Dell UK refusing further contact after a PC DESKTOP monitor breaks after just over 2 weeks.

tonysp

Hi everybody, sorry to spoil your sunny afternoon but hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction here.


On the 25th May I placed an order for £298 for a PC monitor through DELL UK, it arrived on the 30th May. That very night I connected it my PC (now it is DESKTOP monitor so once connected it remains on my desk).

Yesterday I turned it on and the screen was flickering thin colourful vertical lines taking up the screen, at this point I contacted support.

Today I received an email asking for photos of the complete item, I quickly sent them off and within ten minutes I was informed that "After checking photos, it shows you that the Monitor is borken, however physical damage is not covered by the warranty.

Unfortunately, we do not offer quotes for repairing monitors, therefore this case will be closed".

 

They are not some back street operation, to just dismiss my problem after looking at three photographs is so dimissive to a paying customer.

I have had the item for just over two weeks, the first 16 days were fine then problems appeared. This works out at roughly £150 per week for a working monitor.

What kind of warranty do they actually offer if a quick glance of a photo resolves them of all responsibility, surely of all the thousands of items sold by dell they realise that there may be minor problems.

I have not damaged the item, in fact since the 30th May it has not moved off my desk.

I am just so angry at how we are at this point.

I have contacted AMEX who stated that they are unable to help as Dell will continue to claim it has been damaged at my end.

What would you all recommend next, small claims court?

Thanks.
Tony

Alderbank

Your post didn't spoil my enjoyment of this sunny afternoon. I'm enjoying the sunshine right now.

The seller's warranty might not cover physical damage even if the monitor is 'borken' but your statutory consumer rights are independent of any warranty and do cover faults.
After only 16 days the law assumes the monitor had some kind of fault when you received it and you are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund unless there is evidence that the damage was caused by you.

Their reaction to your photos of the display suggest that they believe the damage was caused by physical pressure to the screen or bending it sometime after those first 16 days, which would not be covered.
Could that have happened?

tonysp

Their reaction to your photos of the display suggest that they believe the damage was caused by physical pressure to the screen or bending it sometime after those first 16 days, which would not be covered.
Could that have happened?

Thanks for replying.

No, with 100% honesty the monitor was connected to the PC and has remained in the same place since day one. No movement at all. I have no desire to carry a 32" PC monitor around the house. I am 50+ years old with no animals or children who may have knocked it without me noticing.

Surely they sell thousands of items per year and a tiny percentage break within warranty. It was just the attitiude of spending ten minutes maximum looking at three still photos and then claiming "case closed". The monitor has probably been shipped half way around the world then delivered from warehouse to warehouse before it got to me yet I am on the hook for almost £300.

Having just looked elsewhere I see I have 30 days to send a letter mentioning my intention of small claims. It was not purchaed from some shady online firm, I just expected a more reasonale response from dell.

Thanks again, enjoy the rest of this sunshine

HillStreetBlues

So there is not a mark on the monitor, no signs of it being dropped, battered  or otherwise abused,  and just by a photo showing nothing but lines on screen Dell magically knows it's been damaged!

I would be making a complaint to Amex, as Dell has no proof of their defence,  you on the other hand can show the monitor is in pristine condition part from the fault.

tonysp

HillStreetBlues said:

So there is not a mark on the monitor, no signs of it being dropped, battered  or otherwise abused,  and just by a photo showing nothing but lines on screen Dell magically knows it's been damaged!

Thanks for replying.

This was what got me so angry earlier today, a photo of the front from around two feet away showing the screen glitching.

I would be quite happy to send the item back for them to check for any tiny marks on the casing or the screen, if they find one then I could sort of see where they were coming from but the item is perfect (not including the fact that it doesn't display anything recognisable).

I have started a new support process so fingers crossed this generates a little more sense.

Enjoy your evening.

SiliconChip

Although you shouldn't need to at this stage I might be inclined to get an independent report stating what the issue is, which will hopefully confirm that it's not physical damage. That would prevent any arguments about damage in transit if Dell did agree to examine it. You should then send Dell the bill for the report as well as the full refund.

