Dick of Middletown, OH on Feb. 7, 2003
January 7th, 2003, I took a Dell Latitude 400C laptop and a Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop to the CompUSA store No. 427 near the Dayton Mall in Dayton Ohio. I wanted my files transferred from the Latitude hard drive to the Inspiron hard drive so that I could return the Latitude to my former employer and continue work on the Inspiron provided by my new employer. I also asked for the addition of 128M of RAM to the Inspiron.
The salesman I talked to was Lewis A. I also asked for expedited service since any time without a laptop computer and my client data represented non-productive time. Initially Lewis quoted me a price for the data transfer that was applicable to a desktop computer. He then came back and indicated that he had made a mistake and that the charge would be $139.95, which was $40 higher than the price he had quoted. I asked for a technician to explain why the cost was\ higher and the technician, Bob Tester, explained that the process for data transfer with a laptop is much trickier, involving the removal of both hard drives and if we break anything, we have to fix it. Following that discussion, Lewis and Warren, another salesman apparently in training, prepared the paperwork, handed it to me and said, sign here. I did and left.
At no time during these exchanges did anyone inquire about whether my data was backed up or offer to back up the data which is a service they offer for $99. No one checked to see that I had read and understood a liability statement at the bottom of the work order regarding loss of data. Later that evening just before closing, I returned to pick up the laptops and was told that there was a little problem. I was told by another technician that my hard drive had a short in it and that it had destroyed the motherboard of their transfer unit and that it was dead. No transfer of data had occurred and now I was still liable for the data transfer charges because, we tried.
I pointed out that there had been no problem with my hard drive and that the Latitude had been performing perfectly (I had booted it up earlier to show them the password and the files to recover). I asked to see the manager and spoke to someone, not the general manager, who indicated that the technician had told him that I was having trouble with the unit when I brought it in. This was an absolute untruth. I was told I could speak with the technical manager at 10 AM the next day and I left with my laptops.
At my house, I reviewed the paperwork looking for names and information and saw the wording on liability for data loss. It clearly stated that if my data was lost during servicing CompUSA was not liable even if they were negligent. Wednesday January 8th I returned on Wednesday and spoke with the tech manager, Gary W. Gary seemed to be a reasonable individual and understood why I was so upset. He said he was still gathering facts about the incident. He indicated that they would take the two units back to the bench and try transfer/recovery. I pointed out that I felt someone, Lewis, Warren or Bob should have made sure that I understood the policy on data loss, particularly since this was a data transfer we were doing and Gary agreed. He said he would also get information on a third party data recovery if that service were needed.
Later that afternoon Gary called to say that the hard drive was indeed dead and that they would replace it at no charge. Gary gave me the name and number of a data recovery service that CompUSA have a contract with who could try to recover the data. When I asked how I would be compensated for that cost, he indicated that they would not pay for the data recovery. I asked him to check with his manager about that. He later left a message that the laptops were ready for pickup and that they would not pay for the data recovery. When I went in to pick up the units, I once again indicated that I felt the staff had erred in not discussing the liability policy or offering the backup service etc. I suggested that the loss of business from my family alone because of this incident would be far greater than the guesstimated vendor cost of $1200 for data recovery that I had received in a conversation with the third party vendor. I noted that I was going to buy a printer immediately and a laptop replacement later in the year. Gary went away to talk to his manager and when he returned he said, We will take care of it.
I was very pleased and told him that I was going to buy the printer now. Unfortunately they were out of stock and told me to return on Friday. Friday January 10th. I returned to the store and bought the printer. I was surprised to see that my hard drive had not been sent. That was troubling since, I had indicated how important the data was for my work as a consultant to the federal government. Gary explained that he had to get authorization for the work and had met with some resistance. He told me that from his investigation that they (CompUSA) had messed up, that they should have pointed out the liability clause and also should have offered me the backup service. I told him that I was upset that they had tried to lay the blame on my hard drive and he agreed that that was wrong. Gary said more than once that he wanted to do the right thing and even offered that they could take the cost of recovery from my bonus.
He indicated that they would wait to see what the evaluation indicated. When I asked what that meant, he said that if the cost was say $3000, that could be a problem. Monday January 13th I called from out of town and found that the hard drive had just been shipped out. Gary indicated that he had not had time to get to it on Friday or Saturday. He said it would be in the hands of the vendor on Tuesday and perhaps we would get a report the same day. He said he would call as well as email me the results.
Tuesday January 14th I called and left a message and heard nothing in response. Thursday January 16th I called and left another message. Gary left a message later in the day to say that they had received the evaluation, the data was recoverable and the cost would be $1595. He said that the cost was prohibitive and invited me to stop by the store. Later that evening on the way home from the airport, I revisited CompUSA. Gary said there was no way that they could pay that cost. When I discussed our agreement and all of the statements that he had made, he was unable to explain the turnaround and only said that there was no way they could pay the $1595. I reviewed again all of our discussions and said that it sounded like someone was getting squeezed. He acknowledged all that I said and indicated that he was the one getting squeezed. He apologized for what had occurred and his failure to explain the situation to me.
He indicated that they were not able to even share the cost and that CompUSA would not spend another cent on the problem. I asked for details about the discussion he had had with his manager on Wednesday the 8th and he was unable or unwillingly to provide that information. Friday January 17th I returned the printer and talked to the general manager, Vic Reasinger. He indicated that they could not pay for the data recovery. I asked him if he was aware of all of the discussions I had had with Gary. He said they could not and would not pay for the data recovery and indicated again that my hard drive had just coincidently crashed while they were working on it and said, I can prove it.
The third party vendor doing the data recovery does not agree and Gary had even indicated that he believed that CompUSA had messed up. In fact, at no time during our discussions, did Gary allege that it was my faulty hard drive that caused the problem. Regardless, the commitment was made on the 8th. We will take care of it. That oral agreement has been broken. I have authorized the third party to recover the data at a cost of about $1650 and am seeking recovery of those costs, which represent only a fraction of the cost impact to me from this event.
Dick should sue the company in Small Claims Court.
