Complaint Review: Hewlett-Packard Online Store - Internet

I got the replacement printer yesterday, and though it is in the same J4500 series, it is a similar but better model, brand new and not a refurbished replacement of the same exact printer.  I'm really happy that the outcome turned out better than I expected.  I've heard so many bad things about Hewlett-Packard that I expected the worst. 

My positive experience with them has convinced me that they actually do stand behind their products.  Though it would have been easier for me to throw in the towel and just get a new printer from another manufacturer instead of at least trying to deal with them to make things right, I gave them a chance and they delivered.  I didn't have to pay a thing since the printer was still under their standard one-year warranty.  All I did was unpack the box they sent, follow their directions for packing the defective printer, seal the package, slap the pre-paid mailing label on the box, then take it to the nearest FedEx Office Store.  Sure beats the heck out of holding onto my disappointment by not even making an effort to keep in contact with them.

I am more than happy to state that they have resolved this issue to my satisfaction.  The more people can learn from this, then I guess it was a good thing that I posted my complaint in the first place.  I wish every bad experience with a product or service ended this way, cause there would be no need for a Ripoff Reports site if all businesses were this conscientious and willing to make the effort to do right by their customers.

I contacted HP again about the ink cartridges, and they surmised that there has to be something wrong with the printer itself.  They shipped a replacement (not sure if it's refurbished or brand new, but they both are about the same quality) which I should receive in about a day from now.  I also was contacted by Jennifer from the ISB Escalation Team, who assured me that next week she will also send two replacement tri-color cartridges to make up for the ones that were messed up in the printer. 

I do need to place the original printer in the packaging that they are sending the replacement in, and place the return shipping sticker on the outside of that box before dropping it off at the nearest FedEx location.  But I have to do it quickly because otherwise I will have to pay for the replacement printer.  I can understand why they would want to do things that way cause most folks might be inclined to keep both and not return the faulty one.  Good thing the All-in-One Printer is still under warranty, or I'd have to pay for the shipping costs myself and repair costs. 

Hewlett-Packard is starting to look a whole lot better thanks to my experience.  Though I haven't received the replacement yet--it's on the way--I hope I can update this further with my experiences regarding the replacement.  I never used to have any problems with HP products, this being the first time I felt any sort of frustration over a faulty product from them.  I thought it was the cartridges that were messed up, and since I don't have a Windows PC I can't use their online chat service--why is it that Mac and Linux users can't get the same sort of online help that instantly verifies what exactly is wrong with the printer? 

It's a bit of an inconvenience that I have gone without a printer for this long, but I can see that they are doing the best they can to make this right.  I just wanted to share this reality with HP's staff, and that they are at least willing to help when their products are defective.  Though I didn't expect to purchase a faulty product from this company, I am more hopeful that they are at least willing to honor their warranties.

Inspector suggested repair, but nowadays it's not worth it. For a lot of models, by the time you shell out for two new cartridges, you may as well just go out and buy a new printer. In fact, in some cases a new printer with cartridges included will cost you less than buying new carts or going the repair route.

Sad but true.

One of the things I learned to do though, is forget about looking at the printers themselves first. I go and look at the prices of the carts first, see which brand has the cheapest replacements and then take a look at that model line. This has resulted in my purchase of a Canon printer, for which the cost of replacing carts is ~$20 for either black or color.

The idea here was to replace the cartridge and see if the same symptom occurs.  It did ergo the printer is the problem not the cartridges.  You may buy another printer or try and get your old one repaired.