Alderbank

SiliconChip said:

Although you shouldn't need to at this stage I might be inclined to get an independent report stating what the issue is, which will hopefully confirm that it's not physical damage. That would prevent any arguments about damage in transit if Dell did agree to examine it. You should then send Dell the bill for the report as well as the full refund.

I wouldn't pay for an independent report at this stage.

Yes, you could send Dell the bill but they have no obligation to pay and will not voluntarily pay now.
They only have to pay if you actually take them to small claims court and claim it as an expense and you win the case, possibly in 2015.
Lots more lower cost options to try first, including possibility of chargeback or s75.

tightauldgit

Poorly trained (presumably overseas) CS staff who don't understand UK consumer law by the looks of things. 

A proper email complaint is probably step 1 here - setting out that you are exercising your consumer rights and within the first 6 months of purchase it's the responsibility of the seller to show that the fault was caused by the consumer if they wish to reject a claim. If they are saying you've caused it then they should surely also provide their reasoning as to how they've arrived at that conclusion based on a photo. 

If they dig their heels in then probably an independent report would be your next step and then court. 

I had an issue with a laptop that did similar - screen just went and manufacturer insisted it was user caused even though I knew I hadn't done anything. Unfortunately for me I was past the 6 month point so had the burden of proof. But in the first 6 months it should be a much easier case. 

tightauldgit

Alderbank said:

SiliconChip said:

Although you shouldn't need to at this stage I might be inclined to get an independent report stating what the issue is, which will hopefully confirm that it's not physical damage. That would prevent any arguments about damage in transit if Dell did agree to examine it. You should then send Dell the bill for the report as well as the full refund.

I wouldn't pay for an independent report at this stage.

Yes, you could send Dell the bill but they have no obligation to pay and will not voluntarily pay now.
They only have to pay if you actually take them to small claims court and claim it as an expense and you win the case, possibly in 2015.
Lots more lower cost options to try first, including possibility of chargeback or s75.

OP says Amex have told him no already

tonysp

Alderbank said:

SiliconChip said:

Although you shouldn't need to at this stage I might be inclined to get an independent report stating what the issue is, which will hopefully confirm that it's not physical damage. That would prevent any arguments about damage in transit if Dell did agree to examine it. You should then send Dell the bill for the report as well as the full refund.

Lots more lower cost options to try first, including possibility of chargeback or s75.

Amex were my first call after Dell closed my case immediately, Amex claimed that if they were to refund me Dell would still claim it is user damage (it isn't) and the money would be taken again.

I did start another new "contact us" via Dell and recieved a ref number with a link to check on your progress, well the link then claims "No support request details found. If you have just created the request, please try again in a couple of hours", the request was entered around 10 hours ago so it now seems to be that Dell have completely closed any further contact, case closed as they told me.

I will wait until late Monday for any kind of online reply and then Tuesday send a recorded delivery to Dell head office explaining my problem and my intention to proceed with the small claims court.

HillStreetBlues

tonysp said:

Alderbank said:

SiliconChip said:

Although you shouldn't need to at this stage I might be inclined to get an independent report stating what the issue is, which will hopefully confirm that it's not physical damage. That would prevent any arguments about damage in transit if Dell did agree to examine it. You should then send Dell the bill for the report as well as the full refund.

Lots more lower cost options to try first, including possibility of chargeback or s75.

Amex were my first call after Dell closed my case immediately, Amex claimed that if they were to refund me Dell would still claim it is user damage (it isn't) and the money would be taken again.

I did start another new "contact us" via Dell and recieved a ref number with a link to check on your progress, well the link then claims "No support request details found. If you have just created the request, please try again in a couple of hours", the request was entered around 10 hours ago so it now seems to be that Dell have completely closed any further contact, case closed as they told me.

I will wait until late Monday for any kind of online reply and then Tuesday send a recorded delivery to Dell head office explaining my problem and my intention to proceed with the small claims court.

Amex are wrong, make a complaint.

Say you didn't receive the monitor and Dell claimed you received it.  Unless Dell provided proof the it was received they would lose the chargeback.

As you had it for such a short time it's the onus is Dell to prove you damaged it.
The if it's on a credit card,  They have to show the fault wasn't inherent. Considering they can't see any damage on the  monitor it would be impossible for them to know you caused the damage.