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Another Dell SCREWJOB!  

post #1 of 116
2/24/08 at 7:48am
Thread Starter 
As many of you know, I'm in the middle of Dell Hell right now. I'll try to make this as short and simple as possible.

I have had NUMEROUS problems with my XPS M1710. In fact, the only things that are ORIGINAL on it is the palmrest, LCD lid, and chassis. Everything else has been replaced at LEAST once, and in the case of several components, MANY times.

The specs for my XPS M1710 are:

XPS M1710 Black
Intel Core 2 Duo T7600G CPU
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX videocard
200GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drive
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG wireless
DVD+/-RW
Windows Vista Home Premium


Now, after having all of these problems, and having MORE crop up, I said enough, and demanded a replacement. I made sure to point out my needs for videocard power and the DVI port (as to not get stuck with a 1720) and was assured I'd receive the GeForce 8800M GTX SLI, as it was the only comparable graphics card to what I had. I was told I would receive one that is "equal to, or better than" my previous system, and after a couple of days, I was told I would get:

XPS M1730
Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 CPU
4GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX in SLI
Ageia PhysX 100M 128MB
2x 200GB Hitachi 7200RPM hard drives in RAID-0
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel WifiLink 4965AGN wireless
DVD+/-RW with Blu-Ray Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate


I was thrilled. Basically top-notch, and I was happy, as it seemed like Dell MIGHT do something right this time. However, my glee was short-lived, as after a couple more days, I was able to see the specifications for my replacement, which were:

XPS M1730 Smoke-Grey
Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 CPU
4GB DDR2-667 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT in SLI
Ageia PhysX 100M 128MB
2x 200GB Seagate 7200RPM hard drives in RAID-0
Dell TrueMobile 355 Bluetooth
Intel WifiLink 4965AGN wireless
DVD+/-RW Drive
Windows Vista Ultimate


For the most part, they were the same, except for the videocard, which was the biggest upset, and the DVD drive, which lacked Blu-Ray (no big deal, I can live without it). After several days of trying to convince Dell about the videocard, as it was the only thing I was concerned about, they flat-out denied me. I provided NUMEROUS pieces of official documentation from NVIDIA comparing the two (the 7950 GTX and the 8700M GT SLI) and they just wouldn't budge. Finally, I tried higher-ups to get it resolved, and e-mailed several on Friday, 2-15. On SATURDAY, 2-16 at about 7AM I received a call from a guy at the "Resolutions Department". I was on vacation at the time, and was asleep, so I missed the call. I made a call-back as soon as I was awake, and of course, didn't reach him. I tried again on Monday, 2-18, Tuesday, 2-19, and Wednesday, 2-20, and couldn't get ahold of him, nor did I receive a callback.

On Tuesday, 2-19, I received the laptop, and IMMEDIATELY knew something was amiss when I opened the box. The laptop was in HORRIBLE shape. Significant amounts of scratches on the LCD lid, LCD itself, and on the palmrest, gooey sticker residue on the LCD lid and palmrest, a couple of small CHUNKS of the laptop chassis (dings) missing, right below the DVD drive, and finally, a nice chunk of dead pixels nearly smack-dab in the middle of the LCD screen, along with the screen itself being VERY dim (approximately HALF the brightness of my M1710's LCD), even at its maximum brightness setting. COMPLETELY unacceptable. "Certified Refurbished" my ass... Finally, later on Wednesday, I received a call from him, and he apologized for the condition of the laptop I received, and told me he would get me another replacement, and this time, a NEW laptop.

After several days (it is now Sunday morning) I still have not received word from him, nor have I been able to contact him once again. So, I decided to get on Dell Chat to see if I could get some information regarding my case. After asking about it, and WAITING for almost 20 minutes for him to respond, he told me there would be no more replacement parts (did I even ASK about replacement parts!?) and he would have to escalate the case to Fraud because of the number of replacements I had.

