I agree
It was a christmas present from her grand mother
"Elector" wrote in message
.. .

"metronid" wrote in message
...
I was on vacation using my daughthers laptop
It was purchased 12-14-2000 from gateway

It has honestly been used 3 times
Maybe 4 times
Each time for vacation


The first concern was on 7-15-01
While on vacation
The keyboard went defunct

I have a 3yr warranty


It was shiiped back
Came back working OK



Used it on vacation
3-03
The backlight went out
Shipped back and noticed the light was working


Used the unit again on 7-12-03

Noticed the bezel around the display had two cracks
on the upper right and left corner
The points for attachment and removal of bezel

The bezel is what must be removed for the back light
to be installed


I called gateway back and they said I waited too
long to notice


I called gain this time not as polite
A little ascertive
They agreed to fix the unit

This time I would have to pay the shipping
This was not their policy in the past
They said the terms of their warranty had changed



I said my warranty covered shipping
They said all warranties past and present now include
only one way shipping

They could send me a box for shipping
45 dollars
I said no thanks
I could ship it myself

I asked for the shipping address
The tech said OH NO
There is another concern






I was told that the computer that I had
was not mine
Gateway had shipped me out some elses computer
on 7-2001

They would call me back in 48 hrs
No call back


I called back 72 hrs later
I was told that i was told wrong
The unit was my original unit

I got the address
for return


I called the original tech today
he said that is wrong
The unit was updared in their data base by him

When I send in my unit
Wife took call
The original l unit would be returned from
the women who has mine


I called back to speak to that tech


Message
Are you going to charge the women to ship
my unit back
She is going to pay for getting the wrong unit
Or is gateway going to send her a return
box postage paid

If so why should I have to pay for the wrong unit
And one that was broken in repair


Why do I want a unit that someone else has had for 2 years


Is gateway going the way of Packardbell

Hi Metronid:

Unfortunately, the way of Gateway is like Packard Bell. They basically
sell junk. They are not highly rated and are more prone to damage and
out of the box non functional.

A friend of mine purchased one of their pierces of junk and he had to
have me fix it since the times the unit was repaired it was not
functional after a few days. Although I am by no means an expert on
the building of lap tops I did my best and it now works.
He purchased a Dell Computer for him and his wife and now the child
has the Gateway.

If you have read stories at the http://www.ripoffreport.com you'll see
that your not alone.
Also many articles have been written at http://www.news.com and
http://www.cnet.com about the Gateway junk they are selling.
As of last week many articles are stating they are losing money hand
over fist and that the future looks gloomy for their company to stay
afloat.

Dell and HP(Compaq) are again leaders in the field for sales and
service. But as I have been told at work got to the Dell or HP sites
and you'll read many horror stories on their service and support.
Mainly about the poor trained technicians and the parceling out of
service calls to India where many folks cannot even understand the
tech's and the constant non calls back and the deliberate hanging up
on customers etc. Similar to the Packard Bell USA of old. before they
were defunct.

My lap top is a Dell and it has been trouble free. In fact right now
the one I use is on sale at http://www.dell.com/tv it was $799 US
after a $100 rebate. It is a little more than what was advertised
since I had the wireless 803.1b card installed in the unit for
wireless use. it also has the RJ-45 connection for regular NIC access.
And a 92.V 56K modem for dial up service. RR gives you free dial up
for 10 hours and it works pretty good.

Elector