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Is my local computer shop trying to overcharge me?Please Help!

  • 02-07-2013 7:53pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭


    Okay so recently my 3+ year old laptop started giving me a bit of trouble.I could no longer connect to any wireless network in range.So i brought it down to the local computer repair shop and told him i cant seem to connect to any wireless network anymore.He tells me that they will have a look at it and let me know.

    3 days pass and I get a call from the man saying my laptop is fixed. It turned out that it was in fact the wireless card inside the laptop that broke( which is why i could not connect anymore). He then told me that they would give me a USB wireless adapter to replace it which was the cheaper option than getting a brand new wireless card for inside the laptop. I asked him how much it was going to cost me and he said 30€. I have no idea how much one of these costs so I said that's fine.

    Then he went on to tell me it would be an additional 75€ for the removal of the viruses that were on my laptop.I happen to know a very generous amount about computers and software myself and I have always had virus software and malware/spyware software installed on my laptop so this seemed very strange. I ran regular scans on my laptop which always showed it was free of all types of computer malware. Is this guy trying to con me out of 75€? And should i have a case not to pay him for this as I am almost 100% sure i had no viruses on the laptop? Furthermore I told him I was having problems with my wireless connection and then he tells me he removed all the viruses which is not what i asked him to do in the first place?

    Can I please get some help on this as I feel he is trying to take advantage of me thinking I know nothing about computers and that I would gladly pay him the 105€ for fixing my laptop even though i feel he did very little.
    Tagged:


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    €75 for something you didn't ask for. No thanks!

    From a quick look on ebay the usb adapters range from about €10 to €35 so that may be about right. I wouldn't imagine a replacement card would have cost a whole lot more though so it seems a bit of a half assed attempt.

    As for the second charge, I'd say thanks for the complimentary virus scan which I didn't request. Here's your €30 and I won't be back.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    dmc17 wrote: »
    €75 for something you didn't ask for. No thanks!

    From a quick look on ebay the usb adapters range from about €10 to €35 so that may be about right. I wouldn't imagine a replacement card would have cost a whole lot more though so it seems a bit of a half assed attempt.

    As for the second charge, I'd say thanks for the complimentary virus scan which I didn't request. Here's your €30 and I won't be back.

    Yeah i looked up the price of the adapters on amazon and ebay and good ones seem to be going for a bit less than 30€.

    I'm just wondering now will they not be charging me for the service of looking at the laptop itself in the first place! I have no problem paying them about 30€ for their service and for the new adapter but the extra 75€ for a scan i did not ask for is ridiculous.

    It seems very fishy as well because from the day I got my laptop I have had virus software that was always running and updating itself and i performed regular scans so Im sure I had no viruses.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    Im also wondering could they not have a case by saying I brought in my laptop to have it fixed and they fixed it regardless of my request to check out the wireless problem I was having?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,480 ✭✭✭wexie


    No doubt someone will come along with the precise details of the consumer law but it would seem to me it will largely depend on precisely what you asked the 'computer shop ripoff person' to do. Did you ask them to 'fix my laptop please' or 'fix a problem with my wireless connection'.

    Unless you'd specifically either requested virus removal, or given them permission to just 'fix whatever you deem needs fixin'' there's not a hope in hell I'd be paying 75 euro for 'virus removal'.

    If they give you any grief about giving back the laptop I think I'd actually go in swinging with the consumer agency and what have you.
    There may well be decent computer 'repair shops' out there but in my experience they seem to be a hot bed of rip-off merchants preying on the less computer literates.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,480 ✭✭✭wexie


    oh, and if they don't like it just tell them to put it back the way it was


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Im also wondering could they not have a case by saying I brought in my laptop to have it fixed and they fixed it regardless of my request to check out the wireless problem I was having?

    Well, you brought it in to have the wireless problem fixed. Using their expertise they plugged in a usb adapter and it worked so they just give you that rather than going to the bother of actually replacing the wireless card.
    I wouldn't be paying for the virus scan unless it was mentioned to me previously and I had agreed to it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    wexie wrote: »
    No doubt someone will come along with the precise details of the consumer law but it would seem to me it will largely depend on precisely what you asked the 'computer shop ripoff person' to do. Did you ask them to 'fix my laptop please' or 'fix a problem with my wireless connection'.

    Unless you'd specifically either requested virus removal, or given them permission to just 'fix whatever you deem needs fixin'' there's not a hope in hell I'd be paying 75 euro for 'virus removal'.

