My nightmare experience with @DellCare / Dell Complete Care Warranty / EMEA Dell support FULL DETAILS INCLUDED

I am NOT a fraudulent person, so I would NEVER do anything fraudulent like that. And if we are talking monetary value, how come we see people with M17x R1' getting new M18's......surely that is not even monetarily equivalent these days, yet it still happens....people have old machines, they go wrong, Dell give them like for like, even if that is new technology....

Just had to cross post this from a thread I just posted on about my case here. Obviously, it was posted in the context that it's okay for non-US people to get the finger....

 

Issues like this exist everywhere, no matter what your citizenship is. I thought we already went over this a few pages ago... Bringing this back up isn't helping anyone.

You said something about a refund in the previous page: you should take it and walk away from this. I honestly doubt it will end in your favor. You've been going at this for nearly 12 weeks now? As difficult and unfair as it may be, this is probably your best option. I'd take it while it's on the table.

If you want to take this to the next level - buy a nice suit and hire an expensive lawyer. That may be the only way from this point.

 

Please, go and post somewhere else.....it's my life, my 12 weeks, my decision. As I have said to you before, if you don't want to contribute anything positive, just do not post....thank you. I brought it up again because it IS relevant, even though you do not think it is.....I can certainly do without posts like yours....

 

You made it everyone's business when you made this thread. I'm not saying anything negative, I'm merely suggesting you take what's offered and end this now before it gets worse. It is your choice, but you made this thread and expected feedback - now you got it.

 

Breath in, breath out.
Breath in, breath out.

I think you maybe are over reacting a little bit Stevie.
Yes it is pretty bad that they don't honour the money you paid for the warranty. On the other side, all of this back and forth just because of some Raid0 issues that is pretty unpredictible wether Intel would fix or not from update. Unfortunately they only came through for the chipset above yours.

They offered you a 512GB SSD first, the only one they had available. They did try to reach out. I understand you wanted the fastest one.

The system replacent they offered you was horrible. No question there. Now the question is, was this "money back" deal a way to say sorry? After all, you did get to use your system for quite some time. Giving you money back is a loss for Dell because Im not sure they can resell your system to other customers.

Since you are unhappy with Dell and the lack of service they gave you, I suggest you buy a different brand next time. Clevo, Asus, MSI. Clevo do have some SLI systems you know

Cheers

 

Then if they are losing money by giving me a refund, then what's the difference in honouring the warranty? - I mean, look at it like this. They give me £3k back and get £1800 for mine on the outlet, that's Dell down £1200.

Give me a true 'like for like' replacement, which obviously is not going to cost them LIST PRICE to do, I reckon it costs Dell MAXIMUM of £2.8k to break even on a maxed out m18 new build costing £4.3k on line (which includes 3 yr warranty, normally pure profit). They then sell my system as a return on the outlet for the same £1800 to recover some costs and then it's back to costing them less actually - around £1000.

Remember, I know a LOT about profit margins for these machines from the many people I have referred to my rep. We always have a chat about how much discount he offered and how much margin on the machine there was for Dell - I have a very good idea of the cost of things from a Dell perspective.

So the argument that it costs more to do the right thing than give a refund is rather illogical.

I'm pretty sure that someone would buy an R1 with 2960xm and dual 580m Sli etc etc for that price in the UK. Especially as there are a LOT of folk who do not like the new design...

 

Your guess is as good as mine Stevie.

- lack of Alienware 18 systems with display that works
- have to follow the bad warranty rules they got going on here in europe. "NO EXCEPTIONS"
- you made too much noise about it. "Here have your money back, please dont bother us anymore"

I really dont know.

 

It's sad though, because not only is it the end of me and Dell/Alienware, when it would not have been a significant thing to honour replacement policy over a refund. In fact, I'd have thought it would have made MORE business sense, from a Public Relations point of view, to just honour the warranty. Yet they choose not to.

So, it's more than likely game over for me, goodbye Dell and goodbye NoteBookReview forums....

 

I agree with Brother Stevie. This situation is relevant because US consumers, receive far better support and solutions compared to everyone else. It has been documented immensely on NBR. And here's another fun fact. Brother Stevie has US-based people trying to help his situation at Dell. Now if he was a US consumer, they would have already resolved this issue evidently. EMEA support for Brother Stevie has been horrid and clearly shows distinctions between themselves and US support.

