Triggered By Computer Company Claiming My Computer Had Urine On It...

[Justmehere]

I don't have a clue where to post this. I am not making any of this up, I swear. I wish I was. I don't think anyone is going to believe me. I am so triggered just by how much my situation is so unbelievable... And NO I DID NOT PEE ON MY COMPUTER!

Ok, that being said... I have 3 year accidental damage protection for my laptop. My computer was a gift and it is quite expensive so I splurged for the damage protection. It covers liquid spills. Liquids have been spilled on it three times. (I know, this should not happen - none of the spills were my doing. ARGH.) The first two times it worked just fine afterwards. perfectly. The third time, my friend was walking by and tripped and spilled tea all over it. Her tea had honey and cream in it... I thought it was coffee but I just talked to her and it was tea. It was TEA.

The computer worked, but three keys were sticky and typed other letters when I pressed them. I figured my computer did not survive this third swim. I sent it off to the company under my damage protection plan. I told them what happened. They said yeah, that is totally covered by my accidental damage plan. They sent the computer back immediately claiming it was a biological hazard. I told them this is not biological hazard....

They finally had someone explain the biological hazard was urine. Yes, they are claiming there was piss on my computer. They said they tested it. They said some "case manager" will call me tomorrow.

It just hit me, what if they really did test it and what if we were drinking something someone had pissed in at the coffee shop?

The place we went to, we go all the time. They like us there. We give extra big tips because we go once a week... No reason to think they pissed in our cups. Or maybe they did?

I have no logical reason to believe there was actually pee on my computer. I think the company is just being stupid. They sent me a note at one point claiming the LCD was cracked - but even now, the LCD is not cracked. But they were really specific and clear that it has urine INSIDE the computer. Inside? I sure as hell didn't pee on my computer, I know that... So if they are right, that means someone else did. They have to be wrong.

Somehow, I am triggered through the roof and I can't get this out of my head. The only other way there was urine on it was if someone had pissed in our cups at the coffee shop.

I can't get this out of my head. I can't seem to eat or drink anything right now. I am so triggered I am hyperventilating. Much worse things have happened in my life than drinking pee, but the situation is still triggering me by being so weird, and for so many reasons.

I don't even know what I need right now. I am spinning out. The past two days have already been rough, now this.

 

[Heather]

WOW, @Justmehere I'm sorry you are dealing with this and to be honest with you, I'd be really triggered too. That is just gross. What they are claiming. I know what it's like to have really rough days and then have more stuff piled on top of it.

I wish I had something constructive to add. Just breathe. @Ms Spock would remind me of that all the time and it does help to bring down the anxiety.

I really am sorry you are going through this.

 

[EveHarrington]

I am so sorry you're going through this....

Can you take a break? I mean do something, really anything to get your mind on something else? (I'm sort of doing that right now because my own personal stuff is too much to handle.) I don't necessarily think avoidance is good, but it's more like taking a time out until your mind is in a better place to be able to deal with it all.

They say your LCD is cracked but you know yours isn't? Is it possible that your computer was mixed up with another one? That's sort of my first inclination.

Please take care of yourself. :hug:

 

[ladee]

That is what I was thinking. Is there a possibility your computer was mixed up with someone else' s? There is no way you could make up something this strange! Please let us know how this is resolved. Sorry something this bizarre had been added to your already hard week. :hug:

 

[scout86]

Just for the heck of it, I just did an online search on "test to detect the presence of urine". There are some. They are typically used by forensic chemists etc. They aren't the kind of thing you'd have just sitting around handy. I seriously doubt a computer outfit would have such a test on hand. I also seriously doubt there's anything they could get a sample OF. And, I rather doubt it matters to a computer repair person if the damage is caused by water, coffee, tea, or urine. (Beyond the obvious "ish" factor.) I'd be really surprised if they spend much time trying to determine the exact nature of the liquid. I have no idea what their problem is, but, off hand, I'd say they're nuts. Maybe we have some computer repair person here who knows better?

