KUALA LUMPUR — A customer’s nightmare after purchasing a suspect computer has gone viral on social media – and is purportedly not the first complaint of its kind against Chinese tech giant Lenovo.
Elise Joseph, in a post shared to the “Meanwhile in Malaysia” Facebook page, said she bought an Ideacentre 330-17MI desktop at Wangsa Walk Mall on July 11.
“It wasn’t even 30 days since the purchase that the computer started showing signs of being faulty,” she told The Vibes.
When she went online to register the device’s warranty, she was shocked to find that the registration had been done a year earlier.
“The warranty was apparently already registered, with the stated purchase date being July 10, 2019.”
Elise brought up the issue with Lenovo via email, and was told that “2019 is actually the manufacturing year, and there was a typo”.
“The thing is, they didn’t say what and where was the typo,” she said.
“I suspect that the unit they sold me was a refurbished one. That’s why it was faulty. I was lucky that I took a screenshot of the warranty.”
On August 13, Lenovo sent a technician to Elise’s home to replace the computer’s motherboard.
But, she said, it did little to boost the device’s performance.
“I asked them for a one-to-one replacement, but they told me that they couldn’t do that because their technician said the problem was solved and my computer had no issues.”
She sent a follow-up email to the company, this time looping in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
The worst was yet to come, however – files saved in the computer suddenly went missing.
Elise lodged a report at the Wangsa Maju police station over cheating and fraud, and the investigating officer recommended that she refer the matter to the consumer affairs tribunal.
Bishen Bupert Patel, a senior software engineer with Mysuri Biz Technologies, suggested that a virus had wiped out Elise’s files.
“Perhaps, what happened was that the computer had a virus.
“It’s possible that a buyer (unknowingly) purchased a display unit, which is usually out in the open for people to use,” he said, leading to malicious software being downloaded to the device.
Lenovo, in an email response to The Vibes, said: “Customer satisfaction is our top priority. We are investigating the case now and closely communicating with the customer.”
Elise said the company finally offered her a replacement desktop, which she accepted, but added that compensation could be better.
“The issue went on for a long time. I bought the computer for work, and lost a lot of income when I was unable to use it.
“Looking at the Facebook comments, I wasn’t the only one who experienced this with Lenovo. Many others claimed that they, too, got refurbished units instead of new ones.”
Lawyer K. Teeruvarasu said consumers who find themselves in such a pickle can sue sellers for misrepresentation under Section 18 of the Contracts Act 1950.
“If the item is advertised as new, but turns out to be otherwise, there is cause of action for misrepresentation.”
If the claim amount is less than RM5,000, he said, consumers can go to the small claims court.
“Alternatively, they can approach the Consumer Complaints Tribunal under the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.” – The Vibes, September 29, 2020
