DEFINITELY Don't buy Toshiba (update)!

Parent Cafe
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<p>If you missed part 1, it’s here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1110051-toshiba-issue-wwyd.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1110051-toshiba-issue-wwyd.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well, S’s computer arrived here today. The packing slip in the box said, “sent back unrepaired.” So, I got on the phone and spoke with Tech Support who couldn’t help. They sent me to a middle person (couldn’t catch who she was with, but she sure was a _itch), then we got disconnected. I called Tech Support back and got transferred to Customer Escalation. That lady, Shay, affirmed everything that had happened.</p>

<p>Yes, my son’s motherboard died and was covered under warranty.</p>

<p>Yes, they “fixed” it.</p>

<p>Yes, in the process of “fixing it,” it put a password on the harddrive, but the machine did it, somehow this isn’t Toshiba’s fault, but no explanation of WHY this isn’t Toshiba’s fault.</p>

<p>Yes, to fix it now will cost $175.99 as the “new” problem is not covered under the warranty.</p>

<p>We got to the point where she said there was no one higher up I can talk to. She wouldn’t give me any names to write or contact. The best she gave me was Toshiba’s US Address of:</p>

<p>9740 Irvine Blvd
Irvine, CA 92618</p>

<p>SO, I need to spend some time on google figuring out WHO I write, call and/or e-mail next.</p>

<p>In the meantime, BUYER BEWARE. I’d love to see them go out of business.</p>

<p>We will NOT give them another dime of our money. Period.</p>

<p>Suggestions still welcomed. I’m going to go now and try the default passwords suggested. Then, we’ll break the warranty and buy a totally different hard drive if needed, but not through Toshiba.</p>

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<p>^^ Warning - I’ve read that replacing the hard drive won’t necessarily cure the problem - i.e. the system may write the password to the new hard drive and you’ll be back in the same boat. This isn’t something I know to be a fact - just something I’ve read on this hard disk password stuff.</p>

<p>Definitely keep pursuing it through Toshiba. Don’t accept their brush off and when you get to someone at a higher level let them know you believe their reps admitted they’re the ones who created the problem yet refuse to now fix it and that they refused to refer you to anyone else or help any further with your issue.</p>

<p>Again - what model Toshiba is this?</p>

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<p>Toshiba Satellite L650 (customized, but all directly from Toshiba - no non-Toshiba parts)</p>

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<p>Jeff Barney appears to be the VP General Manager of Toshiba America. From what I can determine, he appears to be the best candidate for the letter.</p>

<p>I also found an e-mail to Japan related to investor relations and the board of directors. Right now, that’s appealing as well, but it’s probably just because I’m angry.</p>

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<p>Toshiba’s support site claims it’s a “BBB Accredited Business”, whatever that implies.</p>

<p>To complain - [Complaint</a> Information](<a href=“http://www.la.bbb.org/ComplaintInformation.aspx]Complaint”>http://www.la.bbb.org/ComplaintInformation.aspx)</p>

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<p>Creekland, I suggest you head over to comsumeristdotcom (you know what I mean), a great website for consumer issues. Send in your story, which sounds intriguing (and insane) enough to merit publishing. If they do take your tale, you’ll get a slew of good advice. But also look over the site for discussions of their recommended “EECB” (executive email carpet bomb) approach to resolving problems. It basically means researching to find everyone at the corporate or divisional executive level (bypassing customer service completely), as you have done, and then contacting ALL of them via email directly. Often these people have assistants whose sole job it is to resolve complaints. Also do a search on the website to see if others have had success with Toshiba, and how they went about it. Good luck!</p>

<p>BTW, Better Business Bureau accreditations and ratings are useless.</p>

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<p>The complaint with the BBB is filed and a first draft of the letter has been written. Now we’re headed to supper, but afterward I’m definitely checking out the consumer complaint site. </p>

<p>I couldn’t find e-mails for Toshiba’s directors - just snail mail. I’ll see if I have better luck later.</p>

<p>The more I think about this (and heard it myself when I called!), the more angry I become. Some things just plain aren’t right and this is one of them IMO.</p>

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<p>Are you anywhere close to Irvine? Could you go to the office in person?</p>

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<p>Sorry you had such a problem. I swear by toshiba and won’t buy laptops from anyone else. They actually are ranked as one the most ‘reliable’ of almost all of the laptop brands. It sounds like you need to speak to someone else there. There is always someone higher to speak to. (949) 583-3000 is the number for their corporate office.</p>

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<p>Creekland…</p>

<p>Call this person:</p>

<p>Rhonda Watkins
Director of Call Center Operations
949-583-3000</p>

<p>If you call tonight, you can bypass the operator and hit her voicemail. As soon as the Toshiba Corporate message comes on, hit the number 1 button. Speak her name and it will ring her line and give you an option to leave a message. Keep it short and sweet…an original order number, summary of the problem, and your phone number. I bet you will get a response.</p>

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<p>One more avenue–if you bought the computer with a credit card, sometimes you get an extended warranty with the CC. We have had that and it has saved us a LOT of $$$. Even when we had problems getting the computer manufacturer (Panasonic and HP) to help us, the folks AmEx have the extended warranty with came through for us & gave us a total refund, which allowed us to buy the replacement computers we wanted (which was cheaper than the full refund we got). We also have had hassles working with the computer manufacturers.</p>

