Tens of dollars worth of laptop cleaning turns into thousands of dollars for repairs: College students’ online shopping encounters “official after-sales” scams

📅 2026-10-14

Abstract:

Xiao Liu goes to college in Hangzhou. In early September, she and her classmates went to a repair shop in Gongshu District, Hangzhou, intending to clean the dust off their laptops. However, in the end, they each spent thousands of yuan on repairs.

01 Netizens reminded of dust cleaning and maintenance



Xiao Liu

: He took it out and showed us the damage. I took pictures because it was scary. Afterwards, I would like to remind everyone on the Internet to clean the dust as soon as possible, so as not to be burned out like mine (computer). I sent the picture, and they told me that this was vandalism.

Reporter

: I originally wanted to give everyone a heads up, but what happened?

Xiao Liu

: I originally wanted to ask everyone to clean up the dust quickly, but they all told me that I was cheated.



Xiao Liu is studying at university in Hangzhou

Her and her classmates’ laptops are Lenovo brand

She bought hers two years ago

It cost more than 10,000 at that time

My classmate’s machine cost more than 4,000



Xiao Liu said

In fact, there is no problem using their computers

I just saw it said online before

The computer needs to be cleaned after being used for a long time

September 9

They search online for computer cleaning

Xiao Liu

: A merchant’s homepage pops up, it’s Lenovo After-Sales. We went in and saw a dust cleaning service called Student Discount, so we planned to go to this one. (On the page) Next to Chaohui 3rd Community, there is a relatively vague address.



The page display provided by Xiao Liu

The store is

Lenovo computer after-sales repair service center Xiu Dongfang

(Chaohui Street Store)


Xiao Liu

: I searched and couldn’t find it, so I sent a private message to the store asking where they were. They told me to notify me via text message, and then gave me another address, which is now the Yuedu Business Building.


Xiao Liu and his classmates found the store address

Each spent more than 70 yuan

Purchased

"Student special [Lenovo] full series of game notebooks

Dust cleaning + silicone grease replacement” service


Xiao Liu

: Another person took our computer in, and the person at the front desk chatted with us. After a minute or two, the person behind took out the computer. If they dismantled it again in front of us, they would find that both of our motherboards were black, and it was a big piece. He told us that it was because our air conditioner was turned on too cold and condensation got in, so both of our computers were broken since we were roommates again. The power supply chip is broken and needs to be repaired.


Introduction to Xiao Liu

After hearing the staff say that the computer was broken

She contacted her family

I hope to hear suggestions from my family

Xiao Liu

: But as soon as I turned around, the man said, took out the computer and said, it has been done for you. You can take it away by paying the fee now.

Reporter

:Did I tell you how much it would cost before repairing it?

Xiao Liu

: No, not before the repair. He said that both of our computers had been replaced with brand new power supply chips. He said they would get rid of the old parts, but refused to show them to us, and there was no video of the repair. Each of us was asked to pay 1,080 yuan, and mine was 1,280 yuan.


Xiao Liu and his classmates each paid the money

The full name of the merchant on the bill page is

"Hangzhou Gongshu District Baiquanxiu Communication Equipment Repair and Operation Department

(Individual industrial and commercial households)"



Xiao Liu said

I thought the repairs were over

Unexpectedly, the other party said that there is still a problem with the computer


Xiao Liu

: I paid the money, and he said, oh, by the way, there is another thing, your CPU (central processing unit) is also broken, you need to pay another 3,000 yuan, and I will help you repair it. I said I don't have that much money. He said otherwise, you leave the computer with us and we will send it back to the original factory for repair in a few days. If you provide your student ID here, we can apply for a student discount and help you reduce the more than 1,000 yuan spent on the chip. I won’t repair it now. When I took it back, I found that the computer was fully usable.


I thought it was just a few dozen dollars for cleaning

I didn’t expect that it would cost thousands of dollars in repair costs

Xiao Liu said

This money

It’s not a small amount for her

Xiao Liu

: The cost is also relatively expensive, and we don’t have much living expenses. I was deceived a lot at once and I didn’t dare to tell my parents. (Living expenses) were about 2,000 yuan, but he defrauded me of 1,200 yuan (more than 1 yuan) at once, so I only had 800 yuan. Now said.

Reporter

: What did the parents say?

Xiao Liu

: My parents said it would help me increase my social experience. The school will report the person who was deceived, and it will serve as a warning case, but we dare not talk about it.


02 The situation is not an isolated case. The store was "cleared"?

After calming down a little

Xiao Liu continued to talk about what happened

After feeling something was wrong with the maintenance

She put the laptop

Sent to Lenovo official after-sales outlet for inspection

Xiao Liu

: After inspection by engineers, they said that all the accessories of our computer are original, and there are no traces of repairs or welding. Instead, there are traces of artificial blackening by open flames.


