Friendly Computers

There was no fraud or deceptionIf the customer said she passed my business on Victor Ave., I certainly would have responded by saying that I don't have a store in ReddingI have a franchise that I run from my home in Shasta LakeMy business address is printed on the card I gave to her at our first appointment and also on the top of the invoice that she signedI repaired the infected laptop by doing a factory recovery which erases everything on the computer (including settings, programs, personal files and any viruses) and then restores the computer to the way it came from the factoryThe reload process and result were explained before proceedingI saved her personal files before reloading and copied them to a folder on the desktop afterwardI also installed Microsoft Security Essentials to protect her laptopThis software protects millions of computers worldwide and I use it on my computersAt the point that I determined that this was not going to be a good business relationship I offered the customer a full refundThe customer refused the refund and insisted that I continue to helpA few days later I was presented with a $tip and thanked for the additional timeThe full version of Microsoft Office could not be activated without the required product IDThe customer didn't have it and I couldn't legally activate it any other wayThe re-infection weeks later could not have been the result of a previous infectionThe old stuff was all erasedAlso, installing Microsoft security software didn't cause the re-infectionI am still willing to refund $(original invoice + tip) on the condition that she posts a retraction of the fraud and deception allegations on this site and any other sites she may have posted toOtherwise, I will let a court decideThe evidence will show that I didn't commit fraud or misrepresent myself

I am rejecting this response because: Revdex.com Complaint 6/18/ When [redacted] from Friendly Computers first came to my home I remarked that I called him because I pass by his business (Friendly Computing on Victor Rd., I thought) every Sunday when I drive to church on Victor Rd [redacted] told me he lived in Shasta Lake on Main St but did not tell me that his business was not the one on Victor RdHe allowed me to continue to think that his business and the one on Victor Rd were the same businessThe business name on his card and on the receipt I received was so similar I thought they were the same businessHis business is called Friendly Computers My laptop was badly infected and [redacted] said he would have to take it with him to repair and the job would take days to complete He told me he would protect everything on my laptop for me since I did not have a recovery disc provided at the time of purchaseHe also said he could fix any problem I had with the laptop, it would have all the same features which it had before he began the work and there would be no more infectionsI told him I was having problems burning CD’s and could he help me to learn how to do thisHe said if there was a problem with the burner , he could fix it When the laptop was returned, the Word Office function was missingWhen I told [redacted] that it was installed originally and I was able to use it when he took the laptop to work on it and I required to have it back, he argued with me for about minutes saying that he would not reinstall it because it wasn’t part of the factory packageThe next day he called to apologize to me, upon further research he found that indeed, Word Office was an original part of the laptop package and he would install it back inHowever, he installed an inferior version of the Word program, he installed Word Starter, which did not contain many important features I use regularly including dictionary, thesaurus and the Review tab which is the avenue to many other functions as wellHe did not preserve the functions of the computer before he worked on it Also I could no longer type reliably the letters jumped around and changed places on the page and there were spontaneous deletions of my typed work [redacted] told me that all I needed was a new mouseI purchased a new mouse and this did not fix the issueHe confessed that he did not know how to fix the problemHe recommended I go to another business for repairsOriginally he told me he could make all repairs and not to be concerned about losing any functions I requested that a protection be installed on the computer so there would be no further malware infection I did not ask for the cheapest protection I asked for protection which would protect my computer from infections, etcHe installed a free program which resulted in many infections occurringOn a visit in the 3rd week of his working on the computer, there were infections After weeks of continuing difficulties with the laptop and ***’s repeated inabilities to fix problems I suggested he talk to my husbandHe wanted more money but the laptop was still not working properly The CD burner was not working, the typed letters moved all over the page, I had an inferior version of Word Office installed and the free protection he installed didn’t protect the computer from infections at all [redacted] lost his composure, insulted my intelligence and he blamed me for the computer’s problems saying “What’s wrong with you, YOU CAN READ CAN’T YOU?” He could not explain his inability to fix the computer to my husband and he stormed out of the house slamming the door behind himI never refused to pay him, he left in a huff because he couldn’t explain his inability to fix the laptop This man misrepresented himself in many ways I went to Advanced Concepts to fix the problems he could not and spent additional money to restore functions lost as result of his work(I would be happy to share the receipts for this work) I also went to Friendly Computing on Victor Rdto tell them about ***’s misrepresentation and upon speaking to the proprietor , Martin, found that he has been misrepresenting himself as them for a long time, even taking online recommendations which were intended for Friendly Computing The original agreement between us was for all work to be done in business daysAfter weeks I still had many problems and was forced to take the computer elsewhere to get the job done correctlyI hope that this complaint will spare someone else this disagreeable experience Thank-you for your prompt action in regards to this complaint, [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
To me, it seems that I should wait for the refund and then post any retractionPlease advise
Thank-you for your help,
*** ***

