I have recently experienced a long, drawn out, and complicated situation with a new HP 8540w laptop which I purchased in Cambodia. I was unlucky to have received a unit which had errors within the first week or two of owning the unit, and having a brand new laptop along with a “Travel Next Business Day Onsite” Care Pack, I assumed that I would have no problem receiving swift support on the issue.
Fast forward 4 months or so, one failed repair, and a lot of time speaking to HP Support, email conversations with various HP employees and HP Service Centre staff, and I am nearly at a point where the laptop will be taken for a second repair, or, hopefully a full replacement.
I’m not going to go into the full details of it yet, it’s long, boring and complicated, but I wanted to write something now on the back of a recent email I received from HP Singapore (who ultimately supply all Cambodian resellers with HP computers).
I purchased from a store near Central Market called Kim Heng Computers. They were very pleasant to deal with and I had no issues with their service. However, apparently because this retailer is not an “Authorised Distributor” (good luck finding any information on HP.com as to who is), the support situation is different. As far as I understand, Kim Heng purchased the unit from Ingram Micro Asia Ltd Singapore, who in turn purchased it from HP Singapore. To quote:
HP consider such selling as gray marketing which cannot be supported in the country.
Thinking of purchasing a HP laptop in Phnom Penh?
If you do plan on buying a HP laptop or desktop in Phnom Penh, or possibly anywhere in Cambodia, DO NOT buy it from anyone other than an “Authorised Distributor”. This is the only guarantee that you’ll receive the support that you should. Below is a list of the current companies who are authorised. This list was provided to my by HP Singapore.
- Te Aik Hong/ITDirect (HP service support partner)
- Thakral Brothers (HP service support partner)
- PTC Computer
- Advanced Solutions2
I feel quite hard done by as there is no way that I can find to get this information from hp.com, and in my mind I was purchasing from HP – so it didn’t matter what retailer I went through (especially considering the Care Pack purchase that was made as well).
Please note that I am receiving support, and they are going to collect the laptop this time round and repair, or, hopefully, replace the unit (as my faith in this unit is shot), but it has been extremely confusing and time-consuming.
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