    If they give you any grief about giving back the laptop I think I'd actually go in swinging with the consumer agency and what have you.
    There may well be decent computer 'repair shops' out there but in my experience they seem to be a hot bed of rip-off merchants preying on the less computer literates.

    Well I walked into the computer shop and told the man I was having a problem connecting to the wireless network on my laptop and asked them to take a look at it so i feel that that should be enough to go against paying for 'removing all the viruses'.

    I would consider myself to be very good at computers as ive fixed almost any problem ive had with my laptop over its life time and have fixed many problems for others around me. The problem is my knowledge doesnt extend to the hardware side of things which was obviously the problem in the end, which is why I brought it in to be seen.

    Another interesting thing to note is that the day before I brought it in to be looked at i reinstalled Windows 7 and so when I actually brought it into them it had no anti-virus software installed so maybe they thought they could tell me I had loads of viruses because I'd no anti-virus installed even though it was only anti-virus free for a couple of hours...hmmm


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭MiskyBoyy


    The wireless adaptors can be got for €13.49 in Argos and a similar price in Tesco I think: Nano WiFi Usb adaptor

    Their price of €30 if it includes their time then it's fair but if they're charging you €30 and also charging you extra for their time then it's a rip off.

    As for the virus removal, you didn't ask them to, to find there was a virus on your laptop they would have had to do a virus scan which you didn't ask them to do, and if they did happen to find a virus, it would be then down to them to ask you did you want it removed for a fee but you didn't ask for it at all so yeah, I'd say they're trying to rip you off on this point.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,480 ✭✭✭wexie


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Well I walked into the computer shop and told the man I was having a problem connecting to the wireless network on my laptop and asked them to take a look at it so i feel that that should be enough to go against paying for 'removing all the viruses'.

    I would consider myself to be very good at computers as ive fixed almost any problem ive had with my laptop over its life time and have fixed many problems for others around me. The problem is my knowledge doesnt extend to the hardware side of things which was obviously the problem in the end, which is why I brought it in to be seen.

    Another interesting thing to note is that the day before I brought it in to be looked at i reinstalled Windows 7 and so when I actually brought it into them it had no anti-virus software installed so maybe they thought they could tell me I had loads of viruses because I'd no anti-virus installed even though it was only anti-virus free for a couple of hours...hmmm

    Maybe mention to them you had just put a fresh windows install on and therefore it's extremely unlikely there were any virusses virae bad things on and see what they see?

    Sounds to me they're just chancing it, unfortunately they've probably gotten away with this many times. :mad:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Another interesting thing to note is that the day before I brought it in to be looked at i reinstalled Windows 7

    That's interesting too as I did the same just the other day and was having problems with my wireless after. It would drop the connection and say there were no networks available even though it was working fine on my phone. I was pricing a replacement adapter but after installing all the windows updates, including an updated driver for my wireless card it seems to be fine.

    Were you having the problem before the re-install? If not, it may be worth trying to update the driver yourself. If this solves your problem it will answer a lot of your questions.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,969 ✭✭✭hardCopy


    Ask them for a log from whatever virus removal tool they used.

    Where I work, we service machines and its standard produced to document any chargeable work we do, be it logs or photos or whatever is relevant.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    dmc17 wrote: »
    That's interesting too as I did the same just the other day and was having problems with my wireless after. It would drop the connection and say there were no networks available even though it was working fine on my phone. I was pricing a replacement adapter but after installing all the windows updates, including an updated driver for my wireless card it seems to be fine.

    Were you having the problem before the re-install? If not, it may be worth trying to update the driver yourself. If this solves your problem it will answer a lot of your questions.

    Yeah I was having the problem before I reinstalled windows dont worry!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    hardCopy wrote: »
    Ask them for a log from whatever virus removal tool they used.

    Where I work, we service machines and its standard produced to document any chargeable work we do, be it logs or photos or whatever is relevant.