How in the hell does a solution to a technical issue vary depending on country or location? The US guys were ready to help Brother Stevie, but had to hand him off to the EMEA. EMEA support did not do their job... which is obvious and unarguable. Do I need to go on? Can you not see the problem here Dre?

They offered him a replacement system that did not comprise the same or better components. Did Brother Stevie pay for a system that was top-of-the-line? Should he be insulted that they would take his hard earned money he paid his rig and replace it with a cheaper and under-powered system (he obviously loses a massive amount of funds if he had chose that option which is not an economically sound decision).

I rest for now... but if you cannot contribute to the conversation in a rational and logical approach in regards to your posts, just stay the hell out of this thread. This is not common and light should be shinned on the mistreatment Brother Stevie has been receiving, and the mistreatment of others in similar situations.

This is relevant information. I'm in the US and my rig was replaced with the newer models. I ended up ordering the newer system when I started experiencing technical issues with my old rig. I canceled my order and got the same specs for my replacement WITHOUT hassle! There is clearly a problem here and evidence of discriminatory behavior based on the end-user's location.

Regards

 

Off topic: I'm new to NBR and can't understand why everyone calls each other Brother "xyz" Is this some sort of Amish fraternity?

On Topic: I don't think anyone here is being disrespectful or trying to downplay the situation. Yes it's not right. A lot of things have been brought to the surfice. The point being is that everyone in these forums has the best interest in Brother Steevie(I havent seen one person who hasn't).

Debating what SHOULD be done all day won't necessarily change the mind of Dell of what they already did. Being a REALIST and being REALISTIC, the probability of that is pretty low. I think what a lot of people are saying to Steevie is that you hoped for the best result and ended up with the 2nd best result, when he could still have a paper weight on his desk and Dell sticking to their guns. Not desirable but not BAD.

He's made it clear that he wants to fight this to the end of the earth and that he's going to make Dell into honest company which he is entitled to do so. It would be a great success story if he did fight this and ended up winning... but at some point there has to be a comprimise on the new design or something because you can't win in every circmstance.

 

Stevie I did not really get a Like for Like I am going from 2 x 5870's to one Like for Like would be a 18 or 18x I went from a 17 840 to a 4900qm ya its newer but really how much better. I had another year of warranty and complete care that I am losing. Paid for. They will not even let me purchase more as they said we go by spec's and warranty from the original purchase date. And the most you can get is five years total. I took it to a manager and he said we go by the spec's from the original system not any replacements and any upgrades our
at are discretion.

 

You should read my posts from a few pages ago, if you must know my position on this specific topic. We had a 'discussion' about this once already. I do not deny the support is better, but there are no guarantees. This argument can go on forever...and we will accomplish nothing in the process.

Just know that I believe this situation is unfortunate and I do not side with Dell on this matter.

 

I will admit that from sitting on this side of the pond it seems an awful lot harder for EMEA customers to get replacement systems. I sure had to jump through hoops to get my M18x replaced after more than half-a-dozen service calls, in the space of very little time.

Not sure what in fact was the absolute final straw for Dell, but in the end I recon someone must have done the math. That in addition to assistance I got from here. Regardless, I had to put in quite a bit of effort towards the end, where it seems more and more evident our friends in the USA don't.

 

Sorry to see Stevie go, I wish you the best luck with whatever happens to you from DELL.

I just wish they didn't push intel to release newest IRST for 6x series chipsets and that would solve your RAID issues (and especially everyone's with R1 RAID TRIMMING issues, especially those who bought RAID configurations, if everyone would hop on dell regarding this issue I'd imagine DELL would have to do wide range worldwide replacement program which may cost them more than anyone could expect), plus if they honoured you 2 x 840's in addition, then you would be stuck with your fixed within warranty 18x R1 for a very long time while you had your chances of a big changes but you chose to do otherwise.

However this may or will never happen and it was just a loose thought I had to let it out, but I wish you the best

BR

 

I hear ya, Bro. Totally. Let me just say to you, before I post the following, that it is in NO WAY meant as any detriment to you, my friend. I am extremely happy for you, and you deserve the treatment/replacement that Dell offered to you.

I know that to be exactly fair to you, Dell should have offered you a new 18 with dual gpu's. I recall you mentioning on your thread that you probably could have pushed for an 18, but it would likely be a low end 18 vs. a high end 17. It STILL would have been comparable, though - and even a base 18 would have MASSIVELY eclipsed your outgoing M17xR2 on a 'like for like' performance basis. A base level 18 with 4700mq and 765m Sli would have been a HUGE performance boost coming from an 840qm and 5870m Crossfire. Heck, even a base 17 would have been comparable, in terms of 'like for like' on a performance level.

