Wanting to return

I've received my m11x a few weeks ago, and since then it's given me nothing but problems.

I ordered the i5 4GB version NEW from dell in January, and received it in the beginning of this month. From the very moment I booted for the first time (which froze lol) I've been plagued with problem after problem, and my laptop was unbelievably unresponsive to the point where opening My Documents would cause the unit to crash.

I did a full system recovery (after a weeks use lol) and it worked fine for a while, until suddenly it started to erase my work, and uninstall programs by its own accord. It then occured to me what the problem was with the windows messages that begun to pop up - I was given a defective hard drive!

Now since I was plagued with deadlines in work, I thought I would do the natural thing and return the unit asking for a refund. However it seems that for us UK customers the allocated return period is 7 days, meaning I'm not entitled to a refund.

I find this to be incredibly unfair since it only became apparent that I was given a defective hard drive AFTER a week, meaning it would have been impossible for me to realise the defect earlier and hence return it. I'm not interested in a repair since I've lost trust in Dell, and would like to opt for the new upcoming macbooks.

Will I have any luck elevating the issue with customer services? Or will it only fall to deaf ears? (I've had unpleasant experiences with them related to my dell deskop at home)

I appreciate any input.

 

i think you'd be losing out if you sold it and someone else was able to get it working: i'd be kicking myself.

"not interested in repair"???? don't call it a "repair" call it an "upgrade" if you will but that's the first thing i would do: get a new or borrow an HDD and do a test to see if can be stable. if it's stable then use it, don't waste your money.

 

I'm not interested in selling it, especially since I'd lose too much money over something that's not even a month old.

What frustrates me is that if I was living in the US I'd be entitled to the 21 day return policy, but since I'm in the UK I'm stuck with only a 7 day window, which wasn't long enough for me to realise I had a defective hard drive...especially since it was only lightly used in the first week.

What also irked me was how unhelpful customer services was...the most articulate reply I got was "Sorry, 7 days up, can't help, have a nice day"....they didn't even mention a repair or HDD replacement, just basically said tough luck and bugger off.

 

If it's simply a bad HD, why give up on the entire machine? Dell should send you a new one at no cost to you. Hardware isn't perfect, unfortunately.

 

Agree. It makes no sense to get rid of the entire machine, just because of a bad hard drive.

It's not like you bought an Apple.

 

Dell is lying. According to EU regulations (which all companies trading in the UK must adhere to), the cooling off period is around 30 days. I'll see if I can find a specific reference.

Edit: had a quick look. The online purchases cooling off period is 7 days. The return period is a "reasonable time", which appears to have been deliberately undefined by the Sale of Goods Act. I guess your only option is to convince Dell that you are well within this reasonable time, you can also contact an ombudsman for advice, or you can just get the unit replaced under warranty.

 

Path1
Run memtest
run diag on hdd
run registery cleaner
patch system fully
update drivers fully
possibly roll back video drivers
update bios



Path 2
Swap out memory with new memory
Swap out hdd with new hdd
fresh install of windows 7

 

sorry to hear your experience has been bad. i also received my R1 a few weeks ago, and i have almost nothing but good things to say about it.

the bottom line is that dell/alienware does not make hard drives, RAM, CPUs, etc. they design the chassis and then offer hardware choices for the consumers. the hard drive in my R1 is a 250 GB western digital scorpio blue. it's a very high quality, reliable hard drive. it's not a 250 GB dell HD. if it fails or is found defective within the warranty period, i expect dell to swap it out with a functioning one.

if you did get a bad hard drive, as others have said, swap it out with another one and see if there are any problems. if you isolate it to the hard drive, call dell's customer service and have them either send you a new hard drive or have them come out to replace it (not sure if they do that in the UK or not).

i don't know if you should "lose trust" in dell because you got a bad component, at least not before you actually call dell and see how they will remedy the situation. you have a 1 year warranty (at minimum) for a reason...exactly for this situation. utilize it.

the amusing thing to me about something like this is that your chances of getting a crappy hard drive from apple are probably around the same as your crappy hard drive in your M11x. i know somewhere around 7 or 8 macbook users, and 2 of them have had their hard drives fail within 12-18 months. they call customer service or go to a store, and apple fixes the problem. the same approach should be taken by you in this situation.

people buy hondas because they have a reputation for reliability. if you're on of the unlucky people who get a "friday afternoon" honda that's plagued with problems, you'll likely be pissed at honda and call their cars pieces of crap. however, is that really the case?

at any rate, good luck! let us know if it is indeed just the hard drive. also, you should contact dell to report a problem with the hard drive, not trying to return it outside of the 7 day return window.

