@knowhowtohelp Pc world/knowhow completely unacceptable service - need help!

[renegadeimp]

Maybe in your experience but not in mine. But your correct it's not really suitable to helping the op.

 

And thats why forums exist. To have a lively discussion Lets hope the PCworld guy comes back with an actual answer this time, and not a "fob off"

[Meganium25]

OP - when the fault occurs, does it do it continually for a while? HAs the store seen any of the symptoms?

 

The fault occurs at a random time after I bring the PC back from the PCW store, maybe a few days, and then when the fault occurs the first time, I cannot get the PC to start at all. So yes the fault is continuous after it happens once.

 

The fault also doesn't hapen only when I use somehting like Photoshop or any other memory demanding program (and the PC's got a triple core processor and 3gb ram - should be fine right?). It happens when I use a web browser too for example.

 

With regards to the SpeedFan program - yes I myself have used it on multiple machines and the last time I used it on the faulty pc, all readings such as of the HDD and CPU were fine, with the green tick displayed next to them.

 

Now, I will have to wait to receive the PC back from PCW (I don't know when this will happen), and then I will record the actual fault when it occurs as visual proof as Paul had advised me to.

 

After that, do you guys think I will have enough evidence to get the PC written off?

[Meganium25]

UPDATE

 

Hi guys, I've got an update here.

 

Went to the store today to pickt he PC up - OVER THE PHONE I WAS TOLD BY A PC WORLD STAFF MEMBER THAT THE KNOWHOW TEAM COULD NOT REPAIR THE PC! AS THEY COULDN'T SEE THE PROBLEM.

 

I've told you guys about this before and so has Paul, however here's what happened at the store

 

Went to the KNOWHOW desk, and gave the service docket sheet to them so they could get the pc

 

They said I'd have to take th PC home and call the repair centre number when the fault occurs again.

I asked them at PCW if the fault had occured while they had tested it - they said no

 

Next I demanded for the PC to be turned on at the store in front of their own eyes.

And sure enough, the PC started the same way as when the fault occurs - we had the screen that always comes up when the PC unexpectantly shuts down - where it says "Widnows did not shut down succesfully" and you have to choose whether to start it up in safe mode or normal mode.

 

THIS INDICATES THAT OBVIOUSLY, THE PC HAD SHUT DOWN IMPROPERLY THE LAST TIME IT HAD BEEN SHUT DOWN, SHOWING THAT THERE WAS A FAULT!!!

 

Also, when the PC started, the error screen of checking the hard drive and performing a disk check also came up - which comes up EVERY TIME WHEN THE FAULT HAS OCCURRED AND THE PC HAS HAD TO UNEXPECTEDLY TURN OFF THE HARD DRIVE!

 

Paul, I hope you can help me here as you had told me that the fault could not be replicated - however it obviously has and this is shown by the startup process that we at PCW saw together with two other staff members!

The member of the KNOWHOW team told us, and so did the manager, that they had sent a note to the repair centre telling them they themselves had seen the fault too - and that this shows that there IS A FAULT.

 

Add on top of that the fact that the member of staff who had gotten our PC from the warehouse lost our SERVICE DOCKET sheet, and then blatantly lied to us saying that "that isn't important", and not telling us he had LOST IT.

 

Also, they gave us a receipt of collection like they usually do and wanted us to sign that we had collected it - obviously I didn't because the PC IS STILL AT THEIR STORE AS THEY SAID THEY'LL SEND IT BACK.

 

I am disgusted with this service as I have said many times before - however, I really would appreciate Paul's help here in checking that the PCW store did actually send a note saying that they had seen the fault themselves

 

Paul, could you please confirm that such as note has been received?

 

Sorry for the long post again guys, just wanted to let you know about the current situation.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Conniff

[renegadeimp]

Well, at least you are one step forward. You have a company acknowledgement now that there is indeed a fault on the system. Even if the "repair technicians" ( and i use that title very VERY loosely when talking about pcworld) lied and said there is nothing wrong with it.

[Conniff]

Have you done anything yourself to fix the fault like a System Restore or a Non-destructive Recovery ?

[Meganium25]

Yes I have done a couple of system restores, new Windows installs myself as instructed by the KNOWHOW team and they did not work as there is some kind of hardware problem from what I understand about the PC.