This customer called the phone number she saw on my vehicleThe prefix is the same as hers, a Shasta Lake number not ReddingThe business card I gave her at our first meeting clearly shows my business address as Shasta
Lake not ReddingThe invoice also clearly shows the name and location of my businessThe customer's laptop was so badly infected malware that it required a system recovery to factory settingsThe customer was informed that this process would reformat the hard drive and install the original factory contentThe agreement that she signed states that it is the customer's responsibility to back up their dataSince she had no backup, I copied her data prior to wiping the hard drive and subsequently saved her data to a folder on the desktopI also set up her email account and installed Microsoft Security Essentials in place of the trial software that was originally includedWhen I returned her machine, I installed and tested the printer softwareThe invoice was $I returned several times during the next weeks to install additional software, import old emails, and activate Microsoft officeNone of these visits were covered under warranty and should have been billedThe customer gave me a $tip and thanked me for all the extra time helping herMicrosoft Office was included from the factory but I could only activate the lite version because the customer did not have the required product ID keyOn the last visit I found the computer had become re-infected (not a remnant of the original infection because the hard drive had been reformatted) and therefor not covered under warrantyI cleaned up the new infections and uninstalled several newly downloaded programsWhen I presented the customer with an invoice for the work she refused to pay

I am rejecting this response because:
 Revdex.com Complaint 6/18/2014
When [redacted] from Friendly Computers first came to my home I remarked that I called him because I pass by his business  (Friendly Computing on Victor Rd., I thought) every Sunday when I drive to church on Victor Rd. [redacted] told me he lived in Shasta Lake on Main St.  but did not tell me that his business was not the one on Victor Rd. He allowed me to continue to think that his business and the one on Victor Rd were the same business. The business name on his card and on the receipt I received was so similar I thought they were the same business. His business is called Friendly Computers.
My laptop was badly infected and [redacted] said he would have to take it with him to repair and the job  would take 2 days to complete.  He told me he would protect everything on my laptop for me since  I did not have a recovery disc provided  at the time of purchase. He also said he could fix any problem I had with the laptop, it would have all the same features which it had before he began the work  and  there would be no more infections. I told him I was having problems burning CD’s and could he help me to learn how to do this. He said if there was a problem with the burner , he could fix it.
 When the laptop was returned, the Word Office function was missing. When I told [redacted] that it was installed  originally and I was able to use it when he took  the laptop to work on it and I required to have it back, he argued with me for about 15 minutes saying that he would not reinstall it because it wasn’t part of the factory package. The next day he called to apologize to me, upon further research he found that indeed, Word Office was an original part of the laptop package and he would install it back in. However, he installed an inferior version of the Word program, he installed Word Starter, which did not contain many important features I use regularly including dictionary, thesaurus and the Review tab which is the avenue to many other functions as well. He did not preserve the functions of the computer before he worked on it.
 Also  I could no longer  type reliably… the letters jumped around and changed places on the page and there were spontaneous deletions of my typed work. [redacted] told me that all I needed was a new mouse. I purchased a new mouse and this did not fix the issue. He confessed that he did not know how to fix the problem. He recommended I go to another business for repairs. Originally he told me he could make all repairs and not to be concerned about losing any   functions.
I requested that a protection be installed on the computer so there would be no further malware infection  I did not ask for the cheapest protection I asked for protection which would protect my computer from infections, etc. He installed a free program which resulted in many infections occurring. On a visit in the 3rd week of his working on the computer, there were 1717 infections.
After 3 weeks of continuing difficulties with the laptop and [redacted]’s repeated inabilities to fix problems  I  suggested he talk to my husband. He wanted more money but the laptop was still  not working properly.  The CD burner was not working, the  typed letters moved all over the page,  I had an inferior version of Word Office installed and  the free  protection he installed didn’t protect the computer from infections at all.  [redacted] lost his composure, insulted my intelligence and he blamed me for the computer’s problems   saying “What’s wrong with you, YOU CAN READ CAN’T YOU?”   He could not explain his inability to fix the computer to my husband and  he stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him. I never refused to pay him, he left in a huff because he couldn’t explain his inability to fix the laptop.
This man misrepresented himself in many ways.  I went to Advanced Concepts to fix the problems he could not  and spent  additional money to restore functions lost as result of his work. (I would be happy to share the receipts for this  work. )
I also went to Friendly Computing on Victor Rd. to tell them about [redacted]’s  misrepresentation and upon speaking to the proprietor , Martin,  found that he has been misrepresenting himself as them for a long time, even taking online recommendations which were intended for Friendly Computing.
The original agreement between us was for all work to be done in 2 business days. After 3 weeks I still had many problems and was forced to take the computer elsewhere to get the job done correctly. I hope that this complaint will spare someone else this disagreeable experience.
Thank-you for your prompt  action in regards to this complaint,
 [redacted]

