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Alienware Warranty Question...

post #1 of 20
12/2/05 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

I have a question... under Alienware's Warranty... it states that:

"Alienware's sole liability, under this warranty, for failure to repair or replace the hardware system after a reasonable number of attempts is limited to replacement or, at Alienware's sole discretion, refund of the original purchase price."

Ok.. also, I read Hammerhead's post about lemon laws.. of which I've only known to apply towards automobiles... anyhow... my dilemma:

As some of you guys read earlier, An AW Customer Service Rep called me up - said that they were giving me a refund for the machine... since then I've called them up... $3000 is the supposed approved credit at the moment.. and considering I paid .. $4200.. well.. you know.. I'm not too pleased with that.

Don't get me wrong - its still a great deal.. considering that laptop is worth no more than 1500 now and days.. but you also gotta consider that my laptop went into depot 14 times.. within the first week of receiving it. Add to that.. a normal 1 month turnaround time.. (and they reformat the HD each time) - I really.. just never had a chance to really even use it... at all.

Well, I really just wanna get opinions on what my options are.. as I feel [if there is a lemon law for products], I should be entitled to a full refund (of course at the sole discretion of AW) or at least a replacement of equal value - because the thing just never worked.. ever..
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post #2 of 20
12/2/05 at 3:52pm
I really just don't know what to think sometimes.

As far as I can judge from your post here, the terms are clear. "reasonable number of attempts.. refund of the original purchase price".

Fourteen returns is not reasonable, at least from your perspective. And if you payed $4200, $3000 is clearly != the original purchase price.

It's as clear cut as that. But I can't even imagine how a system needs to be returned fourteen times.
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post #3 of 20
12/2/05 at 8:18pm
Wow....14 times returned, I think that is excessive....did you try to speak with one of the AW reps here on this forum?....I think that an AW product will hold its value far longer and be worth much more than a product from any "non-botique" makes but i think maybe you have a legit issue and i would try to speak with one of the AW guys here, they do seem to always get very favorable results for owners...good luck with whatever happens, I do think you deserve more but the warranty is at AW's discretion....maybe work with them more on a satisfactory repair.....
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post #4 of 20
12/2/05 at 8:37pm
Judge Judy would award you the original purchase amount, reimbursement for reasonable associated expenses and court costs up to $5,000 total...if you got the paper trail.

Zoid
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post #5 of 20
12/2/05 at 9:01pm
judge judy would say, why are you breakin your pc so much that its got to be returned 14 times ?
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post #6 of 20
12/2/05 at 9:03pm
Cold Blooded

Zoid
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post #7 of 20
12/3/05 at 1:51am
hahahahaha. i just watched judge judy give a settlement for 5,000$ to the plaintiff cause his x was forging checks in his name. even tho the checks only ammounted to 2,300$ i thought that was funny as hell.
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post #8 of 20
12/3/05 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Judge Judy... not a bad idea

I would definitely be a bit more reasonable if it was me breaking the laptop each of the 14 times that it needed to be sent back in.. but unfortunately thats not the case..

But just so you know, if you don't already do, Alienware is now completely out of warranty replacements on our model Area-51m 766, that is why they cannot repair my laptop - so if your 51m happens to somehow "break," and is still under warranty - expect a replacement.

I did have my business lawyer look at the particular phase and did some research, even though a full refund is at their "sole discretion," he did point out the meaning of discretion- best said by dictionary.com:

"...the power of a judge (or responsible party) to use his or her own judgment in making decisions guided by what is fair and equitable and by principles of law..."

