Got the wrong f*&#ing laptop again GRRRRRRR

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Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

My new laptop arrived from the Grattan catalogue today, it was supposed to be a HP Pavilion costing �999 with:

Quote:

17 inch widescreen
1GB RAM
100GB Hard Drive
Digital TV Tuner
Windows XP
etc etc

Long Grattan Catalogue Link

They sent me this one, it's got a smaller 15.4 inch screen, but it has got extra 1GB RAM, plus an extra 60GB Hard Drive space and Windows Vista, no TV Tuner, though:

Quote:

15.4 inch widescreen
2GB RAM
160GB Hard Drive
Digital TV Tuner (NO TV Tuner)
Windows Vista (Vista instead of XP)
etc etc

HP Pavilion DV6331eu

Now the quandry is, what do I do, they sent me the wrong laptop a couple of months ago as well Evil or Very Mad

, I have been waiting to get my laptop since ordering it on january 17th Evil or Very Mad

, customer support said I could keep it as HP had sent it as replacement for one I ordered that was no longer available, then I asked to speak to a supervisors manager, I expalined that the one they sent, whilst having the extra RAM and HD space and Vista, it wasn't the 17 in widescreen I ordered, she said I couldn't keep it as that model is not listed in their catalogue.

The wrong laptop is advertised on just about all sites on the internet for �699 (mostly for 1.6GHZ, this one has slightly more at 1.8GHZ), obviously a �300 difference from the one I ordered, but having said that, Grattan obviously have a bigger mark up on the goods they sell so they make a profit.

I was trying to work it out like this, it's �999 for the 17 in widescreen model I ordered, but I only got the 15.4 inch widescreen, so that might make it worth �799 had I ordered a 15.4 inch version in the first place, then there is the extra 1GB RAM, extra 60 GB Hard Drive and Vista installed, which probably adds another �200 - �300 back on the price.

So, the screen is slightly smaller and it's got no TV tuner, I can get a USB TV tuner for about �20, does this look like a good deal with the extra stuff, plus I will get 10% comission from Grattan meaning I will pay only �900 with the comission paying off the remaining �100, shall I keep it and say nothing to Grattan about it being the wrong one?

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:22 pm

a) They are baiting you or b) they don't think you'd notice the difference. Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Cheers, Don, that was a big help and confirmed that you are an annoying twat Twisted Evil

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:32 pm

Aww c'mon. Smile

On your new laptop you could see this much better though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ZHmpSY3bM

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:37 pm

If all you're missing is the Tuner and a Bigger screen, why not spend �20 on your USB Card and �9.95 on this?

Rolling Eyes

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Don, glad you have seen the light, that settles it Laughing

@ Viereinsneun, with suggestions like that, you are wose than, Don Laughing

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:46 pm

SP
as i read it,you have two lappys for the price of one or did you send the other back?

i would keep the new one as its now May and this could be on going til Sept at the rate grattons are getting your order wrong.

the spec sounds ok and if you can get the tv tuner for a score,buy it!!

at the end of the day,are you happy with it????

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:55 pm

remmy223 wrote:

at the end of the day,are you happy with it????

Exactly.

OT so Grattans are still sending out the wrong stuff? Oh the nostalgia. It's little things like this that remind me of Mother England Very Happy

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:55 pm

SP, what's wrong with a little bit of improvisation?

I did it when I wanted a new Plasma recently....

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 12:56 pm

^^^If not, give us the phone number of the person highest up the company tree you have been dealing with and we'll run a 'phone call petition' on your behalf Twisted Evil

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Remmy223, the wrong laptop they sent last time was sent back and I had to reorder, Grattan are useless bastards, really useless, I have now decided to keep this laptop and get on with it, bollox to Grattan, I ain't waiting another couple of months only for them to send yet another wrong laptop, idiots Rolling Eyes

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 1:33 pm

Jokes aside: You're getting an old hooligan, mate. I'd expect you to pick a baseball bat and pay them a visit. Or do you want me to lose my faith in Millwall pikeys? Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Hmmmm, got it out of the box, and on the computer it says the model is HP Pavilion DV6000, and on the box it came in, the label with the specs says it's a HP Pavilion DV6331eu Confused

The one shown on the Grattan website is the HP Pavilion DV6000, so is this as per the label on the box saying 2GB, Vista version, or is it actually the 1GB XP version as on the Grattan website, except with 15.4 instead of 17 inch screen, now I don't know what to do again FFS Mad

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 4:03 pm

I'm not sure about the UK, but here in the US if you paid w/ a credit card you can call the credit card company and dispute it where they would be able to charge back your money.

Also, from reading your last post, it sounds like it's not a new item if the wrong laptop is in the wrong box. Sounds like a bait 'n switch to me. I think the bigger screen is worth a lot more than memory/hard drive is.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

^^^^^ No credit card involved, it was ordered from a catalogue, then once I receive it, I pay for it at �20 per week for 50 weeks.