I don't understand where in the blue hell that came from, and why this is all of a sudden, as no one had a problem with it before. Every time I received a replacement part, I replaced it, and sent back the defective part immediately using the prepaid DHL label that was provided. Why didn't I just have a technician come out to replace the parts? The guy screwed up the laptop even WORSE all 3 times he worked on it (ranging from killing the USB ports to killing the videocard, and even killing the CPU), so I wasn't about to take that chance, not to mention it was difficult, due to my job, to schedule a technician. Besides, I'm a certified technician myself (albeit not a Dell technician) and I know what the hell I'm doing.



So there you have it, another Dell SCREWJOB in progress. I have filed a complaint with the BBB, and also sent my story to Consumerist. Dell also won't be getting back my M1710, nor the crappy M1730 I received, until all of this is resolved. Period. After this, and my past experiences, coupled with what I've seen others go through, I will NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another Dell again.
post #2 of 116
2/24/08 at 8:29am
Why don't you just give them a call and find out what's going on, where the hell fraud thing came up from etc?

Very odd, and interesting..
post #3 of 116
2/24/08 at 11:35am
Fraud??!???!?? Do they even have a fraud dept? Wow Fen, I am sorry. I thought I had it bad.

Have you tried the phone process again from scratch? That is what I had to do, and eventually Dell has come through for me (although not on the damn gfx card.)

I hope you don't get the trolls in this thread that I did in mine. Also have you tried the EECB yet?
post #4 of 116
2/24/08 at 11:44am
/ban all replacement threads
post #5 of 116
2/24/08 at 11:48am
Also wasn't that laptop replacing another system in the first place? What system was that? If it didn't have the 7950GTX their original replacement (without all of the scratches etc) was appropriate, fully and over the top actually.
post #6 of 116
2/24/08 at 11:49am
well we know Dell reads these forums

With all the recent "I just got a M1730" threads it may have triggered a repsonse like this.

But still, you been given a used peice of crap, and it needs to be fixed by Dell.

Sounds like a few more days of Hell are ahead of you, Good luck.
post #7 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Also wasn't that laptop replacing another system in the first place? What system was that? If it didn't have the 7950GTX their original replacement (without all of the scratches etc) was appropriate, fully and over the top actually.
So Fenuxx is another guy that bought a Inspiron 9xxx and got upgraded to a XPS m1730?

Fenuxx, can you post some pictures of all the problems with the new lappy?

I just want to defend Dell a little bit here: I am on number 12 laptop from Dell in the last 8 years. I have never had so many peoplems with a laptop from them. In fact, the only replacements Ive gotten were because of my own lack of care for the laptop, that's why I buy CC on all of them.

I am not accusing, just conveying my experience.
post #8 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
So Fenuxx is another guy that bought a Inspiron 9xxx and got upgraded to a XPS m1730?

Fenuxx, can you post some pictures of all the problems with the new lappy?
I do believe so, 9400 methinks.
post #9 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:41pm
I want to put my .02 in hoping that Dell is reading this. If Dell would stop exchanging Inspiron notebook for XPS notebooks a lot of these problems they are having would disappear. If the customer buys a Inspiron notebook, he should get upgraded in the Inspiron line only.
I’m sure this statement will piss off some people but it’s not meant to. I just think that would be a very fair policy that no one could really complain about.
post #10 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:45pm
Agreed. Double standard will/is pissing people off.
post #11 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACHlLLES View Post
Agreed. Double standard will/is pissing people off.
Double standard?
post #12 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
So Fenuxx is another guy that bought a Inspiron 9xxx and got upgraded to a XPS m1730?

Fenuxx, can you post some pictures of all the problems with the new lappy?

I just want to defend Dell a little bit here: I am on number 12 laptop from Dell in the last 8 years. I have never had so many peoplems with a laptop from them. In fact, the only replacements Ive gotten were because of my own lack of care for the laptop, that's why I buy CC on all of them.

