Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/13/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In late December of 2022, my computer would not boot up. Because they advertised an A+ BBB rating, I took it to A+**********’s Computer Repair. After he inspected it, he called to tell me that I needed a new hard drive. He quoted a price of $195, and I agreed for him to do the work. I had a 2 Terabyte (2000 gigabytes) hard drive, and I assumed that he would replace the defective one with a comparable size and quality drive. The capacity size of the hard drive is its most important characteristic.
  When I got home and booted my computer, I learned that the merchant had replaced my original, factory-installed 2TB (2000-gigabyte) hard drive with a 240-gigabyte drive. The "new "drive was already 1/3 full with just the data he had installed. There was no way I could restore my back-up of 500GB along with the multiple programs I use on to a drive which was only about 10% capacity of what was replaced.
  There were programs installed which I never requested or needed. There were 2 search engines, Office 2003 (20 years old!), several Apple I-phone programs along with an assortment of programs which I did not need or want. He informed me when I picked up my computer that he had installed a remote-access program on the hard drive so if there were any problems, he could access my computer. I was not happy at all with this blatant invasion of my privacy! I later found out that he did not load on just 1 remote access program but rather 2 – TeamViewer and Anydesk! I deactivated both when I got home, I did not think this was a new drive he installed because of all of the junk on it and immediately called him to complain.
  The merchant has been in business for 21 years and would have known that this hard drive he installed was not going to work for me just by the high performance and capacity of my computer and all of it’s components. He tried to sell me on the idea that his drive was solid state technology and much more efficient than the hard drive he replaced. I told him no matter how efficient this "new" drive is, there is no way I can install my 500 GB back-up and programs on a 240GB drive. After a lengthy discussion, he offered to refund my payment and he would re-install my original drive back into my computer. I told him that this was not the solution I wanted since I would still not have a computer. He then offered to install a 1,000-gigabyte drive for an additional $35. While his offer was still only 50% capacity of the drive I had originally, this seemed to be my best solution at the time. But the more I thought about how I was deceived with a much smaller drive replacement; the 2 remote access programs he loaded onto my computer without first getting my permission; the plethora of miscellaneous programs on what appeared to be a used drive; I could not trust him and was reluctant to have him touch my computer again. I went to another repair business and they installed a 2TB hard drive for about $160. I also got the inferior drive back and it had hand-writing in marker on it, which further confirms my suspicions that this was not a new drive but a used one.
  I am 75 years old and have been using computers for more than 45 years. I have more than just a general knowledge of them, and I truly believe that the merchant assumed that because of my age, I knew nothing about computers. I’m sure he thought he could do this bait and switch on me and I would never be the wiser. He was wrong and does not deserve the BBB rating he has.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2023

  I am responding to Mr. ******’s complaint.

  
  He is trying to get a full refund without returning the merchandise, which is not acceptable. 
  
  Mr. ***** brought a computer to me  that had a bad a hard drive. I attempted to do a data recovery, but his hard drive was in too bad of condition so I offered to put a new hard drive in which was a solid-state drive.
  The total for troubleshooting old hard drive and attempted data recovery and SSD including Windows 10 install was $195   He apparently didn’t like the size of the drive so I offered him a larger drive or full refund. 
  
  It has been over a month and a half, and he has still not returned the drive. He has also falsely accused me publicly of deception and fraud, which I have contacted my attorney and will possibly be filing charges of defamation against Mr. *****.   I have documented several text messages between me and Mr. *****, where I have repeatedly attempted to give him a full refund if he would just return the drive which he blatantly refused to do.     

  ****** ********** Owner and CEO

  A-Plus **********'s Computer Repair

  502-608-5654

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/14/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. Please respond here ONLY]
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/15/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.

