DELL - mad obselescence policy

Tim_L

Being driven mental by Dell. Basically they sold me a PC new about a year ago, battery went, I ordered a new one, and after 3 months when it hadn't arrived I contacted them to ask why and they told me the battery was obselete! They had at this point already charged my card and I don't suppose would have refunded if I hadn't contacted them!

All the details are as per the letter below if anyone's interested or has had similar problems. It is utterly ridiculous. Will also be sending this to PCW magazine and anywhere else I can find that may be able to take up cudgels - any ideas very welcome!

>>>>

I have just received a call regarding this issue, and the response is not satisfactory.

I therefore wish the following to be logged as a formal complaint, and a written response to be sent to me answering each point specifically.

- I bought a new laptop from you in about February 2005 at a cost of around 570UKP, which I believe is under a three year warranty. After about a year the battery life deteriorated massively and I therefore ordered a replacement from you. The laptop is not usable for my requirements with a battery life which is now less than 45 minutes (as opposed to 2.5 hours previously). I travel extensively and require a long battery life: this was why I chose Dell.

- I heard nothing from you from this for months, although you charged my card. I had one blank e-mail with a subject line relating to late shipment which I eventually queried and was told that the item had not been sent because it had been discontinued.

- Clearly it is unacceptable in any case to charge for an item you are not able to send, and then to wait until the customer queries this before grudgingly sending a refund. I expect a full explanation of this lapse and an apology: what I do NOT expect is a call from someone whose only stated option is to refer the matter to "marketing", as if this would solve anything.

- However it is also the case that my laptop is now completely useless for the use for which I bought it. You will I hope agree that it is unacceptable that a key consumable for an active and expensive product range is discontinued without warning, alternative source, or last time buy opportunity

- I am therefore giving you two options:

1) EITHER, to source a replacement battery unit at a reasonable price (comparable to the unit I ordered) and send it to me to satisfy the original order. This is my preference, and indeed I would be happy to order more than one unit if the opportunity was made available.

2) OR, to make a pro-rata refund of my purchase price based on the date I made the order for the original battery. As I believe I have a three year warranty, this should be for about two thirds of the purchase price. A credit note redeemable against a Dell purchase would be acceptable. As a matter of fact I believe that the warranty on my laptop probably demands that you repair or replace my computer completely.

- I am assuming that there is no compatible replacement battery unit for my PC which is of a different model number. It would be acceptable to me if you could help me source a suitable new or reconditioned part.

Your representative flatly refused to consider either option, both of which I consider completely reasonable and fair under the circumstances. I would strongly recommend that this postion be reconsidered. I can and will take the case to the UK small claims court if you do not proceed sensibly and quickly to settle this matter with me.

I can also assure you that I will do all in my power to publicise this question widely, because you have fallen far short of the standards of customer care that anyone would expect from a company of Dell's status. Frankly I have received a better standard of response from sellers on Ebay.

SamC_4

For what it's worth this battery deterioration is normal for Lithium-Ion batteries; it's part of their nature that they will go off over time, though some die faster than others. Your warranty almost certainly excludes the battery.

I agree that it's not acceptable to discontinue the part but check on the web, you may find that Dell customer services have made a mistake and the battery has been superseded by a higher-capacity one which will still work in your laptop. I'd also be surprised if a third-party replacement wasn't available. Have you tried a web search? What model laptop is it?

Quincy_3

Tim_L wrote:

- I bought a new laptop from you in about February 2005 at a cost of around 570UKP, which I believe is under a three year warranty.

You must be factual you cant just believe as that installs doubt.


I hope it goes well though.

ts_aly2000

Good luck with Dell OP

Sorry to say this but you could paint swasticas all over it and publish it all over the net and they wouldn't care one bit.

My suggestion would be to simply small claims them without any further discussion.

The other option would be to buy the batteries off of eBay, which can be higher capacity and better quality. There are companies in China eager for our business and even if your laptop was 10 years old chances are that someone is selling brand new patent batteries.

eBay, best bet

Astaroth

Firstly you are supposed to give notice of an intent to issue court proceedings

Secondly what exactly would you sue them for?

As others have said, batteries are normally excluded from warrenties and you have already received a refund for the battery that they accepted an order for but failed to deliver (admitidaly the service sounds as if it was very poor but you cannot sue for poor service alone unless it has caused financial loss)

Personally, if you havent sent the letter, I would reword it to firstly remove the capitalised words and give the response required to be - definative conformation if Dell do or do not have a compatible battery. If they dont then either 1) agree the warrenty will not be affected by you using another brand of battery or 2) a partial refund/ credit note for the item. If there is a compatable battery then the part number to enable you to order it.

wobbley

Ask them for interest on any refund if they've had your money a while.

Astaroth

Remember though, the more you demand the less likely you are to get anything as you "spoil" the image or a reasonable customer who has been hard done by into a money grabbing person that may have engineered a situation to try and get compensation.

Personally the 3 months interest on what I guess is about £100 (about £1 then minus tax) isnt worth mentioning.

webmasterpolo

I have a Dell with the same problem. The battery isn't under warranty as it's a consumable, same as an ink cartridge apparently.... I would imagine buying from a compatible 3rd party would be chepaer and easier than buying from Dell, although check the warranty small print as it may insist on only using Dell batteries. If this is the case and Dell can't provide one, point this out to them and get them to compensate you for the loss of warranty, or rewrite your warranty to allow you to use non-Dell parts.

-Web