Mindy of Lancaster, CA, thinks her local newspaper should tell readers about the problems Gateway customers have had:

I noticed we have a new Gateway Computer "Country Store" at the mall in Palmdale. I wrote a letter to the editor at the Antelope Valley Press, our local newspaper, concerning my interaction with) Gateway Computers.

I got a call from "Gateway" that night. A person calling himself "Rick" asked if I had good service from the last person I had spoken to, "Mindy?" I told him that I had indeed had a prompt, informed reply and had spoken to her supervisor to commend her for her abilities.

He then asked me to rate her. I said "excellent..." He then asked me what I thought, from 1 to 10 with 1 being excellent, of Gateway. I told him "1." He then asked me if I would recommend Gateway to my friends, and I said NO.

The next day I got the message that "Keith" had decided to not run my letter. I called and left a message for Keith to call me and told him I would like to know why he decided not to run my letter to readers? I asked him if it had anything at all to do with "Gateway" calling me last night.

I said "the Gateway man called me "Mindy" when all Gateway knew me by was "Ms. D." I left my number but he never called back to explain.

The consequences of a major computer company and the only local newspaper conspiring to keep the consumer from being informed buyers is indescribable. I advised the newspaper to contact me and I would show them my dated, timed, named, badge-numbered calls to Gateway. I also suggested that they read the consumer complaints about Gateway here on ConsumerAffairs.com. I also said that if consumers were informed on what to ask, what to check on, what phone calls to make, it didn't make any difference to me if they bought from Gateway. I hate to think of the people who go there without knowledge to make the second most expensive thing in their lives at that point. They usually pay less than that for their first car.

Newspapers are very wary of running consumer criticism of businesses. They're quick to pounce on "official" actions -- fines, sanctions, etc. -- but the type of material on this and other Internet sites is not their cup of tea, to put it mildly.

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