I purchased an HP Pavilion zx5000 at CompUSA. I also purchased the three-year extended warranty plan. Before purchasing this extended warranty I was very specific regarding my questions as to what was covered under this warranty.

I was told by two salespeople that the warranty covers screen damage, battery replacement and ANY damage to laptop components. This extended warranty cost $369.99 which was almost half the price of the laptop after rebates.

To cut to the chase, on September 29, I was setting the laptop from my lap to the couch when my hand inadvertently touched the eject button for my CS ROM drive causing it to eject and strike the couch as I set it down. That damaged the drive carriage. When I returned it to the CompUSA store for service, I was told it had to be sent to HP because it was still under the manufacturer’s warranty the first year, but that I "saved myself a whole lot of money because the part was still under warranty."

HP determined that the damage was caused by customer abuse and refused to honor the warranty. At first I was told by the service tech the repair would cost $387.00. When I questioned why this wasn’t covered by any warranty I was told "well didn’t you read your contract?  Does it say anywhere in the warranty that it’s covered?"

His immediate combative attitude told me right then this is a common occurrence with their customers. Besides his unprofessional attitude he was obviously used to dealing with people like me who trusted CompUSA salespeople who are either misinformed during training or intentionally lie to boost sales.

Granted, I should have read the contract regarding the warranty but I erroneously trusted CompUSA to be honest. When I read the clause returned in my email by CompUSA customer service, that clause basically states the warranty can be determined to cover basically nothing.

When a manager called me back I was told the repair would be $285. I still didn’t agree with that charge either but I needed the laptop back so I authorized the charge. When I picked the laptop up I was charged $402 for the repair and tax. I had to pay it because I needed the laptop for business. As another sign of CompUSA’s unprofessionalism I had to call the store to find out if my laptop was ready because customer service reps are either too busy or too incompetent.

Now here is the real galling part -- while my laptop was in the shop I started talking with HP reps and was given the following answers: HP charges CompUSA only $229 to replace the drive. I could have purchased the drive or sent it in directly to HP and had it fixed for $299. So, basically you crooks at CompUSA charged me $160 to mail my laptop to HP.

To add to the insult, HP offers a two-year insurance plan for $250 which would have covered this repair but CompUSA does not reveal this. This was the first of two laptops I purchased from the same CompUSA store but you can bet I will never spend another cent with either HP or CompUSA.

This whole problem could have been solved if HP had a locking device on the CD ROM drive to prevent it from popping out by accident which would have made this a product malfunction which would have been covered by its warranty. We all know both companies make more money with accessories and virtually worthless warranties than on consoles.

I am glad both companies are doing so well financially that they can afford to lose customers like me -- who spend several thousand dollars a year with them -- due to deceptive business practices.

Rich Lowe, deddhedd6@yahoo.com