I've been Packard!

Pardon the interruption, but..

Since Monday, every hour outside of work has been spent trying to get my iPod to work. It is at this moment that I am starting to realize that my 18 month old piece of equipment that I use on a daily basis has died a premature death. This realization has made me sad. However, it has also made me angry. This is the anger that really gets me fuming. It is at the hands of a big company. And what does any good Martin do when a company pisses them off? Boycott them and send a letter to anyone who will listen.

So, I am using this blog to let the public know how I was completely screwed by Hewlett Packard. My iPod that was made by Hewlett Packard (which they no longer make) crapped out on me while sitting in its cradle. I am letting the world know not to trust an HP product because apparently they do not stand by their product. Below is the letter I submitted to the better Business Bureau. (For those who are keeping score, I also emailed the HP board of Directors and a personal email to the HP CEO.

I purchased an iPod by HP in December of 2004 from a Circuit City store. At that time I was told by the salesperson that I could buy a circuit city extended warranty plan, but the one from HP was a better value. He had a good experience and led me in that direction.

A couple of weeks after purchasing my iPod I contacted HP by phone inquiring about their extended warranty program. The representative informed me that with the model of iPod that I had a year to purchase the extended warranty, which would then cover the iPod from all defects.

Since I was told I had up to a year and finances were tight after the holiday season and I had just purchased a $300 iPod, I decided to wait to purchase the plan until I had more available cash.

Later in the year (I think it was August, but I can't be sure) I called HP to purchase the extended warranty. I was told at that point that they were no longer offering the warranty due to the partnership between Apple and HP dissolving and they were no longer producing the iPod by HP. I argued that I had been assured that I could purchase an extended warranty a year after the purchase date and that should be honored. The representative said that was not their policy. I spoke to the manager and he wouldn't budge.

The conversation terminated with HP contending they had no onus in providing me the opportunity to extend the warranty and I resolved to not purchase any more HP labeled products. After all, my iPod was still working and they have the reputation of lasting for more than 2 years anyway.

This week, after 18 months of ownership, my iPod ceases to work. I email HP tech support and after 3 days of back and forth with the support staf, it is determined that a repair or replacement in needed. I am quoted $269 for the repair or $229 for a refurbished model comparable to the one I own. Now I can by the most current one from Apple at $299 that has more storage and a warranty that I can count on. Because of this, neither solution makes much sense, especially considering HP refusal to warranty the iPods.

So now let see where this gets me. I will promise to update this site with any and all resolutions I get from HP. If they work to make this correct I will give them all the credit that is do.

Hopefully some lighter fare shortly.....

Ian