So disappointed with Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department

My use of Dell was at work (where via my IT department was responsible for ordering Dells in the 100's) and my laptop is the first computer I directly bought from them. It was bought as Chillblast no longer sell laptops and we had 2 of them and a photo editing tower PC. In nearly 8 years there support was excellent, advice on hardware upgrades and even coming on line to help with a new video card that had a problem, My experience with Dell has not been anywhere as good. It didn’t help that I didn’t realize an on line order I did for the laptop defaulted to US International. A member of support did get me up and running but the laptop was VERY sluggish, and it would be polite to say slow (<Profanity is not allowed. DELL-Admin> slow was more to accurate).

In the end I again turned to support and after a long exchange of emails and for the laptop grinding to a halt the involvement of a second support member. Both told me to “SATA mode is set to AHCI” and to do a full reinstall. I now know that was not the setting for this laptop and its near impossible to get back to the correct BIOS setting with not yet another total rebuild, It works now vastly better than it ever did before even with the wrong BIOS setting and SATA mode. I told both support staff of the newly introduced problem, surprise surprise never had any further communication. The laptop still has issues but at 80 I don’t have the energy to start over again.  My view after this I would NEVER get Dell or recommend them and indeed as I do ICT for a u3a group have passed that view on to a number of people facing the Windows 10 deadline. So they have lost some sales already.

<Do not start multiple threads. Reply on your original thread. DELL-Admin>

I have been purchasing Dell products for 20 plus years and have always stood behind Dells warranty and told everyone I know that there is nobody in the computer industry that can come close to their tech support and warranty. What I am going through now has chnaged my mind and after this experience might very well push me away from ever purchasing a Dell product again for my bussiness or personal use! 

To start I have had my Alienware 51M laptop for almost 5 years, I purchased their Premium support plus warranty, the best one they have to offer and have not had one repair on it until now! It has been the best laptop I have ever had from Dell.

So one day I go to use my laptop and its black and wont turn on, just dead!  Dell sends a repair tech to my home and not only does he not repair it, he damages my laptop instead.

He pierced my speaker with a tool, he cracked the frame of my pc in two different spots and did I mention he couldn't repair it! 

So Dell asked me to send my laptop in to their repair centre. I wrote a note explaining the damaged areas that needed to be repaired from the tech and emailed them further information. 

Only once they contacted me throughout the repair about my battery being near end of life and that the repair was on hold.

They asked me to purchase another battery and I was going to until they told me that they were going to charge me half the price of the battery just to put the battery in my laptop!

I had quite a back and forth with them about that because to me it was so rediclous that they had to take my old battery out of my laptop to repair it, so why couldn't they just put a new battery in, I would pay for the battery but wave the install fee.

They stood their ground and would not wave the fee! Unbelieveable, you have to remove my old battery to repair my machine and put the battery back in so why charge me a fee to put in a new one?

Anyways throughout the repair they never repaired any of the damge created from the first tech's repair attempt but they did replace the speaker.

When I got the laptop back I went to turn it on and it shut off again and was doing the same wierd shuting off and on. 

I also noticed 5 plastic pieces that fell out of my machine and they scratched my laptop montior in two different places! 

So Dell went through the parts I needed to repair all the damaged areas from both repairs damage and sent other parts that they thought might be the problem.

When the aprts arrived I went through the parts and they only sent two that were correct and the other two were not needed.

Again wasted time, but this time a supervisor spoke with me and we figured out all the parts that were needed for the repair to get completed.

Again I waited almost two weeks for the parts to arrive and the tech was sceduled for the repair. The tech shows up at my home and starts the repair and he could not get it running, he then noticed that all the parts were not sent that was needed for the repair and requested Dell to send the keyboard and that he would attempt again to repair my laptop. This part was delayed again and another week goes by.

The tech comes to my home to complete the repair, in the repair they are replacing everything on my laptop from the damge created from both previous repairs and trouble shooting what is going on. In this repair they replaced my video card, mother board, heat sink, montior,keyboard and bottom frame of my laptop! 

Literally a complete excgange of parts! The tech said in all his years of repairing a laptop he has never seen that before! When he finished his repair the computer turned on for the first time in almost two months. I was not home to see it as I was working but when I come home at night it was sitting on my kitchen table running, however I did not use it as I was tired and got home super late that night.

