Dell Technicians Lie About Inspiron Laptop Repairs

Dell Technicians Lie About Inspiron Laptop Repairs
Dell Technicians Lied About Repairs

December 24, 2008

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A paid submission by Gerri :


In June, I received a Dell Inspiron 1525 notebook computer as a gift. On the morning of November 9, I noticed that the computer was displaying animated pixels on the screen and I made a call to Dell tech support. Of course, the wait time for help was excessive, but that was expected. Eventually Jacob came on the line and attempted to help me.


Jacob conducted extensive diagnostics via remote access to the computer and concluded that it had a defective graphics card. The problem was that the graphics card and motherboard on this model are integrated and one cannot be replaced without the other.


No problem though, Jacob explained. My Dell Inspiron 1525 is under warranty and I would simply have to send it in for the repair.


I understand that in the world of manufacturing sometimes defective parts make it through inspection and their defects are only revealed after being sold to customers. While it was inconvenient to have to pack up a computer and send it away for repairs, I wasn’t angry or upset about it. I still felt good about Dell products and customer support at this point.


However, my faith in Dell was quickly diminished by my next contact with them.


On November 18, I was notified by Dell’s “Out of Warranty” department that my Dell Inspiron required repairs that would not be covered by the warranty. The repairs listed on this notice were the graphics card, motherboard, and LCD.
I decided that there must have been some kind of mistake in handling my warranty claim and called Dell to talk about the repairs. After speaking with Sheeba, who read from a script and demanded $350 for the repairs, I asked to speak with a supervisor.


A supervisor came on the line and told me that my computer had “spill damage” and that this type of damage was not covered by the warranty. When I explained to him that I was positive that a spill had not occurred, he offered to send me pictures of the supposed spill damage on the inside of the Dell Inspiron. I said that I would look forward to seeing the pictures and ended the call.


dell-inspiron-laptopOn November 19 and three days following, I received identical pre-formatted emails demanding payment for the repairs on the Inspiron. None of these canned emails contained the pictures of the alleged spill damage that I had been promised. All of the notices simply warned me to pay up, or my computer would be returned to me on November 24.


I called Dell again to ask about the pictures of the supposed spill damage that they claim caused the Inspiron to malfunction. I was assured that I would receive these pictures within 24 hours. Today is December 16 and I have yet to receive any such picture.


I submitted online support requests explaining the situation in detail with both the Dell Tech Support and Dell Customer Support departments. I received auto-responder emails letting me know how important I am as a customer and then an email that seemed to be from an actual human being. However, this email promised a further response and update on the situation within 24-48 hours. I never heard back from Dell.


As a last resort, I tried Dell Tech Support online chat on November 23. I was connected with “Srikanth_187924” who informed me that of course, Dell Tech Support technicians are highly trained and did not make a mistake:

quotation-marks-start


11/23/2008 09:29:25PM Agent (Srikanth_187924): “Gerri actually the Depot technicians are trained technicians and they would not give any false report about their examination.”
11/23/2008 09:29:50PM Agent (Srikanth_187924): “As a customer myself I would be just quotation-marks-end1as upset if placed in this position but there is no chance of the technicians making a mistake.”



Srikanth promised to have someone call me about the issue within 24 hours, and hoped that I would enjoy the “world class customer service” that Dell is known for. I told him, tongue in cheek, that I had confidence that Dell would act in good faith.
No Dell representative called me. I did, however, receive a customer satisfaction survey email, which I ignored. Then a friendly reminder about the customer satisfaction survey came and I felt obligated to answer it honestly.


This customer is not satisfied by any stretch of the imagination. After researching the problem with my Dell Inspiron, I found that Dell has accused many other customers of trying to pass off spill damage as a defect. I can only assume from all of the stories that I’ve read, some on Dell’s own forums, that Dell’s first line of defense against a warranty claim is to tell the customer that they’ve damaged their own computer by spilling liquid on it. One Dell representative even told a customer that Dell computers never have defective parts!


On November 26, my Dell Inspiron arrived on my doorstep. A note in the box said that the repairs had been done, although the checklist of repairs was left blank. I crossed my fingers and attempted to boot up the computer. Needless to say, my computer was not repaired.


Curiously enough, on December 1st I received another email from Dell. This email advised me that my computer had been repaired and was on its way back to me.


Therefore, what I was left with was a broken computer, which my own computer expert says was not damaged by a liquid. If the computer was booted to a DOS prompt or configuration screen, there was no display problem. The problem occurred only after Windows loaded.


My dad called me a few days later and told me that he had talked to the manager at the Sam’s Club where the computer had been purchased. The manager said that if I had the receipt, and the purchase was made less than six months ago that I could return the computer for an exchange.


Before packing the Dell Inspiron up to return it, I decided to reformat the hard drive. When I reinstalled Windows Vista, to my surprise, the display problem had vanished! This means that not only was the problem a software problem, but that the Dell technicians had blatantly lied about the replacement of any parts being necessary.


To me, this matter is no longer about a cheap computer or expensive repairs. I have to wonder how many other Dell customers may have been duped into paying for repairs that should have been covered by the warranty or needed their computer back so badly that they were forced into paying for expensive repairs that the computer did not even need.


So, if you have been thinking of buying a Dell computer this holiday season, you may want to reconsider. Perhaps dealing with an honest company that honors warranty claims would be a better choice.