Dell Problem

whitelightrider

Hi folks,

Looking for some advice on the below.
Bought a laptop from Dell about 7 months ago. 3 months ago I had the LCD replaced as it was causing issues. Since then the speakers have given trouble so Dell collected it and repaired it. The laptop came back after 7 working days with the following problems:
Speakers still not working - same issue as before
Case covering the speakers damaged
Different palm rest installed on the laptop
Hinge not screwed in properly.

Contacted Dell again and told them about this. They told me that they would have the laptop collected for repair again on Wednesday. Still no sign of the courier to collect it today!! I told them I need the laptop and that I cannot be without it again.

What are my rights here? Do I have to continue to let Dell repair the laptop? This is the 2nd time repairing the same issue and they have caused more damage instead of fixing the existing one.

foggy_lad

you can now seek a replacement or refund as they have been given the oppurtunity to repair the laptop but have failed miserably. inform dell that you will not accept another repair and do this in writing to them as if you ring you will only get fobbed off, insist on recieving a replacement or refund as you no longer have faith in their ability to repair your product. you may need to go through the small claims court to assert your consumer rights.

whitelightrider

foggy_lad wrote: »

you can now seek a replacement or refund as they have been given the oppurtunity to repair the laptop but have failed miserably. inform dell that you will not accept another repair and do this in writing to them as if you ring you will only get fobbed off, insist on recieving a replacement or refund as you no longer have faith in their ability to repair your product. you may need to go through the small claims court to assert your consumer rights.

Thanks foggy lad. Ive sent an email stating this to the operator I was dealing with and will send a letter over the weekend.

NOGMaxpower

foggy_lad wrote: »

you can now seek a replacement or refund as they have been given the oppurtunity to repair the laptop but have failed miserably. inform dell that you will not accept another repair and do this in writing to them as if you ring you will only get fobbed off, insist on recieving a replacement or refund as you no longer have faith in their ability to repair your product. you may need to go through the small claims court to assert your consumer rights.

Foggy Lad you've no idea what you're on about normal sensible rights don't apply to Dell's service. Its in their fine print upon purchasing a product. It'll take longer to post a letter and to get a response than the 7 day repair time so there's no sense in that advice.

I used to work for Dell's support and here's what to do!

Im asusming you have a Collect And Return (CAR) warranty? Therefore they're operating within their warranty and legally you have to obide by it. Have you been dealing with someone in India or Scotland? If its India you'll be put through the hoops as they are sticklers for process.

Now since you've had such bother with the repair, I would suggest you push for an onsite visit. Dell generally have a 3 strike (unwritten rule) on repairs. I would call their support team and ask to speak to a supervisor or a Level 2 the latter being the better choice. Explain your case clearly to them, do not get angry or they'll fob you off. Tell them you're happy for them to repair it but you have no faith in the Collect And Return warranty and can they arrange an onsite visit. THey'll probably refuse and stress your warranty with them, to which you have one reply. "Do i need to go to watch dog with this complaint?" Any threat of media exposure will usually get you what you want. Remember to remain calm! The level 2 will then escalate it to their manager, who has the authority to give you an onsite visit. (This is their normal escalation process). They will then send an engineer to your house with the palm rest, lcd etc etc.

Unfortunately they may stick to their guns and you will only have one option for CAR repair. If it fails again = 3 strikes, the cost of reparing the laptop is now more than the cost of the laptop to make. So they will look to fix your system on the 4th attempt and they'll send an engineer i bet.

Its a painful process i know, however upon purchasing your laptop you do have the option to select Onsite warranty therefore its your own fault for not getting that warranty because they'll assume you're happy to send the lappy off for repair. there are two parties to blame here and im sorry but the customer is not always right.

Dont threaten legal action either or spout on about rights, they have a massive legal team and guess what they get these threats daily. Its the media exposure such as watch dog that makes them listen not your rights!!

