Free Vista Upgrade Fraud

[JaredP]

I was shopping for a new laptop September of 2006. I went to HP.com to look, since I normally look for HP computers first in my searches. I found a large ad stating that if I bought a qualifying laptop I would get a free Vista Upgrade. I used their little search tool to verify that the laptop I wanted was a qualifier. I was informed that it was. There was no mention of a date at the time. 2 weeks later I bought the laptop, based in part on the fact that I would get Vista for free. When I tried to redeem the offer I was informed that I bought the computer 10 days early. I tried to call customer "service" but they just ran me in circles. I "accelerated" the call, which was supposed to mean a manager would call in 48 hours. I had to call them 2 weeks later. I got jerked around and hung up on. I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint and got more runaround and she tried to hang up on me. I beat her to the punch this time. They kept trying to say it was in Microsoft's hands, and they have nothing to do with it. The moment they advertised, it became their responsibility. HP has ruined a 10+ year relationship. To top it all off, my laptop is a piece of junk. I am looking for a class action suit to join regarding this fraudulent behavior.

 

[phamily]

LOL.. do you really think hp or ANYONE cares that 1 relationship has been ruined?. do you think any major employee at HP gives a crap about your relationship? You complain about the crappy laptop you purchased. If you had this vista upgrade do you think you'd be satisfied? haha if your laptop is already a piece of junk, it would become a greater piece of junk. Vista is over rated. and you are stupid.

 

[emp]

OEMs are all a piece of garbage, and yes even though it is a cruel thing, I have to admit that's how business works, corporations prey on the weak and uninformed masses, that's just how it is.

The good thing is that maybe now you'll wake up and stop buying overpriced OEM POS and if you keep buying from them, at least you'll read the fine print, by the way, don't expect Dell or any other to be any better than HP is at doing business, because that's what they do, they have the luxury to play like that on people because where else would they get a PC? Only people who build their own systems can avoid all the crap that comes from them.

I wouldn't call Vista a piece of junk, it has potential and if ironed out, could turn out to be a decent OS, plus it's a step in the right direction concerning 64-Bit OSes.

 

[Diamond]

So far I have never been screwed over hy any HP dealers. Well, just charge it to your experience and next time you do shopping, make it clear the date of such a promo if still in effect so that you will not be crying over the spilt milk. Don,t say your laptop is a piece of junk coz it it a brand new one and you can use it by having an installer...either Vista or Win XP and it will work just fine.

 

[NaFen_Kid]

i had one of those, but apparenty, by the time my proof of purchase had gotten through, my credit card details had expired and by the time they had got back to me, the end of the free upgrade period had expired

 

[onestar]

We had a similar experience with a Viewsonic LCD purchased from NEWe_g. While Newe_g proudly touted the rebate in the final price on thier web site, the rebate slip indicated the date the rebate pertained to was weeks away. So...why does Newe_g post the rebate amount well before the date said rebate is good? Mmmm, the only reason I can think of is to sell the item to those who suppose the rebate will be good because they are posting it. Now this, even though they know full well, you are not going to get that rebate if you buy it before the time specified on some other web page rebate form in fine print. This is deception pure and simple. We received a nice note from Newe_g saying they do not make the rebate part of their final price, but they DO make it part of the advertising in the item price description.....just as bad in my opinion.

 

[richbirr]

Fraud is such an ugly word but that is exactly what is. I bought an HP desktop with the promise that a free upgrade could be made from Vista to Windows 7. When I tried to get information about the upgrade on the HP website, no information was available. Now, when i follow up on the 'offer', the HP site states the 'offer' is expired.