Dell Outlet A Costly Mistake

Around the middle of February I ordered a Dell Studio 1737 laptop from Dell Outlet, for which I paid the princely sum of a little over £800. I felt reassured by their claims which included, 'Dell Outlet is a division of Dell Products, selling refurbished computer equipment which is limited in quantity. This is product, which has been returned to Dell for a variety of reasons including cancellation and specification changes' and, 'All products have been tested and repackaged to Dell factory standards and come with a full Service Pack. High demand - so start shopping NOW - to get the system that's right for YOU!"'. I received said laptop somewhere around the 20/21 February. However, about this time my father suffered a serious accident. Praise be to God, after twenty three days in hospital and three months convalescence, my father has made a full recovery. Obviously, due to this, recreational time spent online was curtailed and resultantly, it is only recently that I have really started to use the Dell 1737 laptop on a regular basis.

Once I started using the laptop, I became aware of several problems. Firstly, the laptop would stay on after shutdown. The second problem saw the machine refuse to start whatsoever, completely freezing, and the only way to resolve this was by removing all power. The third fault involved the machine 'going completely haywire and unresponsive' whilst online.
I contacted Technical Support and they updated the bios for me. This afforded no improvement at all. So, the laptop was returned to Dell for repair 13/5/09. I received it back on 19/5/09, and the accompanying worksheet listed new motherboard, new keyboard and boasted 'all tests passed'. I switched the machine on to discover no wireless capability and, after another chat with Technical Support, last night I received an email instructing me on how to unscrew the back off my machine and start affecting repairs - on very same day as I've had it back from repair shop!

Today, whilst giving it a clean prior to packaging it up, I've noticed a scratch at 11 o'clock on 'LCD framing' that I am 100% certain was not there when I sent it back. Proof of this is in the fact that I only became aware of this when I tried to clean it off, thinking it was just a mark. I've chosen to ignore the repair email and have contacted Customer Support, demanding a refund. In summation, I am disgusted that Dell Outlet shipped me a machine that was obviously broken, despite supposedly guaranteeing it with promises of checks on all machines before dispatch. Furthermore I am outraged that, despite Dell having had laptop for six days, I receive it back in a state of disrepair, thus necessitating an email instructing me on how to repair my own machine!

In closing, I have lost all faith in the product, all faith in the support service and, after having been a loyal customer over several years, all faith in Dell. My aim is to return the machine and receive a full refund, so enabling me to take my business elsewhere.

 

Sorry about that. Seems that you got a lemon. While you're not alone in that, most people who buy from the outlet get excellent systems with everything working (including me).

Good luck in getting your money back. If you ever get a computer with so many things wrong in the first place, your best bet would be just to return/exchange it for a whole new system.

 

I doubt you are going to get your money back without a (legal) fight. Since you are over your 21-day return period, you won't get your money back, period. You are just going to have to sell it somewhere else to try to recoup as much money as you can or you can try to work out all the problems with Dell Tech Support until the Repair Depot gets it right. You should have tested your laptop the day you received it; your choice not do so until recently means that you waived your right to return the machine and receive a full refund. Worst case scenario, I can probably see Dell just building you a new machine and taking back the old one, but I just don't see them giving your money back.
But whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck.

 

Pretty aggravating situation!

However, I have had a similar experience when buying new. So, it is not just the Outlet store that is the problem. It is also not just Dell that has these problems.

You can endure the same hardship whenever you purchase an electronics item. There are many lemons out there-Toshiba, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and yes, even the beloved Apple. Unfortunately, using the time-worn cliche- They just don't make things like they used to.

Hopefully, you are still within your return window. Otherwise, you may encounter a long and frustrating battle to get a refund.

 

Dell won't refund your money but they will replace the notebook, if you keep having trouble with it. Dells' policy is that if the notebook is sent 3 times for major repair regarding similar issues and still the problems aren't fixed they will replace your notebook. You will have to ask for it though. Had a similar situation as yours 3yrs back, i demanded a replacement after 3 repairs and was sent a brand new notebook.

You will however have to fight for the replacement since the support people would push for repairing rather than replacing. You can have a chat with the supervisor and tell them to escalate the call level or send an email to michael dell ([email protected]) to expedite the process.

 

Granted it has been about five years, but I did once manage to get Dell to refund a desktop system after 90 days. It basically required them to ship out two brand new units, each with their own problems, and then I pointed out this wasn't cost effective for them.

But I have no clue if they will do that anymore. You have an argument to refund right now, but it realistically isn't good for much longer. Keep trying.

 

Unfortunately, you are blaming the wrong place... You are to blame, sorry to say that, but... it is your fault, you knew the terms and the policies when you bought the system. By not checking the laptop within the return period, you basically told them that everything was OK. Fortunately, it is still under warranty to don't fret. You won't get a refund, so focus on the repairs, which are minor in comparison to many.

So, they fixed many of your problems, but the wireless is not working, which is normally a simple fix. Tell them you don't feel comfortable doing the repair yourself and send it back in, or have someone come to your home.

As for the scratch, it's a refurb, NOT new, and again, read the terms and policies.

 

Can I first thanks everyone for their responses. The scratch to which I am referring was not present when I received the machine. Had it been so, I would definitely have returned the laptop within the first 21 days. It has been scratched whilst back for repair. I initially thought it was a slight smear mark, and it was only when I tried to clean it that I realised it had been scratched.

 

A lot of your initial issues sound like OS issues...and that a simple clean install would resolve many of them?

Also, I managed to get the Outlet to give me a full refund but only after several phone calls and an exchange.

 

Well, if it is scratched, get on the horn and give Dell a call (or a dozen). Tell them that their technicians scratched your unit in repair, and you want it to be fixed. Don't let Dell get away with its mistake.

 

One advice is too tell all this on a polite manner...i understand your aggravation but the trick is to get even just 1 rep to sympathise with your ordeal and he'll be able to sort you out.

 

Also, ask for escalation if you need it to return your laptop. Only they can help you push it through.

 

I agree, have you even tried this? What OS are you running? I had an issue with Vista in the past where when I attempted to shut it down it was just restart, a clean install fixed the problem without the hassle of troubleshooting the OS. I believe they did you a discredit my changing the MOBO when you sent it back, that just makes you believe its a hardware issue. As far as the scratches and wifi go, I bet they forgot to reconnect the antennas after service and they don't always handle your laptop like they should hence the scratch. Both are worth mentioning to support.