They will get it fixed you just need to know how to play them. Ensure you have your Case number to hand too and record peoples names you're dealing iwth. Again if its India you're bollixed as they take western names to increase the customer experience so Punjab may be called Time John or Dave on multiple calls.

the case number is prime!

Hope that helps.

jor el

NOGMaxpower wrote: »

Foggy Lad you've no idea what you're on about normal sensible rights don't apply to Dell's service. Its in their fine print upon purchasing a product. It'll take longer to post a letter and to get a response than the 7 day repair time so there's no sense in that advice.

I used to work for Dell's support and here's what to do!

Im asusming you have a Collect And Return (CAR) warranty? Therefore they're operating within their warranty and legally you have to obide by it.

First and foremost, your statutory rights protect your consumer purchases. A retailer or manufacturer warranty may supersede, but they can never curtail or replace your statutory rights. Nothing in law says you have to wait for repeated repair attempts. It guarantees a repair, replacement or refund, but doesn't say who gets to choose, nor how long it should take. A consumer is not legally bound by the retailer's warranty, if that warranty contradicts the statutory rights.

In this case, the laptop has gone for a repair, and has come back with the same problem and more. I would contact Dell and try to escalate the call above the help desk person.

Have a read of this. It states that
If you are not happy with their offer, you have the right to request an alternative remedy and to take legal action if you are not happy with their final offer. So you do not have to follow Dell's rules. However, as stated above, it may take longer for you to do it this way.

Small Claims is the last resort, but that also takes time and a small bit of effort. First port of call would be a call back, and start to suggest a replacement, and tell them you're prepared to go to court if necessary.

NOGMaxpower

jor el wrote: »

First and foremost, your statutory rights protect your consumer purchases. A retailer or manufacturer warranty may supersede, but they can never curtail or replace your statutory rights. Nothing in law says you have to wait for repeated repair attempts. It guarantees a repair, replacement or refund, but doesn't say who gets to choose, nor how long it should take. A consumer is not legally bound by the retailer's warranty, if that warranty contradicts the statutory rights.

In this case, the laptop has gone for a repair, and has come back with the same problem and more. I would contact Dell and try to escalate the call above the help desk person.

Have a read of this. It states that
If you are not happy with their offer, you have the right to request an alternative remedy and to take legal action if you are not happy with their final offer. So you do not have to follow Dell's rules. However, as stated above, it may take longer for you to do it this way.

Small Claims is the last resort, but that also takes time and a small bit of effort. First port of call would be a call back, and start to suggest a replacement, and tell them you're prepared to go to court if necessary.

Again spouting rights etc will fall on def ears. they get these complaints every day and have an entire legal process to deal with it. This is the biggest mistake made by the Irish lol.

They are operating within the agreed warranty with the customer they dont have a leg to stand on if it comes to legalities. The customer has agreed to this process and had the opportunity to seek an alternative warranty upon the point of purchase.

You're half right, and like i suggested escalate the issue to get onsite repair. i merely pointed out the likely scenarios to you.

Yet other seem to think their consumer rights actually matter lol dont fight them work them.

whitelightrider

NOGMaxpower wrote: »

Again spouting rights etc will fall on def ears. they get these complaints every day and have an entire legal process to deal with it. This is the biggest mistake made by the Irish lol.

They are operating within the agreed warranty with the customer they dont have a leg to stand on if it comes to legalities. The customer has agreed to this process and had the opportunity to seek an alternative warranty upon the point of purchase.

You're half right, and like i suggested escalate the issue to get onsite repair. i merely pointed out the likely scenarios to you.

Yet other seem to think their consumer rights actually matter lol dont fight them work them.

The whole situation started with an engineer coming on site to replace the LCD. This seemed to trigger the speaker problem. Was sent for repair then and came back in worse state than it was sent.

Nody

NOGMaxpower wrote: »

Again spouting rights etc will fall on def ears. they get these complaints every day and have an entire legal process to deal with it. This is the biggest mistake made by the Irish lol.

