I was going to post this in PC Hardware, but on reflection, it's less about a specific failure (Compaq Presario CQ60 battery hardware failure at 13 months - just out of warranty) and how [LIFTED] terribly HP have handled me so far.

So - battery not holding a charge, laptop complaining. It's 13 months old. A few weeks out of warranty, and the battery is dead.
Laptop still runs off the mains, of course, but still - I'd expect at least 3-4 years use from a battery.
Onto HP customer support.
Jump through the various hoops, get to speak to someone and explained that I am not a happy customer. That the battery is not of the quality I'd associate with HP, and being told that I just need to buy a new battery isn't helping. Would they at least offer a partial refund if I was to return the dead battery to them for recycling/remanufacturing?
No, because they don't do that with the batteries.

So, complaint time.
Basically, I want a new battery. I'd like to return/recycle the old one. They can't do that, despite the battery only being a few weeks out of warranty.
This is not meeting my expectations of HP kit - I am an unhappy customer who wants HP to make me a happy customer, what are they going to do?
They say that all they can really do is lodge it as a formal complaint. Ok, say I, let's do that.
Then they cut me off. Phone goes dead.

Back on to the phone, through the first line, try to get back onto the support op who's busy. She calls me back 10 minutes later. Finally get to lodge a complaint, but can she give me the address of HP in the UK? Only the complaints department.

To be honest, this is less about getting a replacement battery, it's about good customer service.
This isn't (yet) good customer service.
What I want to hear is 'We're sorry you feel HP's good name has been tarnished by your experience, have another battery.'
For all they know, I could be pondering several purchases over the next year, few years.
Am I likely to go with HP after this? No. For the cost of a battery from HP, they're willing to lose a customer, or indeed several from my family.

As you all know, I'm an Apple fan, by and large.
Apple took my machine in - it's 6 years old - for a diagnostic after it was freezing randomly. They ran a bunch of tests on it, explained that the parts aren't manufactured any more so if it was something like a mobo failure, I'd be stuck.
The staff were friendly, carried my machine up the stairs for me, and did it cost me anything?
Nope.
Did they try and sell me a new machine?
Nope.
I forget what the root of it all was - I suspect it may have been an HD on the way out, or a dodgy RAM stick.

So, now, I wait for HP to call me back after I've lodged my complaint.

Come on guys, get it right. I don't want you to join Dell on my blacklist...

Let me know if you don't get any joy. I can call my HP account manager to see if I can swing anything.

Not had much dealings with HP, it's the Tosh laptops we're constantly sending back.

It's annoying as hell that they don't make things like they used to

By the way, I had a similar issue with Sarah's Samsung Netbook. The battery died after six months and Samsung said that as it was a refurb it didn't come with a warranty. I was surprised by that as I thought there was no difference between a refurb and new from that point of view.

Anyway, I went back to PC world and they said that as it was a consumable, it wasn't covered by their warranty. As a result I wrote to them quoting the Sale of Goods Act and that a laptop battery is considered integral to the working of the machine and they replaced it without question.

Suffice to say that you should go back to the retailer as they're responsible via the Sale of Goods Act.

Well, the promised phone call I was expecting today from 'Mark' at the UK head office, failed to materialise.
All we received today was an email in my sister's inbox:



Now, yesterday, I gave our phone number and my mobile number to about 3 different members of HP staff, including Bronwyn, who should probably be more careful where she keeps notes.

Right - back on this particular pony.
Rang them yesterday, was promised a call back by the end of the day. Which never came.
So, call them today, and again, I'm waiting for a call back.

One year is very poor. My old laptop managed five and a half years before they battery died, and that laptop got loads of abuse.

If in the end you dont get any satisfaction you should issue a small claims court proceedings. Just becuase its out of warrenty does not mean that they dont have to replace it.
If a "reasonable" person wpould expect it to last (with some degredation) the life of the laptop then the courts should agree and will award you the cost of a new part

All manufacturers will stiff you for failed batteries as a rule, although I've never been convinced that Li-ion laptop batteries really come under the heading of consumables. Make sure you don't run it from the mains with the battery in for a prolonged period, you need to run the battery down regularly.

Try getting Lenovo to honour an onsite warranty for their laptops (especially the unreliable but very expensive X301 series), then you'll see what bad customer service is like.

HP's own battery care guide.

http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter/ba ... ry_max.htm

Might have a spot of an update about this. Stay tuned.

Certainly on corporate contracts HP are pretty good. Not dealt with their domestic people, though.

After seeing how flimsy the HP ProLiant servers are and how easily things snap off, I'd be inclined not to buy anything from HP...Their laptops/desktops may be better I suppose...

Proliants are bulletproof. I've thrown them down staircases and they don't break.

Good afternoon Mr. ProfessorF,

Replacement battery has been ordered. It should be delivered to you tomorrow.

Kind regards - Mark.

MD's Office

Customers Services

Hewlett-Packard Company

And UPS has just delivered it.