Computer Corporation Ripoff!

C

CeeBee

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While we're posting about good and bad hardware deals, here's a miffo!
My cousin, being a bit, ... IT challenged, went to Computer Corporation, and asked for the Mecer Lite special deal, advertised with AMD Sempron 2800+ and 256MB DDR2 memory, etc, for R1699.
(why the hell he went for that I dunno, as I could have told him about much better value solutions if he didnt want to spend lotsa munny, but lets not go there :mad: )
So he asks me to set it up, install o/s etc.
Ok, ... where is the driver disk? Nope, no disk for mobo supplied.
So I figure, not big problem, have to open the case, see what is motherboard, so I can download drivers off the internet.
First thing I notice : no friggin way this is DDR2 memory, its old 266Mhz.
Start up the box, not AMD Sempron 2800 coming up, its AMD Athlon MP1600.
Hmmm.... smells like ripoff to me, this cpu must be slower than Sempron 2800!
Told cousin to take machine back to Computer Corporation, as this is not what he asked for, not at all what was advertised, they better swop to correct components or refund, as he should get better for the munny paid.
I got there yesterday, apparently the dude at CC just gave him the finger, and refuses to swop or refund.
He says, they didn't have Sempron 2800s. "They don't make Sempron 2800s anymore". So my thoughts are that, duh, the Mp1600 is a 2001 model also not a new cpu anymore.
Also, the dude says the MP1600 is faster than a 2800mhz! Hehe, so they actually did him a favour :)
I guess they could sommer see this customer doesn't know **** about pcs at all, so they screw him all the way.
If they don't have Sempron 2800 CPUs in stock, why not have the balls and the decency to tell the customer about it :mad:
If no stock, howcome in the latest Computer Corp ad, they still advertise the "special deal" with Sempron 2800!
IMO doesn't matter if u swop insides of box with similar or even better alternatives, at least inform the customer!
I definately want to take this issue further.
 
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be advised the average CC Tekkie is 18 years old and just gone done his A+ at a fly by night off a centurion offramp somewhere.
 
my impressions of the sales guys at CC (at least in Montana where I sometimes used 2 go) is that they are just that - sales persons, zero knowledge of the actual IT products. If u want to buy something, u better know what u want.
 
Companies like to rip-us off sometimes, If we know nothing about computers......
Sometimes, they can coin big time, I know a place in Randburg that charges over R400 for 512 meg ram, 80 gig hard drive R900, come on seriously people are taken advantage.
 
The reason the staff don't know anything is because they get paid crap, last year I needed a part urgently and couldn't wait for it to be couriered from the supplier so I went to Comp Corp, while I was there, I spoke to the owner and he said that the techs get paid R1500 or R2000 if they have their own car, probably to use for call-outs.
 
mh348 said:
The reason the staff don't know anything is because they get paid crap, last year I needed a part urgently and couldn't wait for it to be couriered from the supplier so I went to Comp Corp, while I was there, I spoke to the owner and he said that the techs get paid R1500 or R2000 if they have their own car, probably to use for call-outs.
Click to expand...
that's called Exploitation in my Vocabulary
 
yes its bad that they get paid so little.
still, there's nothing wrong with saying "I don't know, will find out", rather than thinking up **** and hoping u'll get away with it!
That way u learn new stuff too.
 
This is extremely shocking! I hope you are not just dropping the matter? You should definitely escalate it. Their excuse definitely sounds like a brush off
 
Forget the stupid branch. Phone headquarter of CC and tell them you'll be sueing for misrepresentation/fraud if they don't sort their shyte out asap. You'll need the guys name , branch name and sales/invoice number.

The guy that sold you the PC will probably lose his job...but this is one of those "show no mercy" cases. 266mhz ram...:mad:
 
HavocXphere said:
Forget the stupid branch. Phone headquarter of CC and tell them you'll be sueing for misrepresentation/fraud if they don't sort their shyte out asap. You'll need the guys name , branch name and sales/invoice number.

The guy that sold you the PC will probably lose his job...but this is one of those "show no mercy" cases. 266mhz ram...:mad:
Click to expand...

They weren't worried about screwing you...
 
HavocXphere said:
Forget the stupid branch. Phone headquarter of CC and tell them you'll be sueing for misrepresentation/fraud if they don't sort their shyte out asap. You'll need the guys name , branch name and sales/invoice number.

The guy that sold you the PC will probably lose his job...but this is one of those "show no mercy" cases. 266mhz ram...:mad:
Click to expand...

Here's their number from the website
HEAD OFFICE
08616 08616
[email protected]
Click to expand...
 
