Dear Mr Browett,
Last year I was looking for a new laptop after my previous notebook, purchased from PC World, had a catastrophic hard drive failure after just 2 years. I decided to go for a much higher spec than the “dead” machine and browsed my local PC World store in Farnborough for a suitable replacement.
Of all the models on display in the store, the majority were pretty average consumer models but I spotted a well-specced Hewlett Packard, noted the model number and walked away to do my homework.
After careful research and consideration I decided to purchase an HP DV7-3110ea from PC World online. It had all the spec I needed (17″ screen, 4GB RAM, fast quadcore i7 processor etc) and I found a discounted model online, saving me a not unreasonable amount of money.
My laptop turned up at my workplace one day, flimsily strapped to a piece of cardboard by a sheet of plastic in a box otherwise devoid of any padding or packing. I was disappointed at the poor packaging but grateful and lucky that there had been no damage in transit.
For nearly a year I enjoyed the power of this new laptop until the warranty reminder came through. The “3″ key had stopped working and there seemed to be a problem with the power pack, so I decided to take advantage of the warranty before it expired.
I returned the laptop to my local branch of PC World on 23 June 2011 and left it for the courier to pick up and deliver to KnowHow so that they could repair my notebook. 10 days was an extremely long time to wait for such simple repair work (about an hour to replace a keyboard) but I decided to have these repairs done under the warranty.
When the notebook was returned to PC World Farnborough in early July, the staff informed me that the screen now had a scratch across it that they couldn’t shift, despite all their attempts. Absolutely livid that it had already taken 10 days and that my notebook had come back with more damage, the store staff very kindly said they’d do everything to rectify the problem. I was fuming but what options did I have? I really needed my laptop back in full working order but PC World/KnowHow had to fix the damage that had happened whilst it was in their possession.
The laptop sat in the store for a day or two before being sent off for yet another 10 days away! Whilst I was deeply disappointed with the “service” I’d received I felt there was no alternative but to have to wait a total of 3 weeks to repair a “3″ key and fix the power issue and now the scratched screen.
When the laptop returned to Farnborough for a second time, around the 15th July, I was hugely relieved that my laptop was (hopefully) fully functioning again and back in my possession, despite being without it for 3 weeks! I could now catch up with my work and my life. I returned to my workplace and plugged it in. Everything seemed to function correctly. I was happy.
An hour after plugging in the laptop I went to use it and was given a warning message that there wasn’t enough battery life left to execute the task I was attempting. I checked the power input and there was no charging indicator light on. I unplugged then plugged in the power pack. Still no light.
Absolutely fuming at this I instantly called KnowHow to express my utter fury at the piss poor service. I was told to write a letter detailing the issues of my complaint and that I would have to arrange to send the laptop away again!
I said I’d consider my response.
Since the HP laptop first went away on the 23rd June I started to fall behind in all my employer’s work and my personal work, I fell behind on keeping an eye on my accounts (with my accounting software being installed on my HP laptop). I’d even purchased a replacement HDD for the defunct Compaq laptop in order to try and compensate for the downtime. Whilst helpful, the backup laptop hasn’t been able to deliver the performance nor spec I need in order to catch up with my workload.
The HP DV7-3110ea went home and was plugged back in. The power was intermittent and the issue seemed to now be from the power input port itself, which was OK before the laptop went away for repair. Had the AC in port disconnected from the motherboard when it went in to Knowhow? How did they miss this? Was the laptop checked or inspected to be in full working order before it was returned to me?
The laptop, a portable device that I took everywhere with me, now sits on a desktop in the spare room of my house. I dare not move it in case the power fails completely because I try and squeeze work out of it when I am at home. I cannot use it at work. The email client on my spare Compaq mysteriously crashed and lost 2 months of emails and now won’t connect to the internet at home. I’m trying desperately to catch up with my workload and I have to juggle this between my workplace and my HP DV7-3110ea which is stuck at home. That’s why, two months after getting the DV7-3110ea back, I’m still so behind and so stressed out that I haven’t been able to write a letter of complaint about “KnowHow” and the utterly appalling failure of PC World/Dixons to give me any swift or satisfactory level of customer service.
