Another Dell Nightmare...and How I got Their Attention

This is my second Dell Computer and I am sorry to see how tha company has deteriorated in the five years since my first purchase. I have the same horrible experience that others have had. On receiving a defective computer, I tried to have it fixed. Essentially, they refused to honor the warranty. I was told to take it apart and rebuild it myself or find someone who could. (I am sure this would have voided the warranty.) They seemed to be stalling until the return time of 21 days had passed. I have a list of e-mails and chat records and phone calls that is unbelievable. Just the e-mail covers a screen.

I finally decided that I was tired of being treated disrespectfully by patronizing Indians who thought they were speaking English, but weren't. (So much for the brilliance of their language coaching.)

So, I started proceedings to return the computer. I ordered it on May 31, 2006, received it on June 2, 2006, found out it was defective on June 4, 2006 and got fed up on June 7, 2006. I notified Dell Financial Services that I would not be paying for a defective computer. I called to find out how to return the computer, at their expense and got a promise of a new tower. I was told this exchange would be confirmed by e-mail. It wasn't.

I sent an e-mail to find out how to return the computer. (You would not believe the idiotic response I got to that one.)

I called, again, to find out how to return the computer and was told the exchange was set up and I would have my new tower within 5 - 7 business days (down from the 7-10 business days of the first promise.)

Today, June 8, I got a Fed-Ex delivery of a new tower before noon. It even appears to work. It did not, however, contain the promised shipping label to return the defective computer. Another e-mail (the subject is now **ACS REC WEB ESCALATION**TNT) and this time the response was on point. Pick up was arranged for tomorrow. We'll see.

I don't know what happened. Maybe someone finally noticed the flurry of activity on my account and realized the implications of some of the instructions I was given. (Dell is responsible for more than just poor customer service.) Also, someone may have realized that I fully intended that they would be flooded with e-mails, chats, and telephone calls; enough so they would not make a profit on this transaction.

For good measure, yesterday I sent a complaint letter to both the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Dell, in Round Rock, TX. There hasn't been enough time for a response, but they pay people to keep people like me away from them, so it should be interesting.

Don't buy Dell unless you want to spend much too long trying to get it to work or you have a lot of time on your hands and want to investigate other cultures.

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First, this is just a start. I plan to post this on every message board I can find in the next couple days. I'd like to prevent people from going through the hell I have experienced the last couple months.

It took from the 13th of December to the 6th of January to get my Dell Studio 1537 laptop. That's a hell of a long time to live without a computer, and surely, if a new customer wants a computer, you would THINK they would get it to them faster. In any case, the customer service guy lied to me about a number of things (including the time it would take to arrive) in order to get me to buy the computer. Then, I was told I could cancel, but that left me without a reliable computer to use and no way to purchase a new one (I used Dell credit to get the laptop). So I suffered the long wait, and it finally arrived.

Upon receiving my new laptop, I decided to watch a movie on it. I put the DVD in, it loaded, but the DVD skipped over and over. Once that happened, I attempted to eject the DVD, but it wouldn't come out. So I restarted the computer and finally got it out of the drive. After this, I decided to try a different DVD, since the first one had a minor scratch on the surface. I tried a new DVD this time, but the DVD drive decided to pop the DVD out this time. The drive also sounds like it's a huge machine trying to produce a lot more than a video on the screen of a laptop. Something is wrong with it. Almost inevitably, the drive pops out any DVD at some point while I watch a movie.

What did I do? I called the technical support, and spent hours (two seperate times), attempting to get the issue resolved to no avail. It seemed clear that the issue was hardware, not software. Unfortunately, because I had to wait so long to get the computer, and because I was sooooo behind on work for school and my campus job, I was desperate. I wanted to return the computer. I spoke with the special department at Dell that talks to people like me; those people who are unhappy with their purchase and remorseful that they even contacted the company to begin with. The man told me that the issue was stated to be resolved by the tech department (the people in India that I spoke with I told I would have to play a DVD to figure out if the computer was actually functioning properly or not, and that I could not tell them that the issue was resolved, but they put it in the computer that it was). Because it said this, he told me that I would have to pay 15% of the computer's total cost to return it. I flipped out. After about 10 minutes of listening to me screaming, he said that he would see what he could do. But, would I be interested in taking $75 and keeping the computer? Haha! NO! I don't want a broken computer! So then he offered to send me a NEW computer. He essentially begged me to take it, promising the new one would be built in 5-7 days and immediately sent out. He assured me that it would work perfectly as well. I didn't really want to, but once again, I don't have the money to buy a computer and Dell gave me credit- I figured I'd give it a shot and told the man I would return the computer at no charge if I did not receive what I ordered.

Here we are, well over 2 weeks later and I have no new computer. Tonight I call to see what is holding it up, because to be honest, I've sat around for about 6 weeks waiting for a reliable computer (counting all that time in December)- you know, the one I expected when I ORDERED this damn thing. The man on the phone told me that no computer had been made and he had no idea what I was talking about. I flipped out, once again, and spoke to his manager. The manager, unfortunately, had no way to help me and the people that I spoke with before (the ones who promised me a new computer) were the ones I needed to talk to. At this point, I'm returning the Dell. I've had enough of their crappy computers; customer service; and lies.

I was told that a someone from the legal department would contact me soon: I asked the man if that was a promise as strong as the one to send me a new computer, because if it was, I was just going to send this computer back to them.

What I figured out is that they are trying to get me by this 21-day return policy. You have 21 days to return the product, or you cannot return it and you have to keep it. This is something they do not want to tell you. So here I am waiting all this time for a computer that I bet they never planned to make so that they could trap me in their loophole. Sadly for them, my cousin lives locally and is a kick ass attorney. They had better HOPE they take this back. I'm currently on a mission to ensure everyone that uses internet and is interested in buying a Dell reads about what I went through, so that they do not make the same mistake that I did. The company and people are not only unethical, their products are unreliable. I'm sure some people have had decent experiences with their Dells, but that is not to say they will if they make future purchases through their company.

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...i thought that i was alone in this dellhell...

i have a 2yr. old dell e310; i bought the whole pkg. the first time the printer bust was 6mos. after the purchase---it took 4-5 wks. to get a replacement....now, after 8 mos.

this piece of @#%%&!! is busted!!! i am too through---plz

tell me what i need to do to get something outta this ...

oh yes...i just purchased a cartridge/ un-opened and new;what to do to get them to take back their own ink!!!!

i don't usually respond to stuff; dell's business practices are so-oo-o awful, i am committed to make time, to let everyone within hearing distance not to spend one iota of

their time, considering a dell product---of any type!!!