Why is it when we buy a new computer we accept, almost without question, that within six months it will run worse than the day we purchased it?

Is there any other consumer item that we buy with such trepidation, knowing that it will probably not function exactly as we hope?

And why do we, tough-nut, hard-bargaining, shopper-savvy consumers that we are, just put up with this nonsense?

I write this as a warning as Christmas approaches and we gear up to spend our hard-earned on gifts. And for many a new PC will be a top request.

Three months ago my partner and I finally got around to purchasing a much-needed new PC. Nothing special – just over £400.

I didn’t do much research - I couldn’t do any internet research because the old computer was dead - so like many of you I’m sure it came down to the best deal on the day at PC World or Comet.

Even I’ve heard of Compaq, now owned by Hewlett Packard, and it looked pretty snazzy to me.

And boy did I make an error.

Comet seemed to have the best deal and after the salesman had got over the shock that we didn’t want an extended warranty – the 12-months seemed perfectly reasonable (though it turned out to be useless) – and managing to skin us for another 25 quid for the wireless thing (stop me if this too technical), a young lad kindly wheeled our new purchase to my car.

So: home, out of the box and within an hour it was up and running. All the BT’s own virus protection software working, teenage kids warned not to open ANY attachments… happy days.

Three weeks in, it got a little temperamental when starting but seemed OK after it was left off for a day (Already it was being viewed as some sort of living thing, with moods… do we never learn?)

Anyway in week six we had the big failure where it didn’t want to play. The machine locked up crashed, usual stuff, then stopped working.

So, out came the manual and following the computer’s own procedure I established it was down to an internal error on the hard-drive with a code number BI0HD-8 to report.

And when I checked the number on the internet (at work the following day of course) angry buyers from all over Europe demonstrated this was a common problem with this hard-drive.

So why was Comet carrying on selling this machine which is known to have a problem?

And secondly when calling the ‘helpline’, after a short conversation which saw the technical help staff member ‘asking the bleedin’ obvious’, I was told: contact the manufacturer.

My mistake was not packing the machine back in its box and taking it straight back to Comet’s Ashford branch, dumping it on the counter and demanding my cash back, all the while telling anyone looking at computers not to bother.

But I didn’t. I foolishly rang the manufacturers.

And, as they seem to have done with everyone who has suffered this way, they immediately dispatched a brand new disc drive of a different make.

For a few seconds I was impressed. I swapped it myself two days later but obviously my mum or someone similar might not find it so easy.

It works, I think, but I don’t know for sure because the shiny new internal drive did not have any Windows operating system installed, and of course “You don’t get separate discs for that any more Sir”.

Now six weeks later, Hewlett Packard has told me three times that “they’re in the post” and today they've  admitted they weren’t. But the software’s on its way… from Hungary.

New Pcs? My advice: Don’t do it.

And Comet, they may 'Live Electricals' but the company's customer service on PCs is truly awful, but the strange thing is, I'm not in the slightest bit surprised.

Interestingly I’m writing this on an Apple Mac that was built before the world knew what Xbox was.

Think about it.

Additional note, November 16 2009
At last I have a replacement computer - no longer a Compaq.
After viewing this blog Comet offered to help and thanks deserve to go to Oliver, in the Ashford store, who identified that neither Comet, nor HP, sent the correct restore discs for the machine.

This problem is being addressed by the company.

Equally, the manager of the Ashford shop, Ian, was a decent man who was keen to have satisfied customers.

As  conclusion: if you do have a problem ignore the 'helpline number' on your guarantee, I suggest you immediately take your faulty computer back to the store from where it was purchased. Explain the problem and staff there have the facility to put it right.

And remember if it doesn't do the job for which it was purchased, you are entitled to a full refund.

Good luck.

Again, someone has made the mistake of listening to the shop. Sales of Goods Act - your contract was with Comet, not Compaq, so any problems, etc are for Comet to resolve, up to six years after buying the goods from them.

I purchased a large LCD TV from Comet, which failed after three weeks and they tried to give me a run-around.

I finally spoke face-to-face with the manager and reminded them of the sale of goods act, and that I did have to give them the chance to resolve the issue, but at my convenience, not theirs.

They plugged it in immediately, saw it didn't work and gave me a replacement.

Their original answer was for me to wait in for an engineer to call and check the TV, give me a form and then return both to the store. Never again!

As Colin says, customers need to be more aware. Most folk I know that buy so much as a toaster read a manual before plugging it in, yet a computer is initially expected to "just work"?
I have a couple of decade-old machines running happily, and a £350 modern box that runs very satisfactorily indeed, for the sake of a little knowledge (and it is only a little).
Of course, in the author's case it was faulty hardware to blame, and that can only be pinned on the manufacturer, but the same could be applied to vacuum cleaners and microwaves as often as not, so computers really needn't be singled out here.

With regards to PCs that grind to a halt due to software issues a month after purchase - install a good firewall and antivirus (the ones that come with the computer are not automatically the best, only the most convenient). There are good freebies available - AVG, Comodo, AdAware and so-on. A quick Google helps - look for consumer reviews to back up sites which may have vested interests. For that matter, do likewise for the computer/hardware before you even get that far!

my basic adivice would be . build your own from trusted components and stay away from vista , even the new windows 7 has quite alot of known bugs . stick with good old xp and very little can go wrong if you have a clean system.

Why does this site persist on publishing miserable blogs waffling on about how rubbish life is?

Man buys PC. It breaks. Dull.