HP Deskjet 3050A

Hewlett Packard Deskjet 3050A, printer/scanner/copier A wireless printer! How attractive! No more getting it out of the cupboard and connecting by a wire! If only. I found the setting-up instructions confusing and it took the printer a long time to make its mind up whether to work or not. After about 3 frustrating hours it finally got going.

But after a couple of weeks it was taking longer and longer to connect to the wireless network and finally wouldn't connect at all. The HP Website was impenetrable, no help whatsoever. Allegedly there are some helpline phone numbers on there, but they're almost impossible to find.

So I took the printer back to Comet. They weren't the least bit interested apart from giving me the HP helpline number. I took the wretched thing home again. It took ages to get through on the helpline but eventually someone took me through a different connection procedure and presto! it connected. But when I switched on again later it wouldn't connect again. I repeated the set-up/connection procedure. Nothing! I phoned the Comet number on the back of the receipt, the technician there agreed I'd spent long enough farting about with it and I needed a replacement, gave me his name and a Job number and assured me if I went back to the store armed with that information I would get a new printer. He was wrong. I was offered a repair back at HP. I refused as I had already been without a printer for 2 weeks. After a lot of argument with various members of staff including the manager, they grudgingly offered me a replacement, but despite having the same printer in stock, I couldn't have one immediately, they'd have to order one from the manufacturer. 3 to 10 days. How insane is that? I refused, saying I needed a printer now, not in 10 days time. They wouldn't budge, even when I said I'd pursue the matter in Court.

I've now bought a different printer from Curry's (which works)and have written to Comet formally asking for a full refund. I'll never ever buy a Hewlett Packard product or shop at Comet again.