    Yeah thats a great idea. If they genuinely found viruses on my laptop(which i find it impossible to believe) then surely they would have a log that I could take a look at. Only problem then is could they show me a log of someone elses and I would have no way of knowing it was from my laptop or their's?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 511 ✭✭✭col.in.Cr


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Yeah thats a great idea. If they genuinely found viruses on my laptop(which i find it impossible to believe) then surely they would have a log that I could take a look at. Only problem then is could they show me a log of someone elses and I would have no way of knowing it was from my laptop or their's?

    fck that,they are having a laugh,refuse to pay anything and get a wireless adapter yourself


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    col.in.Cr wrote: »
    fck that,they are having a laugh,refuse to pay anything and get a wireless adapter yourself

    Would love to do that but obviously Il have to pay them for their service of looking at the laptop...even if it only took them 2 minutes to realise the problem...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 251 ✭✭Merl1n


    I know of novice computer repair people mistaking cookies as a virus infection

    So they may have done hat you didn't ask for and scanned the computer and picked up cookies

    I wouldn't pay for what you didn't ask for


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 496 ✭✭bette


    There are viruses which can prevent you from accessing the tinternet. Your anti virus may not always detect these beasts. When you do a reinstall you may have to reinstall the lan drivers. But as ever, it's better to get dud advice from anonymous comedians on the old google thingy.

    Your repair person has to examine the machine you fecked up and that can take time. Now unless the repair person is a philanthropist he will need to be paid for his time! Do you work for free?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,480 ✭✭✭wexie


    bette wrote: »
    There are viruses which can prevent you from accessing the tinternet. Your anti virus may not always detect these beasts. When you do a reinstall you may have to reinstall the lan drivers. But as ever, it's better to get dud advice from anonymous comedians on the old google thingy.

    Your repair person has to examine the machine you fecked up and that can take time. Now unless the repair person is a philanthropist he will need to be paid for his time! Do you work for free?

    soo....he had a virus stopping him from accessing the internet, possible I guess.
    Because of it he reinstalled Windows....still with you on that one.
    He forgot to install the WAN/LAN drivers after the fresh install....and therefore still couldn't access the internet...

    So tell me then where he picked up this virus they're asking him to pay 75 euro removal fee for?

    :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    bette wrote: »
    There are viruses which can prevent you from accessing the tinternet. Your anti virus may not always detect these beasts. When you do a reinstall you may have to reinstall the lan drivers. But as ever, it's better to get dud advice from anonymous comedians on the old google thingy.

    Your repair person has to examine the machine you fecked up and that can take time. Now unless the repair person is a philanthropist he will need to be paid for his time! Do you work for free?


    Unfortunately, the examination in this case seemed to consist of plugging in a wireless usb adapter and flogging that to the customer with some unrequested extras.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,120 ✭✭✭Tails142


    You should have used your generous amount of computer knowledge to fix this problem yourself in the first place.

    Would be a bit rotten if you just went off and bought a wifi card yourself after them telling you that it is what you need.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,480 ✭✭✭wexie


    Let's say, hypothetically, that OP did indeed somehow magically pick up a virus over his wireless that wasn't working. Maybe a bluetooth virus?

    How long exactly would it have taken the computer repair guy to diagnose and fix this at 75euro?

    Say 15 euro an hour? 5 hours.... to troubleshoot a clean Windows install.

    True professionals at work....

    ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,115 ✭✭✭adocholiday


    Robbery OP. I wouldn't give him a cent for that 'virus removal' crap. If I were you I would ask him what virus removal tool he used, what virus was found, how it was affecting the machine, log details etc.

    This lad is a chancer straight and simple. Even the USB adapter is a short-cut. Most laptops can have the wireless card replaced internally. He just took the lazy way out and hopes to sting you for extra money.

    I would definitely be challenging him on it. And even if it was genuine, €75 is still outrageous. Most virus removal, as I'm sure you know, involves running a few programs and coming back 2 hours later to delete anything it found with a click of a button.

    I have removed some viruses that required some extra work (researching the symptoms, editing registry keys, finding erroneous processes etc) but they are few and far between.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,017 Mod ✭✭✭✭yoyo


    Robbery OP. I wouldn't give him a cent for that 'virus removal' crap. If I were you I would ask him what virus removal tool he used, what virus was found, how it was affecting the machine, log details etc.

    This lad is a chancer straight and simple. Even the USB adapter is a short-cut. Most laptops can have the wireless card replaced internally. He just took the lazy way out and hopes to sting you for extra money.

    I would definitely be challenging him on it. And even if it was genuine, €75 is still outrageous. Most virus removal, as I'm sure you know, involves running a few programs and coming back 2 hours later to delete anything it found with a click of a button.

    I have removed some viruses that required some extra work (researching the symptoms, editing registry keys, finding erroneous processes etc) but they are few and far between.