So, as you can see, it’s been a torrid time. Nearly 3 months after first handing my laptop back for repair it still isn’t fixed. I can’t move it. I’m stuck catching up with my personal work at home and stuck in a particular room. My backup laptop is almost useless as I don’t have the time nor money to fix it so that it can connect to the internet again so I am unable to use any of my laptops remotely.
Consider this then as my complaint – I am still behind in my work and my life, being behind with my accounts cost me bank charges after going overdrawn and I had to spend time fighting to have the extortionate charges dropped. I am still stressed out, absolutely furious with KnowHow/ PC World/ Dixons Group and stuck with a half broken laptop that I don’t know when it will be fixed and how long I can go without again. It’s inconvenient, the customer service has been shoddy and the processes in place at the aforementioned organisations are in serious need of a shakeup. I’ve used PC World since buying my first PC in 1997 an, despite having had previous experiences of incompetent staff and sloppy procedures, have continued to use PC World.
I am now considering whether I should ever spend any money with PC World again but, with this lengthy complaint now in your hands, would like to know what PC World/ KnowHow/ Dixons Retail are going to do next to ensure that this epic failure comes to a satisfactory conclusion, not just for me, here, now, but for all current and future customers of your business. I’ve posted my thoughts and experiences in my blog about how awful the “service” has been with this particular laptop but I am equally happy to shout about any efforts to genuinely and actively improve the service to myself and others and to find a solution to this issue.
All I want now, as a paying customer, is for a happy outcome for this episode. I hope you can make it so.
Kindest Regards
Paul
Paul Mackenzie Ross
This is the 3rd installment of this catalogue of epic failure by KnowHow/ PC World/ Dixons Retail. For previous episodes see 1:
You Never Know How Much You Appreciate Your Tech Until It’s Gone and 2: The PC World Update.
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16 users commented in " An Open Letter to the CEO of Dixons/ PC World/ KnowHow "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThat’s definitely unfortunate. I think first lesson is don’t ever buy HP. I’ve never had good experience with them myself or heard any good from anyone else.
I think PC World should simply send you a new laptop with an official apology letter (much like you had to write a – useless – complaint letter).
I think you could be right, Nima, I’m very seriously considering going Mac next year. My wife has been an Apple fan for many years and swears by them so I think I’m going to just have to bite the bullet and get a 17″ Mac Book Pro even though the cost is at least twice what I was prepared to pay for a 486.
How about yourself, Nima, what are you using or what would you recommend?
As for PC World, they’ve already fired back an email saying somebody will be in touch within 72 hours – I really can’t afford to allow this laptop to go away again for any length of time. I moved all my work to an old Dell laptop that wasn’t up to the job and then to that 2-year old Compaq which also failed, so this will be third time lucky! These people are going to have to work some serious magic to fix this and keep me happy, although my expectations are pretty low I must admit.
A sincere letter of apology and a fully loaded 17″ Mac Book Pro might help to appease me but I won’t hold my breath…
Im having a similar problem with know how. I sent my ps3 away to get fixed and it arrived back over 2 weeks later. With the same problem still occuring. I dont even belive they opened the machine to see what was wrong with it. (also it came back with white specs on the startup bottons.?)
I dont know if i have the right to request a new one however i have seen many similar complaints from costumers and do not want to wait another couple weeks in order to solve this fault which i belive is realtively easy to fix .
What do you think i should do? Im off all next week and was really looking forward to relaxing after just finishing some stressful exams.
I’m actually slowly switching to Linux now. Just buy a solid used PC and put Ubuntu on it. You can even have dual boot to use windows every now and then.
