A year ago I bought a HP 6000 laptop so my son could use it in college. Since then it has been nothing but trouble. He has returned it for repair three times, had his college work destroyed when the computer overheated, and been without a laptop for six out of 12 months

Now that I have contacted Hewlett Packard, for the fourth time, they say the laptop's warranty has run out and that they will not repair or replace this faulty product.

We bought what we thought was a high-end product, at a high price and have had nothing but trouble with it.

Hewlett Packard's policy seems to be to drag out repairs until after their products are out of warranty and then tell their customers, too bad, you're no longer covered.

My son even thought he had covered himself by purchasing a three-year warranty, but even that isn't worth the paper it is written on.

I am now about to buy a new laptop computer for my own use, and after Hewlett Packard's runaround, although I had picked out one of their latest models--now I will look for another company.

At the same time, it looks like I am going to have to buy another laptop for my son to use in college. As if a retiree (me) can afford to just throw money away.

There should be a "lemon law" for computers which would protect consumers from being scammed this way with products that fail over and over a few months after you buy them and against manufacturers who laugh at you when you call for their help.