    €75 is fairly normal for a proper removal job, that would consist of running programs, manually verifying system running ok in many cases. Then the important part to it is the running Windows Update (this can take hours... Vista especially :O ) then updating web browsers, flash, java, itunes, you name it.
    I never understood this run a few scans and you'll be grand attitude, virus removal should consist of the removal of the virus and also preventative measures to lessen the chances of it happening again. In this case though, I fail to see how a fresh Windows install could be infected so soon after a fresh re-install, especially with no internet access after the install

    Nick


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 81,219 ✭✭✭✭biko


    You didn't ask for a virus scan and tbh this is something most people can do themselves.
    I'd pay the 30 and take the laptop and go.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Yeah thats a great idea. If they genuinely found viruses on my laptop(which i find it impossible to believe) then surely they would have a log that I could take a look at. Only problem then is could they show me a log of someone elses and I would have no way of knowing it was from my laptop or their's?
    Ask him in person and either he will have it ready and go get it, or he'll be surprised and unprepared for your request. if hes unprepared, hes full of it.

    $30 is reasonable for a usb dongle but normally a repair shop should call you with a diagnosis before performing any prognosis. for instance in our facility we charge $35 to send any unit out to our center for a full diagnostic. you get a complete breakdown of cost and scope of work, you can authorize whatever you like but if you authorize nothing, we simply send your unit back with no further expense. its terrible practice to presume consent, if not unethical.

    I don't see how a virus played into this issue. he said your wifi adapter hardware was faulty. he issued a usb replacement. other posters argue the virus blocked wifi access; then surely the hardware is fine?

    Imo he can legitimately charge diagnosis but not repair. The $30 is for the dongle. But only if you agreed to a diagnosis fee. IANAL but I've handled plenty of contract work in SC and state lien law I don't think extends to services they did that you did not consent to. For instance I cannot put a lien on your house for payment of carpet that I installed in a room you didn't consent to. Ergo, short of an agreed diagnosis fee, he can't hold your laptop based on my read of the situation. but holy molly don't go in there saying stuff like 'I know my rights', unless you actually want to fully research the statutes


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,299 ✭✭✭✭BloodBath


    Totally dodgy business practice. Refuse to pay it and tell him you are reporting his business for illegal practices.

    You didn't ask for virus removal. He didn't clear it with you and €75 to install an AV and run it is a total ripoff anyway. I would try speak to the owner of the shop to tell him what his employee is doing. How many people is he doing this to? Is he even putting it through the system. Is €75 their standard charge for virus removal. If it is or the boss agrees with the practice I would report them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,295 ✭✭✭✭Duggy747


    Don't pay the €75 (that's pretty damn steep for virus removal) if you didn't even mention anything about a virus, just wanted to get the wireless problem fixed. Did you sign anything or were given anything when you dropped it in initially?

    I never do anything to a machine unless the customer is fully aware and agrees. If I notice viruses on it while it was in for something else, for example, I ring them, let them know and make sure they agree or don't agree to a removal service.

    Some shops do this thing of doing repairs without informing the customer and then slapping them with a bigger price tag than they expect, makes it look bad for the rest of us.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,299 ✭✭✭✭BloodBath


    Some shops do this thing of doing repairs without informing the customer and then slapping them with a bigger price tag than they expect, makes it look bad for the rest of us.

    It's illegal for a start.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    OP, what model Laptop is it?
    You may have already said, i couldn;t see, but sometimes (a lot of the time) a wireless card is as easy as installing RAM.

    remove 4 screws (two on the cover plate and two on the card) - Slot it out, and replace.

    They can be bought from as little as €10.

    Even if they were to put a virus on it, if you had just reinstalled windows before you gave it to them, then i presume you would have no problem wiping it and doing it again, so i wouldn't pay the €75 for virus clean.

    Is it at all possible that you just didn't have the correct drivers installed for the wireless card?

    ~ I also am a bit confused as to why they would offer an external wireless card instead. :confused::(


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    Allyall wrote: »
    ~ I also am a bit confused as to why they would offer an external wireless card instead. :confused::(

    They had one to hand, stuck it in and BOOM, it worked, problem fixed. No taking out screws, no testing of internal card. It's the half assed way of doing things :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 992 ✭✭✭danger_mouse_tm


    I think you should tell us the name of the computer shop. I'm twenty years fixing computers and I'm convinced there's more cowboys in this game than any other.
    Apart from the fact that they have carried out work which you haven't requested the manner in which they did it is totally underhanded and sneaky.

    edit: Give them back their wireless adaptor, take back your laptop and we will service your laptop and replace your wireless card for free...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,499 ✭✭✭jarvis


    Tell him you spent all day handing out leaflets promoting his shop and the charge is €105 but you'll call it quits for the work he has done.

