What will become of IBM's legendary support now that its PC business is owned by Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo? IBM and Lenovo insist that nothing's changed, of course. But now whenever a ThinkPad customer has a problem as in today's tale, it's going to be impossible not to at least wonder if it's because of Lenovo.

"I have just been billed $953.41 for a new screen on a two-year old laptop," a reader recently wrote. "I have a three-year parts and labor warranty on the T40. My wife and I, who are in are mid- to-late 60's and retired, have been accused by IBM /Lenovo of damaging the screen."

The reader's laptop had long displayed some lemon-like tendencies, but he had assumed he could rely on IBM's warranty. "Back in April I'd had to send it in to IBM's repair facility in Tennessee because it had crashed to a blue screen," the reader wrote. "I went through the diagnostics with the support tech over the phone and they thought it was a problem with motherboard or the video adapter. I don't know what was done specifically, but I got it back in just a few days."

At first the reader thought the laptop was fixed, but then a new problem developed. "Shortly after receiving the machine back I noticed, from time-to-time, a 'blink' every once in a while on the screen," the reader wrote. "After a couple of months it got progressively worse, so much so that the screen started to go black intermittently. After a couple of weeks of this nonsense I called IBM Tech support. We went through all the diagnostics again and everything passed. I then hooked up the laptop to another monitor and saw the screen clearly and there was no 'blackout,' so they concluded it must be the monitor."

Again he was instructed to send the computer to Tennessee. "A few days later I got the call telling me my computer was being held hostage for $953.41 because I damaged it!" the reader wrote. "The gentleman who told me this was not a tech support type - he admitted he was in Atlanta and hadn't seen my computer himself. I guess he's the heavy who is in charge of telling customers their warranty isn't going to be honored."

The reader tried to explain how unlikely it was he or his wife could damaged the ThinkPad but to no avail. "Except for these trips to Tennessee, the computer was never out of the house," the reader wrote. "We have no grandchildren, we are the sole users, and it sits on a table. I think they damaged it, or it's just a lemon. I tried calling that gentleman back a few days later to get more information about what was wrong with my computer - two months later I'm still waiting."

The reader can't help but suspect that the pre-Lenovo IBM would not have treated him this way. "This is third ThinkPad I've owned personally, and I purchased thirty more for my company back when I was working," the reader wrote. "I know before they sold the ThinkPad business to Lenovo that IBM's warranty costs versus revenue were higher than the rest of the industry. So I guess it isn't surprising that Lenovo is getting tougher on warranty items. Maybe I am coming in at the wrong time."

Of course, the reader didn't know when he bought this ThinkPad that he'd be dealing with Lenovo before the warranty expired. And we can't know for sure if his experience would have been any different if IBM still owned the business. However, should anyone from IBM or Lenovo want to look into his case to see whether he was treated fairly, his dispute ticket number is 8084648. One thing I do know from experience is that the old IBM would want to check that out, so perhaps we will see if the Lenovo effect makes any difference.

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