Xiao Liu said

The website said there is no problem with the machine

So the relevant certificate cannot be issued

Later she also discovered a situation


Xiao Liu turns on the computer

Viewed the number of system events

Before maintenance on September 9

The computer does not have boot records

How do repair shop personnel check

She also has doubts

Xiao Liu

: When he told me that it was broken, he had no basis for judgment. He didn’t open my computer or use professional tools to measure resistance.


mentioned earlier

On the bill page of Xiao Liu and his classmates

The merchant names are all

"Bai Quanxiu Communication Equipment Repair and Operation Department, Gongshu District, Hangzhou"


Just some time ago

We reported on what happened to a Xiao Zhou who was cleaning dust in this store

News review

Xiao Zhou has a mechanical revolutionary laptop

It’s said that the computer is lagging

I want to clean up my computer

He found it on the platform

"Mechanical Revolution Computer After-sales Repair Service Center Xiu Dongfang

(Chaohui Street Store)"

Bought a dust cleaning service package for more than 70 yuan

Follow the staff’s instructions

Come to this store on the 13th floor of Yuedu Business Building, Gongshu District

This address is the same place where Xiao Liu went with his classmates



Xiao Zhou

: There were two people inside at first. I asked them if they were an official after-sales shop, and they said yes. One of them attracted my attention and chatted with me, while the other person took the computer to the back and repaired it where the surveillance camera could not reach it. After a while, the man came out, took out the computer and told me that your computer had water in it and that it needed to be repaired and the graphics card and motherboard needed to be replaced. He might have deliberately burned it with a lighter or sprinkled some powder behind it to make the computer look burned out for me to see.

Reporter

: Did you get any water when you used it?

Xiao Zhou

:No. I was skeptical at the time, but suspected that it was possible that water dripped onto it because I didn’t blow dry my hair after taking a shower. I was gullible then.



Xiao Zhou doesn’t know much about computers

Said he checked the serial number

Discovered that the motherboard has not been replaced

I don’t know about the graphics card


There is no company name on the repair order

It is said that the main board is short-circuited due to water intrusion. Clean and maintain the whole machine

Replaced the graphics card BGA sensor kit

2359 yuan


Xiao Zhou

: I learned that there is only something called a graphics card BGA kit. This kit is a tool for repairing the graphics card, not a computer accessory. The list says to replace the graphics card BGA sensor kit. In fact, there is no such thing as a BGA sensor kit. This is a term he made up himself.


Later

Xiao Zhou saw our previous news

Xiao Zhou

: When I first noticed that the repair orders were exactly the same, I felt something was wrong. I continued to slide back and saw that the owner of this store and me were exactly the same.


Every tens of dollars spent on dust cleaning turns into thousands of dollars in repairs

It makes people feel strange

Let’s go back to what happened to Xiao Liu this time

Xiao Liu

: We went to the (market supervision), the Industry and Commerce asked us to go to the public security, and the result of our offline negotiation with the public security was that they said they could refund us 400 yuan each. But I definitely don't accept this. After all, he didn't do anything. He just wiped my computer clean and charged us more than 1,000 yuan.


Xiao Liu and his team came to the 13th floor of Yuedu Business Building with reporters

Onsite

The wall says "Hangzhou Area IT Maintenance Service Center"

Someone is working inside


Onsite personnel

: I’m just working, I don’t know. If you take these apart, it will be none of my business.


Conversing with this master

The reporter saw

There is also a small room in this store

Through the reflection on the glass door

The reporter saw a figure

The other party remained silent

The reporter took the initiative to say hello


Reporter: Hello, that brother in the room, can you come out for a moment, that brother? We would like to ask about the situation. Are you from this repair shop?

Onsite personnel

: What kind of repair shop is working? Where is it free? I'm doing decoration work here.


The person in the hut doesn’t want to come out

Indicates that he is just working

Xiao Liu

: When we arrived at the store on September 9th, he was the one who took our computer inside. When we came back on October 2nd, he pointed out what he had changed. The look and sound are his.


For the sake of rigor

Our reporter once again asked the on-site personnel in the hut

Confirmed

Reporter: Are you in charge of repairing computers?

Onsite personnel

: No, no, get out of here.

Reporter

: Let’s be civilized, okay?

Onsite personnel

: No need to be civilized.

Reporter

: We want to understand the situation and hear our side of the story.

Onsite personnel

: I don’t know. Let’s ask the real estate agent.


In order to further communicate with the store

The reporter based on the contact information on the "Customer Maintenance Acceptance Service Form"

Call and send text messages

No response was received


The reporter also asked relevant personnel of the building where the store is located

Understood the situation

Relevant personnel of the building

: Anyway, the computer repairman had two complaints. I have been here for maybe two months, and now I think I have been kicked out or persuaded to leave. The move was almost completed this morning.

Reporter

: Can we contact the previous tenant? If they are willing to reply they can contact me.


The staff in the building recorded the reporter’s contact information

Indicate that you can provide helpful feedback

As of press time

The reporter did not receive a reply from the store

Later

Feedback from Xiao Liu

Someone contacted them

It was said that a full refund would be available after one week

But the other party made a request

Keep news off shelves

Related circumstances

She will also provide further feedback to the functional departments

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