    Same thing he's doing to you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 953 ✭✭✭hearny


    75 Euro is not really overpriced for the service but you didn't ask for it so no way would I pay them.

    Tell them that you had a fresh install of windows and it hadn't been connected to the so really the only way it could have gotten a virus is from a USB in the shop. (Provided you formatted the hard drive and did not infect it with a USB key yourself).

    The usb dongle is a really lazy way of sorting it in fairness. Internal card is more or less the same price.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,759 ✭✭✭degsie


    Pay the guy what he's askin' and while you are at it give him your credit card and pin and let him carry out the transaction at the back of the shop, sheesh..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,759 ✭✭✭degsie


    ^^^
    Must have a virus. I'd take your comp to the OP repair shop.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,315 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    3 days pass and I get a call from the man saying my laptop is fixed. It turned out that it was in fact the wireless card inside the laptop that broke( which is why i could not connect anymore). He then told me that they would give me a USB wireless adapter to replace it which was the cheaper option than getting a brand new wireless card for inside the laptop. I asked him how much it was going to cost me and he said 30€. I have no idea how much one of these costs so I said that's fine.

    Then he went on to tell me it would be an additional 75€ for the removal of the viruses that were on my laptop.
    Tell him you want your laptop back as is. As he did not fix your problem, you will not pay for it. As for the €75 virus thing, tell him you refuse to pay it as you never asked for it to be ran. If he gives some spiel about it being standard process to do the virus scan, query why you were not told this when you brought the laptop in to get fixed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 710 ✭✭✭mad turnip


    Hey OP, few things,

    1) A decent USB dongle is 20-30e so hes apparently charging you 0 for looking at it.
    2) If he looked at the wireless card and did some debugging for an hour its already up 20-30e for business costs explaining this to consumers is never easy.
    3) You use an anti virus? Ok well done all the major ones won't hit you but I'd say there's still at least 20% that can roam your PC doing whatever they like (probably more). The best anti-virus is yourself, you seem to know about software abit but if you've plugged in a USB into that fresh reinstall you can be sure something would show up in a virus scan whether its an old trojan or something else. Unless you can guarantee no hard disks and it was a fresh reinstall with limited access but you to the internet theres a few possibilities of virus's. This opinion is coming from an IT background with knowledge of how to create, find and disable virus'.
    4) Saying there are virus's is an easy way just to explain to noobies "looking at it" costs.

    But at the end of the day you owe him 15e for looking at it / you being a gob****e + 30e for the adapter and if its cheap **** maybe 20e for the adapter.

    (I buy and resell decent adapters at 25e so 30e is defiantly not a bad price).

    I would refuse the virus removal and pay the 45 for parts + services unless they have a nice detailed log of virus's removed.

    Edit:

    Also your asking this in the IT forum where i'm pretty sure most people would have an 8-9 out of 10 in general knowledge about computers and there working (maybe even from an engineering standpoint), you will get very biased opinions as everyone in this forum can likly reinstall an OS, replace parts, identify driver issues, and find virus's in startup directories.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,552 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    I'm curious op,

    You say you know a fair bit about computers and software yet you hand your laptop tp somebody to look at, thats seems odd.

    You ask them to look at the wireless issue, that they did but that includes looking at software on the laptop including anything that may affect windows network......a virus could cause problems as such a virus scan is a perfectly normal part of trouble shooting.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 77 ✭✭smjpl


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    Yeah thats a great idea. If they genuinely found viruses on my laptop(which i find it impossible to believe) then surely they would have a log that I could take a look at. Only problem then is could they show me a log of someone elses and I would have no way of knowing it was from my laptop or their's?

    I would definitely quiz them on that. Be cute about it as well. Find out what was on it (how many viruses etc.) because you said you did a fresh install of Win 7. How long was the fresh OS installed before you brought it in? Were you using the internet on the laptop since you conducted the fresh install? What else did you do on the laptop since then? I take it you were just installing drivers (disks or manufacturers website?) and trying to get the laptop fully functional again. Did you plug in any usb sticks? If yes, check them for viruses. Retrace all your steps because the chances of you getting a virus in that space of time even without anti virus (depending on what you were doing of course) is between slim and none. Let us know how you get on as well. This is an interesting thread that has caught a bit of attention.

    Best of luck,
    Sun


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,759 ✭✭✭degsie


    Anybody else notice that OP is in California and is being asked to pay in €. Curious...


