Dell/Currys trying to make me pay for a repair!!

Cozbob

Hi, i've had my dell laptop for just under 3 months and for the past 3 weeks or so, when turned on a black screen comes up saying:
'windows startup repair (recommended)
start windows normally'

when i do either of these options, the laptop does not continue to the home screen, instead the screen is just blank and stays that way.


anyway, this seems like a technical problem, but its an issue with return. I wentto currys explained the problem and they said i had to speak to dell tech support. I did so and they have said i have to pay £68 to get it fixed as it is a software problem, not a hard-drive one!!

by law, shouldnt i be able to get it replaced or fixed for free considering it it under 12 month warranty and i still have my receipt?
any info would be great! thanks

4743hudsonj

Cozbob wrote: »

Hi, i've had my dell laptop for just under 3 months and for the past 3 weeks or so, when turned on a black screen comes up saying:
'windows startup repair (recommended)
start windows normally'

when i do either of these options, the laptop does not continue to the home screen, instead the screen is just blank and stays that way.


anyway, this seems like a technical problem, but its an issue with return. I wentto currys explained the problem and they said i had to speak to dell tech support. I did so and they have said i have to pay £68 to get it fixed as it is a software problem, not a hard-drive one!!

by law, shouldnt i be able to get it replaced or fixed for free considering it it under 12 month warranty and i still have my receipt?
any info would be great! thanks

have you got a recovery partition or disc? if so its worth reinstalling windows to see if it sorts it.

Alternatively, you can use the Sale of goods act against the RETAILER (not manufacturer) and state the goods are not fit for purpose and you want it repaired. The manufacturers policy about software is nothing to do with your rights and your rights include anything and everything to do with the goods.

However currys are notorious for being ignorant to SOGA so you may need to go to consumer direct, do some research, write a letter and post it recorded to get your way.

Ivory_Tinkler

I had a similar thing happen a few months ago on my Dell PC and I figured it out to be a software fault. In the end I gave up and just reinstalled vista as I hadn't got much on that PC and what I had got, was backed up. Once I reinstalled the software, it was OK. If this is indeed the same fault, then to try and charge you £68 is pretty extortionate.

pendulum

They are quite right, this seems like a software problem which has probably occurred due to a virus or some software you have installed, or something else you have done. It's got nothing to do with them and software problems are excluded from the warranty, so why should they fix it for free?

£68 is not extortionate either, even though it's quite a simple job.

xocbc

It is almost certainly a software issue: a virus; some software/driver you have installed; the result of the laptop not being shutdown properly etc etc

The VAST majority of "faulty" PCs that I used to deal with in PC world were in fact caused by the above, and the vast majority of those were caused by teenage males looking at dodgy websites/using filesharing etc with inadequate virus etc protection.

Any computer shop would (and should) charge for reinstallation etc in these circumstances, hitting someone in the wallet is probably the best way to teach them to be more careful in the future.

Coopdivi

Your best bet, Cozbob is to go on the Techie Forum and explain your problem there.

The experts in there will hopefully help you out. And it won't cost you £68.

Esqui

Hit F8 on startup and choose 'repair my computer' to access the recovery partition.

If that doesn't work, use the Operating System disc that came with it, and press F12 on boot to run it.

Ivory_Tinkler

xocbc wrote: »

It is almost certainly a software issue: a virus; some software/driver you have installed; the result of the laptop not being shutdown properly etc etc

The VAST majority of "faulty" PCs that I used to deal with in PC world were in fact caused by the above, and the vast majority of those were caused by teenage males looking at dodgy websites/using filesharing etc with inadequate virus etc protection.

Any computer shop would (and should) charge for reinstallation etc in these circumstances, hitting someone in the wallet is probably the best way to teach them to be more careful in the future.

The PC I was using was for work only, no filesharing, dodgy sites (I was the only one who accessed it and it was password protected), full virus software and firewall installed, logged off and shut down at the end of each day. My neighbour had exactly the same fault when he switched on his laptop on the very same day...too much of a coincidence for my liking.

woody01

xocbc wrote: »

It is almost certainly a software issue: a virus; some software/driver you have installed; the result of the laptop not being shutdown properly etc etc

The VAST majority of "faulty" PCs that I used to deal with in PC world were in fact caused by the above, and the vast majority of those were caused by teenage males looking at dodgy websites/using filesharing etc with inadequate virus etc protection.

Any computer shop would (and should) charge for reinstallation etc in these circumstances, hitting someone in the wallet is probably the best way to teach them to be more careful in the future.

And not buying anything from a Chimpanzee in PC World is the best way to get and keep a work PC/laptop.

I find it both astonishing and laughable that a PC World employee feels qualified to lecture someone on the operation and protection of a computer when they have no idea themselves.

xocbc

woody01 wrote: »

And not buying anything from a Chimpanzee in PC World is the best way to get and keep a work PC/laptop.

I find it both astonishing and laughable that a PC World employee feels qualified to lecture someone on the operation and protection of a computer when they have no idea themselves.

Lol idiotic post.

I agree with you re sales staff, however, many of the technicians are very knowledgable, primarily because they deal with dozens of different problems per day (and the vast majority are caused by customer stupidity) which all require a different solution. The majority of non-hardware faults are fixed quickly and properly, however like any large organisation there will always be idiots. When you consider what these guys get paid £6-7 per hour on average, cut them some slack.

What is laughable is technicians working for big organisation who think a repair is simply pulling a generic part off a shelf and sticking it into a generic PC without having to do any fault finding, or have to deal with the results of users downloading/upgrading etc.

I don't work there any more (and in fact don't work in computers any more) but if I needed a technician to be able to diagnose things quickly, I'd be quite happy to employ an ex-PC World technician for the reasons above.

Anyway in summary, if you knew what you were talking about and gave any real technical support to the general public you would realise that the average man in the street has no idea about the dangers of filesharing, turning off the pc incorrectly, installing drivers for the wrong OS etc but of course it is ALWAYS the fault of the seller when the buyer has caused the problem.

I would actually be prepared to bet that the majority of technicians from large organisations wouldn't be able to cope in a retail enviromnent, dealing with morons all day, getting called every name under the sun because of the ignorance of the user.