 

[Justmehere]

Thanks @Heather - I am on my kitchen floor right now holding ice and trying the breathe. I'm not going to die, but I am certainly having a really intense strong reaction.

@eve Harrington - I spent an hour trying to find urine testing kids to somehow test what the liquid is now on the computer. You are right. I need to stop and take a break. I use this computer for work (self employed) and I am in a panic about it because of needing this for work. I have a borrowed computer so I'm ok for tonight... I am too much of a mess to even think right. And yeah, they sent me an email referring to my cracked LCD. I emailed them back to say no, there is no cracked LCD, and then they emails back saying the repairs would commence shortly. Then they suddenly texted me to say they were shipping i back I got it back with paper that said they cant fix it because it's a biological hazard.

The computer they sent back, is my computer, the serial number is the same as the one I sent in, and it has a very un-cracked LCD. They screwed up something.

It is my computer though and there is a liquid on it but it looks like a milky brown substance, smells like stale milk. That smell different than urine. UGH.

It was dry when I sent it in, and I think in shipping some of the liquid on the inside surfaced. And there was real tea spilled on it - a dark tea.

 

[joeylittle]

They probably just swipe it with a black light. And that picks up most bio-residue...also, dust. Because (slightly gross) dust is mostly skin cells.

I'm guessing they can say they don't have to fix it now? Truly, it's very likely nothing more than them getting away with not doing a repair.

But it does sound upsetting.

 

[Heather]

I hope it helps. Breathe in and out, slow and deep, several times.

You'll get through this.

Hang in there.

 

[Justmehere]

Just for the heck of it, I just did an online search on "test to detect the presence of urine". There are some. They are typically used by forensic chemists etc. They aren't the kind of thing you'd have just sitting around handy.

@scout86 - Good search terms to use! I was trying to find anything online... Except for at home drug tests, the tests to figure out what a liquid is - those tests are really hard to come by. I really don't know how they decided it was urine. It is strange. I asked how they tested for that and they said someone would call me back. I think you are right that it's not likely they actually did a full chemical test for what the liquid was...

The computer was dripping wet when I got it back. I can see some computer guy pulling it out and now that the shipping shook the liquid out, they are like oh yuck... and it does smell like stale milk. Because of course it does. But that's not a biological hazard. It was dry when I sent it in.

The accidental damage plan does cover coffee and tea spills... and I have them on tape saying it covers that too. They sent it back with a form letter listing reasons why they don't fix a computer and the checked the biological hazard part of the letter. I don't even know how it fits in the plan or not.

I am beginning to think they just made a guess it was urine.

 

[Friday]

There's no pee in your computer.

If there had been? It would have been ammonia by now.

Most likely?

If they did a swab test as protocol? It undoubtedly popped a false positive on a purine that had broken down into uric acids. Purines are super common and are found in such things as http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=51 <read very long lists, here> Purines are found in most foods, but are super highly concentrated in the list above. Any food that you'd gotten on your 'puter, that broke down in the acidic content of the tea? Bang. Uric acid.

If you had a young child at home? Then I'd think pee would actually be likely. Not because they peed on ot. Mostly because I have yet to meet a parent who doesn't toss a diaper in their laptop bag at some point, and modern diapers aren't water tight. The crystals absorb urine at an astounding rate, but the porous covers mean that when you pop one of the things in your bag? You do get trace amounts of pee on things. But you have trace amounts of everything everywhere as a parent! :wtf: Pee? So 80 items down the list of anything you care about, anymore.

But you don't have kids in diapers at home. So that means I'd lay serious money down on the purines.

You can get your laptop tested independently, and prove the idiots wrong.

 

[Justmehere]

I'm guessing they can say they don't have to fix it now? Truly, it's very likely nothing more than them getting away with not doing a repair.

The letter this voids the warranty and the accidental damage protection. It said not to send it back in.

I think you are right that this is them trying to get out of fixing it.

 

[scout86]

I am beginning to think they just made a guess it was urine.

I think joeylittle is right, they are looking for excuses not to fix the computer.