WINFIELD – A Charleston woman is suing HP over the company’s laptop warranty and its ink service program.
Judith P. Thomas filed her complaint pro se against HP Inc. in Putnam Circuit Court.
According to her complaint, Thomas purchased an HP Envy x360 2in1 TouchScreen Laptop at Best Buy on July 15, 2019. It came with a factory one-year express limited hardware warranty. On July 24, 2020, she says she purchased a three-year extended warranty from HP for the laptop.
She says she also purchased “all software, product supplies and technical support services” offered or recommended to her by HP.
In early August 2020, Thomas says HP elected to replace her laptop because it was malfunctioning. A replacement of the same make and model was sent to Thomas in September 2020, and the extended warranty was transferred to the new laptop.
On May 10, 2021, Thomas says the replacement laptop became inoperable as well. She says she contacted HP’s SmartFriend technical service, to which she subscribed, for a remote diagnostic testing. She says the result showed the replacement laptop could not be repaired, and she was advised to make a warranty claim.
“HP’s warranties state that a customer can receive a purchase price refund for a covered product,” the complaint states. “HP’s warranties do not require a customer to ship the product to an HP service center to be diagnosed and/or repaired.”
Thomas says she made the warranty claim and requested a purchase price refund because she believed she no longer could reasonably rely on HP’s products. She provided the company with receipts for all items, and she says HP accepted them without dispute.
But, she says HP repeatedly denied her request for a purchase price refund and agreed only to diagnose and attempt repair of the replacement laptop at their service center or provide her with an HP gift card equal to her purchase price less the value of her use of the laptop for five months.
In addition, Thomas says she subscribed to HP’s Instant Ink service. She paid $19.99 to $24.96 per month for a plan allowing her to print up to 700 pages and rollover unused pages.
When she decided to downgrade her plan because of decreased need, Thomas says HP misrepresented the terms that the downgrade meant rollover pages were lost. She says the terms and conditions of the plan do not provide for such a loss.
When she says she was required to reinstate the higher plan, HP refused to provide her with credit for the rollover pages taken. She also says she notified HP she wanted to cancel the Instant Ink plan on May 13, 2021, after the failure of the replacement laptop. But she says the company charged her two more months of the service. Then, she says HP only offered to compensate her with a set of ink cartridges.
Thomas seeks damages for breach of contract that caused her to suffer loss of use, loss of data, business interruption, annoyance and inconvenience. She seeks judgment of $10,000 plus court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Thomas is representing herself. She is listed as an inactive member of the West Virginia State Bar.in its 2021 directory.
Putnam Circuit Court case number 21-C-142
