Dell Laptop Screen Faults - Returned, Repaired, Fed-up

I suppose what I will do is contact Dell and await to hear the decision from Currys PC World but if this isn't resolved in the coming days then I will go back to the store and speak with them directly again, potentially over the weekend.

I will be sure NOT to do that... . I'll post up with results.

So, quite an update here and a bit of a recap from my earlier post about my store visit...

I went into the store last night and quoted Consumer Rights Act and that I would like to exercise my right to reject the laptop. With that the Customer Service representative said "Ok that's fair enough but I don't have the authority to do that. I will need to get my manager". The manager came along and again I explained the situation and he basically said that I could take the laptop away with me but he wouldn't be able to do anything there and then as he'd need to contact Head Office to get it resolved as it had now passed 6 months. Conveniently, if it was still within it's 6 months, they could do something in the store.

I said "fine fair enough, I'll take my laptop back in the meantime then". The manager said he would get the laptop and also provide me with a phone number so I could call Dell myself and he would call Head Office in the morning so that we could come at it from two angles. Luckily, the delivery driver had only just loaded my laptop into the van as they couldn't find it in the warehouse - it was just about to be sent off for "repair"!

I took the laptop away and then expected to get a call from Currys today. In the meantime I gave their online Customer Service a message to explain the current situation. It would seem that their systems aren't able to track how many faults there were - or at least the number of faults isn't updated consistently because the store, repair centre and Customer Services (or again they're just simply trying to fob me off!). They disputed that this would only be the second repair but I stated it was the third (not that it really matters as the Consumer Rights Act says 1 is enough!).

They did not seem pleased that I had picked up the laptop as they said today it would have been sent away for assessment - but that's not what the store said to me. The store actually said it would be sent away for repair and they would then see what happens after that (presumably it would have got repaired and they hoped I would just leave it at that again).

Having not really got anywhere with Currys online chat, I decided to give Dell a call as my local Currys store had advised. After being pushed around from one department to another I finally got through to their "Warranty" department. After explaining the situation they agreed that something should be done (choice of repair, replacement or refund) but they weren't the people I needed to speak to. When I explained to them that this is what Currys has advised, they were confused and said it's for Currys to sort out but they would put a note on the laptop's Service Tag to document what they had advised.

I decided at that point to call my local Currys store which actually turned out to just forward me to general Customer Services. They explained that everything I'd been told by my store was incorrect and (as the CRA states) I could have actually been told about a replacement or refund after the first repair - not any of the other stuff they had told me like "we'll need a reasonable amount of time to repair it" or "it needs to be repaired 3,4... times before we write it off". However, they also said that the Customer Service staff "don't really get told that stuff". Brilliant. So customer-focused staff aren't taught the legislation that is there to protect consumers which means they could be making false promises which damage the company's reputation, it does not inform the consumer and cause more issues for both the company and consumer.

So, Currys Customer Services have now setup a return of the laptop for it to be assessed and written off for a refund and I will be handing it over to the store tonight under Consumer Rights Act , "Code 7 SAO".

On the back of this I've again contacted their online chat to explain the situation and they are "concerned" that I have been given false information - even though they were partly to do with it. "The aftersales would mainly be dealt with by a Customer Service representative, and a Sales colleague may not be too familiar with the process". They are looking into it and any training issues will be addressed and hope the assessment for refund is successful.

I will of course be pushing not only for a refund but also additional compensation as this has gone on far longer than it should have - for one thing after the first repair I should have rejected it outright but unfortunately the scratched screen that was done while it was being repaired muddied the waters a bit so I just wanted to get it repaired again...and the fact that my rights weren't read to me.

I will keep this thread updated as much as possible with anything further...