Acer America Corporation Acer Customer NO Service San Jose California

I'm a former consumer investigative reporter for Post Newsweek TV in Washington, DC. I purchased an Acer Aspire One in September 2008. I liked the netportable except for the keyboard.

I purchased a Acrer Aspire One in September 2008 shortly after they came out. I was fairly satisfied with it except for the too small keyboard.

Well about 6 weeks ago I found that the screen had just gone out. I called Acer and they explained that it was a glitch that they would fix via a thumb drive which they sent FedX.

GREAT! Impressed then with their service which was quick and this fixed the problem.

Several weeks later I awake to find that every thing on the Acer is screwed up. I think that just may be some thing has happened during the night as Microsoft selected 3AM in the morning to upgrade my XP. I began to look to see if it was a virus NO virus was discovered by either Spybot Search and Destroy or Avast. I then try to see if I can reset to another time when the computer was working okay. That has no effect.

So I decide to use the Acer Recovery System that is in the computer after more than three frustrating calls to Acer techies that for the first two calls I could hardly understand what they were saying. Finally I get this ARROGANT American jerk who keeps parroting that I have to purchase a $19.95 physical recovery disc from Acer to get my computer back to normal.

I soon learn that even though the computer itself is under warranty the warranty for the software is only 90 DAYS. I ask him if there have been other situations like mine where this has happen and he just EVADES the question constantly evidently reading from prepared script like his counterparts in the foreign countries.

So I decide that at LAST resort I will use the Full Factory Recovery System and that is when the Error Code saying a line of code is missing shows up! No wonder the computer is NOT functioning properly. So I call Acer again and this time they say they will have a Level 2 call which they NEVER did!

I think that line of code is missing from all those Acers they shipped in the beginning. They refuse to suggest that is possible and just keep telling me that I have to pay the $19.95 to get my computer disc.

So I ask the operator if I can speak to either the Director of Consumer Affairs or some one in Public Relations.

SURPRISE there is no such person at Acer according to the operator!

She says that she can only send me back to Customer NO Service. I inform her that I have worked with the Federal Trade Commission attorneys on a project before and plan to report this to them. She is NOT fazed by this. She says that she can only send me back to Customer Service.

People should NOT have to pay for the mistakes that Acer has evidently made with the code on the Recovery System!

Hugh
Franklin, North Carolina
U.S.A.