I am not accusing, just conveying my experience.
I agree Wardo. It's not to say that I think these stories are false, it's just that I think sometimes people aren't as accepting or understanding of the warranty terms they've all bought into.

In addition, I've even gone though problems trying to get a 7900GS rather than x1400 as replacement for my 6800go originally, so It's not like I don't understand what it feels like to be in this situation.
post #13 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
Double standard?
Some people they stick with 1720's and some people get upgraded unfairly to the XPS line
post #14 of 116
2/24/08 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
Some people they stick with 1720's and some people get upgraded unfairly to the XPS line
Agreed! I wouldn't call that a "doulbe standard" though. I would call it a "flawed policy".
post #15 of 116
2/24/08 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
I agree Wardo. It's not to say that I think these stories are false, it's just that I think sometimes people aren't as accepting or understanding of the warranty terms they've all bought into.

In addition, I've even gone though problems trying to get a 7900GS rather than x1400 as replacement for my 6800go originally, so It's not like I don't understand what it feels like to be in this situation.

I totally agree with you pdonket.
If I was having problems with my Inspiron 9300 and reading this forum, then, if I were to get another 9300 for a replacement i would be pissed too, doesn't really matter what Dells warranty or CC coverage reads anymore. Dell has set a precedent that needs to be changed, it promotes fraud and anger.
post #16 of 116
2/24/08 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
I want to put my .02 in hoping that Dell is reading this. If Dell would stop exchanging Inspiron notebook for XPS notebooks a lot of these problems they are having would disappear. If the customer buys a Inspiron notebook, he should get upgraded in the Inspiron line only.
I’m sure this statement will piss off some people but it’s not meant to. I just think that would be a very fair policy that no one could really complain about.
I agree with that!

In addition we should not forget, that somehow these upgrades have to be paid.
The idiot who pays them is not dell, but every single customer who's system is more expensive than it would normally need to be otherwise.
post #17 of 116
2/24/08 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
Agreed! I wouldn't call that a "doulbe standard" though. I would call it a "flawed policy".
True, I think the problem is that Dell hasn't prescribed a certain specific replacement for each system configuration, so the replacements just seem to be whatever they have lying in the outlet which causes some people to get more or less than they should. Not sure how they could fix it, but it's a major problem

Quote:
Originally Posted by wardo View Post
I totally agree with you pdonket.
If I was having problems with my Inspiron 9300 and reading this forum, then, if I were to get another 9300 for a replacement i would be pissed too, doesn't really matter what Dells warranty or CC coverage reads anymore. Dell has set a precedent that needs to be changed, it promotes fraud and anger.
I think this is sadly one of those cases where exposure promotes problems, since around here people see that some people are getting over the top replacements and it's causing many to expect the same. What can be done about it, I'm unsure of
post #18 of 116
2/24/08 at 2:58pm
I still dont understand how people paying for a 9300/9400 can get the XPS it makes no sense, If I knew it was this way I would have payed 1500€ for an inspiron instead of the 2400 that I payed for the m90...
post #19 of 116
2/24/08 at 2:58pm
Why did you demand 8800's? It's not going to make that much of a difference That's why they think you were frauding. Dell's policy has came back and bit them in the butt Since a few of us got M1730 all of us wants them. I myself feel bad for getting a M1730 where alot of you are getting treated like this If you get a M1730 with SLI 8700's, it would be best just to keep it.
post #20 of 116
2/24/08 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonya24 View Post
Why did you demand 8800's? It's not going to make that much of a difference That's why they think you were frauding. Dell's policy has came back and bit them in the butt Since a few of us got M1730 all of us wants them. I myself feel bad for getting a M1730 where alot of you are getting treated like this If you get a M1730 with SLI 8700's, it would be best just to keep it.
Nonya, you shouldn't feel bad. You didn't unrightfully get a replacement M1730, you bought into the XPS line and thus warranty states it will have to be replaced XPS. The people who got XPS' for their broken 9400's etc are the ones that are technically the ones being over-given.
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