In February 2004 I decided to invest in a new, high specification PC, to support my home and small business requirements.
I purchased three PC magazines, including PC Adviser, to research the best machine to meet my needs. A range of recent tests and surveys were proclaiming Carrera Octan PCs to be “best buys” for their performance and value. I had never heard of Carrera SSC (or Digital Networking PLC, under which they trade). However based upon the endorsement of your publication and others, I duly placed an order for an Octan 3200 AIW PC (including some enhancements), for £1,627.
Since this date I have experienced a miserable catalogue of problems, which has left me with absolutely no confidence in the quality and reliability of Carrera SSC equipment, or their support and service facilities (which incidentally are all outsourced to third parties).
In case you think that that I may be unduly harsh in making this statement, here is an abridged summary of the sequence of events, since placing my order :
• 12/3/04 - order placed
• 26/3/04 - advised of delivery delays due to factory move, expect delivery 1st April (yes, April fools day!)
• 01/04/04 - received telephone call to say that no delivery, as they had not had stocks of the TFT screen which I had ordered “for several weeks”. A substitute was offered, which after haggling was upgraded to a decent quality alternative.
• 03/04/04 - PC delivered. Machine failed to respond at all to the start button. Contacted hardware and software support numbers provided - held in succession of call queues, ranging up to 50 minutes. Eventually received call-back, asking me to remove casing, to check for loose wires! This revealed the CPU fan swinging free against the graphics card and on closer inspection, clear dents and damage to the casing (although the packaging in which the PC had been delivered, was undamaged). Also spotted inferior networking card, to that which had been ordered.
• 06/04/04 - machine was collected for return to factory for “re-build”.
• 15/04/04 - “re-built” PC was delivered back to me - absolutely no explanation as to reasons for damage to first PC or apology
• 15/04/04 - PC worked! Loaded full range of software, e-mail accounts, LAN etc. and began using for business documents.
• 30/04/04 - PC refused to start - I had important business deadlines to meet, with essential documents held on hard drive. I began calling Carrera support numbers, call sequence as follows :
o 9 am constant call queues and recorded messages on hardware support line, gave up at 9.45 and contacted Mark Johansen (Sales Director). He promised a call-back from their engineer “within the hour”
o 11.20 am - still no call-back, rang Johansen again. Apologised, promised call-back within 10 minutes
o 2.05 pm - still no call-back, rang Johansen again. “Please hold and I will transfer you to the engineer now”, put through to engineer. After hour long attempt to remedy, his diagnosis is serious hardware failure, PC needs to be collected and re-built at factory. I stress that it is essential for me to recover business files, to meet deadlines. He promises to ring back before end of afternoon with proposed solution.
o 5.30 pm - no call-back received, engineer cannot be found
o 5.45 pm - rang again, engineer has gone home, nobody else aware of my predicament
• 01/05/04 - contacted local PC contractor to extract hard drive and recover my files (cost £85)
• 04/05/04 - chased Carrera re arrangements to re-collect PC for repairs
• 05/05/04 - PC re-collected, taken back to factory
• 11/05/04 - rang Jamie Blundell (Customer Service Director) for update. No awareness or explanation re what fault was, or appreciation of inconvenience caused
• 13/05/04 - “re-built” PC re-delivered
• 28/05/04 - 17/06/04 : sequence of e-mail correspondence to recover cost of call charges to Carrera support numbers (£23, which Jamie Blundell had previously agreed to reimburse) and cost of file recovery £85.
• 17/06/04 - Jamie Blundell & Mark Johansen point blank refuse to reimburse £85
• 30/06/04 - as yet no reimbursement received for call charges (although itemised bill provided and returned).
My whole experience of Carrera (DN PLC) is summed up as follows :
• The PC equipment which they manufacture is shoddy and unreliable
• Their service culture, from the most senior level downwards is dismissive, complacent, inaccessible and unaccountable
• They do not demonstrate even a basic level of consideration or responsibility for the cost and inconvenience which they cause their customers

I have not just suffered with carrera's shoddy systems but a complete lack of respect and their ability to run a company with no regard for customer service. The Managing Director Nick Smith said ' what is the point of goodwill, i would never become a customer again' that is where the disregard for their customers comes from.

I would like to endorse Mr Hopton's comments, as I am having similar experiences with Carrera and their (subcontracted) warranty repair service.
My PC has been with them for nearly 2 months now without any feedback on status.
I should have known better than to rely on magazine reviews.

So far so poor
Quality poor - support terrible
Can get to Sales easily but try Support for a challenge - hope you like piped music
Never return calls as promised
Build very average
Everything is late
Never again

My computer has now been back with Carrera for repair for the last four weeks.
This despite a at home warranty.
I have made numerous phone calls & sent e mails, all with no response.
The after sales service or lack of it more importantly is absolutely appaling.
As stated in previous postings, they seem to have little or indeed no regard for their customers.

