On September 23, 2007, I purchased a laptop computer from Gateway. I did so because, as a first-year law student, I could not afford to spend a lot of money, and Gateway offered reasonable deals and I could locate very few negative reviews. Because law school lasts for three years, I purchased the extended three-year warranty so that I would be able to make it to graduation without being without a laptop for an extended period of time. In fact, my law school requires that each student have a laptop.

If only I knew then what I know now (famous last words, I know). I received the computer in early October of 2007. Less than nine months after receiving my computer, the power adapter began to have problems. I needed to use a rubber band to keep the power cord connected to the computer so that the computer could charge. Every so often, I would have to readjust the position of the rubber band to make sure that contact was made between the power cord and the computer. Unfortunately, my summer internship required me to bring my own computer to work, and I could not send my computer back to Gateway at that time.

In September of 2008, the problem became completely unavoidable. I contacted Gateway on September 15, 2008, and was told that once received, the repair would take seven to ten business days. I shipped my computer, and it was received by Gateway on Thursday, October 2. Today, December 8, 2008, forty-seven (FORTY-SEVEN!) business days after Gateway received my computer, and sixty-seven total days, I am still without a computer. While not having a computer in this day and age, especially while in law school and with exams beginning this week, is unbearable enough, the ringer I have been put through with Gateway and its customer service is completely unacceptable. I do not wish what I have had to endure on any other consumer.

The following is a log of the times I have contacted Gateway:

� October 7th � e-mail

�With regards to your concern, I have checked and found that your system with serial number 0040373470 is in repair and SYSTEMBOARD W/ INTEL 943GML W/1394 part are backordered. Please allow 3-5 days for the updates of the service status. Thank you for your patience.�

� October 13th � e-mail

�In checking our database, I have found that our facility is still awaiting for the replacement systemboard that is needed to complete the repair. Kindly again allow three to five business days for a relevant movement on the status.�

� October 20th � e-mail

�Shannon, our database shows that we are still awaiting for the replacement systemboard for your computer. With this, kindly contact our service operations department at the following contact details for more information on this matter and to provide resolution at the soonest.�

� October 29th � e-mail

�With regards to your concern, I have checked and found that your system with serial number 0040373470 is being repaired and currently waiting for backordered system board with part number 4006174R.�

� October 29th � phone call

After sitting on hold for forty-five minutes, I was informed that the part my computer had been waiting for would be in stock on October 31st. In addition, I was told that I would receive two-day shipping once the repair was complete.

� November 12th � e-mail to make sure that the part was received

�In response to your inquiry on the status of your system, the unit is still in repair and it was on hold for the motherboard. The motherboard for your system is currently on backorder. Please contact us again after a week for the status of your system.�

� November 12th � I called Gateway after receiving the above e-mail. When I asked if I could speak to someone higher up, I was told that the people who were higher up did not have phones; however, I could send a letter.

� November 20th � I received a phone call from Gateway informing me that there was still no definitive date as to when the backordered part would be received. Due to this long delay and the uncertainty of receiving the part, (only 35 business and 49 total days since my computer had been received by Gateway) I was informed that Gateway would be sending me a new computer and that I would still receive two-day shipping.

� December 1st � I still had not received the replacement computer. I was about to call Gateway when I received a call from its customer service department. I was informed that the original replacement was no longer in stock, and that a different replacement would be shipped.

� December 4th � I called to check up on the status of the replacement. I was told that the replacement was on backorder and there was no indication of when it would be shipped. When I asked if I could speak to the manager, I was told that the customer service representative did not have a manager. But, she would connect me with the Escalation Department. While on the phone with a member of the Escalation Department, I was told that I would now receive one-day shipping and that she would call me back later that day because she needed to gather further information. I never heard back from the Escalation Department.

� December 5th- Still no update, but thank you for your patience.

� December 8th � See December 5th. This customer representative said she would call me back. We�ll see if that happens, but I�m not holding my breath.

In sum, DO NOT PURCHASE FROM GATEWAY. You will only receive indefinite answers, unsatisfactory resolutions, be told repeated lies, and use up all of your phone minutes. In addition, the number of times that you are thanked for your patience will make you want to scream bloody murder, not to mention all the tears and curses; the emotional toll this process has taken on me is extremely hard to convey in writing.

I am not sure how a company is allowed to operate like this or how Gateway thinks that customer experiences such as mine will help its business in any way. I wonder how Gateway would operate if its computers were commandeered for over two months. Surely not any better than I will perform on my finals. However, I am positive that if the problem was affecting Gateway, they would respond in a much quicker and efficient manner. Do not purchase from Gateway and / or Acer if you value your sanity and your computer.

I contacted online support at http://www.gateway.com for information about upgrading the memory on my laptop. This was done through a "Secure Chat" session. They assured me it was 3des encrypted. The support tech said he would be happy to assist me with purchasing the memory. I provided him with my credit card number and he placed the order. In about 10 minutes I got a confirmation email for the order, however there was a second order email confirmation for the same exact order being sent to someone else.

I contacted customer service and their party line was "Computer Error" we will contact the other person and have him reorder.

I checked with my credit card company, there was at least 4 orders from Gateway charged to my account.

Today I am unable to contact anybody at Gateway Corporate via phone. They hide really well. Gateway doesn't have a fraud department according to the customer support department.

I would never trust Gateway. While their connection might be secure, they don't seem to take care of making sure their personnel are trustworthy and secure. My guess they outsource this services and they have a problem.

I will never buy Gateway products again.