Laptop Depot (Canada) Fraud
I have just discovered that Laptop Depot (laptopdepot.ca) is willing to defraud their customers by selling them pirated software and operating systems. What would cause a company to think that selling stolen software is OK is beyond me. Especially since Microsoft and others have been targeting such criminal sales people by ensuring better validation and checking.
An unfortunate member of my family unwittingly purchased a laptop from this business expecting to save some money by purchasing a factory refurbished laptop. Usually I advise my family and friends against purchasing used due to how fast computers become obsolete but when saving a buck, used can be the place to look for most people.
A sad story unfolded in which the sales agent feed them a line about this particular laptop having 4 processors and being worth 3x what they were paying. They were also sold a story about the laptop only being 6 months old. Had I or any reputable computer person been present we would have been able to correct this sorely misguided sales agent. Unfortunately the story was accepted as told because who wouldn’t believe a truthful sounding person talking greek about a computer.
Now down to the out and out fraud. This computer came pre-installed with a pirated copy of Windows Vista. I don’t know about you but when I’m purchasing a computer (or anything else for that matter), from a supposedly legitimate store, I expect not to receive stolen or pirated software. I am currently in the process of contacting the company and will keep everyone up to date as this progresses.
*Update: Finally resolved acceptably. The sad tale follows.
Regarding the unlicensed software. Laptop Depot provided the laptop to my family member with a “clean” install of Microsoft Vista. The manager of Laptop Depot stated quite emphatically that their installation disk does not ask for a CD Key and after the installation the technician should have properly inserted the CD Key from the underside of the laptop. Since I have actually built Vista installation disks before I know that this is crap and the only way for the install to skip the CD Key step is for one to already be on install disk. Laptop Depot had an install disk with a pirated key and thus… pirated software. My trust in Laptop Depot is essentially zero at this point.
After solving the CD Key issue and bringing the laptop back to life my family member checked out their receipt and noticed that the specifications I had stated of the laptop and the ones actually printed on the receipt did not match. A very subtle difference was noted, the laptop was an Intel T2300 Core Duo, and the receipt stated that the laptop was suppose to be an Intel Core 2 Duo. This slight difference between Core and Core 2 is so minor that you would think it really doesn’t matter. Sadly its actually the difference between a laptop that runs Windows XP well and a laptop that runs Windows Vista well.
With that knowledge in hand we then tromped down to the location that sold this incorrect laptop and attempted to have it swapped for the correct piece of hardware, or a refund. This should have been an easy process. Show the receipt, the sales guy looks at it, compare it to the laptop and says, oops, and fixes everything. Unfortunately we had a major battle, anyone with a lesser knowledge of computer hardware would likely have been a casualty in this process. After much fighting and the sales guy being finally proven 100% wrong about 6 times they finally caved and handed over the correct computer.
Any other retail shop I have dealt with in the past has been like a sweet dream compared to Laptop Depot. Treachery, lying and outright combat, I am quite disappointed with their business practices and will never purchase from Laptop Depot again.
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laptop depot is not to be trusted, they are a scam. computer trend is a much better place to shop at.
I’m not sure I would go with scam, but they are definitely not providing a good service. Slimy and untrustworthy is very true though. I cannot recommend against purchasing from there enough.
I had a chance to buy remarked (that’s right re-marked) Laptop from laptop depot a few months ago at south edmonton common.
Before that, I was looking for higher-end laptops there, and the sales person would give me all sorts of reasons why to buy an LG ( the most expensive one) laptop instead of Acer. One reason he gave is worth sharing , “LG laptop has everything made by LG in it”. Well, thank God I didn’t buy anything else from them, and later sold my other laptop to a Filipino for $200 ( Bought it two months before for 380 ).
So you’re quite right in saying they’re not really honest in giving what they show.
Sometimes it really surprises me that they actually make money with such despicable practices.
I love that LG reference. To the best of my knowledge there is no manufacturer that actually makes all of what goes inside a laptop. Its actually close to being impossible given the complexity of a computer. I think the closest manufacturer would be Intel, but they don’t make laptops.
oh my god u make it sound like laptop depot murdered your family in the store.
so what it the software is pirated?
You just format the drive and re-install with your own copies of stuff you didn’t have to pay for. simple, problem solved
you know whats sad? you know whats a sad tale, the animals in slaughterhouses, not comps
Spent $420 for a laptop there, hard drive died a month later!
Lap top depot is a scam.I bought an extended warranty on my laptop $200.00 they didnt cover my warranty because i had lost my reciept.They even loooked in their record it shows my name but shows James Smith as the original owner.The thug sales guy tells me its not my computer
I too, was taken by sales person, not telling the truth.
The software on my computer was only a trial.
I ended up having to pay $300.00 more dollars to Staples to have a computer that I could actually use. An outdated laptop second hand that was outdated when I purchased it cost me $900.00. Just makes me sick to know I wasted all that money. I could have bought a top of the line new computer with lots more warrenty. I was sick at the time and the sales people took my Husband for a ride, knowing he didn’t know the difference. The sales person told him I would never need another thing, it would last me for years. We are retired on fixed income this money we spent is a lot of money to us. We were taken advantage because of our age.
I used to work there and I eventually walked out after seeing how they would take advantage of people who didn’t know anything to make a quick sale, especially the elderly. It’s basically the equivalent of a used car lot but with computers. I don’t even know why someone would buy a refurb when you can buy brand new from a place like Best Buy for an extra 100 dollars.