M1330 replacement that's even worse.

here's the story.

i had a 1330. it overheated and burnt. i told Dell, and they rushed me a whole new replacement machine. yay! it even had a better processor.

BUT

when I got it, one of the plastic pieces in the top-right corner above the keyboard had come off, and was loose in the box. this sort of snapped back into place, but it's still fairly loose and there's a lot of movement if i run my finger over it..
more importantly, the keyboard had the infamous buldge. i investigated on the internet, and found a guide about fixing this (involving taking the keyboard off and properly laying the cables into their tabs underneath). so that was hassle but I fixed it. yay!

THEN

a few weeks later, something went wrong on my user account. It said it was corrupted, and I couldn't log on at all. luckily, safe mode still worked and i was able to rescue all of my work and stuff, and then restored it using the Dell partition thingy. so that was hassle but I fixed it. yay!

HOWEVER

the plastic above the screen had started burning again - like on my old one which was over-heating - this time just below the webcam. it's difficult to describe but it sort of turns slightly shiny.. how do i know it's a burn mark and not just a stain? a) it won't wash off b) if you look closely at where it aligns, it's actually the outline of the trackpad, burnt into the plastic above the LCD. nice!

SHOCKINGLY

the hard-drive pretty much stopped working. like the user account thing before, I don't know what happened, but it looked like all the partitions just "forgot" their drive letters. so I didn't have windows for a while, and couldn't even use the Dell restore thingy this time. luckily, my school's IT guy helped me out, and used a Vista disk to do startup repair. that gave me Vista back, but I haven't been able to use either MediaDirect or the Dell Restore thingy since. I tried re-assigning partition letters from Vista; which lets me see them in "Computer", but I still can't boot either one.

FINALLY

my screen started doing this weird ripple thing. if it gets even slightly knocked or blown on by a gentle windy breeze, the pixels all change colour. it's only in a small area (just below the burn-marks, which are just below the webcam) and it sort of looks like when you drop a stone into water.. but more colourful. so that's.... nice...




and now onto the real story. having collected my various problems, I decided to call Dell. amazingly, they thought it might be a driver problem. "oh really.." i thought. so just you know, the LCD ripples, repeated hard-drive failures, possible over-heating, etc. are all "driver issues". sigh.

i decided to play along anyway, just to satisfsy them, and let them do their connect thing where the tech support person took control of the computer, and messed about downloading drivers and the BIOS. i did mention i already had the exact version he was downloading, but he said he wanted to do it anyway, since something could have gone wrong with my install. fine.

so he did all that (which took about an hour, all the while i was on the phone to india or wherever their support is based), and then put me on hold while he went to talk to his supervisor. and then his supervisor came to talk to me. and he didn't know what the problem was. so i explained it all again, and explained we'd tried all these things, and it was clearly the actual hardware that was malfunctioning.

his response was "we will replace the mother board". well ok, that might solve some of the problems, but it won't fix my hard-disk, or the LCD ripples, or the burnt plastic on the LCD. he explained that was standard response for this problem.

ERR... WHAT?! you mean i'm not the only one having this problem?!? from everything i've read i got the impression that i was just unlucky, and generally the M1330 is great??

anyway; i ended up saying that even if they replaced however many bits, the laptop is clearly broken, and defective. surely this places me in the territory of either ANOTHER replacement, or a refund. yes, the laptop's still under warranty.

but apparently, they're unable to issue either. as it's already been replaced once, "another replacement is not available for this system", and since it's a replacement system and not the original one, it "cannot be returned for a refund".


so, having spent £1,100+ on an XPS, i'm left with a malfunctioning, rippling.... thing!

thanks Dell!


i'm not sure why i bothered typing all that out, and i'm sorry it was so long, but if you were kind enough to read the whole story, tell me what you think of Dell / what i should do now.

Thanks

 

You summed up perfectly why I do not buy Dell. I am sorry to hear that you spent so much and have these problems. You were very forgiving with the replacement. Doing all those things, fixing the keyboard and ignoring all the things one should not, especially for 1100 pounds. I hope you guys can reach a compromise. If not, you can always go to that union for consumers. Worse comes to worse, a small article in the paper and they will be on their knees.

 

Just wondering.. Do you shut the lid with the system on?

