Computer help forum: Help, Suspecting I was ripped off

is indeed true, yes you were extremely ripped off. However, you are part to blame as when getting anything worked on, you should check the credentials of the person, make sure they are indeed certified, ask for your old parts back (you have every right)and shown proof of what was put in. If this person doesn't have a good explanation and you have absolute proof of what has occured, call the better business bureau, a lawyer perhaps, and file a complaint. Once again, a pc technician taking parts that don't belong or without consulting you, is nothing less than theft.
You may even file a police report, however the methods vary from state to state. Contacting the person who did this may simply tip them off and if you were ripped off, go to other means. That is my opinion.

Paul

As far as your OS goes, it may have had to be re-installed depending. This can be a common thing but your WindowsXP if what you had, is designed to detect the hardware changes so may not have had to be touched. Also, it depends on this, were any original items left on your pc that aren't common programs. Like pictures, music files etc...? Are you sure there isn't a fresh OS install and SOME of your files were simply saved and put back on? As far as the registry question, yes, but you have to know what you are looking for, here is a link that explains a bit about the registry...

http://freepctech.com/pc/002/Windows_registry_faq.shtml


It's easier said than done.

about the Os to be honest. The hardware is the costly part and if what said is true, you can prove it far more easily. If you are mad that your OS was messed with , I understand, it feels personal but you have to stick with the hardware issues. This is Fraud where I live. Many have lost liscenses, went to jail, etc...over this type of thing.


Paul

I was at a small owner Computer shop in Palm Beach looking for parts. While I was there, a Woman and her 8-9 year old son came in with a nice newer system for repair. I overheard her say that her son split a soda on the keyboard and that the computer was off and they never turned it on. She was afraid that the computer was shorted out already as the power plug was in the wall. The guy gave a story that well it is probably destroyed totally now and would cost more than replace it with a new one, I will give you $30 for it. I about fell out over this.. This Guys got Big ones to do this.. She only needed a Keyboard. So the lady said OK I will take the $30 for the computer. This was a monitor, tower, soda laiden keyboard, mouse and speakers..I wanted to go over and talk to the lady, but it happened so fast.. Deal was over and done with.. So Homie the owner had a nice High end Sony system for sale the following day. I have never been back since, and passed the word on.

If you are not sure where to take your computer for repair, check with your local college.. Most have Computer Repair courses and would welcome the repair for that day of the course. And while you are there, sign up for the course. It is not as hard as one would think and after the course you can help save your friends and families computers from rip off places as well.

I always get involved especially if someone is getting a bad deal or whatever but sometimes things happen so fast that we don't have time to let it sink in. Some do, some don't. So before you become judge and jury (which you aren't) this person may have done good things for others but simply got confused. This has happened to me and I am typically a quick thinker. Perhaps the woman may not have known about a computer but common sense should have been in place too as I would get a second opinion even w\o knowing about a pc or tv etc...

Paul

CNET should create local forums to report on all the computer shops out there but also the plethoea of "Guru's who do the same to/for people. Not only for Computer repair but electronics in general; something along the lines of what ServiceMagic.com does for homes.

Start by calling them. Tell them you have all receipts, and took pictures of the inside of your tower. The more they evade you, the more demanding you should be.

If they don't kiss up, gather the receipts and call the police.

I'm sure this is THEFT in all states, and the threat of charges should wake them up. If the police seem reluctant, threaten the shop with a lawsuit.

I would even go so far as to mention all my internet friends who would love to hear of these escapades. Tell them the word will travel fast.

First things first. One of the biggest mistakes you can make are to go in on the offensive as some people have suggested. Ensure you are knowledgable (which you have already done by looking to see what was in the computer) and that you simply state the facts. If you go in to the technician on the offensive, his back will go up and you will come out with nothing. However, if you go in knowledgable, the technician will realize that you know what you're talking about and he can no longer attempt to pull anything over you.

First things first, make sure you back up your harddrive (i.e. your My Documents folder and any other important files) before returning. Tell him what you want (i.e. your original video card and a proper working version of the processor you originally paid for). If he isn't willing to give you that, ask him why. You paid for those items, therefore, they are yours.

