Complaint Review: P&W Surplus Store - East Hartford Connecticut

I work in IT for a fairly large organization part time while attending university for a computer science degree. I also do side work repairing computers, doing OS installs, recovering lost/deleted data, etc. I have purchased a dozen or so computers in my lifetime, both used and new. I have helped others purchase their computers, used and new. My uncle needed a laptop for his club, and I had recently heard from a colleague that the P&W store was a good place to buy a basic computer on the cheap. I'm looking at this post nearly two years after the fact, but I feel the need to help clarify a few things since this hits so high on Google (Fourth or sixth, depending on how you count links) when searching for the Pratt & Whitney Surplus Store. Sorry Steve, but I have to side with the P&W guys on this one. Your $30 paid to have the OS installed. And as far as the $30 fee... how can you install something (any software) on a computer if you don't have the right or legitimate right of use of the software (i.e. a license to the software. --Steve The computer came with a license to use the software. It is tied to the computer. By purchasing the computer, you automatically gained ownership of this license. By spending $30 additional, you purchased the service of installing the OS for you. He did not purchase the license as it is an OEM license and is tied to that computer, OEM licenses are not resellable. --Lori I think what the rep was trying to say was The $30 could not have been for the software license since we can't sell it separately (It's tied to the machine). In other words, it's part of the computer just like the case the computer came in, or the fans, or the processor. The OS was not installed at the time, but Steve owned the right to install it. This license was there even if he did not pay the extra $30 to have the OS installed. When Steve bought the computer, the license transferred to him. Basically, Steve bought a used car that was out of alignment. If Steve had his own Windows disc, he could've installed the OS on the laptop he bought using HIS installation media and HIS license key on the bottom of the computer himself, and saved $30. It did not come with install discs, but he could've obtained his own Windows CD easily (more on that later). If Steve had an alignment machine and experience or a manual, he could've aligned his used car by himself, costing him nothing but his own time. Instead, Steve paid $30 for Pratt to take THEIR install media, and use STEVE'S license to install the OS, update it, and install the drivers. (By the way, I charge $70 or so to do the same thing. It usually takes 1-3 hours, and is a real pain to do. The company might end up paying more than $30 to the tech to install the OS, updates, and drivers. ) Steve paid a mechanic to use the shop's lift and the Mechanic's time to align Steve's used car. Allegedly 45 days later, the OS was corrupted, or for some other reason Steve wanted a re-install. Steve's car might've been out of alignment again because he had been driving it rather hard, or carelessly, or he just wanted them to align it again because it seemed like a good idea. They, of course, wanted to charge Steve to do the work using the shop's resources again. The good news, had Steve bothered to look, was that the OEM of the computer probably had the discs available either for download or for purchase (usually little more than paying for the shipping). Dell seems to be the most common at the P&W store, and offers this option for free: http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1680. Note the date on the article! HP Gives customers an option to order the discs from them, though possibly not for free. I believe IBM/Lenovo does the same thing as HP. Steve could've gotten his own lift and alignment machine for free, or for very little cost. Instead he wasted his time complaining about the fact that he didn't really bother checking what that money he spent was really for. I wouldn't be reluctant to buy a computer for the P&W store at all, especially since they are often sold for close to the cost of the license for the OS they come with. Many of the computers cost LESS than the licence they come with, even with the $30 install fee. Hopefully Steve was otherwise happy with his used car - erm... laptop.

That's fantastic! You place information on ripoff report and the ripoffartist accuses you of placing false information or being a competitor. That's just classic! Well here is the real deal. I don't compete with Keylynx the Pratt & Whitney Surplus store. And as far as the $30 fee... how can you install something (any software) on a computer if you don't have the right or legitimate right of use of the software (i.e. a license to the software. Because, it seems like I here on the computer I purchased. And, what good is a license without the actual software. Would you purchased Quickbooks if they handed you a license and told you to get the software somewhere else? Do you think Dell sells you a computer with the Windows Operating system license on it but no software to go with it? This is absurd! These folks are either keenly unaware or highly scrupulous. In either case, I will continue to post a rebuttal here each time Keylynx or Pratt & Whitney Surplus post another falsehood! By the way, I've been dealing with Loralyn M. Hnath and her email is [email protected] & Robert M. Sandord and his email address is [email protected]. Both of these folks are from Pratt & Whitney employees abd possibly the backdoor owners of this little operation. Why don't we show them how this forum works.

This customer is misguided. What he paid $30 for was the installation of a Windows operating system (along with the associated device drivers and service packs) on a used computer he bought at the P&W Surplus Store. He did not purchase the license as it is an OEM license and is tied to that computer, OEM licenses are not resellable. After he corrupted the operating system, he is upset that we told him it will cost another $30 to re-install it. From his e-mail address (he wrote to us to tell us he filed this report), it is evident that he works for PC Gurus LLC, a local "competitor". A very unprofessional attempt to discredit our business by spreading false information.