Hectic, Hectic, Hectic

We've had the new computer for less than a week, and I love it. Except for having to re-download and install some of the other programs I rely on, it's all set up and working wonderfully. After the HP died, and after becoming frustrated with HP Technical Support (in India), I called a local "authorized HP service" shop. They said I could bring the puter in and they should be able to fix it, however, it would take the system disc to do it. Of course, I thought I had backed it up to a separate disc, but when I opened the file, I couldn't open it. They also told me that in order to fix it, they would have to order it from HP, which would cost me around $75. The other option was that I could it order it myself and bring the hard drive and the discs in with me if I took it to them for repair. I opted for calling HP and ordering them myself which actually cost $12. How did we get from $12 for the discs to $75. I was also told by the "authorized service shop" that the reason HP didn't include the system disc was due to "copyright" reasons. When I first got a "new" computer, those discs were provided. At any rate, I was rather astonished upon buying the Gateway that they actually provide a system CD. Huh? So, of course, I am wondering what is going on? I sure don't know -- but I guess the bottom line is that you just can't trust anyone anymore.