I purchased a notebook computer from PC world around two years ago. It was a patriot computer (different story, but never get one of these, no support and difficult to get drivers) and top of the range at that time.
Because I was getting it as a tool for university study, my parents talked me into purchasing the (VERY) expensive 5 year warranty for not much less than £500 to protect the computer right through my studies. The company covers most entertainment products and is used by Dixons, Comet, Currys and PC World to mame (lol) but a few. I was taken by the ease of application for this insurance, and also for the apparant efficiency that I was assured of by the salesman.
Within 2 months of purchasing the laptop, I began to notice the power supply getting hot alot of the time, and within a couple of weeks, even though I had been very careful, the wire between the transformer unit and the laptop had actually melted leaving bare wire showing.
I called mastercare, who, after 25 minutes of having to wait for an advisor on a mobile calling an (0845) number, told me not to worry, and this simple problem would be solved within one or two days. I made them aware of the fact that the pc held alot of important documents as far as college work goes (about 8 assignments for separate units) and was assured that nothing would need to be wiped and there was no need for me to backup. I did anyway as I am always overcautious about these things. The first available pickup point was in 3 days time (called on Monday - Pickup on Thursday) which could have been faster, but it wasnt really that much of a priority so I didn't mind all too much, and I felt assured that I would probably recieve my notebook fully repaired by the following Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. It didn't tun up until the following Thursday!
I sent the laptop off in good faith that my data wouldnt be erased, but guess what, its lucky that I am that bit over cautious! Even though I had I nice new power supply, a spanking new format flashed its ugly rear at me as I started up my computer, meaning I had to re-install all my programs, drivers, and restore all of my documents.
So that was headache number one, but I thought I'd just give them the benefit of the doubt (though even my 5 year old sister could have worked out from looking that the computer's fault was only a melted wire!) and so I plodded on with my studies.
A couple more months pushed by and I found another fault with my power supply. The end which plugs into the notebook fell right off. No strain, no man-handling, it just fell right off! So of course I waited another 30 minutes on hold to speak to an advisor. This time, I needed them to send me out a copy of my careplan as I had completely lost it and I was assured it would arrive within 28 days, and they booked my laptop to be picked up again. Called on Thursday, Pickup on Tuesday, which I thought was a bit crazy, but there was nothing they could do.
I finally got it back the following Monday, after calling the helpful *cough* people at mastercare at least 3 times, but once again it had been completely reformatted. This time I lost everything because I didnt have a power supply to feed my dead-as-a-dodo battery so I couldn't reformat it. 10 GB of home recorded flute music and family photos and vids down the drain! I was not amused.
The next time I sent it off, I needed a new heatsink fan as the one I had kept cutting out all of the time. This job took 5 days to turn around, and even though they hadnt reformatted the hard drive, the computer has never been slower. It now takes 10 minutes at the fastest to switch on and load up, and Instead of the already useless 128 Mb memory module showing up, the computer claimed to be running on 64Mb! I managed to sort this problem, but I have had to install windows 2000 now as the thing can't run XP whatsoever.
The most recent annoyance with this thing is that I sent the laptop off on Monday October 17th 2005. All that was wrong is that the power button had gone into the machine. I would take the thing apart myself, but I wouldn't want to invalidate the warranty. I hadn't heared anything the following Friday, so I called them and they told me that the laptop was on its way back to me, unfixed! I asked why, and apparantly the person who booked it in sent it to the wrong workshop. Because of the way their systems work, they needed to send it back to me (so I would have needed to take a day off work again) and as soon as it arrived I needed to call the service call department so they could book it back in and then I could send it back with the same courrier. At which point I told them exactly what I thought, and that I wouldnt even be in to sign for it as I couldn't afford to lose another days wages. After great deliberation, I managed to get the operator to automatically redirect it. So then It hadn't arrived by Monday 31st October, so I called them again to find out what they were playing at, and they said it arrived in the correct workshop on the Thursday, but I wouldnt be able to find out anything at all until Wednesday 2nd November because after they havn't heared anything for a week, they're allowed to request information.
So I'm stuck with no laptop, and when it arrives I'll probably need to send it off again, and a rubbish warranty which I paid £400 for and I may as well have just bought a second computer. Readers Beware! You'd save more money taking it to a reputable technician to get it fixed than taking out warranty with these guys!