I appreciate that they offered you a new 17 instead, but that did have a much better cpu in the 4900mq, and even though it was a single gpu in the 780m, that gpu was on par with a base 765m Sli configuration in an 18, and actually a tad more powerful than the 18's base gpu option. If you were to do 'apples to apples' in a 17 for gpu, in all honesty, to be 'like for like' to your 5870m crossfire, they should have only offered you a single 765m instead of a 780m, because a single 765m is MUCH closer to the performance of 5870m crossfire than a 780m is.

In all honesty, with the dual card option out of things for a moment, 'like for like' for your old machine - in terms of component performance - even a 4700mq cpu would have trounced your 840qm, and even a single 765m (PGPU Vantage avg. 13,603) would have been very close to being on par with your 5870m crossfire setup (PGPU Vantage avg. 14,096). Just for comparison, as you ended up with a single 780m, here's the 780m figures - PGPU Vantage avg. 27,286, which is HUGELY more powerful than 5870m crossfire, or a single 765m, a single 770m or even 765m Sli.

Source of comparisons:

Mobile Graphics Cards - In order of 3dMark Vantage PGPU average scores:

Nvidia Single GTX 765m: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M - NotebookCheck.net Tech 13,603
AMD 5870m Crossfire: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire - NotebookCheck.net Tech 14,096
Nvidia Single GTX 770m: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M - NotebookCheck.net Tech 18,826
Nvidia GTX 765m Sli: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M SLI - NotebookCheck.net Tech 25,478
Nvidia Single GTX 780m: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M - NotebookCheck.net Tech 27,286

So, on the graphics card front, it's clear to see that you made out like a bandit with a 780m from 5870m Crossfire - Great for you - like for like? - no way.

Intel Processors - comparison of I7 840qm / I7 4700mq / I7 4900mq - notice the clock speeds. Also, worthy of note, is that you now get onboard iGFX too......the 840qm did not have that feature.

Compare Intel Processors

So, on the cpu front, again, you made out very well. Is a 4900mq really THAT much better than an 840qm? - it sure is. A base clock of almost 1Ghz faster than your 840qm, and turbo up to 3.8Ghz vs. 3.2Ghz with room to be overclocked even further....yes. It IS that much better. I'll even go so far as to say that 'like for like' should have been a 4800mq, not a 4700mq, simply because you cannot OC a 4700mq like you can your 840qm, but base clock for clock, the 4700mq would have been far superior - yet you wound up with a 4900mq. Again, great for you - like for like? - no way.

You totally made out well....because if they WERE doing like for like, you'd have ended up with a much lower spec. As for what you mentioned about not being permitted to pay extra to have an upgrade, it seems that this is indeed possible. Brother Yeti did pretty much that with his warranty AND graphics card just recently. See his thread here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...placement-what-do-resolved-see-post-28-a.html

Quoted from it:

I am not saying you do not deserve what you ended up with because you do, my friend - please do not think I am saying otherwise. I think that you TOTALLY deserve it and I am so happy for you, truly.

What I am saying with this is simple:

Dell US treated you FAIRLY, and even came up with the goods that saw you get a nice bump in gpu and cpu performance, even if it was in the form factor of a 17. You probably could have pushed for an 18 on the basis of dual gpu, and even at BASE, that STILL would have been a massive improvement over your M17x R2. The fact that it would have had a lower specification for the flagship model does not detract from the fact that it still would have been better than 'like for like' than you poorly M17x R2.

I'LL SAY THIS TO EVERYONE. ALL I WANTED WAS LIKE FOR LIKE - I WAS NOT EXPECTING FOR PERFORMANCE TO BE INCREASED WITH UPGRADES. I WANTED TO KEEP THE XM CPU THAT I PAID FOR AND I WANTED COMPARABLE GPU PERFORMANCE, TOO. AS FOR THE SSD, I WAS WILLING TO ACCEPT THE SINGLE MSATA BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT IS A SAMSUNG MSATA- HOW DO I KNOW THIS? - BECAUSE SAMSUNG ARE THE ONLY COMPANY WHO MAKE A 512GB OEM MSATA. I THINK I WAS BEING PRETTY AMICABLE WITH THIS APPROACH.

