HP Pavilion Slimline s320n Review

Overall Rating

Great looking PC with good features.

Poor quality product with even poorer customer service.

I brought a HP Pavilion Slimline laptop last year for the not insubstantial sum of £680 and it was never worked properly in the 9 months that I have had it. The machine itself is a beautiful work of art, sexy and with lots of great features, its just a shame that it doesn't work. I've had the following things break down amongst others: Adobe Acrobat, all Microsoft Office programs, Bluetooth, the Java script, Itunes. the fingerprint sensor, the lightscribe facility, the recovery manager, and windows explorer full stop (i.e. I couldn't actually get into the start page at all, it just seized up) need I go on?
I've been in protracted 'trouble-shooting 'with HP for four months now. They refuse to bring the laptop in until you personally test every possible problem. I don't have a problem with doing some troubleshooting at home but the time I have spent on it now has run into FOUR days, which is an unreasonable amount of time to expect a customer to spend on repairing what is obviously a faulty machine. When they finally took it in they didn't tell me to back up my files and then returned the machine with none of my documents on. They had the cheek to point to the warranty small print (no hint of an apology but it's the level of service I have come to expect sadly) even though the guy on the phone had given me the impression that no backup was required. Even more astonisingly the paperwork they sent back said that no faults has been identified, but as soon as I turned my laptop on it couldn't boot up properly. I have spent the last two days trying to fix it with the technical support again. Even though the same error codes are coming up as when the problems first started in October last year they are refusing the recognise that there is a problem. I have been told I have to wait 7 WORKING DAYS to receive some reinstall disks to try another avenue. So I am without a laptop again, with much time wasted , and deeply frustrated. I tried writing to the HP CEO using their 'we'd like to hear from you form 'but my comments appear to have have fallen in deaf ears.
Apparently I can't get a refund until it has been back three times for repair. But trying to get them to take it in is like trying to get blood out of a stone, despite the list of error codes and problems as long as my arm. My advice to you: don't be deceived by the good looks of hp laptops and other products there are fundamental problems with them and their customer service is truly atrocious. Spend your money elsewhere " it'll be safer!
P.S. My boyfriend purchased an HP printer (more fool him) and it stopped working. He dowloaded the 'fix' from the HP technical support people and it froze his pc and he couldn't even get back into windows explorer. He had to spend money getting alocal computer expert to fix it and HPs response was to not even apolgise and to tell him to download the thing again. Need I say anymore...