Dell Warranty Dilemma!

rajanm

Hello everyone,

I have had one of the most unfortunate warranty problems ever! This morning a guy from Dell called me to ask me if I wanted to renew my warranty on my laptop which had expired 10 days ago....I said 'no'.

5 minutes later I switch my laptop on and have all these multi coloured pixels floating around on the screen...after 15 mins with technical support it looks like my lcd panel may have to be replaced...I am, of course, gutted. Dell support said they'll call me back within 48 hours to give me a price on replacing the display....

Now my dilemma is this....do I get the panel replaced and take the hit? Or, do i call the warranty people back, renew my warranty (claiming the LCD panel is now ok) and then a few weeks later call back to get the panel sorted out? Would the warranty people know I had called techincal support about a problem a few hours previously?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Rajan

startrekker

I would go with the second option, either way you will be paying them something so I wouldnt feel guilty about it

Coupon-mad

What about claiming a replacement under the Sale of Goods Act, never mind the warranty! Have you only had the laptop for a year? If so you have statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act, have a look at Martin's Article(s) on this subject.

Some manufacturers are difficult to convince though....make sure you are well informed on the legal side of things before phoning or they may just keep saying 'but your warranty has expired' (irrelevant to your statutory rights).

rajanm

Well my warranty apparently expired on the 16th of Feb....so it's been a year and 10 days! I'm wondering whether I could appeal to their goodwill to get it fixed as it's so soon after the expiry of the warranty?

I don't really want to contact Dell again and draw their attention to the problem as I may go down the warranty renewal/call 3 weeks later with the problem, route....

Coupon-mad

Your statutory rights allow you to reject an item as faulty if it has not lasted for a 'reasonable' time. Is a year reasonable? I wouldn't think so. You have legal comeback for several years, not just one.

I suppose you could try to appeal to their goodwill as the warranty has only just expired. Make it clear that you also know you have statutory rights which you will take up if necessary.

Read Martin's articles, search 'Sale of goods Act' on the drop-down menu above. At least you'll know what your statutory rights are. Possibly get help from your local Citizens Advice bureau (there will be one near you, check the phone book or online).