FAULTY PRODUCT AND RELUCTANCE TO DELIVER AFTER-SALES SERVICE

I would like to share my recent experience at Incredible Connection George. I would never recommend IC to anyone, since there is NO after sales service when they have sold you a faulty product. This goes from the branch manager to the area manager and their customer services devision. On Thursday, 28 June I went to our branch in George with the ACER Aspire I3 6006U (serial number: NXGNPEA ********** 530A7600) Laptop that I have bought for my daughter on 24 Nov 2017 at the same branch. My daughter was visiting from Potchefstroom for the holidays and told me the morning that the laptop does not function without the electrical cable. It cannot run on battery life. We immediately took the laptop to the shop's "repairs" department. The technician explained that they were not allowed to repair the product and had to send it to Acer in Jhb. I explained to him that my daughter is on holiday and is totally dependable on her laptop for her studies and that we needed the laptop back before she flies back on the 15th. It basically gave us 12 working days. He explained that the policy says it will take 10 to 15 working days. I kindly asked him to just make a note on the job card to explain our predicament. I feel 12 days still fell in the range and that it was not unreasonable to make a request. He was reluctant to do so and simply blabbered on with me having to read all the terms and conditions and sign at the bottom thereof. I did so. I read that all data and programmes might be deleted. I explained to hin that the possibility of losing everything on the laptop will be a problem. Previously he told me that the problem was indeed the battery and that they needed to replace it. I then told him that I cannot think why we would lose all data and programmes if the machine was perfect and only the battery needed replacement. I neatly drew a small cross over the Nr 2 (which was the number of the condition) and politely asked him to make a second note that I should be notified in advanced should they decide to do the unthinkable to delete everything. He told me that we should have made backups before bringing in the laptop. I explained to him that we were nit able to do so. firstly, admittedly we are two women who are not clever with technology and our knowledge of computers does not go much further than Office and secondly, my daughter was in holiday and we do not have another machine to transfer everything to. We obviously did not forsee that her new computer would be sent away for three weeks during her holiday for a faulty battery. He then told me that they do not take responsibility for that. I then asked hin again to just make two notes on the job card: we needed the laptop in 12 days and I should be informed should they delete all data. He then gave me a new Terms and Conditions form and told me to re-sign the page because they do not accept one on which I scratched out anything. I explained to him I did not scratch out anything, I merely drew a small cross over the Nr 2 to alert them to the note I requested him to make. He refused to accept it. I then told him I wanted to speak to the manager who will be able to listen to mybproblem. He then discussed my problem with Mr Scheepers elsewhere in the shop. They both returned upon which I explained the whole problem to him. While doing this, I saw the technician standing a bit more to the back, turning to each other, discussing what had just happened and finding it very funny. I then told Mr Scheepers that I am not willing being poked fun at by the very young inexperienced worker. Mr Scheepers simply ignored my remark and went on explaining that we should rather invest in an external hard drive to make a back up. I told him that I was not buying a hard drive that I will not use again, just to make back ups. He also recommended that we rather take the laptop to the store in Potchefstroom to be sent away. I once again explained to him that my daughter is totally reliable on her laptop for study purposes at the university and that she could not afford being three weeks without the laptop. He shrugged his shoulders and told me that it was totally beyond their control to request or ensure that the laptop would be back before she flies back. He said that notes on the job card will not even be seen since the technicians on the other side only works from the logged job card in the computer. Nevertheless I told him that they should please just make those requests for us. Before we left the immature technician approached us (after I had told Mr Scheepers I did not want to deal with the rude man anymore) insisting that we signed the clean Terms and Conditions fifm. I told Mr Scheepers I wanted to know who to follow progress up with, since the technician refused to give me the contact nr of the people who repair the laptop. He gave me his business card and told me that he would not be available from the 9th because he will be on leave. On the Saturday I was still filled with dismay regarding our bad service and lodged a complaint in their online chat line. I supp**** all details and was promised to get a call by Monday. On Monday afternoon I corresponded on the line again to enquire when I would get a call. No response. I received an email requesting all details if my complaint. I did so. I asked them to please ask someone in a senior position at head office to contact me. Nothing. On Tuesday morning I once again corresponded with them, repeating my request. At approximately 12 on Tuesday, Mr Scheepers called me, asking promptly what the problem was since he had told me on Thursday that the laptop would be back in the given period. I told him that that was exactly why I did not want to talk to him. I was dissatisfied with the service and wanted someone willing to help me. He recommended that we fetch the laptop and rather hand it in at Potch. I repeated that it was not possible during the semester and only during the holiday. Shocked, I asked him if the laptop was not sent away. After they were aware how pressed we were for time. He then told me that it was not fetched yet. I was very upset and told him I would then rather fetch it because it was impossible for it to be back in nine days. He then said we should book it in at Potch and hire a reserve laptop from the branch for the three weeks. I shared my dismay with hin and told him I wanted his area manager's number because it was not acceptable. He then told me he would soon call me back. After a whilebhe called me and said his area manager was not able to talk to me because he was going to a meeting for the whole afternoon but he sent me a message. They will send the machine away and if it is not back in the range of 10 to 15 days, they would give me a new laptop. I explained to him that I was not after freebees. I do not want a new laptop. I just want what I have paid for. They can clearly not understand that. Getting a new laptop has the following implications for us: we will lose all loaded programmes and data on the laptop, it obviously needed to be transferred and reinstalled, the laptop needs to be booked in at NWU IT so that it can be linked to the intranet and such. In other words, we simply asked for the battery to be replaced. What Incredible Connection clearly does not understand or care for, is that I had done nothing wrong. I was not in this predicament due to my negligence or wrongdoing. I bought a faulty product. Why should the customer be put through this trauma and inconvenience if he had done nothing wrong? Why should I spend money on buying another hard drive or ridiculously pay a rental fee for another laptop if I was not at fault? I emphasise the ridiculousness of the whole problem: the battery is at fault not the processor. I was totally within the range of 10 to 15 days when I reported the problem. After being aware of the customer being pressed for time, they were ******** enough in letting it lie in the store room for three working days without being touched. I am really very appalled by the bad service and reluctance to give satisfactory after-sales service to customers. I even doubt if the area manager will find it important enough to give attention to a reported problem. Since I repeatedly asked the customer services to get me in contact with senior personel at head office and they still had not done so, I even doubt if head office believes in after sales service. I can tell you something I do know: I am not done with Incredible Connection yet and I am very well informed about my consumer rights. I would never ever do any business with them again. Even though I get a cold shoulder from them, I will definitely consider all other options I have as consumer to solve our problem with their faulty product.