HP and Incredible Connection - a marriage made in hell.

I bought an HP Envy notebook for just under R30k in Mid-December 2022 from Incredible Connection Sandton City. At the beginning of February I needed to participate in a Zoom meeting and discovered that the webcam wasn't functioning, so I contacted IC to have the machine replaced. They said to bring it in and they would try to get it working. I live in Eswatini, a trip to Joburg costs about R3k for fuel and accommodation. Anyway I took it back to them and wasted a day in their shop while they tried, and failed to fix the problem. They said that they would contact HP to send it for a repair, I said I want it replaced, not repaired. HP tried to repudiate the claim, saying "the consumer's profile is a corporate" - I purchased the thing through my company but I don't see what difference this makes, it's about their product and not about my "profile". Eventually, after I wrote them an email in frank and forthright terms copying the CEO of HP in the USA, they agreed to replace the notebook. This meant that I had to take the notebook home, wait 2 weeks while they organized a credit note for Incredible Connection (who, by the way, took no responsibility whatsoever), and travel back to Joburg and hand in the faulty notebook and take a replacement. Well guess what, the webcam on the replacement stopped working after a week or so, and nothing could bring it back to life. This time I demanded a refund. IC said it would take 2 weeks to get a refund organized, after I bring back the faulty device. Everything seems to take them 2 weeks. So, 2 more trips to Joburg. I asked if I could do the exchange at the Nelspruit branch which is close to where I live, but no. So I went when summoned and said I wanted an Asus Zenbook instead; I will never again touch an HP device. Of course they didn't have stock of the Asus, they would have to send someone all the way to Rosebank branch to fetch it, unless I wanted to fetch it myself. Rosebank is less than 3km from Sandton. I managed to contain myself, and said I would come back the next day to collect it. The next day I had to stand in their shop for 3 hours while they arranged for someone to make the trip to Rosebank and bring me the Asus.

Lessons learned, and about R15k poorer from travel and accommodation costs. I guess with Incredible Connection being part of the Steinhoff mess I should have shopped somewhere else to begin with. As for HP, rather stay away and spend your hard-earned money elsewhere. They seem to have lost the plot, or been captured by the bean-counters or something.