Basically meaning there has to be responsibility taken on behalf of AW. Anyhow I don't want to pursue that road though if push comes to shove that would be a possible option. Its just talk for now, but I'll keep you guys posted on what happens with my situation...
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post #9 of 20
12/3/05 at 1:29pm
things like this make me start to think twice about getting an AW. what happens when my laptop craps out at 13 months? ughh i dont want to think about it. but i guess i would be in the same predicament if i bought a sager or something. 14 trips is crazy though.
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post #10 of 20
12/3/05 at 2:30pm
shadedred, is this about a refund or a replacement of the system? The sole discretion of Alienware has been a very responsible use of discretion, I think many will agree. Considering that its a business and if they gave everyone a full refund, and a replacement, and fired the managers then they wouldnt be in business. I can't see how sending your system to Alienware 14 times is an Alienware failure. Each owner needs to take responsibility of their own circumstances. Somewhere in that equation, there should have been a different resolution requested by the system owner (way before number 14). Unless there was some type of premeditated plan for taking the long road. Shipping cost alone was a fortune in this whole mess. and it was all covered under warranty.
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post #11 of 20
12/6/05 at 1:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by aurora
shadedred, is this about a refund or a replacement of the system? The sole discretion of Alienware has been a very responsible use of discretion, I think many will agree. Considering that its a business and if they gave everyone a full refund, and a replacement, and fired the managers then they wouldnt be in business. I can't see how sending your system to Alienware 14 times is an Alienware failure. Each owner needs to take responsibility of their own circumstances. Somewhere in that equation, there should have been a different resolution requested by the system owner (way before number 14). Unless there was some type of premeditated plan for taking the long road. Shipping cost alone was a fortune in this whole mess. and it was all covered under warranty.
Either a replacement or a refund... I've heard the argument that if AW gave everyone a refund/replacement they would be out of business - what I don't understand is how you could not see that sending my system to AW 14 times is not a failure? My responsibility as an owner was to purchase a warranty as I did - when you are promised each and every time from Alienware Tech and Support that the system would come back in perfect condition - what else can you say? You think I didn't try to resolve this issue and get something back after the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc... times that I had to send this thing in - I have - I've tried to talk to someone in a "higher" position, I've talked to people in their "critical issues" team (which turns out to be just normal support reps with no higher position). All AW says is... "We will take care of you."

They refuse to let you speak to anyone else other than support team - and give you a runaround for months - which is what happened and which I don't have time for. And now the only reason they are even considering a replacement is because they no longer have my laptop in stock... they have no choice but to honor the warranty.

Anyhow, I understand what you're saying - but quite honestly, if I was complaining about AW after 2 or 3 times of depot, I would get the typical "Give AW a chance to fix it." Now for being patient and giving them a chance, I'm irresponsible...
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post #12 of 20
12/6/05 at 3:37am
I'm usually accused of being an AW fanboy, but I'd have to agree with shadedred that if indeed what he's saying is true, he's not getting the service or support he paid for.

I find this story hard to believe as I've seen a few customers complain after something like three depot visits and get a full refund relatively easy. I'm not calling you a liar shadedred, I've just never seen anything like this in my years here, and on AW's forums. 14 trips is ridiculous if true.

It says in the warranty after a reasonable amount of attempts to fix, they owe a replacement or at their discretion a refund. Seems pretty clear that it would be hard to argue 14 trips is reasonable to expect for a new computer. Three or four maybe, 14 no way.

The Critical Issues Team are not the same people that provide regular support and customer service. They are a different unit with additional resources at their disposal to help resolve issues that have become larger than they should have.

Good luck getting this resolved, shadedred.
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post #13 of 20
12/6/05 at 5:06am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for clearing the critical issues matter up, I for some reason always believed them to be the same... and thanks for the support Hammer.

Well, I've never been one to complain.. I've shared my story once or twice on the AW forums... but yeah - what I am saying is all fact. Maybe AW-steve can help (have always heard good things), I'm feeling a bit hopeless right now due to the fact that the person supposedly dealing with my situation has given me quite the runaround as of right now.
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post #14 of 20
12/6/05 at 4:35pm
Shadedred,
PM me your info and I will make sure you are taken care of.
Richard
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post #15 of 20
12/7/05 at 5:03am
AlienRichard, he's our man,
If he can't fix it, no-one can!

shadedred, contact Richard, he's the Vice Admiral in charge of squeaky things at Alienware. He's simply amazing with an oil can.
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post #16 of 20
12/7/05 at 5:44am
You can't ask for anything more than that.....and you did not even have to ask, to get that....I am confident it will be resolved to your satisfaction
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post #17 of 20
12/7/05 at 5:46am
no joke.
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post #18 of 20
12/7/05 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
Very appreciative for all the help guys, I'll keep you posted
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post #19 of 20
12/7/05 at 5:06pm
Good for you, Shadered! Let us know how this all works out for you!
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post #20 of 20
12/8/05 at 7:29pm
shadedred, glad to see its workin out. definately keep us posted.
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