RANT: DELL Screwed Me!

[MWink]

Just over a month ago I bought a Dell Inspiron 8000 custom configured the way I wanted it (with a GeForce 2 GO). I got it and from day 1 had problems. The LCD would flicker when displaying some shades of blue. The system would crash when I tried to use the infrared port to sync with my Palm IIIc. The built-in NIC would not be able to find any free memory ranges in anything except the Windows Dell preinstalled. The sound crackled in some programs. That is all I can think of off the top of my head.

The only one that really concerned me was the LCD flashing when displaying certain blues. I found a lot of other people with the same problem on Dell's forums. Finally a few days before the first month was up I decided I wanted do something. I called Dell and asked them if I could return this one and order a new system and they said NO, I had to send it in for repairs. After a long talk with a Dell Tech I decided to let them try to fix it (not that he gave me any choice).

On Tuesday Airborne Express came to my house and picked it up. Yesterday (Friday) it came back. I put it together booted it up and Windows detected a new video card. I said hmmm... And went into the BIOS. I looked at the video section and it said 32MB ATI M4. THEY SENT ME A F#@!ING ATI M4!!! I did not give them permission to give me an ATI. The whole reason I got that laptop was because it had the G2GO. After spending 2 hours downloading the drivers I got to test it. The LCD flashing problem was gone but the system is slow as !@#$. I benched it using 3D Mark 2000 and 2001. In both the benchmarks were far less than half of what the G2GO got when the CPU was slowed down!

How the !@#$ could they do this to me? I bet they don't even give me the $70 difference for the ATI card! Not to mention that the system stinks (literally). Someone wearing perfume must have been working on it. Also, I think there are some small scratches on the LCD now.

I have had it with Dell and this machine. Tomorrow I am calling them and DEMANDING a full refund on the entire system. I guess I will have to find a new laptop for college. I will not settle for anything less than a GeForce 2 GO (and I don't think the Toshiba is fast enough). I will never ever recommend Dell again! If Dell refuses to give me a refund I will have a talk with my grandfather who works a Consumer Protection. This would not be the first time he has had to deal with Dell.

I am steamed! I HATE DELL!!!

 

[MrMojo]

Well they sent you the wrong vid card, mistakes happen, call up customer service and calmly explain the situation, and they should take care of it. If they dont then get angry.

 

[RichieZ]

Dell contracts their service out to some big service company, you can find the name by searching for that address. I just sent in a laptop that had a crack near the hindge and it came back with a new case.

Not sure out the I8000, but on the I7000 the video card is a seperate piece that can be taken out/replaced. The ppl at the service place probably just messed it up. But yea I've read on the forum that the early i8000's have some weird problems

 

[SuperCyrix]

yeah, Dell is a freaking homosexual. Burn the company down!!!

 

[MWink]

Without getting too much into it, I think I can say with some certainty that they meant to give me an ATI. I think the problem may have been a design flaw in the notebook that happens only with the G2GO. I would rather live with the problem than live with an ATI.

As for the being calm part, I decided I will have someone call them for me because I don't think I could calmly talk to them. I'm loading a plane with Cows, and I am going to drop them on Dell HQ. (anyone get the joke)

 

[SuperCyrix]

Shower them with dead AMD cpus also. Maybe some of them Cyrix too.

I always knew Dell is evil, now it's undeniable. We must put an end to Micheal Dell's quest for world conquest.

 

[SuperCyrix]

When I first saw the thread Title, I thought...
Ok , Dell is a person, and he just screwed somebody..heheheheheheh

 

[joohang]

SuperCyrix,

If I were you, I would edit your first post.

 

[RossMAN]

I'm loading a plane with Cows, and I am going to drop them on Dell HQ. (anyone get the joke)

ROTFLMAO an hour later I finally understand the cows, are these cows from South Dakota?

 

[ShotgunSteven]

If you bought it using a credit card, you should be O.K. My credit card company is good about smacking down companies that try to screw me over.

 

[IcemanJer]

Go get a Sony VAIO laptop.

 

[MrCodeDude]

My Dell Inspiration 4000 had problems from Day 1 too. I have the ATI card in mine, but they had to repair my laptop three to four times before it really started working. I'm glad I ordered the 5 Year Warranty on it.
-- mrcodedude

 

[Amused]

OK, there are a few things I don't understand.

You had problems from day one, but waited until your 30 day period ran out before calling Dell to return it? Why? In Dell's literature it plainly states the 30 days start from the date the unit ships, not the date you receive it.

If I received something that didn't work right out of the box, I'd spend a day or two tweaking and with tech support, and if I couldn't get it fixed in those first two days, I'd return it and demand another machine configured the same way. If that machine still had the same problem, I'd then either give the company one more chance if they were the only company selling the product, or were a company I favored, or I'd move on and find another company.

OK, so the 30 day period has ran out, and you realize your mistake. No biggie, so you send the unit into Dell's service and they send it back not configured the same. I agree this isn't acceptable. Call them back and point this out. Explain to them this is NOT the package you paid for, and if the 8000 wont work with the video card you wanted, they have broken the original contract and must accept a return. If it WILL work with the GF2GO, keep sending the damn thing in until they get it right, or return your money.

 

[vi edit]

Three dell laptops me...three replaced motherboards. WHEEEEEE!

When they work, their pretty nice machines. But the take a fscking miracle to be "right" out of the box.

 

[MWink]

AmusedOne: I called 29 days after the date on the "birth certificate". I think the date on the "birth certificate" was before they shipped it out. The reason I waited so long was because I was debating if it was worth fixing or if I could just live with it. As I feared, getting it fixed made it worse.



<< ROTFLMAO an hour later I finally understand the cows, are these cows from South Dakota? >>



Yes

 

[RossMAN]

MWink - Call Dell yet? What happened?

 

[Rendus]

Call customer service or tech support (1-800-624-9896), tell them you ordered the laptop with a GeForce Go, and you want the GeForce Go or a refund. They'll give you the GF Go if it's possible (it's also possible Dell doesn't stock them anymore).

Calling up and being an ass won't get you anywhere. Making demands and such won't get you anywhere, either. See what your options are, pick one, and go after it. If all else fails, request a supervisor. Start again. But rarely can a supervisor offer you something a CSR can't.

My recommendation would be tech support, they're more likely to know the difference between an ATI onboard chipset and a GF Go. Request a system exchange there, new if possible (although that's not possible rather often), with the original hardware. Do you still have the original service tag? (Is it the same base unit?) There are a few details that'll make things easier or harder.

In the end, if the issue started within the first 30 days, they'll typically extend the money back guarantee due to there being an ongoing issue. There are situations where they won't, but I doubt this is one of them.