 

I know that mark on the top of the screen, its not a burn mark, it just rubs against the track pad i have the same thing on mine and its definitely NOT from heat. I have seen other people with that issue and it is just from it closing too tight or something over top of the track pad. My M1330 doesn't get anywhere near hot enough in that area to burn anything and i still have that mark.

 

That is not normal. It is a manufacturing defect.

 

OP,

What you need to do is call up Dell Technical Support and demand that they escalate this issue to L2 or L3 (they will know what that means). If they don't do that, ask for a call back from a resolution specialist and voice the same request. If that too doesn't work, a written letter to Michael Dell will get you a response from corporate (usually a resolution specialist). Anyway, if you want another system replacement, only a resolution specialist or L2/L3 can authorize it.

This may sound redundant, but remain patient and attempt these things. I am sure Dell will assist you.

 

Google "lemon law" and you will find a way out. Also, you can contact your CC company and fight to get the Dell charge reversed.

 

He mentions that he paid £1100+ for it, which means he bought it at the UK. I don't think there's a "lemon law" there.

 

Ah crap...sorry. The Pounds symbol didn't show up in my browser for some reason.

I would image the UK has some kind of consumer protection act.

 

i did with the original one, but not this one.
i think the heating on this one is related to the hard-drive - the left palm wrest always feels hot..

 

i'll try that next time i'm on the phone with them... i'd honestly prefer a total refund to another replacement at this point.. we'll see.. i'll keep you all posted. literally.

 

The plastic thing just gets polished from repeated rubbing... I think you'd be hard put to find any 1330 without that shiny patch, unless it's used with a screen mat when closed.

As for the HDD dying, it might be related to using it closed.. After all, the palmrest is the only area which dissipates the heat produced by the HDD. If that is covered, overheating is definitely on the cards..

 

Yes, my M1330 started showing a faint "line" as well from making direct contact with the touchpad. I suggest using something like a LappyMat, Shaggymac, or any sort of soft material between the screen and keyboard. Especially if you are going to be applying any pressure onto your notebook when it is closed. I have the 13.3" Shaggymac and it works like a charm! Also stops any dust/particles from collecting under the notebook keyboard/touchpad, since I use an external keyboard/mouse anyway.

 

Day Two of complaining to Dell.

today I called them back to continue our discussion from yesterday, and see what can be done.

having explained everything to the new person i spoke to, he re-directed me to his "floor supervisor". the floor supervisor then said Dell's normal response is to replace the neccessary parts rather than issue a refund or replacement, so after listing out all the problems (again), he's offered to send me a new:

1) Monitor - completely new LCD, bezel, top, etc. which will be replaced at the hinges.
2) Motherboard - A04 revision to solve overheating problem
3) Hard drive - with pre-installed factory image (working!)
4) Keyboard - "new revision" with metal behind it to stop buldge
5) plastic corner piece - both of these will be replaced even though the left one is fine
6) touch sensitive Media Bar
7) black plastic, covering speakers (actual speakers will not be replaced)

i did explain to him that I really didn't want all of that - since this is my second 1330 and both ones i've owned have just had so many problems, but he saw this as the only option.

anyway eventually after arguing for a while, i've arranged a call back for 5pm tomorrow. stay tuned!



PS. at one point I asked for the case to be escalated to L2/L3, and he was just silent for a while, and then asked me what drivers I had installed...

 

pps. i also have a strong suspicion it's a refurbished system. if it was new, it wouldn't have all these problems, and they shipped it in about four days..

 

Okay; seems like they are reluctant to escalate it. Escalations department are also the ones that could process a replacement if needed. When you get a call-back today, that should be from a resolution specialist or someone in L2/L3. Feel free to ask them if they are from escalations. Then voice your concerns.

Also, please do keep us informed.

 

i'm not so sure - the shiny patch on mine isn't just from the touchpad; it seems to be everywhere which is why i figured it was a heating problem as opposed to just the edge of the pad...(?)

also for the HDD, i haven't been using the replacement closed, but that was true of the original machine.

 

Guess it's a bigger lemon than ours.. Almost every 1330 is a lemon to some extent.. Yours seems to be among the gifted lemons... No offence..

 

i don't really see how i would take offence at that... oh well, none taken.

sucks though.

 

Day Three of complaining to Dell

Well, as you might've guessed, the "Resolution Expert" never called me back. I did notice that the laptop was VERY hot today - the fan was on full speed for a long time, and the left barrel hinge was burning hot. i think it's getting worse...