I hope you, and anyone else, can see where I am coming from with this - I certainly am not knocking you, Bro....I hope you don't think I am, it's just that your case is quite a good example for me to use.

Treating me in the same fashion over a replacement was totally different. Dell offered me a 3630qm that costs around $370 and is extremely sub-par when compared to my 2960xm that costs almost $1,100. They also saw fit to take a graphics card off me, that I paid for as well, in the same process - going from 580m Sli to a single 675m - and if anyone needs telling, a 675m is a rebadged 580m with identical performance! - reference: Nvidia rebranding more than just their low end chips for next gen? - AnandTech Forums and GTX 675M not kepler? rebrand of 580M? and Nvidia does some rebranding, tweaking for 600M series GPUs.

So, you can see why I am not exactly happy - if they had done like for like, I would have been. No, they chose to throw my money back in my face because they STILL cannot see what like for like in my situation actually is.

For all the people who are saying 'just take the refund and be happy' - why should I? - especially as we can clearly see that Dell US actually DO get things right.....am I not entitled to the same level of service or treatment as an American Dell customer?? - should I be treated any differently when deciding upon a replacement specification?? - why should I have to be forced into being in the unenviable position of having to pay close to £1,300 extra in addition to a full refund to ACTUALLY get close to what a TRUE 'like for like' replacement machine from Dell should have been?? - WHY can't I get the kind of 'like for like' replacement offer that others get offered, WITHOUT having their original purchase price thrown back at them instead??

I don't propose to know how much Brother Wolf paid originally for his M17xR2, but the same logic could have been applied for a refund to him, could it not? - I mean, Dell are building him a new machine that has a total cost of $3,078.99. This is going off the info he posted about his replacement specifications in the spoiler below:

Spoiler

Now, I am pretty sure that his old M17x R2 won't fetch much at the outlet either.....so Dell are taking a MASSIVE hit on the warranty for him - why will they not do the same for me on MY warranty??? is my warranty worth less or different to his in some way that I am not aware of?? - WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO COMMENT ON THAT? - why not just throw his money back at him, too???

The answer to that is the FACT that support and treatment for US customers is FAR better than anywhere else....this is pretty clear to me, otherwise we would have been treated the same, would we not??. It's also apparent that whomever deals with arranging 'like for like' replacements in the US ACTUALLY knows a bit more about hardware than what the "SENIOR MANAGEMENT" at EMEA do - what EMEA know about hardware and how to compare it, you could write on the back of a postage stamp. I'd REALLY like for someone who looked at my case to actually explain to me how they arrived at the conclusion that a 3630qm was the same as a 2960xm, and how a single Nvidia GTX 675m is the same as Dual Nvidia GTX 580m's in Sli........PLEASE....ENLIGHTEN ME WITH HOW YOU GUYS COME UP WITH THIS NOTION!!

I think if a lot of you were in my shoes, and had been crapped on like this, had been insulted with what they called a 'like for like' replacement etc etc and THEN have Dell try and 'wriggle out' of honouring their warranty in the same fashion as they do for many other US customers - you would not be happy either.

 

Why do people here think they are entitled to the new models with the best GPUs and the best CPUs, when they have an ancient model with hardware thats literally worth 30% of the hardware thats in the new models?

In my opinion its either a replacement with the same specifications as the model you had trouble with, or a rebate on the new models in the same value as what the specifications of your model is worth.

Sounds like you guys are expecting way too much from Alienware. The customer isn`t always right, and to think you should get a brand new Alienware over a SSD problem is just pushing it way too much to put it nicely.

 

Cloudfire - that's why people rave so much about Dell warranty, mate. It's also why you hear people saying that Dell's warranty is the best in the industry, and that competitors such as MSI, Asus, Clevo, Sager etc. do not have anywhere NEAR as good a warranty service.

Basically, it is Dell's policy to give you like for like, even if that means your old hardware is replaced with the current generation and is superior - if that is all that is available.

Dell make PLENTY of money out of warranty in the first place to offer this service, because lets face it, in proportion to the money they make from warranties that DO NOT have a claim, they can EASILY afford to pay out on those warranties that DO require that type of claim. That's why most people here always say to get as much Dell warranty as you can, because this is a REAL feature of Dell warranty - when honoured.

And as for 'expecting' a new machine from my issues, if you read the thread properly, my friend, you would have realised that I did NOT 'expect' this - Dell OFFERED it - it was THEIR choice. The ONLY thing that was up for discussion were the specifications. Is it really my fault if they cannot adequately compare my spec's to a new machine? - NOPE. They seem to do a pretty good job of doing this for their US customers though......