[renegadeimp]

It sounds like a HDD failure really. Although if it was a hardware error, simple checks, or even a replacement of a suspected defective piece of hardware would fix it. This should have been one of the first things that was checked by a repair team.

[Meganium25]

They have replaced the HDD once before though, so unless the replaced HDD was faulty too, I don't think it is a HDD problem.

I've also received a message now that the PC will be picked up from the store on the 14th and returned on the 22nd. More waiting then.

 

However I'm interested to see what they will do this time since the fault was witnessed instore.

[labrat]

the "windows did not shut down correctly" screen also happens if the computer is turned off by holding the power button in for 10 seconds

not a good way to turn a computer off but it may have just been the end of someones shift

[Meganium25]

I understand that, however the other error screen which says the "disk needs to be checked" is not normal - and this comes up every time the fault has occurred. It shows that due to the power failures of the PC, the hard drive is in need of being checked over and over again by the OS.

[renegadeimp]

That error is pretty normal if the system has been turned off a few times as labrat described. It also happens if windows was shut down in such a way that major file damage may occur. It's a safety mechanism in windows to check that the OS structure and HDD is intact.

Edited June 10, 2012 by renegadeimp

[labrat]

There is also a known issue with windows 7 where it always insists on a check disk

[Meganium25]

Alright then, if, as you said, the multiple error screens during bootup are due to Windows 7 issues that are commmon, can you please tell me why PCW has taken the PC 6 times now and cannot fix the recurring shutdown/Blue screen of death problem over the past 2 years?

[Meganium25]

The two might not have anything to do with each other. If a machine blue screens and reboots, you will get the message about Windows was not shut down correctly. But the two screen you saw at the store, can occur on perfectly healthy machines for other reasons and aren't an indication of fault nessasarily. That's all I am saying.

 

I don't know why the PC was booked back in for repair on the back of these two messages alone. They don't prove anything, let alone what is wrong with your machine. The best thing that could happen in your case is to get it back and film the error (including error code 0x0000008e for example).

 

Hi yes I see what you mean. However, I am going to write a letter to the CEO Sebastian James as advised by rebel11 and will expect some form of resolve to the experience I've had with PC World and the KNOWHOW team.

I was called by one of the knowhow members today telling me that the pc will be sent off for repair and be inspected by a "different engineer".

 

Also, something else I feel is quite significant is that in my "Whatever Happens Contract", it is stated clearly that if the PC issue cannot be resolved over the phone, an engineer will be sent out to my home.

 

However, no engineer has done so since the first time I had an issue with this unit in 2010.

 

Is this not a breach of contract? They cannot change contract terms without informing the other party (me) and even then the other party has to agree ot the new terms according to law.

 

Can you clarify this for me?

[Guest Paul - CurrysPCWorld]

Hi Meganium,

 

Just to let you know you don't need to respond to my PM as I have located your details.

 

I have spoken to our repairs team and they have advised that your product is due to be collected from the store on the 14/04/12 at the latest.

 

Once I have some more information I will be able to come back to you so that I can advise what may be going on. As CCMRob states on the above posts, what you have booked your repair in for does not mean that it is definitely a hardware fault. Our team will run some more tests and then I will get back to you as soon as I know.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Paul

The KNOWHOW Team

Edited June 12, 2012 by Paul - CurrysPCWorld

[Guest Paul - CurrysPCWorld]

Hi Meganium,

 

I have just spoken with one of our engineers that we have on site and he has advised that in your best interests as the job has been booked in for a blue scree fault which does not always mean its a hardware failure, you may be best taking the computer home and running the product yourself. Once you run the item in its normal environment please try and capture the fault with recording software.

 

This would make it 10x easier for our engineers if they have a basis to go on. As they have previously returned the item with no fault found the same repair technique will be explored which will be a 'Soak Test'. If they are able to see the cause of the fault through your recording the chance of a repair or write off becomes so much more likely.

 

All the best,

 

Paul

The KNOWHOW Team.

[renegadeimp]

If the OS has been reinstalled and installed correctly, then its 99% certain its a hardware fault.

 

If its a software error, then windows error manager will have recorded the technical details.

[Meganium25]

Paul, if that is indeed what I should do now, does that mean I have to do another fresh install of the OS? I ask this because your engineers might say that running a certain program is causing the problem.

[Guest Paul - CurrysPCWorld]

Hi Meganium,

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

If there is an operating system on the computer at the moment I would suggest using that for now. Run the programmes that you normally would and see if you can capture the fault. If an engineer would suggest that its because of a programme that you are running then this would be classed as a software fault and not something that would be covered under your purchase agreement.