There was no fraud or deception. If the customer said she passed my business on Victor Ave., I certainly would have responded by saying that I don't have a store in Redding. I have a franchise that I run from my home in Shasta Lake. My business address is printed on the card I gave to her at our first appointment and also on the top of the invoice that she signed. I repaired the infected laptop by doing a factory recovery which erases everything on the computer (including settings, programs, personal files and any viruses) and then restores the computer to the way it came from the factory. The reload process and result were explained before proceeding. I saved her personal files before reloading and copied them to a folder on the desktop afterward. I also installed Microsoft Security Essentials to protect her laptop. This software protects millions of computers worldwide and I use it on my computers. At the point that I determined that this was not going to be a good business relationship I offered the customer a full refund. The customer refused the refund and insisted that I continue to help. A few days later I was presented with a $40.00 tip and thanked for the additional time. The full version of Microsoft Office could not be activated without the required product ID. The customer didn't have it and I couldn't legally activate it any other way. The re-infection 3 weeks later could not have been the result of a previous infection. The old stuff was all erased. Also, installing Microsoft security software didn't cause the re-infection. I am still willing to refund $210.00 (original invoice + tip) on the condition that she posts a retraction of the fraud and deception allegations on this site and any other sites she may have posted to. Otherwise, I will let a court decide. The evidence will show that I didn't commit fraud or misrepresent myself.

Review: He defrauded me. This isn't the Friendly Computing in Redding as he represented and I specifically asked for. After 3 wks of this guy's work on my computer and payment of $215, my computer still had 1717 infections, the cursor jumped my letters all over the place making accurate typing impossible, my CD burner wasn't operational and I no longer had Microsoft Word installed. What a nightmare. I feel his work was shoddy, he deliberately strung out the repair process and and when I asked for help he insulted my intelligence. I request that the Revdex.com help me get a refund. Sincerely, [redacted]Desired Settlement: Business can mail me a refund check, I desire no further contact.

Business

Response:

This customer called the phone number she saw on my vehicle. The prefix is the same as hers, a Shasta Lake number not Redding. The business card I gave her at our first meeting clearly shows my business address as Shasta Lake not Redding. The invoice also clearly shows the name and location of my business. The customer's laptop was so badly infected malware that it required a system recovery to factory settings. The customer was informed that this process would reformat the hard drive and install the original factory content. The agreement that she signed states that it is the customer's responsibility to back up their data. Since she had no backup, I copied her data prior to wiping the hard drive and subsequently saved her data to a folder on the desktop. I also set up her email account and installed Microsoft Security Essentials in place of the trial software that was originally included. When I returned her machine, I installed and tested the printer software. The invoice was $170.00. I returned several times during the next 3 weeks to install additional software, import old emails, and activate Microsoft office. None of these visits were covered under warranty and should have been billed. The customer gave me a $40.00 tip and thanked me for all the extra time helping her. Microsoft Office was included from the factory but I could only activate the lite version because the customer did not have the required product ID key. On the last visit I found the computer had become re-infected (not a remnant of the original infection because the hard drive had been reformatted) and therefor not covered under warranty. I cleaned up the new infections and uninstalled several newly downloaded programs. When I presented the customer with an invoice for the work she refused to pay.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

Revdex.com Complaint 6/18/2014

When [redacted] from Friendly Computers first came to my home I remarked that I called him because I pass by his business (Friendly Computing on Victor Rd., I thought) every Sunday when I drive to church on Victor Rd. [redacted] told me he lived in Shasta Lake on Main St. but did not tell me that his business was not the one on Victor Rd. He allowed me to continue to think that his business and the one on Victor Rd were the same business. The business name on his card and on the receipt I received was so similar I thought they were the same business. His business is called Friendly Computers.

My laptop was badly infected and [redacted] said he would have to take it with him to repair and the job would take 2 days to complete. He told me he would protect everything on my laptop for me since I did not have a recovery disc provided at the time of purchase. He also said he could fix any problem I had with the laptop, it would have all the same features which it had before he began the work and there would be no more infections. I told him I was having problems burning CD’s and could he help me to learn how to do this. He said if there was a problem with the burner , he could fix it.

When the laptop was returned, the Word Office function was missing. When I told [redacted] that it was installed originally and I was able to use it when he took the laptop to work on it and I required to have it back, he argued with me for about 15 minutes saying that he would not reinstall it because it wasn’t part of the factory package. The next day he called to apologize to me, upon further research he found that indeed, Word Office was an original part of the laptop package and he would install it back in. However, he installed an inferior version of the Word program, he installed Word Starter, which did not contain many important features I use regularly including dictionary, thesaurus and the Review tab which is the avenue to many other functions as well. He did not preserve the functions of the computer before he worked on it.

