Before anyone complains, I will admit that this post is rather "rant-y". Also, I will admit that it could be posted in Brag & Moan, but I think it's important for it to be here with the original deal post...
Summary
I recently encountered another one of Compaq's misleading advertising schemes with regards to their model numbering system. For those that haven't noticed, they frequently change features between model numbers and eliminate certain features rather slyly and screw over their customers - I have seen many people get taken by this mess of theirs. So, I decided I would do something about it and ended up "winning" in the end by getting a replacement machine (worth about $500 more) with even more features than my original purchase. Because of this misleading advertising, and because of the great deal I ended up with, I am posting here to allow others to (at least) get what was rightfully theirs (and to brag a bit )
The purpose of my post here is to encourage others to get what's rightfully owed to them, and the put the screws on Compaq/HP's misleading advertising (which has still not been changed as of 5/21/04). The details are below, and I hope you will take the time to read through it.
The details
I bought a Compaq 2500 series laptop from a retail store at the end of March, as it had about $400 of rebates on it for a $1100-ish laptop - not a bad deal. The deal was posted here on the Hot-deals forum and two retailers (BB and CC) were providing a Model 2596 laptop with the 15" screen, DVD/CDRW combo drive, 256MB RAM, integrated wireless-g, XP Home among other features.
I checked out the laptop on Compaq's website, and could not find this specific model, so I looked at the specs of the "2500 series" laptops as posted on their site. What piqued my interest was the firewire feature that was mentioned in a few places, most notably in the 3-D view of the laptop (left side of the laptop - float the mouse over the connector.) As it says on this view, the laptop has an "integrated firewire port." Not believing everything I see on the internet, I then checked to see if this was an option or an included feature on all 2500 series laptops, so I checked to see what it would take to build a laptop with the same features as the 2596, and to see if this feature was an option. Simply put, fireware wasn't listed as an option, and at the same time I noticed that other features were listed as optional such as a floppy drive, and the wireless-g networking (which is explicitly included on this particular model. So, I still believed that the firewire must be a standard feature, but being ever skeptical (as I always am), I checked a few other areas on the site and after I was sure I wasn't missing anything, and after finding nothing to show that firewire wasn't included, I went ahead and purchased the laptop from the retailer.
After receiving the laptop, I noticed a "cover" over the firewire port location. So, I called Compaq support to find out where the firewire port was, and why it was covered. By now I know I had been screwed, but I wanted to play their game, so I played dumb. Long story short, the same "tech" (I use that term loosely!) gave me all sorts of excuses including:
"it's located on the left side" where I was looking all along
"it may be under the cover" which I didn't want to break off, and neither did they
"check for the drivers in Windows" still doesn't answer where the physical port is!
"it's available on this model as an option" which I had to pay extra for
"it's not available on your model at all"
"it's available on a 2771 model laptop" which is NOT a 2500 series, is it?!
After a few more pointless calls and no help from tech and customer support lines (when are they ever helpful!) and no diretion on who I could talk to with any power to make any real, non-scripted decisions, I decided to write a "demand letter" based on information provided at my state's consumer rights website. Within a week or two, the letter resulted in a call from a "higher up" office asking for more details. I was rather annoyed about this, as all the details were provided, but I was determined to get my firewire port, damnit!
Not to get into too much detail here, I explained how the site was misleading:
It showed firewire as an included feature since it was not listed as an option on the 3d view (unlike floppy and wireless-g - are you sensing a pattern here?)
It was not a selectable option when building a laptop while other optional features were listed as such.
They tried to explain it away by saying that my particlular 2596 laptop doesn't have this (then why is it still considered a "2500 series" machine?!) I kept asking, how does a person buld a 2500 series laptop with firewire, then?! No answer... of course.
In the end, they agreed that "this was a mistake on their site" and would correct it by sending me a replacement laptop. However, since a Compaq 2500 was not available with this feature-set, she asked if I would accept an HP-brand laptop instead. I agreed, and was shipped (fedex overnight, no less) a new HP 7000z 17" widescreen laptop with "equal or better" features of what I had on the original Compaq: notably, 17" widescreen, double RAM, firewire (of course!), faster CPU, etc. Simply put, I got what I wanted (firewire) and a whole lot more, for very little work from my end.
Conclusion
Based on this positive result, I encourage others to pursue this course of action as well - I imagine there were many as this deal was posted here back then, and it was a good deal on a cheap machine. Why do I encourage this? Because I am sick and tired of HP calling something a "2500 series" and then telling you "oh, but it's an option on YOUR model" or "YOUR model doesn't have this feature". I have seen people get screwed by this before, and I don't think consumers should stand for it. What pissed me off even more is that they then go and tell me I should get a "2771" model instead... how is this a "2500 series" machine? And where is the "2700 series" on their website - I couldn't find it! If they want to seperate these features, fine... call it a different series or call it an option. But to say it's an option, then to say it's not selectable when you build, and to advertise it on the laptop is downright misleading. On top of all this, they say it's a mistake on the site, and they still haven't corrected it? Screw them, I say... that's why I encourage others to do the same.
I am happy to provide the screen shots and other such evidence that I collected and submitted with my demand letter, to anyone interested in pursuing this for their own recent purchase of this laptop. I won't supply my actual demand letter, as I don't want people to cut and paste it for themselves (use your own words!), but I will provide guidance if anyone is interested. NOTE THAT I AM NOT A LAWYER, just a "consumer activist" if you will, but I can help point you in the right direction and to tell you what worked for me. Just drop me a PM and I will do what I can... I hope you will consider the offer - heck, it's not like you are doing anything wrong or illegal - you're just standing up for what's rightfully yours.
If you have read through this entire post, I thank you for taking the time to do so!