 

Call again and this time ask for someone more competent.

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

When you call again, keep going up the line. Ask for supervisors, managers, ask for Michel Dell if you have to. Eventually, I am sure you can get a replacment. It just may take a lot of work.

Good luck. I am sure you'll need it!

 

Have you tried checking the vents to see if they are clogged up with dust/particulate matter? Just you some condensed air to cleans the vents. Also, have you tried using a notebook cooler? Although the latter is not a permanent solution, it should at least keep you temps down until you get a replacement system from Dell.

 

Maybe because this is about the very laptop model I've been using and enjoying for over a week, I find this thread exciting to say the least.

I am sorry for the extensive hassle our friend is going through.
But he is getting great advice about what to say to the Dell Reps.

Remember, that Dell has a responsibility to deliver a quality product to you.
And they have not...

You have great patience and this will take you hopefully to a resolution.
If not, raise holy hell with the keywords of, "I will not accept anything less than a brand new replacement or a refund."
Which ever choice you want.
Don't let this get too far down the line, time wise either.

And Good Luck.
Looking forward to the next installment!

 

Day Four of complaining to Dell

Today started with a call in to Dell tech support to ask why the "Resolution Expert" never called yesterday at 5pm. according to them he did and even left a message -- web of lies!! i was working on my desktop, which has a phone next to it, the whole time. the phone. never. rang.
and i didn't have any messages.

Anyway I asked if I could speak to him now, but apparently he was busy with another customer. I was told he would call back "within the hour". I asked what number he would call; just so I could check. They got that right.. But once again, no call.

Eventually I rang Dell again, and spoke to the most helpful person so far. He basically did yet more diagnostics running from the drivers cd.

He also explained that the hard-drive I'm due to recieve won't have the factory image on it - it will just be blank. which is annoying because i'll have to set up MediaDirect myself, and will forever loose the Dell Restore partition.

currently the replacement list runs:

1) monitor + plastics
2) motherboard
3) hdd (now blank)
4) touch Media Bar

(Keyboard and corner pieces are apparently "unneccessary", and speaker plastic and touch Media Bar is the same part. they are sort of unneccessary since i've fixed the buldge and kind of re-attached the corner piece, but still... eugh)

Anyway so we arranged that all that and some dude in a Dell shirt will turn up on Monday. yay?


So I went off, but came back later cause I wanted a file off the laptop (which i'm trying not to use unless needed).

Went to turn it on. And guess what? It's stuck in a boot loop.

I don't know how or why, but basically I get the Dell logo, and then loading bar gets to the end, and then the screen goes blank, and then I get the Dell logo, and then the loading bar gets to the end, and then the screen goes blank, and then I get the Dell logo, etc etc.



Awesome.

Once again I picked up the phone. and, of course, spoke to a new tech, who felt like doing more diagnostics. so we booted off the drivers cd and checked the hard-drive.

it passed all the tests, and apparently passed with flying colours. (???)

anyway he said for that reason, he thought it was the motherboard, so he wouldn't dispatch me a replacement hdd. i did explain that it had failed before, but he said that was probably just a software problem or something.



So. Stay tuned for Day Five on Monday!

If it's not 100% completely working by then, I just might "raise holy hell" and demand a refund. this has gone on long enough and it's completely stupid.
i'm jumping through every hoop Dell puts infront of me and what do I have to show for it? a broken system and an empty wallet.


ps. i think it's despicable that you all seem to be enjoying my pain, i hate you all

 

You are so patient!!! I would never take it that far!!! I would want a replacement asap or split some wigs . On a more serious note, you have an advantage, you cooperated and that will give you points when asking for a refund or a brand new one. I do not understand why all these diagnostics when they can take your laptop and give you a new one. Less hassle and it won't make their stock crash or their balance sheet look nasty. Talk about DELL and customer coming first.

 

My dear friend, I am not enjoying your pain at all. I enjoy quite your aspect of patience and how it is working with Dell.

This thread is like a Dell soap opera. We are all learning from it and your attitude is very good!

I am curious if Dell is going to make your laptop work normally after all you have gone through.
I do not enjoy seeing anyone suffer, my friend, and wish to help anyone who is in pain. This is a great lesson for all of us Dell users.

