http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/464/RipOff0464454.htm

The following is from a report I files with Rip-Off.com

This is a copy of a Certified USPS letter sent to the company and the Richlands VA area BBB. There was no response from the company.

On or about December 14, 2008 I contacted your business and spoke with one of your computer technicians regarding a problem with a Dell Precision M90 laptop. I described a problem wherein the laptop does not charge the battery and would begin to boot and display a message that the system could not read the type of adapter and would not continue the boot. He indicated that this was typical of a bad power jack. He indicated the repair would be $99 plus shipping. I agreed and sent the unit and PA-15 adapter in for repair.

Not hearing back from your company after several messages were left, I was finally able to speak with a tech on or about 12/28. At that time he indicated that the problem was not the jack, he said that it was the sensing circuit on the motherboard and that he had seen it once prior. He said that he tried to jump out the circuit but that did not work and that I needed a new motherboard. He gave me the option of buying one through you for about $400 or buying one from an outside vendor and sending it in. He said the price of swapping out the board would be the same as replacing the jack.

On this advice, I purchased a new motherboard (actually the motherboard and all lower plastics. It was shipped to you 1/xx. I also authorized the replacement of the power jack on the replacement board to avoid any future problems known to Dell boards for an additional $20; I also asked to have all old parts returned. After 2 weeks I called to get a status of the repair and was told it was all done, cost $90 plus shipping. I was pleased that the cost was lower than the estimate.

Now it’s 1/18 and we receive the laptop and adapter back (no old parts, no receipt, no work ticket), plug it in, battery still does not charge, unit stops booting at precisely the same stop it did more than a month ago. Compounding insult with injury, the laptop is all chipped up and the sides of the case are trashed. I call into to your shop and spoke with the tech that swapped the boards. He says there was nothing wrong with the original motherboard but he was told to change it anyway. He said the computer booted fine from the bench power supply and all that was wrong was a bad adapter. So now I’ve spent over $325 and all I need was a $30 power supply?!

1/31/09 I’ve called and left three messages asking for a Manager to call me back; that was two weeks ago. Not hearing back, I bought a new adapter and the unit works, no thanks to Comprehensive Computing.

So I am left to ask, how are you going to make this right?

The unit was mis-diagnosed.
The unit was chipped up and defaced in your shop.
You’ve cost me way more than the unit was worth repairing in money, time, and aggravation.
I cannot return a motherboard that not only did you swap for no reason but also didn’t replace the jack on the swapped unit nor return the old parts to me as requested.

IS THERE ANY COMMUNICATION IN YOUR SHOP?

You have my original working board, I want to be reimbursed for it and I want the $108.90 paid to you for this fiasco refunded.

Show me you put forth the principles of your Mission Statement “competence, integrity and trust”

Mark
Torrington, Connecticut
U.S.A.

I was lied to and treated like dirt as well.  I will never do business with again!

I’ve used them 2 times and didn’t have any problems with their service, and I’ve never heard anyone have a bad thing to say about them.

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/richlands-va/T3ABBLFP33ODJ2LOE

You just have!

Sounds kinda bogus to me…

Marcus is my brother and I can tell you that he is an honest man.  I don’t know your situation exactly Mark, so I won’t try to speak about it.  What I can say, though, is that I have referred friends of mine to him many times.  I have gotten responses such as “Your brother was able to fix my computer!  I thought I was going to have to buy a new one!“  I get deeply offended when I read things such as this, as I know that he works his butt off to please each and every customer, whether they come in locally or ship their laptops in via the mail.  It is a low jab at his character and his work ethic.

jlester - 29 June 2009 11:05 PM

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/richlands-va/T3ABBLFP33ODJ2LOE

You just have!

It’s the same guy.  You haven’t helped your story any.

Im done.

I personally think jlester and Mark are the same person.

Just one more thing…  This is for any of you reading this.  PLEASE do not take one person’s word…  Go here and read the reviews…

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Comprehensive.Computing.276-964-2500/review/list

Take care and good night!

You can delete the bad reviews on that site.  Done it to me before.  Good night.  I dont know how you can sleep?

In this day and age you have to be very careful about what you decide to have repaired.  If the laptop was more than 2 or 3 years old then you could have purchased a new laptop with better specs across the board for the price of the repair.  As for any important data you had on the laptop, you can pop the hard drive out of the laptop and stick it in an external USB HDD enclosure ($10) and plug it into any computer’s USB port.

I had an eMachines notebook with a 15.4” widescreen display.  That particular laptop had overheating problems, and I managed to keep it running for a couple years before the motherboard eventually went out.  So I parted the machine out on eBay and made around $500 off of it (bought it for $1000 a couple years before).  You can usually make at least $200 off of the LCD panel alone.  RAM is dirt cheap these days, but you can make a decent amount off of the optical drive, HDD, CPU, keyboard, battery, external power supply, and various parts of the chassis (hinges and other parts of the case are typically in high demand).

Generally speaking, if the motherboard of a laptop goes out, then you part it out and buy a new one.  Sometimes simple things can be repaired (like the jack the power supply plugs into often ends up with cold solder joints from constant plugging in and out, which can sometimes be fixed by reflowing the solder), but usually it isn’t worthwhile to fix.  Laptop motherboards are proprietary, meaning they aren’t standard parts that can be purchased just anywhere, like CPU, RAM, HDD and the optical drive.  So they always cost an arm and a leg.

If you are considering doing business with Comprehensive Computing, or comprehensivecomputing.net, please first check up on them at http://www.bbb.org (the Better Business Bureau’s website).  The same for any company.

Good companies do not get a “D” rating by the BBB, in my own humble opinion.

Especially think twice before being their 24,000thvictim (I mean client) for a DC Power Jack Repair, in my opinion.  I DO NOT recommend this business to anybody other than those willing to turn their computer into a paper weight.

Let me add my story… and I will say… Ill NEVER do business with them again.

I sent them my laptop for a dc jack repair.  They “repaired” it, and shipped it back.  I removed it from the box, plugged it in, and it didnt do ANYTHING… NOTHING AT ALL.  So now its worse then when I originally shipped it to them.

I called, and spoke with the “technician” and he told me he was sorry, and asked me to ship it back to them.  I did, and spoke with them the day after they received it.  At first then told me that there was evidence it was dropped, and it wouldnt be covered under warranty.  At that point I stated “How do I know you didnt drop it?“  and only after a verbal “discussion” did they agree to fix it under warranty.

10 BUSINESS days go by, and I call them.  I spoke with the technician and he told me complications in the repair, however he assured me that it was definately a jack problem, and they would be warrantying the repairs.  3 days later, the secretary calls me and informs me that the computer has had a “motherboard malfunction” (which if I can add happens when dc jacks arent repaired correctly) and they are issuing me a “partial” refund and shipping my computer back.

I then got a little aggressive with her and explained that I sent them a “working” computer, and they are now sending me a non working computer back for something that was their fault and they are issuing me a “partial” refund?  She then put me on hold and another man got on the phone.  He then stated that they will charge for 1 hour of labor, reguardless of what happens, and refund the rest.  I informed him that I didnt see how I can send them a working computer, and receive a broken computer, and be charged anything, and that they should owe me the shipping costs, plus whatever I have to pay to put a new motherboard in.  Only after I threatened a chargeback did he agree to refund me the full costs (Im still out the $70 for shipping it twice)... which I still havent received my refund. 

Sorry boys… Ill NEVER do business with them again.