More about bulling IT man

Sorry to post something negative, but I feel in need of comfort. This is the IT man I wrote of, on a previous thread but the thread failed [a technical issue]. I've had repairs and second hand computers off him since 2019,  gradually realizing he didn't know as much as he claimed - several times I saw him looking up Microsoft 'how to' for things I discovered to be easily resolved.

I'd asked him to get me a new PC and laptop after he said windows 11 could be updated on my computers but would not be stable. I paid him £500 as he asked. The laptop developed a fault just over a year later. He blamed me for not shutting it down properly, yet this was the advice he gave. I paid £60 for this ten minute visit. During this, he boasted he buys cheap parts he gets, '4 for the price of one HP,' which last 4 years whilst the HP last six, which he considered insignificant. Thus he benefits not the customer, getting more callouts - £60 for an hour then £30 per half hour. 

A week later, the laptop would not load a windows 11 update. I'd tried and failed to detach the battery, following a Utube video explaining how to cure the update issue. He offered to come out - another £60. I said, surely it should be under guarantee, being just over a year old. Then he said it was reconditioned and this was on the receipt. I'd never asked for a receipt (foolishly) as I trusted him. He never supplied receipts. I asked if the PC was new, and he said it was. So, why one new and one reconditioned - it made no sense.

I offered to deduct £60 of the paid price (£250) for work he did initially, transferring Microsoft Office and Scrivener, if I returned the laptop to his shop. It will certainly develop faults due to cheap parts and be a headache - especially the advice he gave about using a knife to detach the battery! I suspect the battery is a tight fit because it's not a HP part. But he wants £165 for wiping data and cleaning if I return it. This is ridiculous - paying him so he can re-sell it.

Parents
  • I'd try someone else, this guy sounds useless and he's ripping you off.

    HP is a bit of a marmite brand some love it and others hate it, I'm the later, one of the problems I've had with them are things like not accepting generic ink cartridges which are about a quarter of the price of the HP ones and if you have something like an HP printer hooked up to something that's not an HP computer, it seems to insinuate itself all over the place, adding things like task bars and then it's difficult to get rid of when you need a different printer.

    It's horrible feeling like you've been taken for a fool, I sympathise, because I know so little about computers I feel at the mercy of what anyone tells me and I can't do my own due dilligence stuff.

  • I feel at the mercy of what anyone tells me

    Yes, I've felt like this for some time. That's why I started trying to repair things myself from online videos. There are a lot of generous people on YouTube.

Reply Children
  • Thanks Marianne, but my skills definately do not go as far as tech, I am the person who has crashed a digital egg timer. Even Iain has asked that I never do online banking as with the number of things I've crashed, I probably make the worlds banking systems fail.

    There's a block in my brain somewhere, and I have a learning difficulty where some information goes straight to long term memory without spending any time in short term memory, this mean that whilst I know I've done something like C&P numerous times every time I do it is like the first and I have to struggle through it. It's not good people just say press this and click that it's easy, it dosent' stay in my memory, It dosen't matter what form the information is presented in either, my special needs person at uni got really wound up about it as she couldn't find a way to help with it. The thing thats even worse is that nobody ever thinks of how frustrating it is for me, only for themselves.

  • I think you underestimate your capabilities. You have great talent in cooking and skill in detecting the makeup of dishes, which is a form of chemistry. These skills comprise analysis, logic and synthesis, which are the root of learning.

  • I've never got on with you-tube videos an I've looked at a few, often they have annoying background music which puts me off and I can't concentrate. I don't think video's help me to learn much unless they're a documentary, the other thing is I could watch a video and mess about with my pooter as I only have the one. Even stuff for dummies is over my head and often these things ar American and American keyboards are often laid out diferently and they call things diferent names, something I find difficult when trying to learn something.