They are operating within the agreed warranty with the customer they dont have a leg to stand on if it comes to legalities. The customer has agreed to this process and had the opportunity to seek an alternative warranty upon the point of purchase.

Actually you are wrong, there is written in the law that you can not write away your legal rights that the law grants you; Dell may not like it but that is the Irish law which Dell has to follow if it wants to sell stuff in Ireland.

Yet other seem to think their consumer rights actually matter lol dont fight them work them.

Of course they matter, Dell would most likely lose any court case on the issue but the problem is a court case takes a couple of months to run through.

foggy_lad

Small Claims is the last resort, but that also takes time and a small bit of effort. First port of call would be a call back, and start to suggest a replacement, and tell them you're prepared to go to court if necessary.

i still say write a letter explaining the issues to date as this will have to be read by someone in ireland or the uk who will not ignore it and your issue will most likely be resolved much sooner and without the hassle of dealing with dells infamous indian call centre staff giving you the runaround.

whitelightrider

Right folks, an update.
Gave Dell the benefit of repairing the laptop. Bear in mind it was sent away before and came back with the same issue, the wrong palm rest and a damaged speaker cover.

After 2 weeks waiting for a courier to pick the laptop up, which was promised by Dell, they sent an engineer today. He replaced the motherboard, palm rest and speaker cover. Got the laptop home and the problem is still there!

Elessar

Small Claims Court buddy.

Calhoun

whitelightrider wrote: »

Right folks, an update.
Gave Dell the benefit of repairing the laptop. Bear in mind it was sent away before and came back with the same issue, the wrong palm rest and a damaged speaker cover.

After 2 weeks waiting for a courier to pick the laptop up, which was promised by Dell, they sent an engineer today. He replaced the motherboard, palm rest and speaker cover. Got the laptop home and the problem is still there!

Feel your pain , took me 6 months to get my pc replaced by them. Basically they tried to keep fixing until warranty was gone.

foggy_lad

whitelightrider wrote: »

Right folks, an update.
Gave Dell the benefit of repairing the laptop. Bear in mind it was sent away before and came back with the same issue, the wrong palm rest and a damaged speaker cover.

After 2 weeks waiting for a courier to pick the laptop up, which was promised by Dell, they sent an engineer today. He replaced the motherboard, palm rest and speaker cover. Got the laptop home and the problem is still there!

start small claims court proceedings and i would still write an old fashioned letter to dell stating your intentions as they will know by this that you mean business.

also you only waited one week for the courier? or had they promised to collect it before the 1st of may?

whitelightrider

foggy_lad wrote: »

start small claims court proceedings and i would still write an old fashioned letter to dell stating your intentions as they will know by this that you mean business.

also you only waited one week for the courier? or had they promised to collect it before the 1st of may?

They told me that the courier would be there the following day to pick up the laptop, never arrived. Almost 10 working days later, and alot of calling and emailing, they sent out an engineer to take a look.
Its been sent back once, came back damaged, had an engineer out, replaced parts and its still not working. Surely theyve had their chance at the repair at this stage?

jor el

whitelightrider wrote: »

Its been sent back once, came back damaged, had an engineer out, replaced parts and its still not working. Surely theyve had their chance at the repair at this stage?

Yes, they have. The next thing you should do is write to them (or call) and tell them you want a full refund right now, otherwise you will take the matter to the Small Claims Court. Give them 5 days to respond. If they refuse, or give you any other guff, go to the court.

whitelightrider

Ok folks. On Friday 8th May an engineer came on site from Dell to replace the parts in the laptop. He opened up the laptop and commented how the screws were loose and not screwed in properly. He replaced the motherboard, the palm rest and the speakers. When I went home and watched a movie, the issue was still there.
Contacted Dell. They wanted to have the laptop picked up again. I said no. They wanted to send an engineer to replace the same parts again!

So now I am waiting for their Customer Service team to call me about a possible solution. I am right to ask for either a replacement product or a refund after all Ive been through?