Also I could no longer type reliably… the letters jumped around and changed places on the page and there were spontaneous deletions of my typed work. [redacted] told me that all I needed was a new mouse. I purchased a new mouse and this did not fix the issue. He confessed that he did not know how to fix the problem. He recommended I go to another business for repairs. Originally he told me he could make all repairs and not to be concerned about losing any functions.

I requested that a protection be installed on the computer so there would be no further malware infection I did not ask for the cheapest protection I asked for protection which would protect my computer from infections, etc. He installed a free program which resulted in many infections occurring. On a visit in the 3rd week of his working on the computer, there were 1717 infections.

After 3 weeks of continuing difficulties with the laptop and [redacted]’s repeated inabilities to fix problems I suggested he talk to my husband. He wanted more money but the laptop was still not working properly. The CD burner was not working, the typed letters moved all over the page, I had an inferior version of Word Office installed and the free protection he installed didn’t protect the computer from infections at all. [redacted] lost his composure, insulted my intelligence and he blamed me for the computer’s problems saying “What’s wrong with you, YOU CAN READ CAN’T YOU?” He could not explain his inability to fix the computer to my husband and he stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him. I never refused to pay him, he left in a huff because he couldn’t explain his inability to fix the laptop.

This man misrepresented himself in many ways. I went to Advanced Concepts to fix the problems he could not and spent additional money to restore functions lost as result of his work. (I would be happy to share the receipts for this work. )

I also went to Friendly Computing on Victor Rd. to tell them about [redacted]’s misrepresentation and upon speaking to the proprietor , Martin, found that he has been misrepresenting himself as them for a long time, even taking online recommendations which were intended for Friendly Computing.

The original agreement between us was for all work to be done in 2 business days. After 3 weeks I still had many problems and was forced to take the computer elsewhere to get the job done correctly. I hope that this complaint will spare someone else this disagreeable experience.

Thank-you for your prompt action in regards to this complaint,

[redacted]

Business

Response:

There was no fraud or deception. If the customer said she passed my business on Victor Ave., I certainly would have responded by saying that I don't have a store in Redding. I have a franchise that I run from my home in Shasta Lake. My business address is printed on the card I gave to her at our first appointment and also on the top of the invoice that she signed. I repaired the infected laptop by doing a factory recovery which erases everything on the computer (including settings, programs, personal files and any viruses) and then restores the computer to the way it came from the factory. The reload process and result were explained before proceeding. I saved her personal files before reloading and copied them to a folder on the desktop afterward. I also installed Microsoft Security Essentials to protect her laptop. This software protects millions of computers worldwide and I use it on my computers. At the point that I determined that this was not going to be a good business relationship I offered the customer a full refund. The customer refused the refund and insisted that I continue to help. A few days later I was presented with a $40.00 tip and thanked for the additional time. The full version of Microsoft Office could not be activated without the required product ID. The customer didn't have it and I couldn't legally activate it any other way. The re-infection 3 weeks later could not have been the result of a previous infection. The old stuff was all erased. Also, installing Microsoft security software didn't cause the re-infection. I am still willing to refund $210.00 (original invoice + tip) on the condition that she posts a retraction of the fraud and deception allegations on this site and any other sites she may have posted to. Otherwise, I will let a court decide. The evidence will show that I didn't commit fraud or misrepresent myself.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

To me, it seems that I should wait for the refund and then post any retraction. Please advise.

Thank-you for your help,

I just took my laptop to Friendly Computers. It was having hardware problems and would not stay on. They fixed it up in a few days and got me up and running. They were able to save all my data and I would have been lost without it. From now on anytime I have any problems I'm going straight to these guys. They also gave me some great recommendations for backing up my data and a new wireless printer at home.

I brought my computer into Friendly Computers. They exceeded my expectations. They helped me get my computer back up and running and saved all my pictures. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my pictures. Once they got everything working again they helped me get a backup going so I wouldn't lose my pictures again. They did so much more than I expected. I've taken my computer to the [redacted] many many times before and left disappointed. It's been a few weeks since I picked up my computer from Friendly Computers and its still going great. I will never call a [redacted] again.

Awesome place. Every time I've had something done by them I have received nothing but the best service. Took my computer in one time with a broken video card and they fixed it right up for a great price and had it fully working with an even better card than we previously had without any additional charge. Just had them over today as well for some Internet connectivity problems on a desktop of ours, guy came in and had it fixed within 10 minutes by installing a new, inexpensive card. After that they installed an old router of ours that saved us from spending a hundred dollars on a range extender. These guys are incredible and I have never been dissatisfied with their services. Absolutely no complaints.