http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxqx4hgeKgQ
BASTARDS!
What has been your experience with PC Repair? Have you experienced fraud???
Computer Repair Fraud!!!
by What-A-Coincidence 14 Replies latest jw friends
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Chameleon
None; I fix my own and if I can't, I give a little cash to my Computer Science major friends. This isn't that surprising though; all the big stores like best buy, circuit city, and so forth overcharge you for little things, and they hire morons straight out of high school. This pc repair fraud is like when they overcharge you for car repairs. Anyway, my advice would be to ask someone that you know (friend, friend's kid, your neighbor, etc.) to take a look at it; they most likely won't bs you and be more reasonable about it than big business.
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james_woods
I didn't read the link in the first post, (our firewall didn't seem to like it much) - but, I had personal knowledge of a massive fraud done back when the PCs first came out in the 80s...
It was for "PC Warranty" policies...people were persuaded to pay 250-300 dollars for non-existent warranty services when they bought new PCs. When they sent the PC in, it usually got cannabilized for parts to get out the first few "repair jobs" in this pyramid scheme.
A pretty large electronics supply company was taken down over this issue.
Very few people got their PC fixed, or their money or even their PC itself back.
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sspo
If it is a few years old just like many appliances it's best just to get a new one, they are cheap enough to get a new one every 4-5 years.
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james_woods
Absolutely right, sspo. Same for DVD players and most all other small electronics.
Big different story in the olden days, though - my first computer, an Altair 8800 in 1975, was just a kit. You had to solder all the wires together yourself. It had a grand total of 8K of memory, an old teletype for a terminal, and a 2megahertz 8 bit cpu. It cost around 2400 dollars, - 1975 dollars. No disk at all, no bios ROM at all, you loaded it with a combo of front panel switches. And, I had to buy the teletype as used junk.
My next step up, a Vector MZ cost 3200 1978 dollars for 64K ram but really no more power. It did have 2 floppy drives and CPM.
When the first PCs started showing up in the 80s, people were absolutely terrified that this big investment might go up in a puff of smoke.
Thus setting up such scams as the above I related.
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restrangled
WAC....
Sorry you have had a bad experience. My son fixes computers all day long. Can you say what happened? If you have some patience maybe I can get you some answers.
My son does a lot of side work outside of the company he works for and earned a great reputation in our state capital between the Lawyers and Judges doing work in their homes.
I want to hear what happened to you, because he complains that there are so many bogus repair guys out there.
r.
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Lady Lee
I'm a person who hates paying someone else to do a job when I can learn to do it myself. Like I REALLY hate it.
So over the years I have learned how to upgrade and build my own computer. If the CD or DVD burners die, I swap them for new ones. I upgraded the motherboard, the video card, the hard drives, added USB ports and modem (although I rarely use it anymore)
I know how to format the hard drives and reinstall everything. And I learned all that through a great series of magazines.
They have several different magaizines that break down tasks into small very understandable pieces that any non-tech person can understand
PC Novice http://www.pctoday.com has a list of all their magazines
They have saved me hundreds of dollars.
It really isn't hard or that scary to learn to do these things.
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Little Drummer Boy
I just want to add that the very best thing you can do to protect your investment in your computer is to always have very current backup of your important data. Make multiple backups and copies, and do that to different kinds of media. I copy my important data to USB flash drive, CD-R (not CD-RW), and a second hard drive. That way I am assured that at least something will work if I need the data back. Technology has advanced greatly since computers were introduced. Most problems now are related to software, whether that is a corrupted operating system, or virus, etc. Current backups save the day in most cases. The second most common problem is a failed hard drive - moving parts always fail faster than stationary ones. The above rule still applies though, since that is where the data is stored.
Also, for those who rely on others to repair their computers, backup up data is the single biggest way to save yourself some cash. I can physically swap out a hard drive in well under five minutes - but if I have to try to retrieve your data first, then you are into some serious charges for time. Sometimes hours of sorting through what you want me to keep - if can retrieve anything at all. Organization of data files and backups are the key. If you have current backups, in the case of a serious software issue (such as a really stubborn virus), I can blow away the contents of the hard drive and start from scratch quickly. If the hard drive is physically failing, by having current backups, I can toss in a new drive and get underway and then just put your data back.
I just want to clarify, that for home users, when I say backup, I really mean copy. Media storage capacity has grown so large anymore that I don't see the point in using a backup process that might fail just to try to save on storage. Depending on your backup method, you might end up with one huge file - which could fail - thereby ruining all the data. That is why I prefer just simply making copies of important data files in a one to one fashion. Businesses might be different ofcourse and not be able to store such huge amounts of data without compression.
My 2 cents worth.
LDB
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roflcopter
This was an awesome video! I will have to share it with my business partner, he will get a kick out of it. I have been a Network Engineer for 8 years and tinkering with computers since I was 5!! I will say that alot of those repair shops are a rip off. I even have a price sheet for geeksquad. Did ya'll know they charge $149 to install a video card... that doesnt include the price of the card!
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Little Drummer Boy
Did ya'll know they charge $149 to install a video card... that doesnt include the price of the card!
Is that the in-store or on-site install price?
Sheesh...that's expensive either way.
Consider this...
At least the on-site Geek Squad people have to be A+ certified (although $149 is way too much anyway, I'd only charge $50 for that and I'm A+, Network+, and MCP).
The in store people don't have to be certified at all!
If they're getting $149 for a non-certified in-store install, I'm gonna cry a little.
LDB