Gateway 2000 Fails to warranty Computer then sends it to wrong address, Now my son has to pay $4000 for a laptop Gateway lost Ripoff North Sioux City, South Dakota

Hopefully, my solutions will assist Tina in Oklahoma regarding the Gateway which was sent to the wrong address and charged for being looked at. I went through a customer service issue with Gateway from April till August of this year because they refused to replace a warrantied part and I refused to send them my computer to fix.


After 25 hours of calls to customer service and even writing to the CEO, Wayne Inouye, with a negative response, I wrote to Mike Zimmerman who is in charge of customer service and quality control. He is located out of the Irvine, California office.

I told him I wouldn't waste his time reiterating all the documentation I do have regarding his company's rude and incompetent representatives, but I would like him to know I have spent a minimum of 25 hours back and forth and no one knew what they were doing or were willing to compromise with me. I told him I did not want to send such incompetent people my computer. I told him as someone who has worked in customer service for over 10 years I truly believed someone at Gateway really cared about the customer and I hoped he was that person.

I also told him I worked for a company which has high speed internet service (true) and would never ever refer people to their products even though it was the only one I used to recommend. Apparently when I told him I was a business person that perked their ears up a little. I got a resolution from it. If you would like a copy of my letter, I will be glad to forward it to you personally.

When you have a "limited warranty" you need to know what is and is not covered. That's not always easy to figure out. When your son sent in the laptop and said not to repair things not under warranty, 20-20 hindsight now says he should have asked what charges he would incur if nothing is covered. Apparently Gateway is charging you a fee for looking at your laptop and then returning it unrepaired. Most companies will charge you just to examine a laptop and from my experience $150 is not out of line.

But the big issue here is that Gateway, through total negligence, lost the whole laptop. The claim that the white pages shows your old address is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Gateway owes you a laptop. DHL is correct that it is up to Gateway to file a claim for a lost shipment. Your claim is against Gateway and Gateway's problem with DHL is not your problem.

The smartest thing you can do right now is to consult an attorney. If you want to handle it on your own you ought to find out who the statutory agent for Gateway is in Oklahoma. Send a letter by certified mail to Gateway in care of the statutory agent. State your case clearly and concisely -- you sent the laptop to Gateway for repair, repairs took so long that you moved while waiting for the laptop's return, you informed Gateway of the new address, they sent it to the old address where it was left unattended at a vacant house, and the laptop is now lost. Then demand a replacement. Sending a demand letter this way bypasses the idiots in customer service and may get some action or it may not. If it does not work, then it is time to see that attorney.