Is My Laptop Repairman Scamming Me? Seeking Advice

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well. I find myself in a rather troubling situation regarding my Lenovo Yoga laptop, which has been experiencing significant issues lately. This device, only 2.5 years old, has been crashing frequently, displaying massive black and colorful squares on the screen during these episodes.

Despite my attempts to troubleshoot the problem—downloading the latest graphics drivers and searching for fixes online—nothing seemed to resolve the issue. Faced with these ongoing challenges, I decided to seek professional help from a local repair service. I chose a small, one-man operation that boasted excellent reviews and met him in person outside his shop. As a student, I asked if he could conduct a quick inspection to provide an estimate for repairs. I was clear that if the costs exceeded my budget, I would have to consider parting ways with the laptop.

However, things took a turn for the odd shortly after I left my device with him. For context, I’ll share a snippet of our text conversations; however, the crux of the situation is that he mentioned he was ordering a replacement part that I couldn’t find any information on online. When I raised my concerns, he seemed irritated and stopped responding to my messages altogether. The last communication we had was nearly a month ago, leaving me feeling frustrated and uncertain. He has had my laptop since May 25th, and, as you can imagine, I rely on it for both academic and work commitments.

I would greatly appreciate any insight or advice on how to navigate this situation. Is this kind of communication and delay typical in repair scenarios, or am I right to be worried?

Thank you for your help!