Dell laptop purchase - options available to me?

Neill_J

Hi

first post here! not sure if this is in the correct area or not?

Can you please tell me in general terms what my rights would be in the below:

I Purchased direct from Dell (for around £532) an XPS 1530 laptop using one of my credit cards in May this year (with the basic default warranty) - invoice is dated 20th May 2008.

When the laptop arrived - after using it a week or so I suspected it was faulty - frequent random crashes, blue screens etc (+ Dell diagnostic errors were found) - which resulted in a engineer call out and replacement of the hard disk, memory and motherboard. This repair happened after about 3 weeks from delivery.

The laptop I noticed a few days after repair had not been fitted back together 100% properly as some of the chassis does not fit as well as it did when originally purchased.

Today (11/11/2008) I opened the lid on the laptop and the screen (near the top by the webcam) has gone funny - there is a black circle about 2" diameter, and running from under the edge (by the webcam) and through this black circle are 3 cracks. The screen does not feel cracked - rather it looks like there is a split/crack on the underside of the screen and the LCD material is bleeding out from these lines.
When I finished with the laptop last night it was fine (it has never been bashed, dropped, knocked or had things chucked/placed on it). All I did was to close the lid and then later on plug it into the power adapter. Next thing I know is that when I raise the lid the screen is knackered.

I contacted Dell tech support and explained all this to them and they are saying this should be covered under accidental warranty and as I don’t have this I will have to pay for repair and parts (unknown amount at this time but I suspect will be £200-300 at least). I am disputing this as I feel this is a hardware failure and the fault does not stem from any accidental damage - how can raising the lid of the laptop be classed as causing accidental damage?

What are my rights here?

Dells webpage re warranty says:

What do Dell's Support Services exclude?
Fixing issues with the Operating System other than as required for resolving hardware issues.
Accidental damage including spills, drops, power surges (CompleteCare Accident cover required)
Theft (CompleteCare Theft cover required).
Intentional damage, normal wear and tear, unreasonable or excessive use, acts of God including fire and flood, environmental conditions, act of violence or similar occurrence.
Damage caused by use of components of software not supplied by Dell, relocation or transportation, servicing not authorised by Dell, usage not in accordance with product instructions, improper voltage selection on systems power supply.
Assistance with Spyware/Virus Removal (a separate chargeable service may be available).
General usage questions for Operating System, Email, Internet set-up and Network set-up.
General usage questions for installation, and configuration of software applications after 30 days.
Non-Dell supplied hardware, their installation & compatibility with Dell branded hardware (Original manufacturer supports).The exclusions as described in the relevant service description and Dell's Terms & Conditions. This does not affect your statutory rights.

I feel that this repair should be covered by Dell as under the sale of goods act do not items have to be fit for purpose etc etc and last a reasonable length of time?
(This is not yet 6 months old).

As it stands at the moment Dell are to call me back tomorrow - but the 2nd technician I spoke to has already told me my first request for help (earlier today I rang and spoke to a technician who told me the same story - he was to escalate this to a manager who was to call me to discuss - the manager didn’t call me back as agreed) had been sent to the customer relations team and they had already replied saying "not covered - out of warranty repair".
All in all this is appalling treatment of a customer.

I think from the top of my head I can do the following

1 - Stick to my guns and claim it is hardware at fault and ask Dell to repair it under warranty - as they should!
2 - If this is not forthcoming write a letter of complaint to them stating my concerns and what I would like done to rectify them (i.e. free repair under warranty or refund for full amount)
3 - If this is unsuccessful take the solicitor route to get Dell to take responsibility (never done this so no idea what to do here or what costs are involved!)
4 - Claim for the laptop via credit card provider under section 75(?) of consumer credit act
Any other advice or options or things to try?

Thanks, Neill

DipStick

From what you say it sounds as though the problem is not caused by accidental damage and the machine was faulty. Tell Dell the machine has not been damaged by you in any way and they have a duty to repair it. Don't let them fob you off. Have a chat with your local Trading Standards who can advise you. You can then tell Dell you have been in touch with Trading Standards which might in itself make them more helpful.

Neill_J

DipStick wrote: »

From what you say it sounds as though the problem is not caused by accidental damage and the machine was faulty. Tell Dell the machine has not been damaged by you in any way and they have a duty to repair it. Don't let them fob you off. Have a chat with your local Trading Standards who can advise you. You can then tell Dell you have been in touch with Trading Standards which might in itself make them more helpful.

Hi

As an update....

Dell rang me yesterday and I discussed with them my dissatisfaction about the quality of this product and I stated clearly that the damage was not as a result of an accident. The long and short of it is that they did not accept it was covered by the warranty but did agree to fix it as a goodwill gesture for free.
Engineer has just left an hour ago and the laptop looks as good as new!

Sorted, just goes to show you should not let companies fob you of and make out you have to pay for something which is clearly of shoddy quality, wonder how may people would just have paid out themselves for this to be fixed?...

Thanks, Neill

DipStick

Brilliant, well done.

Shows the benefit of staying calm, stating the problem and saying clearly what you want done about it. Hope your Dell keeps working well for years to come.