 

Let me know how you get on you have my email and you can also post on here.

 

All the best,

 

Paul

The KNOWHOW Team

[andydd]

Cant help but think that Meganium25 has been given the run around a bit here.

 

Clearly there is some sort of fault with the computer.

 

An engineer surely should be investigating the Event Viewer and any logs created to determine the cause of the BSOD, and yes there is a slim possibilty that 3rd party software put on by the user may be causing tghe BSOD's BUT this is rather unlikely, (although can happen with early, beta, untested software), ive seen this occurr a few times in my job with specialist software that has been created for only a few users and doesnt have the large testing period/support that is common with most software.

 

However most BSOD's are hardware related such as overheating, incorrectly seated cards, loose RAM, etc.. but again I repeat the actual cause of these should be in event viwer/logs whilst these are not always the easiset thing to investigate, they CAN be by qualified enginners, but I suspect that PC World staff simply are not qualified enough to interperate them.

 

Clearly it is very good that PC World have a rep here, but Im suspect it is because the customer service levels related to PC repairs had reached a very low level, and had become a bit of a joke (especially within the IT Industry).

 

Personally I would of though as a measure of goodwill, PC World should replace the PC, as surely this thread is causing them damage and it is quite clear that Maganium25 has been through a lot !

 

Andy

[renegadeimp]

Hmm. There could be another cause. It is very rare, as windows usually recovers and disables it, but it might be a driver issue with a peripheral the OP is using. Some peripherals need certain drivers, and if there is a major driver conflict, then the system can crash.

 

Whatever the case, if there is any issue causing windows to crash, the inbuilt event viewer would have flagged it up.

 

I also notice that Paul is simply going by what a engineer told him, and doesnt have solid proof. I know at the pcworld store in chester, the engineers there arern't worth their weight. Whenever they cant fix a problem and they cant show proof, they simply invent a fictitious report, and file it away.

 

But i fear i may be going slightly off topic here.

 

 

 

What the OP could do is take a risk if PCworld are adamant that they are not at fault. He could get an independant examination on the system, and if that examination does indeed show up a hardware or configuration error, then the OP could claim the money back plus repairs off PCworld.

Of course it is a risk, due to if no fault is found, the OP would be out of pocket, but in my experience, independant technicians are usually much more thorough than techs in a shop who are told to meet a quota of repairs, or have time limits set for each one, not forgetting that by far and large, pcworld "engineers" are normally very inexperienced.

[andydd]

I agree but as its a laptop Im assuming that the OP isnt inserted umpteen PCI or PCI-E cards and that the only extra's added are a USB device which shouldnt cause a problem but maybe wise to remove anything that may cause problems.

 

As I work in IT is is indeed tempting to simply check a faulty PC for a few mins and return it if the problem isnt imediately obvious, we dont know in this case if each enginner is aware of the preceeding problems or if any notes have been left.

 

Andy

[Guest Paul - CurrysPCWorld]

Hi Guys,

 

The Op could get an independent report and if that suggested that the fault was a hardware fault then we would cover the costs of the report. We would still require to do the repair as a repair from a 3rd party would invalidate any warranty agreement that you have with us.

 

Hope this info helps

 

Paul

The KNOWHOW Team

Edited June 13, 2012 by Paul - CurrysPCWorld

[renegadeimp]

Hi Guys,

 

The Op could get an independent report and if that suggested that the fault was a hardware fault then we would cover the costs of the report. We would still require to do the repair as a repair from a 3rd party would invalidate any warranty agreement that you have with us.

 

Hope this info helps

 

Paul

The KNOWHOW Team

 

I think that's the best answer to this situation at the end of the day. Your reps have stated that they cant find a fault, but the OP still experiences problems. What is needed is a third party view to clarify what is wrong.

[rebel11]

Hi Paul

 

'PC purchased on the 16th of January 2010

Returned PC on same day, after taking it home and finding out it would not boot up.

Then,

The first repair on the 20th of October 2011

The next repair on the 15th of March 2012

We received the PC back on the 26th of March.

Next, the PC was collected form our home on the 19th of May 2012, and we got it back on the 26th

Then just three days later, the PC did the same thing with the problems, and we returned it again.'

 

So you would be happy to collect/repair endlessly?