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<p>The BBB is useless. It is run and paid for by the businesses. I don’t know why people expect anything to happen when contacting them.</p>

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<p>You could try the office of consumer protection, but do double check how you paid for the computer & if the credit card carried a free extended warranty for the purchase. You may be pleasantly surprised–we were the 1st time & since have bought ALL our electronics with that CC for future problems. Costco AmEx and at least one or more of my Chase credit cards offer this free extra protection.</p>

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<p>I have Dell stories, and HP stories, and Apple stories, and Bestbuy stories. All the same - lousy customer service, and no one takes responsibility. I think the only one I trust currently is ASUS, but that’s because I’ve never had anything go wrong on one of their machines.</p>

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<p>I thought Asus was reliable, also, until 2 laptops broke down, 1 a week after the warranty expired, and 1 a week before it expired. I returned the one under warranty for repairs, and after 6 weeks, was told the part was unavailable. I was offered a replacement which had significantly lower specs. The reason I’m relating this story is that I got a replacement equivalent to the one that was broken by pulling the “lawyer card,” which incidentally was the only time the kid was impressed by my profession; so, if OP has a lawyer friend, ask them to make a phone call to the legal department. It doesn’t matter what the lawyer knows or doesn’t know; it only matters that they call and suggest breach of implied warranties and fraud.</p>

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<p>We’re in PA, and college boy is in GA, so a trip to Irvine isn’t in the cards.</p>

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<p>I could have written this up until March. The laptop I am writing on now is a Toshiba from 2005 that has never had a problem. We’ve upgraded it since then, but it’s never had a problem. However, having read about others and their issues on the consumerist site as well as experiencing our own eerily similar issue means I will NEVER spend another dime with them again. IF you have a problem, this company is the pits and seems to charge for their “under warranty fixes” quite often in manners like these.</p>

<p>Today at school (I work in our local public high school) plenty of teachers will learn of our experience. When students ask about computers (as they sometimes do), I will freely share my experience with them too. I’d love to see Toshiba go out of business at this point. They HAD a loyal customer. I didn’t have my son consider anything else when he wanted a laptop to take with him. I had my mom and nephew buy one. I’ve often been like you and recommended them on threads on other forums. Part of what I’m going to do today on my free time is go to some of those older threads (not eons old, but reasonably old) and update them with this recent experience so my [screen] name and pro Toshiba NEVER come up. This company has lost far more than the $176 they want to scam my son out of. Middle son heads to college next year. Guess what he would have bought? Guess what he’s not going to buy?</p>

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<p>This I will try. It will have to wait until I get back from work.</p>

<p>I checked. I bought the computer with my debit card. I’ll have to see if there is any additional warranty with that.</p>

<p>In the meantime, we talked with S last night. He wants us to send the computer to him to try some software the cs gurus at his college have. He thinks they might be able to get the master password. Do I send it to him and let him try? The “plus” to this is if it works he will still have his hard drive with everything on it. The “negative” is if it doesn’t work we’ve lost of more time trying and perhaps (pending what they do) voided anything left of the worthless warranty. WWYD?</p>

<p>If necessary we may have a lawyer friend I can contact, but should we let the cs dept have a go at it first?</p>

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<p>This probably sound silly but did you try hitting enter and bypassing the password? Or try this.</p>

<p><a href=“XS4ALL - First Class Internet”>http://www.xs4all.nl/~matrix/mpwlist.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thank you for that list - will try it when I get home. Hopefully it will work.</p>

<p>It has been “fun” sharing the story today. They will have at least two known non-purchases now from other parents looking to get computers for their students plus several others have this incident in their mental reserves. </p>

<p>If the list doesn’t work, it’s possible we can get a full refund from our bank since I used their card and they aren’t pleased with what has been happening either. I fully appreciate that suggestion. If the list does work we’ll go that way as there are things on his hard drive that he wants to keep if possible.</p>

<p>Sometimes the internet is worth its weight in gold. Many thanks to all.</p>

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<p>creek, please don’t take this the wrong way because i know you are upset with what happened with the service and want to share the story… but if they buy something from another company it’s actually much more likely to break then a toshiba is and other companies have the same issues with service… I had a friend with a dell who went through something very similar but his “bill” was 1500 dollars that he was expected to pay (laptop wasn’t even worth that!!) even though he had the warranty and it was an issue that the company caused when they were fixing it. he got it all straightened out eventually after having a lawyer friend fax something to them… but that type of thing happens everywhere… they really should go with the most reliable company IMHO.</p>

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<p>^^ I’m fully content to agree to disagree, but I’ll also share that having checked with computer gurus here at school, only Dell gets a worse reaction than Toshiba. And with both, it’s always about how difficult it is to get them repaired. Our experience hasn’t surprised those “in the know” and they have had their own to add. No one had anything positive to say about either company.</p>

<p>Mac has been the most recommended for reliability so I’ll have to give them serious consideration. HP has been the most recommended PC because even though they might have issues (as laptops often do) they are easier to repair. All hearsay from people who have had them or those who repair them - just passing it on if anyone is curious. We each make our own decisions. As for me and my house, we’re finished with Toshiba.</p>