I started putting the packing material that came between the display lid and the keyboard, back again so as to not receive the oft mentioned burn in from the touchpad.

I hope and pray you are well and Dell will finally fix your laptop correctly.

ps. I heard from my Dell salesman in India, that they lost the contract for American customer relations in the last year or so.
It is always a problem when a different culture deals with your personal situation of discomfort.
Ever gone to an Indian doctor and you are not Indian?
It has usually been an absolute impersonal session and I have vowed many times to try to find old, gentle doctors of my own culture when I need medical help. This is how the world works.

 

holy cow... I am sorry for you mate, but never thought your story would get this far and this long and this troublesome! But you have patience and I guess that in itself should work in your favour for whatever you wanna get

Meanwhile, I would suggest you write emails to them, again and again till they reply to you in a proper way. it worked for me couple of times (though its doesnt mean you have to spam them). But keep writing in asking you NEED a replacement or a refund or you NEED to see the Dell guy with all the parts on your doorstep at 10 AM the next day! Stress on it.. push it.. hope it works.

 

Day Five of complaining to Dell
Replacement Monday

So this morning some dude in a Dell shirt showed up at my place with two brown boxes.. We got straight down to it, and he stripped the M1330 down to the plastic casing and got the motherboard out within minutes. Seriously, it was amazingly fast. I asked if he'd done this before and he said "only a few times.."

So he put the new motherboard in. It's an A04 revision, and came with a new T8300 pre-installed (upgrade from T7500, which in turn was an upgrade for the T7300 i paid for). Sweet!!

Then he turned his attention to the display. It's quite interesting actually - the surrounding plastic is only held on by flimsy plastic clips, so you literally just pull it off. Sadly he didn't have a replacement for this - it was only the actual screen, so that's still got it's burn/rubbing marks.

And then I noticed something on the box. It had a white sticker, part number, whatever, and the word "Refurbished". Yeah.

I didn't say anything, since he'd already taken my broken screen out and was half way through putting the "new" one in. And I couldn't really be bothered to be all confrontational. I don't know if it was both parts or just the screen.

So anyway, he did all that, and we re-assembled it, "good as new"..



Well not quite.

Yeah I know - you totally saw this coming didn't you?



The "new" screen was broken. It had about an inch wide column of vertical grey bars that wouldn't go away. We checked that it was properly seated, all cables connected, etc. But nope, nothing. Fantastic.

So we changed the screen back (I still have the old ripple one, he took the "new" one back with him), and then tried to boot it up.

The first thing we got was an error message saying there was "too little capacity" in the Power Adapter. Of course, the T8300 needs the 90W adapter, and I have the 65W because I only ordered a T7300. And of course, he didn't bring a replacement 90W with him. Apparently all that means is the battery doesn't charge when the notebook's on.

Anyway, we continued through the BIOS and everything, and then through the BIOS and everything, and then... wait WHAT?!

Yes. It's still stuck in a boot loop.

He looked completely stumped, and joked "it's probably not the motherboard". Ha. ha. ha. :|

So he phoned home to Dell. Amazingly, it wasn't a special techie number. It was just the standard number. He had to wait about 20mins while that painfully-familiar "on hold" music played, which I could hear.

Anyway the tech he was on the phone to suggested it was the hard-disk, and ordered a replacement. He also ordered a replacement screen.




So the "dude in a Dell shirt" is apparently coming back tomorrow with a new hard-drive and screen.

Stay tuned for the next part of the ultimate Dell Drama!
Is anyone else as bored by this as I am yet?

 

wow you are very patient why didn't Dell just send a complete replacement notebook? I went through this last year with Dell it took 5 complete replacements to get one that was working good, this went on from July to Oct. before it was done, I also got $300.00 off and the warranty extended an extra 3 months because that is how long it took them to get a good working notebook to me. Hopefully they will have all the correct parts and good parts for you today.

 

Hey, you got MY screen! j/k

When I got my refurb m1330, it had a broken screen (wouldn't go above 1/2 brightness 95% of the time) and they admitted that my refurb had not been fixed when the original owner sent it back. So it wasn't a refurb, just a broken computer.

Anyway, when they replaced that screen, I got one with a 1/2 screen of vertical lines except mine were colorful and I could use it like a lava lamp by running my finger along the bottom bezel and watching the colors change.

