M1710 battery problem - Page 2

That is total bs. I've never done that to any of my customers, sure I loose a lot of money sometimes but hell it's more of a hobby and I wouldn't want a bad rep.

^^Agreed here. Sounded like a bad apple (seller) to me. And Dell replacement warranty can be a pain now and then for some customers

cheers ...

matchbox are you a retailer?

Naw I just fix laptops for people and typically charge them 10 bucks labour and whatever the parts are if its even a part. Since I'm a student we often trade favours, so I get a lot of free stuff around here :P.
I have had roughly 15 actual customers though that I charged the same and if something went wrong I always take it back, which has been almost half the time.
It's a little harder when school's in session.

I understand I think, the BS comment was on the retailer and his attitude not aftermarket batteries. Or no?

Quite both. :P More the reseller.

Well as further evidence about how crappy aftermarket batteries are my new less than 3 week old replacement from the incident above died on me last night. I was on battery when it happened so it wasn't a "power surge" or anything of the like.

I was at Starbucks near closing time using the wifi there to download files for my computer (I run primarily Gentoo Linux). There was a major update of KDE (the graphical desktop environment I use) yesterday which was over 600megs. For those unfamiliar with Gentoo upgrading is a multistep process as all source files after downloading must then be compiled and installed.

I've been out of work for awhile so I've been using Starbucks and my local library's wifi to stay in touch with the world as I've had to cut back on expenses and give up internet access at home.

I had just finished downloading all of the files I needed and begun compilation when the manager told me it was nearly closing time. There are some picnic tables and benches out front where I've hung-out after hours on several occasions while using the net.

I unplugged my machine, walked outside and sat down with it happily compiling away in the background while I was surfing. Then about 1/2 hour later..... Poof!!! Screen went blank. Turn on the power switch, tried to reboot... nada... zilch! Sure enough the exact same thing that happened to me a few weeks ago.

Piece of crap BS F%$king battery!!!! I get it home and plug in and viola! It's working fine off the adapter. Put in my old Dell battery and viola! Also fine. This really has me PO'd! Now I'm out $100 I don't have.

I'm tempted to take this guy to small claims court if he refuses to replace it or refund my money. Since I'm out of work now the one thing I have too much of is time. Even on the outside chance that I were to loose, it would cost him a lot more to fight it than me. Hopefully he'll be sensible and not force me to do this.

Additionally, this shop advertises locally on Craigslist for selling batteries (which is how I first found him) and under computer repairs. If he refuses to replace/ refund I'm tempted to take to the net and post all over that board not to buy or use his services. Maybe with this kind of pressure I can get a concession out of him

I'll chime in on this thread as it develops.

Ciao

Good luck with the claim - the seller needs to replace the battery or refunds the money to you. I have seen "new" batteries going through replacing 3-4 times before. If one gets a bad batch, nothing one can do about it but hope that the seller is being cooperative.

cheers ...

It's tough being a seller.

No kidding - one must write 10 pages of rules to cover everything that buyers might take a shot at

cheers ...

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this statement, because it's impossible to make blanket statements about any profession. In my case the seller's policy isn't above board from the get go.

First) He advertises on Craig's List that his aftermarket batteries are as good as Dell's and "back's them" with a "six month warranty".

Second) The name of the company he lists on CL is different than the name on the receipt. Though the phone number and address is correct. So you think you're purchasing from the company in the ad, but you aren't, making it harder to prove the warranty valid. The receipt given is from a repair company not a retailer.

Third) This receipt from said second company has fine print, "all sales are final" and "there are no warranties expressed or implied". This despite the ad which clearly states a "six month warranty".

Forth) The refusal to accept a refund or return on said battery without having the unit examined for an additional fee. This reeks of some kind of a scam to drum up additional revenue for fully functional units. Let's say that I had agreed to have my unit sent in for repair, there's nothing wrong with it; would he then have tried to charge me for a none existent repair?

Fifth) I was only able to get the first replacement after proving with my old battery that my unit was fine. The techs there were insisting nothing was wrong with their battery, pointing out that it showed a full charge and that the "self-test" on the battery itself showed fully charged. This tech, not knowing the extent of my knowledge tried to explain to me that "laptop batteries only have individual cells in them so there is no electronics that can fail". It was only after I held my ground and directed him to websites proving that modern lithium-ion batteries are "smart" and do indeed have electronics which can fail that I was able to shut him up.

Sixth) A reputable seller would have exchanged a defective battery under warranty no questions asked. Instead I'm now forced to escalate the situation in order to get satifactoy resolution.

As I said in my initial post, I was originally planning to purchase a Genuine Dell battery whether that meant ordering from a dealer or from Dell itself. My Mom was in town we were trying to take care of some personal business on behalf of my younger brother. She wanted me to have a fully functioning laptop so we could use WiFi to do things around town. This was a big mistake.

I'll repeat my original statement DON'T BUY AFTERMARKET REPLACEMENT BATTERIES!!! THEY'RE CRAP!!! STAY WITH GENUINE DELL!!!

It's just not worth the money and aggravation. I just hope this thread informs others not to make this mistake!

Ciao

Right, but watch it, soldering and open cells are not a good mix

cheers ...