 

In my eyes, the mark of a company's quality isn't whether or not their products have problems... it is how the company fixes those problems that matters to me.

 

Precisely, this is why I wish to return it.

I know I'll eventually get it repaired but unfortunately this isn't the first time I've had to deal with Dell customer services, who on the whole have been atrocious...and I'm not one to complain. I have lost any confidence in dealing with Dell based on past...and now present experiences, thats why I wish to refund.

Apple have been excellent in dealing with whatever problems I've had with my apple products, meaning I'd feel more comfortable doing business with them even if their hardware is somewhat inferior.

 

Thanks, I'll press them using this. I certainly don't think a week is a 'reasonable time' allowed for returns, not at least for my specific problem which took a while to diagnose.

What's even more frustrating is that a relative had bought the exact m11x refurbished and has recorded no such problems, yet my sparkly new model has been littered with problems and a HD defect to boot...lady luck isn't on my side it seems.

 

I see your point if this had been the only time I've had bad luck with dell, but unfortunately it isn't - me and bad experiences with dell have been a recurring issue, and this little issue for me is the final nail in the coffin...i've simply lost any confidence I have in dealing with them.

It's perhaps possible that Apple's hardware is more prone to defects than Dell's, but unlike Dell I've had amicable experiences in dealing with Apple's support, and as Ken suggested, that's far more important in my eyes.

 

oh, okay. fair enough. i do agree that dell's customer service is pretty below average, though, almost every computer manufacturer is below average. i have dealt with gateway and HP, and on top of having higher failure rates, they have essentially lost my hardware when i've sent it in for weeks at a time.

i will also agree with you that [assuming you shell out cash for apple care for 2-3 years] apple's customer service is among the best in the business. i definitely hope that nothing goes wrong with my M11x!

 

Ok, If I can't get anything done then I'll just have it repaired and sold.

Out of interest, how much can I expect to sell it for? its specs are:

i5, 4gb ram, 320gb HD. And I've had it for under a month, with all original packaging, documents etc. Bearing in mind I paid around £1000 for it.

 

Well, I understand your misgivings with Dell support. But I really think your losing out here. These really are excellent machines and it is no way Dell's fault that your HDD gave in. Dell will simply post you a replacement HDD with a return package for your faulty one. All you'll probably need to do is give them the HDD fail error code from the dell diags to confirm a faulty drive.

Incidentally, I have the same spec model as you with bluetooth and i paid around £800 new. So not sure what you'd get for it but i wouldn't pay more than £600 being 2nd hand. Not sure how much they're ebaying for...

 

They're great machines no doubt, but I want a laptop that will last me comfortably a few years for work, and I don't trust Dell to keep me confidently covered in those few years. I shudder at the thought of having to deal with their customer services again in the inevitable future. And to be fair I don't think its likely for a 'new' hdd to cave in within a weeks or so use, so along with the fraudulent stories I've heard about Dell, I think it's reasonable to assume they've been a bit dishonest here, hoping I wouldn't have noticed.

And £800 new?! If you don't mind me asking where did you buy that? It cost me £1075 altogether directly from Dell, and that's only with Microsoft Office 2010 basic addition added on, didn't even had bluetooth....only just purchased weeks ago.

 

I work in a busy IT workshop. I repair laptops, PCs and printers all day, every day. I have had plenty of brand new HDDs which are faulty. They are the most common computer hardware to fail without doubt. I've replaced 3 just today! And not being offensive to you but 'sh!t happens'.

Anyway, I got mine brand new from Dell maybe 5 months ago... It was preconfigured and on offer at the time so i got a fairly good deal. Also thats just what I'd pay you. You'll probably get way more than £600 for it! (I'm just tight!)
Sounds pretty much like you just don't want this machine any more and have made up your mind. Hope your happier with it's replacement whatever you decide on!

 

What the point of returning the whole machine?
Diagnose the faulty HDD/memory and call support for replacement. In the end you will lose only time dealing with faulty hardware.

At first I had "not very responsive" R1 (long boot time, boot/shutdown lock-ups, etc), then I've made optimizations and now my machine flies with no problem.

 

I do not understand why you are asking advice here. Seems you have made up your mind that it's all Dell's fault and your not willing to give them or your purchase a chance. If you knew Dell is that bad and Apple is sooo! great you should of bought from them. These members are giving you very good advice for your problem. Take it or buy your Apple. Jobs will treat you better?