terrible time with toshiba

I purchased an M100 in January 2004. By late february the lan connector had failed. I sent the notebook in on March 4, overnight. They got it, determined that the systemboard was bad and said they ordered a new one. It has now been almost one month with out this computer that I bought for my business. They have repeatedly said that the part will be in on certain date, and it never comes. It seems to me that replacing the systemboard on a one month old computer constitutes basically new computer. Why they cannot just ship me a new one is very strange. I was told by the tech support people that they have a 5 business day turnaround on repairs, and I am now going on almost one month. The customer relations people (all in Turkey) dont seem to get it, and have not been very helpful. They have aknowledged that my situation is not the norm, but seem unable to do anything about it.

I am posting this to see what others experience has been with the customer support of toshiba and to see if my experience is the norm.

I am very frustrated and just needed to vent a little too.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice in how to deal with this.

been a month and a half.

well my m100 finally came back from the toshiba repair depot on April 15. YeaH!!!!??????

Well, the lan connector still didnt work even though they had replaced the system board!!!!!! ARgh! I think the actual physical connection between the lan connector and the board was the problem. But the tech just replaced the board, checked the lan modem on the software side, saw it was working (always had been), and shipped it back without actually plugging it into an actual LAN. So now I have the same computer with the same problem and its only been a month and a half!! I love you Toshiba!

In addition to the lan problem, whatever they did to change the system board, modified the computer enough that the system recovery disks DO NOT WORK! So cant reinstall windows now, even if the damn LAN problem had been resolved.

Well, I flipped out. Now they have agreed to send me a new computer but are dragging their feet.

I just want my money back so that I never have to deal with Toshiba again.

I did take the advice given earlier and began the dispute process with Toshiba via my credit card. My credit card (Bank of America) has refunded the money (provisionally) back to me, and has begun to investigate my problem with toshiba. If Toshiba resolves the problem soon, I can end the dispute process, but if I dont get the computer in my hands by the end of the month, I will not accept it, and I will see the dispute process to the end.

And the sad thing is I really liked the computer. It was fast, small and did everything I needed to do. But you dont just buy the computer, you buy the whole messy company with it. This problem has cost Toshiba 3 sales. I was planning on buying a Toshiba PDA, my father was interested in buying a laptop (not a Toshiba now), and my brother in law bought a laptop with his tax return, but not a toshiba after I told him my horror story.

So my bottom line here is this: DONT BUY A TOSHIBA. The computers are great, but the customer support sucks!

I apologize to any of you hard core Toshiba enthusiasts if that offends you, but I will never again buy anything knowingly made with the toshiba name on it.

See Ya.

Forrest70

they have offered me an M200 tablet PC

Well Toshiba has finally offered me another computer, which happens to be an M200 Tablet PC 1.5ghz 512 ram, 40 gb hd.

It unfortunately doesnt have an onboard cd/dvd player. That nixes it in my eyes. How do you install stuff? Do you have to buy an external dvd/cd? The whole point of a laptop in my eyes was to eliminate wires, not get more of them.

Does anyone think its a good trade for my M100 to an M200? My M100 was an 1.2 ghz, 512 ram 40 gb hd.The funny thing is the M200 is a $400 more expensive computer than my M100 was. I like the idea of a table pc, but the lack of a dvd player sucks.

I have counter offered Toshiba for an M30 1.5ghz, 512 ram, 60gb hd, or a Tecra M2 1.4ghz, 512 ram, 60 gb hd. Both of these computers are considerably cheaper than the M200.

Any thoughts welcome.

total refund

Just an update. This problem with Toshiba has taken almost 2 months!

Toshiba has given me a full refund of my $2150, but only to buy a new toshiba on their website.

I think Im gonna get an M30, 1.4 ghz, 512 ram, DVD multi-drive, 40-60 mb HD, high capacity battery, and 3 year depot express. All of these specs are better than the M100 I bought in January. Its heavier by 2 pounds, but I can live with that. I really liked how the centrino works so Im sticking with that.

I would rather just get my money back and get a different brand, but at least they got to this point.

finally . . . .

Well, Toshiba has finally approved my "refund". It only took 2 months! I ordered an M30 1.5ghz 512 ram 60 gb hd DVD Multidrive, big battery, and 3 year depot express. Most of these specs are better than my original M100, but it hardly seems to excuse the slowness of Toshiba's response.

I was tempted to demand a refund and pay the "restocking" fee of 15%, but I heard that Toshiba was actually one of the better computer makers around, so I stuck with them. I need a laptop and I know that I can get Toshiba to work with me (sort of like turning the Titanic).

I hope the new computer is glitch free and gives me less trouble. I will post my last reply in this thread when it actually gets here.

Thanks for all your responses.

Forrest70