  In response to the letter from Mr. **********, my comments are in bold italics:He is trying to get a full refund without returning the merchandise, which is not acceptable.At this time, the business has been paid in full. There is a dispute still pending with Capital One which he can terminate by issuing the requested credit. I offered to return the drive once the credit has been processed. He refused and insisted that the drive be returned first. I cannot do that as this drive is critical evidence in the event this dispute elevates to any litigation. In his response to my complaint, he has already threatened litigation. In order to accommodate Mr. **********'s request for the disk to be returned, I offered that a refund in the amount of his charges of $195 less the cost of the drive from Amazon for $16.99 be issued and we can both move on. This was all well documented in my text messages, and he was allowed 48 hours to issue either credit. For some inexplicable reason, he has refused to issue any credit.Mr. ***** brought a computer to me that had a bad a hard drive.I attempted to do a data recovery,There was no request for any data recovery or any evidence that he did one. This i em does not show on his invoice which I submitted with my complaint. All my data was in a daily back-up stored online and I had no need for him to do any data recovery. He was only asked to inspect the hard drive and let me know his results.but his hard drive was in too bad of condition, so I offered to put a new hard drive in which was a solid-state drive.The drive he replaced was a 2TB drive (2,000 GB). It was totally reasonable for me to assume that the replacement drive would be comparable to the bad one. His new drive was only 240GB — 90% less capacity than the original and would not meet my needs. He never told me this and I only found out later when I took my computer home.The total for troubleshooting old hard drive and attempted data recovery and SSD including Windows 10 install was $195.He was not asked to install Windows 10 or any other programs. He was only authorized to replace my hard drive with one of comparable size and quality for the agreed upon price of $195.He apparently didn't like the size of the drive, so I offered him a larger drive or full refund.He never offered a drive comparable in size to the one he replaced, even after informing him how much data and programs I had to load on the drive. For $35 more, he offered to replace this small drive with a 1 TB drive — which was still only 50% capacity of what he removed from my computer. It was questionable whether it would be large enough to accommodate my requirements. The refund he offered would involve him getting back inside my computer and by this time, I could not trust him.It has been over a month and a half, and he has still not returned the drive.I filed a dispute with Capital One on January 10, 2023, which is still pending. He has been offered 2 alternatives: (1) I will return his drive after he issues a full credit of $195, or (2) he can issue a credit for the full amount less the value of the drive, or approximately $179.He has also falsely accused me publicly of deception and fraud,

  I have posted nothing more than the facts of my complaint on social media sites. What Mr. ********** has totally ignored and conveniently not addressed in his response to the complaint is how this dispute ever came about in the first place. Mr. ********** claims he has been in the computer repair business for 21 years and I'm sure he was aware of exactly what he was doing the entire time. There is no doubt that he intentionally replaced a much larger drive with a significantly smaller one, but never bothered to tell me. All indications are that he did not sell me a new drive but rather a previously used one. He also installed, without first getting my permission, 2 remote access programs which gave him total access to my computer anytime and without my knowledge. All of these facts would be deemed by any reasonable person to be deceitful and fraudulent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/16/2023

  ******* ***** was offered a quick and easy resolution back on January 5.  All he had to do was return the merchandise and he would’ve been issued
  A full refund immediately on the spot. 
  

  NO business is going to give a refund without getting the merchandise returned first. That is the policy of ALL businesses including mine. 
  It is now a month and a half later and he still has not returned the merchandise.
  
  I have been serving 1000’s customers for over 21 years and have won several awards for customer service and professionalism. I have taken pride in giving the best service possible and upholding the standards of the Better Business Bureau’s A+ rating and have 21 year track record to prove it.  
  
  I feel I’ve been more than reasonable in this situation.   All previous offers are now null and void. 

  ****** **********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  Since
  January 5th, I have been trying to get a credit for the unsatisfactory service Mr.
  ********** provided. The part he installed can be purchased new at Amazon for
  $16.99. Because of his insistence to return the part, I offered him an option
  to deduct the cost of the part from what I paid him and then issue a credit for
  the difference. He refused and is adamant about getting this inexpensive part
  returned. The question is why is he so concerned about getting this $16.99 part
  back? What is it about this particular drive that he doesn’t want known? It’s
  certainly not the cost of the part, because I have offered numerous times to
  reimburse him for that. Yet he refuses to credit me until I return the part. There’s
  something very strange going on here and I hope it gets discovered because of this
  complaint.
  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* *****