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭dmc17


    degsie wrote: »
    Anybody else notice that OP is in California and is being asked to pay in €. Curious...

    That could be more to do with the username ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 77 ✭✭smjpl


    degsie wrote: »
    Anybody else notice that OP is in California and is being asked to pay in €. Curious...

    He's straight outta Compton.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭Dr.Dre


    UPDATE:

    Okay so I went back into the computer shop today to collect my laptop.

    I man behind the counter tried to charge me 99€ in total for the usb wireless adapter, service and the removal of "all the viruses" he said were on my laptop.

    Of course after reading the opinions of many on here I said I would not be paying him for carrying out a task that I did not ask him to carry out.I told him upon arriving with the laptop that I explained that there was a problem connecting to the wireless and I wanted them to take a look at this. At this point I went on to explain I couldn't of had a virus or viruses on my laptop as I was always running the following programs from the very beginning

    Avast! Pro antivirus
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
    and PC Tools Spyware Docter

    running regular full scans of my laptop showing no infected files or issues whatsoever.

    I also told him I had just reinstalled windows 7 the day previous which was the reason I hadn't antivirus software installed at the time I brought it in. Of course I would have reinstalled antivirus software straight away if I could get access to the internet but I couldn't so I felt it wasn't necessary at the time.

    He then told me that it was standard practise to carry out a test for viruses and I said that's fine but you should have contacted me first to see if I would be willing to pay for their removal, which of course I wouldn't have because even if he did find a virus I am certain I would have been able to remove it myself.

    Anyway I told him I would pay him for the new wireless adapter and the service of looking at the laptop but not for the virus removal. He wasn't happy to say the least but I think he knew where I was coming from.

    I gave him the 30€ and walked out with my laptop in hand. Upon leaving he told me if I was ever having any problems with my laptop again that I should go somewhere else because I was not welcome there, which I just laughed at.

    And just for those who are asking why I even brought it into the shop in the first place if I have a good knowledge of computers and how to fix them, well its because the whole taking apart and reassembling of computers is not my strong point whatsoever. I can solve almost any software problem that I come across but when it comes to taking apart a laptop I am quite clueless. And the problem was with the wireless card inside the laptop exactly as I had suspected. Now I'm sure its actually easy enough to learn but the problem is I don't possess any tools such as the small drills and screwdrivers that are necessary in taking it apart.


    Anyway I'm sure most of you pc repair guys out there are legit and trustworthy but watch out for these other cowboys who will try take you for a ride.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,299 ✭✭✭✭BloodBath


    Name and shame this pc repair shop. They should not be allowed to do business.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,741 ✭✭✭Bacchus


    I'm sure business is booming for him with an attitude like that. Fair play to you OP, you handled it well, he was most likely just bitter that his con didn't work this time.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,017 Mod ✭✭✭✭yoyo


    Lets not name the business folks.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,315 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    yoyo wrote: »
    Lets not name the business folks.
    With this in mind, Dr.Dre; will you name the town that the repair shop is in (but NOT the shop name), and if anyone wants the exact name, to ask Dr.Dre via PM.

    This ensures boards.ie doesn't get in trouble, and at the same time allow people to know if they're in the area that this may affect or not.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 77 ✭✭smjpl


    Dr.Dre wrote: »
    UPDATE:
    I don't possess any tools such as the small drills and screwdrivers that are necessary in taking it apart.

    Very very few tools are needed. Screwdriver is about it (can even use a knife if you don't have a screwdriver handy) . Don't be afraid to take stuff apart. Just remember to ground yourself first (touch metal radiator pipe etc) and you will be fine. Just be sensible and hold things by the edges. Hardware is the easy part. :cool:


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,017 Mod ✭✭✭✭yoyo


    smjpl wrote: »
    Very very few tools are needed. Screwdriver is about it (can even use a knife if you don't have a screwdriver handy) . Don't be afraid to take stuff apart. Just remember to ground yourself first (touch metal radiator pipe etc) and you will be fine. Just be sensible and hold things by the edges. Hardware is the easy part. :cool:

    A PH 00 screwdriver is all you need to work with most laptops. Internal wireless mini PCI cards are cheap enough on ebay and the likes, and usually replacing them is straightforward enough. Just take the one out of your current model and find a replacement part by product code

    Nick


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,062 ✭✭✭Fighting Irish


    Same thing happened to me. I pity anyone who goes into a pc repair shop without having a basic understanding on a computer and how they work


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