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Quality watchdog starts HP investigation

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-14 17:33
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An investigation has been launched following complaints about faulty Hewlett-Packard laptops, an official from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, China's quality control watchdog said, xinhuanet.com reported today.

The agency said complaints over the quality of HP laptops from 60 customers have been received.

As of March 10, on a nonprofit website in China, more than 1,400 consumers had expressed their willingness to take part in a group complaint against HP over faulty laptop computers and more than 80 lawyers offered help in the case, another report on xinhuanet.com said on Friday.

On March 5, the website filed an official complaint against HP to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Within five days more than 200 consumers had officially joined the protest group.

The complaint centered on video cards that overheated and caused the laptop to malfunction. The complaints asked the quality watchdog to launch an investigation into HP laptops, hoping the government would order the company to have the faulty goods returned or replaced with new ones, and provide compensation. It was also suggested that government issued orders to launch a recall on all the faulty computers.

An unofficial alliance of more than 3,000 consumers in approximately 40 online chat groups has formed to defend their rights in the HP case before World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, according to the Friday report.