Anyway, they replaced that one too (maybe you got it!). Even the "good" screen wasn't up to my standards. After had seen 3 LCDs from 2 different manufacturers, I gave up and UPS is taking it away today. Not sure what I'm getting maybe an Inspiron. Too bad..the m1330 was cute. (Palm rest is too sharp and hurts my hand which is why no trade in).

Good luck and I'm reading your story.

 

If it's any help, the Sale of Goods Act in the UK may be useful - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/law_goods.shtml Goods need to be of satisfactory quality, and fit for the intended purpose - or you have the right to return them for a refund or replacement. It seems like neither laptop is fit for purpose, and while I'm not sure - Citizen's Advice Bureau or Trading Standards could give you a definite answer - I don't think that Dell's replacing a lemon with a mega-lemon would be seen as satisfactory...

Hope the repair tomorrow makes it work right, though.

 

The 65W power supply works just fine with a T9300, and it does charge when the notebook is on. So it should work with a T8300. The motherboard may need a BIOS update though.

 

that's interesting - i'll definitely mention it next time i'm on the phone to them.. the only thing i'm not sure about is how much of it applies considering it's a replacement system. does anyone know if my rights have changed since i've already reported an issue once?

I'm just going on what the tech said. Oh well - I don't really care (yet) as it still won't boot either way.

 

I very much suspect that if Dell claimed to have fulfilled their Sale of Goods Act obligations - by supplying you with a 2nd lemon - this would not be well-received. As I said, though, I can't give a definite answer (I'm sure Trading Standards or similar could). And, if you can get it fixed so you're left with a good machine anyway, I guess it's all moot

 

All Right! Looks like they are going to fix everything for you! Glad to hear it.
Hopefully within two days you will be in great shape!

Sometimes we have to wait a little longer and go through a little more trouble than we expected. Sure hope this works out for you.

 

Day Six of complaining to Dell
Replacement Tuesday

Previously on Complaining to Dell
I was left with my old ripple screen and a new motherboard, but the computer still wouldn't boot up. Possible hard-disk failure...




Firstly, after my post yesterday, I called up Dell Customer Support to tell them to bring the plastic bezel surrounding the screen this time. I also asked if they would be refurbished parts again, or new ones. The man told me that they would be refurbished parts - as it was impossible for Dell to ship new parts overnight.
So, let that be a lesson to anyone who's had their screen replaced or anything: IT WILL BE A REFURBISHED PART.

This morning I woke up to the phone ringing. It was the same "dude in a dell shirt" who turned up yesterday, and he said I had an appointment between 9am and 1pm today. Great!

Then I hung up, and about sixty seconds later, the phone rang again. This time it was a different person, who said he would be here at midday. I figured maybe the Customer Support person I spoke to yesterday had created a new dispatch for the bezel or something, so I said Great! to him too.

Sadly, the "dude in a dell shirt" never showed up. But the different person did. He'd brought a new LCD and hard-drive, but no plastic bezel. Oh well.. He also explained that any new LCD also came with a replacement touch Media Bar, so he had that too.

He did the hard-drive pretty much straight away, no problems there, and the screen was pretty easy too. He put the new Media Bar in, despite the fact the one I had wasn't even 24hrs old yet. Meh.

Ok, time to boot up.

I don't know why I bother writing all this; you all already know what happened. Vertical bars, two inches wide, different colours.



But wait it does get more interesting this time. He replaced the cable, which is the first time that's been done. No change, so it's not the cable.

That meant it was either the screen or motherboard, and since the ripple display didn't have these lines with the new motherboard yesterday, by elimination it was the screen. It happens, evidently...



Anyway the guy rang Dell, and was about to order ANOTHER screen and motherboard, but I stopped him. I said I didn't want ANOTHER one because I'd have to wait and then it probably wouldn't work anyway, and I told him to tell the person he was on the phone to that I wanted either a replacement or a refund.

There was a few minutes of silence, and then the person on the phone said he couldn't organise this himself, but he would get someone else to call me back to discuss it this evening, and he wouldn't order any more replacement parts for now.

It seems like finally I have some kind of power over the decision, and they seem a lot more helpful when their own Tech Support is asking them



So, to close out this episode:

I haven't been called yet, but the Tech guy only left about 15mins ago - I started writing as soon as I'd shut the door.

My laptop is currently in pieces (he left it like that because it would be easier if I do get any more parts, and I can't exactly use it until then, so.)