It's definitely a brand new laptop, I spoke to some Indian woman at HP customer support, total waste of time, couldn't understand a word she said, apart from the last bit saying she can't help, contact the catalogue instead Rolling Eyes

Phoned Grattan customer support, explained, and she said HP probably sent that as an alternative laptop if the one in th catalogue has been discontinued or out of stock, she couldn't get hold of the sales team for them to contact HP, they are going to call me back today or tomorrow about it.

They did the same thing last time, sent an alternative laptop, on the occasion Grattan customer support said I could keep it, then when I phoned again, the supervisor said I had to send it back, arseholes Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 6:07 pm

Can you buy a laptop from someone besides Gratton? Here in the USA we have this thing called "competition". It's kewl. Laughing

But seriously.... I think you have three choices.

1) Send the laptop back and tell Gratton to stuff it because they are a great honking bunch of dicks and that is the only way you can get satisfaction. Buy the laptop you really want somewhere else.

2) Send it back and get them to send you the one you want.

3) Keep the laptop.

If you are unhappy with this laptop but OK with Gratton, then #2. If you are happy with the laptop and OK with Gratton, #3. Otherwise, #1.

In all seriousness - personally I'd consider the deal off at this point. Send it back along with detailed instructions on the exact rectal placement you'd recommend.

As a sidebar - and I worked as a design engineer in the laptop division of a large computer manufacturer, potentially the very one we're discussing here, for many years - if they have withdrawn the 17" screen from the market, there is likely a good reason. It could be that there weren't enough people buying it, or there could be some issue with the screen. Doesn't matter. You'd probably be better served with a less expensive laptop and a large LCD monitor. Make sure you get digital-digital connections if you do this, the standard VGA port is analog, and the A-D converters on panels are crap.

edit: unless you need a laptop - you get more for your money with a smallish desktop/minitower and a nice big LCD monitor.

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:06 pm

But a computer manufacturer does not put computer 'A' in a box labeled computer 'B'. You'd never be able to have proper inventory control that way.

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 8:26 am

Scam Patroller wrote:

Hmmmm, got it out of the box, and on the computer it says the model is HP Pavilion DV6000, and on the box it came in, the label with the specs says it's a HP Pavilion DV6331eu Confused

Mine is an HP Pavilion DV5000. Even says so on the laptop, but the actual model number (listed on the bottom of the machine) actually states DV5031ea. Don't worry about it... DV6000 is the generic model "group" it would appear...

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Quote:

Mine is an HP Pavilion DV5000. Even says so on the laptop, but the actual model number (listed on the bottom of the machine) actually states DV5031ea.

^^^^^ That makes what the Indian woman at HP said, a bit clearer, I could hardly understand her, she was saying the same sort of thing as in it's from the DV6000 range, although, on this one, unlike yours, in the top left of the screen, it says DV6000, and on the sticker on the bottom of the laptop it also says DV6000.

Now get this, Grattan just phoned me up, and after waiting all this time since January for this 17 inch laptop, and after sending back the last 15.4 in laptop they sent me, today, they tell me it's a misprint in the catalogue, and that it should be 15.4 inch and not 17 inch Evil or Very Mad

But that still does not explain why this has an extra 1GBRAM and extra 60GB Hard Drive, + Vista instead of XP and no TV tuner, having the screen size misprinted is one thing, but why areall the other specs different as well Confused

, they phoned while I was in a deep sleep, so I wasn't very awake during the call, think I will have to phone them again later on.

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 9:52 am

Hewlitt Packards info : world's record breaking link length
2Gb memory
160Gb HDD
15.4" screen
�699 inc. VAT

If you wanted the extra 2 inches, you should have been sent :
HP Pavilion Media Center dv9233eu Entertainment Notebook PC
Smaller memory 1Gb
Smaller HDD 120Gb
No telly tuner though, can't find any HP models with that

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 11:17 am

Scam Patroller wrote:

No credit card involved, it was ordered from a catalogue, then once I receive it, I pay for it at �20 per week for 50 weeks.

Make sure you take out the extended warranty SP ...I've got shares in Grattan's ... they've got to pump up their profits somehow !

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

^^^^^ Didn't bother with the extended 3 year warranty Razz

Just got off the phone with Grattan customer support again, I wanted to find out about the extra stuff, she said the extra 1GB of RAM, extra 60GB hard drive, plus Vista instead of XP is to make up for the smaller screen size, and it still costs the same �999, I'm not too bothered about the screen not being 17 inch, so I am thinking I will keep this laptop Very Happy

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 11:39 am

I'd hang on to it if I were you. God alone knows what you'd get send next time, probably a cardboard box with a few holes cut in it and an etch-a-sketch for a screen.

Anyway, make sure you pay for it by Western Union and run them through a few security questionnaires for stuffing you about with it. Twisted Evil

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

With the speed that manufacturers churn out new models and the lead-time in producing a catalogue like Gratten, it's not surprising that the offered specs don't match the delivered product. I imagine they were working from HP's advance notices when they wrote the catalogue entry.

I was looking for a copy of XP today (not for me, I hasten to add), and I noticed a very telling package deal - MS Vista and 1GB of memory.

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 12:28 pm

If you are happy with the laptop, by all means keep it. But send the empty box back and ask them to send you the right one! Wink

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