to another identical models Keyboard.
That flexing down of the left half of the Keyboard inhibits the air flow around the motherboards CPU, that could short the life of the computer.

I know it's a minor fault but the CGA does cover minor faults.

The HN guy that rang me yesterday, said the keyboard flexing is like the Windows OS, in that Harvey Normans doesn't provide a warranty on problems with the operating system.

I found the $200 warning notice, a bit like the Telecommunication industry, where they give you that warning of a huge fee IF the fault is with you when calling for a technician to look at your broadband line speed. It often functions as a deterrent to getting service.

I will call HN this afternoon to find out what the deal is.

bazzer

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#327606 7-May-2010 09:13

hellonearthisman: The HN guy that rang me yesterday, said the keyboard flexing is like the Windows OS, in that Harvey Normans doesn't provide a warranty on problems with the operating system.

There can be variations and still all be "normal". Poor design doesn't equal minor fault. Still, if they admit there's something wrong with it but say it's not covered under warranty then I would dispute that.

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hellonearthisman

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#333021 21-May-2010 16:11

I got my netbook back, HN have fixed the Keyboard at no cost. It took a week before they would send it away, they called me up saying the KB might not be covered and there might be a bill and am I sure I wanted it fixed.

Talk about trying to put someone off with worries of unknown costs... SAD

But it's back and the Keyboard is sweet as.

I wasn't too impressed with the bonus VBS/Solow.Nag.worm that my netbook got while away, especially when it was a hardware problem and they didn't need to even need to go into the the machine at all.

Very unprofessional Harvey Norman.

hellonearthisman

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#337453 2-Jun-2010 17:14

Follow up:
Well my local HN called me and back about the virus I got while my netbook was in their care.
The said they where very sorry, they don't know how it happened and could find out where it came from, the local store said it wasn't them, the techs who repaired the keyboard said it wasn't them. No one, too responsibility for it.

It took me over an hour to clean the netbook and all I get in the way of compensation was 'very sorry' from the smarmy Palmerston North tech guy, the same one that tried so hard to tell me my Netbook wasn't and phoned me twice with threats of 'this might cost you to get it fixed if we send it away'. Well I guess he was right, It cost me over an hour of my time.

The Harvey Norman person on twitter who was so helpful, said he would look into it, but I see no evidence of that this time.

So people, if your get your computer serviced by Harvey Norman, watch out for virus's when you get your computer back.

Ragnor

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#337468 2-Jun-2010 17:47

Tragic!

This reminds me why friends don't let friends buy computer hardware from lame joe bloggs retail chain stores - even if it's cheap deal.

robbyp

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#337475 2-Jun-2010 17:55

hellonearthisman: I thought the Keyboard was spongy from day one, but though it normal, until I compared it to another identical models Keyboard.
That flexing down of the left half of the Keyboard inhibits the air flow around the motherboards CPU, that could short the life of the computer.

I know it's a minor fault but the CGA does cover minor faults.

The HN guy that rang me yesterday, said the keyboard flexing is like the Windows OS, in that Harvey Normans doesn't provide a warranty on problems with the operating system.

I found the $200 warning notice, a bit like the Telecommunication industry, where they give you that warning of a huge fee IF the fault is with you when calling for a technician to look at your broadband line speed. It often functions as a deterrent to getting service.

I will call HN this afternoon to find out what the deal is.

$200 does not sound like a reasonable repair fee, especially is it was only another $88 top buy it. Normally a company will charge around $50 to open it up, and then will give you a quote to repair once they have seen what the issue is, which if you don't agree, then they will send it back . Sounds like they were just trying to fob you off. Also the fact that they are comparing the OS, with a hardware problem which should be covered by the CGA, is just wrong.

eXDee

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#337496 2-Jun-2010 19:29

Useless service IMO.
FYI Consumers Institute may be interested in this, as i understand it they are looking for case studies to put forward to the government for when the CGA gets reviewed or something.

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hellonearthisman

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#339482 8-Jun-2010 18:35

I was just using Firefox (which is a change as I use chrome) and discovered there some strange email address's stored in the browsers history.

me_rajbir21@rediffmail.com and simran_jit11@rediffmail.com

This shows that someone was using my machine to check their email while my keyboard was getting repaired and infected while away at Harvey Normans.

Is it coincidence that the rude Tech guy in PN is called Sam, which does seem like an englishized version of simran and Sam is very Asian, accent and all too.

I sent a email to those address's but have had no reply, so it's just coincident for now,
but it does hint at the point that someone used the machine, even though they state that nobody did.

bazzer

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#339488 8-Jun-2010 18:55

Terrible stuff!

hellonearthisman

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#342225 16-Jun-2010 10:42

Update:

Today I got a letter from the Harvey Norman Palmerston North proprietor.
The admit that their staff did use the netbook and downloaded some Burin Test software onto my computer. That means that the tech guy I talked to lied when he said that they didn't use my computer and it was Harvey Norman Palmerston North that infected my computer.

The letter didn't contain an apology, but said as I was using AVG, which isn't very good, that they would sell me Norton 360 USB edition for half price at $60.
Which kind of sucks as I run Avast which works fine. I think they should run Norton 360 on there computers to prevent them infecting peoples computers that they are repairing.

So, nice try HN but it's still a fail in my books.

bazzer

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#342250 16-Jun-2010 11:24

That is an extreme fail. They criticise your AV and offer you a "good deal" on their AV, when the only reason you got infected was because of them? AVG may not be good (I use it, it's OK) but it at least kept your PC clean until they got their hands on it. Not good enough HN!

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