O'Coonassa

whitelightrider wrote: »

So now I am waiting for their Customer Service team to call me about a possible solution. I am right to ask for either a replacement product or a refund after all Ive been through?

Yes defo. 3 failed fixes? I used to work for Dell and even by their own slack standards they've messed up badly and should refund or replace.

whitelightrider

O'Coonassa wrote: »

Yes defo. 3 failed fixes? I used to work for Dell and even by their own slack standards they've messed up badly and should refund or replace.

Thanks. Its just frustrating at this stage. We cant even use Skype to talk to people because it crackles that badly. Theyve had ample chances to fix it. Last time it came back it was damaged, and they had changed the palm rest for a standard one. I have paid for a different one when I bought it.

O'Coonassa

whitelightrider wrote: »

Thanks. Its just frustrating at this stage. We cant even use Skype to talk to people because it crackles that badly. Theyve had ample chances to fix it. Last time it came back it was damaged, and they had changed the palm rest for a standard one. I have paid for a different one when I bought it.

They've replaced every part that could have been causing it bar the actual parts that are probably causing it. I don't know the model in question but I've seen this problem come down to the speaker connection ribbon being oxidised. Whatever it is they've had more than ample opportunity.

I've seen them replace after a single failed fix if the person made the right noises. As somebody said earlier in the thread they're more scared of watchdog and the newspapers than any legal action. You should ask to speak to a team leader for the section you're dealing with and tell them that is just not good enough you gat a Dell because you thought they had a good name etc etc and that three failed fixes is beyond a joke.

whitelightrider

Just got off the phone there and theyve agreed to replace the laptop!!! Excellent. Should have the new laptop in about 7 days.

O'Coonassa

whitelightrider wrote: »

Just got off the phone there and theyve agreed to replace the laptop!!! Excellent. Should have the new laptop in about 7 days.

Better off. Hopefully you'll have more joy with this one.

NOGMaxpower

Glad you got it sorted and Im glad you didn't take any of the advice from others to spout about your rights!

Flaccus

Glad you got it sorted OP.

NOGMaxpower : You make it sound like having rights is a bad thing ? Consumer rights are there for a reason mate, and can never be waived no matter what warranty a company/consumer has signed up for. Plus you statutory rights can never be affected regardless of a company's escalation/warranty/repair policy, and to say normal sensible rights don't apply with regards to dell's policies is complete rubbish. As for taking the advice of not bothering to challenge the company as they have a huge legal team just for this, I can assure you this legal team doesn't involve themselves in dealing with consumer complaints or SCC challenges from an invdividual, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn't bother spending legal fees on something like the SCC, when the OP is clearly in the right.

The OP was entitled to seek a replacement after the 1st repair wasn't permanent, though perservering as he did in this case which you advised him to do, got the situation resolved quicker. That won't always be the case with some companies though, which is why consumers have such redress as the SCC. For example, if in this situation, the company had insisted on another repair, I think the OP would have been perfectly right to "spout" about his rights and gone down the SCC route. So yeah, I think having rights and being able to "spout" about them if the case warrants it, is actually a good thing.

Boggles

Jaysus, woeful customer service story. More down to poor engineers and rigid proceedure with no foresight or flexibility than anything else.

I always thought that it was Dells policy that if the carriage and return repair failed they sent an engineer.

On a side point, I must say that the couriers Dell use are excellent.

Unfortunately because of the boom period, the quality of technical support took a nose dive. One plus side of the recession like all bust periods is the cream rises to the top and the best engineers will be retained.

Dell are reviewing all there 3rd party support services at the moment, infact anything lower than a score of 8 in one of those customer satisfactions surverys they send out after a repair, the company get pulled up on it.

---

As for the gentleman saying Dell rules are not the same as normal rules, I think he was just trying to help, but he is very much mistaken.

Record everything, keep all records (print them), buy with a CC if possible, when dealing with tech support or customer service, record the conversation make sure you tell them you are doing so though.

And if it gets to it and you have been wronged, Small Claims Court will almost always rule in your favour.