If he refuses to do the work and fix his mistakes, ask him for new versions of the parts and see if you can atleast walk out with the proper parts. At this point, if you still have problems, you can start going on the offensive. First step is to mention that if he doesn't fix the issue, you will complain to the Better Business Bureau about theft/fraud. Of course, if he isn't a member, he won't care. The next step is to suggest that you will bring the police into the matter and have criminal charges laid for theft. If none of this works, then leave, cut your losses and proceed with both of those suggestions. While you could proceed with legal ramifications, the cost (including the cost of your time) would be more than the cost of a new computer and likely would not be particularly successful in changing this technician's way of doing things.

In the future, when selecting computer technicians, look for ones that are members of the Better Business Bureau in your area (you can check out their website for complaints records and everything), or, if you want to avoid that step, go with a company that is well respected in the community. Believe it or not, I'd suggest taking your computer in to places such as Staples or Best Buy and have their technicians do the work on that. At least you have more recourse in the event that something goes wrong.

Hope that helps!

''After my PC failed completely I called a computer repair company from the yellow pages.

We paid to have our motherboard, CPU, and RAM replaced. The processor/CPU was replaced with an AMD Athlon XP 2400+, this is documented in our receipt.''


What kind of computer was it? If it was an E-Machines socket A (AMD Duron or Athlon XP) or socket 478 (Intel Celeron) model from 2001 to 2003, then you should be aware that the cheap motherboards E-Machines used have known design problem where electrolytic capacitors on the board start swelling and leaking. This first manifests itself as random crashes/lockups/blue screen errors, but as it gets worse, the computer will randomly reboot itself and then eventually the day comes where you push the 'power' button and the fans come on, but nothing else happens and nothing gets displayed on the screen.

In any case, the motherboard is the ONLY defective component, and the CPU, memory, drives, and everything else can be reused from the old board. Even the heatsink and fan can be reused, unless the fan is worn out. We do recommend replacing the substandard Bestec power supply with a standard off-the-shelf ATX power supply when repairing these units, but other than that you should not have been asked to replace anything, and certainly not the 2 most expensive parts in the machine (the processor and RAM).

It sounds to me like this person thought they found a sucker, and not only charged you for better/costlier parts than what you needed, but they either reused your old parts and didn't tell you, or took your old parts and gave you even worse quality used ones. Perhaps that person is/was running an Ebay business and then making huge profits reselling all the "defective" parts that he asks people to replace.

In the future, do not deal with sleazy computer repair ''firms'' that you see advertised in the local phone book or that leave flyers on your front door knob. Instead, either have one of your friends or family members that know what they're doing take a look at it, or bring it to a reputable electronics and computer store for service. A licensed business will not pull the kind of crap that this person did, especially if it's a big company like Best Buy, Comp USA, etc.

While revisiting this thread, I can't believe I overlooked some of the obvious.

I've never seen a MB, CPU, AND RAM go bad all at the same time. I'm sure that is possible if the power supply went wacky. But you didn't mention it being replaced. Nor the hard drive, which could also fry in that scenario.

There's a possibility you were taken in the first place.

Anyway, My original suggestion was a knee-jerk reaction to theft. It ticks me off to see such things happening.

I can't honestly say if you should go in there with your guns drawn, or the more subtle approach.

And the recommendations here go in all directions. They are actually all good suggestions.

And most computer savvy people can't diagnose those types of failures.

Good luck, no matter what road you take.

There might be something you can do legally,but whats to stop him(her) from saying you must have changed the parts yourself. I think it comes down to your word against his(hers) and who would be more believeable in front of a small claims judge. Try talking to him(her) either in person or on the phone its possible he(she) has a thief working there, and it wasn't him(her) but his cousin that borrowed your parts. He(she) might have an issue with an employee. If he(she) is a thief, giving him a plausable out might work in your favor. Guilt can be a wonderful motivator if applied correctly. Try to remain calm and keep your wits about you try to get him(her) to come to the solutin of the problem. If you could just get your old parts back you've won. Then as someone else previously suggested take a computer repair corse and do it yourself or pay top dollar to the kids at the big companies, or just buy a new tower set up each time yours dies.