Hewlett-Packard said it was expanding its battery recall and free replacement plan on Wednesday.

The company initiated a recall program on May 14 last year due to problems with defective notebook batteries.

China News Service reported at the time that 15,000 notebooks were involved,

In its latest move, the company listed six models that used the faulty batteries and said that customers with a defective battery could get a free replacement.

"HP took the right step in considering public safety, but I hope HP would take further actions to ease the concerns of people having problems with their machines," said Qiu Baochang, legal consultant with China Consumers' Association.

On Wednesday morning, as many as 30 people gathered outside HP's building in Guomao, demanding a refund. They claimed their computers had been experiencing continuous problems, such as black screens, system crashes and overheating.

A woman surnamed Gao said she had to change her computer's motherboard twice in three years. Gao said it was the sixth time she had been involved in a protest against HP. The previous five had all been in vain.

Cao Hui, the contact person for the group, said the company offered to prolong the warranty time of their computers, but he claimed their computers had a fatal design flaw and the only solution was a refund.

Qiu, of the China Consumers' Association, also hoped consumers and HP would enhance communications and said consumers needed to be rational.

A spokesperson for HP China said, "We have been actively resolving consumer complaints in line with Chinese laws and regulations. HP assures any program offers refund, repairs, free replacement parts and extended warranties under China's Three Guarantees'policy."

On May 10, HP China reached an agreement with a consumer group of 2,000 people in which the company agreed to address their issues in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations on a case-by-case basis.