It has a refurb screen with vertical bars (he took the ripple one away)
It has a 1day old motherboard which appears to be working
It has a new, blank hard-drive



As always, I'll keep you posted, stay tuned for what I hope will be the final conclusion of this drama!!

 

Sorry to hear that I hope that Dell call back, and they'll offer you a refund or replacement...

If they're awkward about it, I'd suggest giving Trading Standards a call. Even if they could repair the lemon, would you trust it to last?

 

I had the same overheating problem. Had the motherboard replaced 4 times and each time it lasted 1 week before burning again.

I found out the main culprit is the heatsink exhaust vent was blocked with dust. I blew it clean. That restored it to the like brand new non-overheating state.

But I did further improvement to cool it further.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=250129&page=9

The notebook does not feel hot at the palm rest anymore. My best guess is the heat from the GPU was just spreading to everywhere inside but the proper heatpipe.

 

I know that it's a pain but it's actually only a week, and in fairness they're being pretty dead on about it.
You didn't say in the first post (unless I missed it, but I've been reading every day) - do you have on site warranty or collect and service? If you have the latter... well maybe you'd actually have been better off sending it back, but they sort of upgraded you didn't they?

Which would you prefer at this stage - a replacement or a refund?

 

They brought new touch media bars out for me both times too and even left me a spare (I sent it back when I returned the computer). The media bar has a little wire that looked taped on and he said that it almost always breaks when you try to remove the media bar, so they just replace it when they replace the screen.

 

I have the 1yr warranty - I asked for the cheapest option possible so I assume it's supposed to be collect and service..
it doesn't seem to have made the slightest difference though - i think they'll do anything as long as it's within the time you bought.


At this point, I'd prefer a refund. Refund > Replacement > Repair

Of course if I do that, I'll have to find a new laptop and start all over from scratch...

(m15x, anyone?)

None of mine have ever broken though. Surely it would be more useful to send out the plastic bezel around the screen? (it's incredibly flimsy and only held on by little plastic clips) I would've thought that would be more likely to break..

---------
I'm not doing a whole massive entry today since not a lot has happened, but here's some filler:


Sadly I wasn't called back, so I called Dell. Once I'd told them what had happened and given them my service tag, they were suddenly incredibly cooperative and helpful.

Apparently, the person who was due to call me back last night (after the techie asked them to yesterday) is a high-ranking "internal manager". He left a note on the record saying he was too busy, but has organised a final, third dispatch, and should that fail, I will be fully entitled to my choice of either a replacement or refund.

Unfortunately I was out of the house this morning so I missed the techie calling me; but apparently if they don't get you in the morning they try again later..
I'm at home and will be from now on, so if anyone wants to turn up and fix/replace/refund my laptop that'd be great

Plus even if you can't fix it, I can then get a refund, so it finally looks like it's all about to work out!


Stay tuned..

 

Slightly true.

Only a RS (Resolution specialist) L3 can approve system exchanges.

An RS is considered an L3.

 

All system exchanges are usually used or "refurbished." You can only get a new exchange within the normal return period (IIRC it's 30 days).

 

After reading through this thread, I have to say that I am very impressed by the calm, reasoned manner that the OP has taken. I hope it gets resolved soon.

 

i just noticed something - the hard-drive they gave me as a replacement is 160GB/7200rpm up from 160GB/5400rpm. Also Fujitsu instead of Western Digital.

Just thought i'd share..

 

This is what a broken 1330 looks like:

 

CONCLUSION

I decided that I still love the 1330, and would still choose it over a 1530 or m15x.

Eventually (after four engineers and no luck fixing it) they offered me a choice of a refund or replacement. I thought about the refund since if I did that and then bought a brand new 1330 I'd get a better specification than my current one and it would be ~£80 cheaper too.

But I chose the replacement, which has most of the same specifications as the cheaper option mentioned above. I can't really be bothered to mess around with Dell CS for the sake of £80 and a slightly bigger hard-drive anymore.




So; a new 1330 is being built for me. And it is definitely brand new, and not a refurb like my previous one. How do I know?

EDD is July 2nd and not three working days like last time.

Seems they got the last laugh anyway

 

Good luck to you man. You have been incredibly patient. Hope this turns out well.

 

You must be qualified for the This year's most patience customer-award. Good luck with your new system!