In late 2002 I ordered a Carrera |Vision Plus 253 CB seen in a magazine review and experienced late delivery, CDs (including Windows) and and DVDs not delivered and some no longer available. My main problem was that many games my son wanted to play (including ones offered as part of the package) would end up in a blank screen after a short time. Despite many expensive phone calls and also some email correspondence to the contracted support this has never been solved (although on their advice I went through the time consuming process of reloading Windows several times). In 2005 my son still cannot play games with high requirements.
In fairness the main office has always been friendly and tried to help, but even recently when our powerpack blew it took some time before we mutually decided that the quickest way would be for me to be sent the new powerpack and to fit it myself. I was to be talked through fitting it (at Carrera's phone expense) but in the end lost patience and ended up working out how to fit it myself when nobody called as arranged.
Support, testing and checking before delivery all very poor.

Carrera now Bankrupt. Sold on 22nd Dec to another employee/ director. Receivership 6th Jan 2005
I ordered a Carrera computer Nov, 2004. They took the money straight away. Usual story of multiple emails, phone calls, queues, excuses, and no delivery of computer, £1600. They said my computer was ready, but they were just waiting for Sharp to send in monitors. Daily desperate phone calls in the days before Xmas, finally told that phone calls not being taken after 22nd Dec, but still will send out computer for Xmas delivery. By then my wife was having severe concerns. We emailed the directors to no avail and then emailed someone called Joe, as Sharp advised us to do, on 23rd Dec, now threatening to call the police in, stating it as a case of fraud, as they had our money and not delivered. Got an email back from Joe on 23rd Dec saying my computer was being dispatched and would be with us on 24th Dec. Amazingly, it arrived! The case was missing a glass side (they owe me £37!), graphics card not plugged in, floppy disc not plugged in and case fan not connected - the wire had been pushed into a hole behind the board. It looked like it had been sabotaged! With no case fan working the computer would have overheated and failed in a short time, which tallies with reports I have read from other complainants. Still, my son fixed averything, and now has a working computer. I don't know whether I have Joe to thank for at least getting a computer to me. I managed to get through to them on 5th Jan, and they said the delay was due to waiting for a glass side, and it would be sent next week. No mention of their troubles. I am very lucky; a wife who got exceedingly angry at the perfect time, and a son who can fix computers. I just worry how anyone is going to stop these people just laughing and simply setting up again with the same practices. If I had done a search on the internet before ordering I would have found a host of other complaints and would not have ordered it.
How can you stop them advertising in the magazines? Why do the magazines still recommend and review them? Why is their internet site still up and running and apparantly still taking orders?
All I can suggest is that anyone buying a computer from a company searches for any of the names mentioned on this site, and if present, avoid the company like the plague.
We have medical knowledge and the pattern of their actions suggests psychopathic tendencies, and they are not getting any better. Beware!

Like the previous correspondent, I've had problems with 'Carrera'. My graphics card failed over Xmas, and despite being promised a call back to arrange being sent a replacement, no response was received and they then went into administration. I then found out via the internet that they have been rebuked for not telling the truth over the age of their company, and in fact that Carrera/SSC had failed 3-4 years ago, before being put into administration and coming out again.
I see a pattern emerging here....
I'd agree that the 'people' running this business should not be permitted to do this. They've ignored orders against them, maintain the website as if nothing has happened, and frankly have lied to their customers. If I'd been aware that they'd failed three years ago, I wouldn't be in the position I'm in now.
The other thing which really bothers me now is the very, very swift takeover of the business. The owners must have been aware of the problems that the business was facing, and have continued to trade despite knowing that they cannot meet the promises that they are making. I believe this comes under the area of disqualification as a director. I'm presently reviewing what I'm going to do about all of this, as the sound of paying more warranty money (though Watford may be acting in good faith) sickens me given what the directors are doing. Anyone up for a court action?

I bought a Carrera Octan 2500 Pro August 2003. Supplied Nero software wouldn't work, but calls to helpline answered promptly, courteously and software immediately posted.
Recently I've had start-up problems - PC makes noises and flags up 'hard disc failure' ...but (so far) has started after a few attempts and then runs as it should. Call to given numbers for hardware problems got me through to some company that '...no longer provides this service: Carrera has gone bust due to high warranty claims'.
I did eventually speak to a Carrera hardware helpline chap, who said it sounded like a power supply problem, so I should plug the drive into a different supply. This I did, but problem persists.
Is there a problem with Maxtor's hard discs? Is there a problem with the wiring looms? Is there a problem with transformers? Surely all these components are 'off the shelf' and used by OEMs other than Carrera.
Directors' integrity apart, does anyone actually know what the technical problems are? I too am debating whether to accept Watford's offer of 2yr. 'on site' insurance for £99 ...and then risk losing my PC for several weeks (as suffered by others here) when I'd be better off just buying a new HDD ...or re-wiring ...or whatever.
Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved!
Empathetically yours, Steve Milner