Having bought an I-Pad for my husband, which speedily indicated a known fault, and having experienced PC World’s apology for service and (apparently famous c.f. Wikipedia)attemts to wriggle out of their responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act, I am determined never to have anything to do with this firm or their associates again.
Sorry to hear that, Helen; after 5 months of zero resolution I’m not surprised at anything from this shower. And they *still* didn’t call me within the 72 hours they promised.
[...] Saga Continues Posted in December 14th, 2011 by Paul Mackenzie Ross in business, tech Remember my open letter to PC World back in September? Well they promised to call within 72 hours and I heard [...]
I was sorry to read about your nightmare laptop.
I too have had mega problems with Hewlett-Packard with a CLJ1600 printer. My emails to Nick Wilson (their CEO) at nick.wilson@hp.com have been ignored, as have the voicemail messages I have left for his PA (Caroline) to ring me back.
According to a recent newspaper article I read, even if your laptop was out of warranty, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 gives Consumers protection for up to 6 years after purchase, regardless of store or manufacturer warranties. The Act says that when a product is bought it must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and meet its description. Your laptop and my printer do not qualify on any of these bases. Under these circumstances we are both entitled to a no cost repair or a replacement which does not appear to be forthcoming. They may well be succeeding in stonewalling and fobbing us off but I will never buy Hewlett Packard again.
I would just like to say a very big thank you for publishing details of your problems. It doesn’t resolve your nightmare laptop and my printer from hell problems, but hopefully other people will be warned of our experiences before they make a Hewlett-Packard purchase.
Hi Maria,
Thank you so much for your fantastic response. I’m so sorry to hear that you’re also experiencing tech and customer service problems with a big company, namely your hassles with HP and their CLJ1600 printer.
The encouraging thing is that it looks like you’ve got the same attitude as myself with regards to addressing a polite email to the CEO of the offending party; I tried this approach once before when I ordered a Canon digital SLR and lenses from Pixmania back in 2006. My past experience with Pixmania was excellent but this time the camera, ordered in good time to arrive for a photo assignment, still hadn’t turned up. Disgusted that I’d waited over a week for a product that was due within just 2 days, I complained to Pixmania’s customer service team who said that, if I was unhappy with their service, that I should simply reject the delivery of the package.
Lo and behold, the camera finally arrived at my home well after I’d been expecting it and days after the event for which it had been purchased had been over. I refused to sign for the package and that was the last I heard of the matter.
Some months later I was checking my annual financial figures and I realised that I hadn’t been reimbursed for the camera and lenses. A few emails later and I’d reached an impasse: It had been “so long” since the incident that the courier company were refusing to provide details of the failed delivery and the seller, Pixmania, were dragging their heels in providing a refund.
Exasperated at this reluctance to provide a swift and satisfactory service, I turned to the Internet to find the email address of Pixmania’s CEO at the time – Just by cc’ing him in the previously long-drawn-out email complaint process had a “magical” affect – Within 24 hours of the deed being done I had the money returned to me. From what I recall, there was little in compensation apart from, IIRC, a voucher to receive a discount if I stayed loyal to my offenders!
The ironic thing, Maria, is that Pixmania are now owned by… Yep, Dixons Retail!
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If only more of us took this approach to demanding our rights then we’d have a much fairer system. Better still would be a more open and transparent methodology of consumer protection.
Thank you also for mentioning the Sale of Goods Act, Maria, a friend had also raised this point in a conversation. Readers would be wise to check out Faulty goods? You’ve still got rights when the guarantee runs out If this were more common knowledge then I’m sure companies wouldn’t get away with shafting consumers like they seem to be doing.
It’s also funny how I was told, in no uncertain terms, about what I was “entitled too” – KnowHow are so fixated on simply prividing a “solution” to this issue that any ancillary niceties go by the wayside. The latest update is that I’ve been without my laptop for a total of 27 days whilst it’s been away with Knowhow, another 6 months or so whilst it’s been functioning substandardly, and a further 14 days since the last “fix” which was yet another failure by Knowhow.