The next morning I went to try my laptop out and when I touched it was so hot, it felt like you could cook eggs and bacon on the kayboadr area, it was also so hot under neath the machine! I went to log in on it and during the log in it shut off and I could smell a major burning smell. Again the laptop would not turn on, OMG what a nightmare!

So I called Dell, we did some touble shooting and they wanted me to send my laptop in again to the repair center.

I mentioned to them that I was so done with this and that I was told if they couldn't repair it after four attempts that I would qualify for a system repalcement! My machine was damaged twice, poked and proded, put thorugh four unsecessfull repairs and I just wanted a running laptop!

So the tech told me yes you have been through so much here and we are going recomned a replacement laptop.

I was then connected to Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department they offered me some specs of a replacement laptop M18 laptop and told me it was pending aproval.

They conatced me again a few days later to tell me the laptop they offered me was not in stock and that there was a delay! I did not hear anything from them in a week so I was waiting for a replacement laptop.

I reached out asking questions and they told me that I was not approved for the replacement! What? Like shouldn;t I have been infomred of that way earlier then a week or more?! I was waiting for a replacement  laptop for a week.

I asked them why, they told me because me warranty did not cover system replacement as per warranty terms!

I really got upset, why would you recommend a system replacement, make me wait a week, tell me the laptop is delayed that was offered to me, to turn around and tell me I was nto approved? 

If my warranty didn't cover repalcement then why waste my time and put me through a replacement process!

Why offer me a computer with the specs, tell me its delayed, a week goes by, I reach out with questions and I am told I was not approved! This just stinks to the high heavens and it not right! I should not be treated like this! I am sorry but this is not right!

I paid alot of money for the Premium Support Plus warranty and was told by several techs at Dell that my warranty covers replacement, I was put through the process by the Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department, so why am I being lied to?

I have been without a laptop for over two months now and they now want me to send my laptop in again to the Dell repair centre for what? Them to damage it again and not repair it? 

In the last email I recieved from the Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department they said this about the reason they denyed me a replacement computer "Regarding your warranty, I would like to clarify that it entitles you to repairs and part replacements, rather than a complete system replacement. We have reviewed your case in detail, including the request for a system exchange, but unfortunately, this request was declined based on the terms of your warranty".

So they are saying they did not approve the system repalcement due to terms of my warranty! So like I said if my warranty does not include replacement why did everyone at Dell tell me system replacement is apart of my warranty and why would the Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department put my through the replacement process?

I just can't believe that my $5000 laptop treated me so good for almost 5 years, it breaks down, dell damages it in both repairs so bad that they had to replace almost the complete laptop, it heats up so hot I am lucky it didn't burn our house down with us in it over night and what do I get?

I get put throught a replacement process by tech support and Dell's Advanced Resolutions Department, given the specs of the laptop they are offering me, to over a week later told the process they put me through it is not appart of my warranty! Wow Dell really knows how to treat a 20 plus year supporter, question is will I reamin that way?

Be in touch soon to let everyone know the final outcome.

I did a number of program and one BIOS update in early August. Almost as soon as they were all installed I stared getting blue screens and crashes. I have spent hours on chat with support who keep finding new updates which do nothing. Dell Support is one program not working properly or at times loading. It couldn't be uninstalled and in the end I found the MS install/uninstaller troubleshooter which did get it off which allowed  me to reinstall a now working copy. I also had an image created early on and could wind things back to that though the corruption to the Support Assistant was there as well (the image was after some of the updates) and a few crashes! So far I have got it working little thanks to support but after a lot of work by me. For example when told Support wasn't working loading properly and I couldn't uninstall it didn't they direct me to the MS tool?

@John_72bfd28​ They removed my post and put it in a thread I created last week. Nothing suspicious about that.

It seems Dell don't like people sharing their experiences with each other regarding their terrible aftercare and advanced resolution services on here.

Oh well.

Yes, I have also problem with my laptop, the chat support says me to do updates and clean installation of os and said if the issue remains after the os installation, it will be hardware issue but after doing and symptoms remain, they are saying that no hardware issue found, and likely software issue and need to be paid even I have warranty, after when my case got to advance resolution team, they said to give laptop to service centre but nearest service centre was 400-500 km and when saying I can't, they just saying that I am lying and saying my evidence is ai generated, and then closed my case. Very disappoint with dell , their product and their services