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:11/15/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Brought laptop to Steve for a quote (free per website) to fix non-functioning WiFi, clarifying wanting a quote before any work. He later texted that he’d dismantled the laptop, and so far the cost was $200. After reminding I’d wanted a quote before any work, he sent a barrage of menacing vitriol. I called to clear things up, only to endure >25 minutes of hysterical, demeaning verbal abuse (“You're going to be stupid and not have me finish your ******* repair”). He threatened that if I didn’t pay $200, he wouldn't reassemble the laptop or restore its data that he’d transferred to a hard drive w/o my permission. I hadn’t agreed to *any* sort of work, let alone removing data (some of it personal)! He was effectively holding it hostage. Feeling cornered, I agreed to pay. Fearing for my safety (listen to the recording to understand why), my mother and fiancé went to retrieve the laptop. They mentioned his inappropriate phonecall behavior, and Steve then erupted on them with renewed hostility. He ended up charging an inexplicable $325, which is *not* what we agreed to on the phone, but they paid the "ransom." Nearly all of these interactions were recorded. I'm attaching screenshots of the texts, and I have a recording of the phonecall beginning about 5 minutes in. There is also recording of the yelling in the store. (Audio Excerpt 12:40) Me: "That's going to be data theft because I didn't authorize it. I need you to put the data back on.” Steve: “You didn't authorize what tools to use. You don't get to authorize how I do my work. You don't know anything.” “You have to pay me to put the data back. If you don't pay me, you don't get the data.” I never hired him; I only brought my laptop in for a quote. This was triggering, traumatic (hence my submission delay—this occurred approx 1/25/23), and my laptop was not fixed. I would like a full refund minus $20 for a USB WiFi adapter he provided/forced upon me as a temporary fix. Please allow me to send in the recordings.