Complaint Rating:

On July 24, 2006, I purchased a new HP desktop computer and printer from Office Depot, 910 El Monte Ave., Mt. View, California for $1800. Included in that total was $120 for Office Depot's "Performance Protection Plan" that promised "Day One Product Repair Coverage" with "100% Day One Coverage for All Parts and Labor" with "on-site service for your computer system." On May 22, 2007, my computer crashed. When I called the Mt. View store to request "on-site service" on "day one", I was told that I must call Office Depot's Customer Care Center. When I called that number, I was told all they could do was put me through directly to HP. When I said I had the Performance Protection Plan and I wanted on-site service, I was told that the terms and conditions of that plan (not included in the leaflet that is given at the time of purchase) stated that the plan did not go into effect until after the manufacturer's warranty period had expired. I then took my computer into the Mt. View store where I purchased it and asked them to repair it and call me when they were ready to come out and reinstall it. The manager, "Reed" called me the next day and told me to come and pick it up because they had "no one available" to do "on-site service." Obviously, the "Performance Protection Plan" is simply an expensive add-on to computer systems that Office Depot has no intention whatsoever of honoring. I was not given anything that is promised in the explanatory "leaflet" given at the time of purchase and I feel that Office Depot is perpetrating a fraud on unsuspecting consumers by selling a Performance Protection Plan that does not offer anything that it promises. It is precisely this type of fraud that would make an excellent class action. I demanded, and did not receive, my $120 back.