I too hope that our experience will be a warning for others, Maria – I’ve already received a direct message on twitter from a guy who said, thanks to the story of my problems with PC World, had refused to spend any money with them and, at a greater cost to himself, had gone elsewhere! How’s that for a small victory?
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Keep at it, Maria, we’ll get there in the end
Hi Guys
For all those who have had problems with PC World/Curry’s/Dixon’s.
1. Contact Customer services although they will more likely just fob you off.
2. Always contact the Chief Executive.
3. Leave feedback against the store or company – plenty of online forums and message boards to leave your views.
4. Contact BBC Watchdog programme and any other consumer programmes – the more complaints the more likely a story will be done and millions of viewers watching.
5. DO NOT recommend them to your friends or family.
This company often comes bottom in ‘Which’ reviews
Hit them where it hurts
Nice one, Timsey, and for people who need to contact the CEO of Dixons, PC World and KnowHow (the same group, the same CEO) his name is John Browett and his email address is john.browett@dixons.co.uk although he has neither acknowledged nor answered a single one of the five emails that I sent to him.
Just got my pc back from knowhow, with a covering letter, to say it has been fixed, valetted, and tested.
Guess what?……its still broken!.
3 weeks without my pc!
This firm are a joke, i’ll be cancelling with them
if/when they fix the problem.
I would say save your money and get repairs done locally by people who care.
I’m really sorry to hear that, Dave. It seems like you’ve had the same issues as myself – You’ve sent it to KnowHow because you’ve assumed, as their name implies, they actually know how to diagnose and repair a laptop and, hey presto, they don’t know how!
Get your laptop fixed by them Dave but, whatever you do, don’t expect a single thing from PC World/KnowHow other than a promise to (eventually) try and fix it and an insincere apology from them. I’ve had no personal message from the CEO, not one “gesture of goodwill” for all the strife they’ve caused me and they’ve failed to compensate me for the money I spent in driving 100 miles over 3 hours to get back my PC before Xmas.
You’re absolutely bang on the money there though, Dave, they really don’t seem to care. From now on I’m going to do the same as you and ensure that my money goes into the pockets of a friendly, local computer repair shop.
Cheers & good luck!
hi there im hoping that you can give me some advice as i am also suffering at the hands of the lovely knowhow idiots. the fact that they call themselves knowhow is laughable enough my problem is with a tv not a laptop but i have the same problem as the rest of you in the fact that they sent the tv back with a letter attached saying it had ben fixed inspected and given a vallet, the prob was still there when we rung the admitted on the phone that they hadnt even touched it just turned it on for 8 hrs am i the only person who see this letter as fraudulent there stating they have done something they havern’t i have been paying for my cover plan for 4 years a total of £340 if i took my car to the garage and paid for a service and it wasnt done i would be able to take action against them so why when i complain i get told by some stuck up customer services manager that i can have £20 voucher and thats it what the hell is going on with this company they need to be stopped!!!
Hi Gemma,
Oh no, not another dissatisfied customer of PC World/KnowHow!
I’m really sorry to hear that you’re also having problems with them and for a TV too! Yeah, I know – KnowHow – If it wasn’t so frustrating it would be funny.
Wow, they admitted they didn’t touch the TV despite returning it saying it was “fixed”… THAT is yet another appalling ballsup of theirs.
Paying for the cover seems to be a bit of con on their side – As far as I’m aware, under the Sale of Goods Act, electrical or electronic appliances are covered for 5 years so these deals are really not necessary as far as I’m concerned.
I’m not sure that I can offer any advice, Gemma, but I’m seriously considering talking to Trading Standards or investigating some legal routes…
Leave that with me and I’ll see if I can find out anything else, and if you’ve not heard anything back as quick as you’d like just post here and I’ll hear you
He wont reply because you have the wrong email mate!
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