I would have been a lil suspicious too seeing Sempron 2800+ and DDR2 in the same sentence considering that's the old AMD slot which meant DDR1 whether they were still being made or not, it would never have been able to take DDR2.
 
S1ght said:
I would have been a lil suspicious too seeing Sempron 2800+ and DDR2 in the same sentence considering that's the old AMD slot which meant DDR1 whether they were still being made or not, it would never have been able to take DDR2.
Click to expand...

Perhaps advertised as an AM2 Sempron?
 
Dont leave it here!

Report it on Hellopeter.com and do whatever you can to either get the money back or the right hardware :mad:
 
Jip, def taking it further... even if only to get some retribution for the times I got screwed over in the past :D
When I heard he bought the AMD Sempron with "DDR2" memory I told him I very much doubt its DDR2 memory, especially with a Sempron, as I've seen before, the CC guys who do the advertising don't always know wtf they're talking about.
But I did expect at least 400Mhz or so type memory.
They are for the guys who don't know any better and won't notice if they go cheap & old on u, thats why they put a sticker on the side and tell u not to open the box :)
 
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That is a bad! Then again I do only buy blank discs and the odd HDD enclosure at CC. No driver disk is also bullcr@p. Its enough that you must make your own backup install disc with laptops.

I also found that ad rather fishy when I saw it in the Rekord (community newspaper in PTA). I've found Matrix Warehouse (Hatfield) better in terms of actually getting the hardware you pay for.

PC retailers get such a bad rep these days its just not funny. Thats why people should get a PC enthusuiast (excuse my spelling) to accompany them for any purchase. Thats the only way you get somwhere.

Hope you come right Ceebee!
 
Wow, what a ripoff!

I am tired of hearing stuff like this, just pick up any printed media and read the adds, stuff like 80Mb of memory, Think they mean 80Gb of hard disk space, I have even seen stuff like 3800+Ghz processor, think it was Makro!

I spoke to a friend of mine, a lawyer, and he said mind the little fine print saying E&OE, which means Errors and omissions Excluded. So they can print what they want to, but I think this is a totally different case, when he paid for the 2800+ ddr2 system and recived an invoice and paid, isn't that a contract a sales agreement? If he then received something else isn't it fraud??

Rip off's in the PC industry doesn't end here, I remember helping some one a while back her laptop's hard drive had failed, she took it back to the place where she bought it and they said, "Uhm ok we will have a look," then they made her Buy another copy of XP DSP for R3000, she had a license that shipped with the notebook, then they said "ok it is basically useless, a paperweight and she can trough it away, but they can buy it from her for R1000 for parts, it was a 17" core 2 duo 1.8Ghz with 2gigs of ram!!! fortunately she said ok well I would like to keep it and see what I can do, I took out the drive, it was failing, did a full recovery of the drive and replaced it with a new drive et violas it is running and it cost her R800 for everything! But now she is +1 Xp for nothing! just because the guys where clueless and really thought it was useless or to rip off a "clueless" girl!

You judge for yourself!
 
Rip-off's in the PC industry never cease to amaze me. They exploit and prey on people who are not clued-up and generally don't know much about computer hardware. I see it happening all the time....

Making the lady buy another copy of XP, now that's a shocker...!!!
 
My cousin loves to play Sims...

They have an old P4 2.6GHz, an AGP slot and 256MB DDR333/whatever RAM.

Last year she went and bought Sims2 (never knowing till then that a sequel to The Sims existed), and tried installing it (but obviously it didn't work).

She phoned me and I told her she'll need more RAM and an AGP GFX card.
I told her to phone a certain shop in Bloem of which I know the owner, and her quoted her about R1300 for another 1GB DDR400/333/whatever and a 256MB 6600GT (AGP).

She then wanted to go and get this, and was about to when they went to church that Sunday, and spoke to friends there...
Her "friend" told her that she should rather buy it from him as he'll pop it in for "free" (Which PC shop doesn't???), so she did.

So in December we were visiting them, and I saw her playing Sims 2, and asked her why it was so "laggy" - she replied it had always been like that after she bought the hardware I advised...

I popped open her box to see :
*640MB RAM (She initially had 2 x 128MB DDR333/###)
**GeForce 5200 128MB AGP.

So I asked her where she bought it and what she paid.

I saw the invoice, it stated:
1GB DDR400 - R950odd
GeForce 6600GT - R1100

I told her she'd been scammed, but she decided not to do anything other than not doing business with her "friend" again...

I STILL feel like throwing 2 dozen vrot eggs at the arse's house...
 
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