CompUSA - Hewlett Packard laptop purchase - with extended warranty - pixel burned out - repair trouble

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on June 15, 2002:

From: Ruth Alexander [Email User]

RE: CompUSA - Hewlett Packard laptop purchase - with extended warranty - pixel burned out - repair trouble

I purchased a Hewlett Packard Laptop for $2,400 on February 13, 2001 from CompUSA. I also purchased a comprehensive 3-year CompUSA warranty on February 13, 2001 for an additional $500, which was misrepresented by CompUSA. The laptop was sold to me in an open box. I realized later it had been returned, as it had a bad pixel.

The salesman had told me that the comprehensive warranty, "Will cover the computer even if I ran over it with a truck!" Upon informing CompUSA of the bad pixel (I use the laptop for corporate presentations and training), CompUSA told me that the first year of the warranty will cover only what the manufacturer's warranty does and in order to be considered defective, a laptop must have 8 pixels burned out.

I waited a year for the 'manufacturer's warranty' to expire so CompUSA could no longer use that excuse to cover the screen replacement. I had to return to the Perimeter store several times and complain profusely before CompUSA replaced the screen.

The screen they replaced it with was probably not new, as it flashes (the lighting is consistently unsteady). They have had my computer over a week now (again), this is their average time to look at anything, and still refuse to fix it, even though they are required to do so by their warranty.