 

I don`t know, sounds like a horrible way to lose cash in my opinion. To pay technicians all over the world to drive all the way to your house to fix an issue, replacing hardware is one thing, changing the whole notebook with superior hardware thats worth much more...
I`m sure they do make money on the people who pay for extended warranty but never have to use it, but the money they use on those who do get these deals...

Sounds to me like US Dell is following this route, while EMEA is trying to follow known protocols in the industry on how to deal with a customer with a problem. I think the customer service on a random company here in Norway would get a good laugh if I tried to demand a new unit with better specs no matter what product it is.

The insurance companies here in Norway usually refund you with whats the broken unit is worth if you go an claim money from them. I think thats pretty much a well known policy around the world.

No wonder why people do buy these warranties from Dell LOL

 

Where precisely is this entitlement? The only complaints I've seen from others are that the offer (or replacement SSD here) is inferior to their current system, which is perfectly reasonable. It's nothing to do with the offer not being the best, just that they've paid a lot of money for a system and shouldn't receive something worse in return. If the only offer Dell can provide that's an upgrade or equivalent happens to be the best, and/or as part of a newer model, that's just the way it is.

And all I expect (as do others) from Alienware is that they honour their promises. If they sell you an item it should work as advertised. If you pay for a warranty then they should abide by it. And I expect them to treat me respectfully as a customer.

A SSD issue shouldn't have blown up into this, I agree, but it has. If he had been living in the US then this situation would have been resolved a long time ago, but Dell EMEA's failings have turned this from a relatively minor issue into... whatever you call this. The treatment and disrespect shown towards Stevie by certain Dell employees has been unbelievable. Whatever the resolution, it's only right that they offer Stevie a fair solution, and treat him like they do their other customers.

 

Amen to THAT ^^^^^^ +rep!

 

As I KEEP ON SAYING - I did NOT DEMAND a new replacement. Dell offered it to me and they TOLD me it would be LIKE FOR LIKE, with the exception on the SSD being a Samsung, as they could not guarantee this due to backlog. I'll post it AGAIN - what @DellCares messaged me, on 16th June @ 1.45am:

So, they have NOT honoured what they promised. END OF STORY.

 

wow, you sound very angry Stevie. I haven`t talked about you at all. I talked about it in general how things are dealt with here in Norway.

I don`t know if I remember this correctly, but wasn`t the deal you got 512GB Liteon to replace the 240GB Samsung 830`s you had in Raid0?

I think both you and Dell acted kinda poorly on this matter.
They, for not giving you 830`s, but since Samsung have discontinued them, who knows if it was available for them at that time.
You, for making a big fuzz about not getting Samsung. SSD is SSD, even though its not as fast as 830 its still way faster than HDD. You could have settled here but instead continued on with the noise.
They, for basically spitting in your face with offering you a unit with way worse specs.
You, for complaining about them giving you a full refund instead of the newest models.

 

I am angry, Brother Cloud - not at you though, buddy

Thing is bud, why should I go from raid performance, skip the faster Sammy just because it was out of stock, and settle for a lesser performing drive?. I think I was making a big enough compromise in going from raid to a single SSD, I didn't expect to be hammered again on the single SSD performance, too. That's a 'double-whammy' mate....I ain't nobody's fool....and the comment that a SSD is an SSD is rather sweeping and inaccurate. I could easily say a cpu is a cpu.....

Again, I asked for the Sammy - it's not like I DEMANDED it. I suggested it to Dell and they agreed. Not my fault they couldn't come up with their promise on that one. In turn, they offered a new machine - it was THEIR choice to do so, I did NOT bully them into it - how could I possibly bully Dell into anything??. They offered a like for like replacement, and yet again, just like the promise of a Samsung drive, they fail to deliver.

Is it any wonder why I am upset?

 

But you won't be worse off, that's just your perception. At this point, you are being offered exactly what your system was worth new. To you, to them, to anyone.

In the end, your 'like for like' mission is simply gunning for an upgrade, because you know that you'd get one if you got a replacement that was truely like for like. If I was you, I'd give them the system back, sell the 680ms, and get something new with 780ms. You'll be at little to no loss, or even some factor of gain, factoring in you have a rep that will give you the best discount he possibly can.

I am personally done watching this, because I think it's as far resolved as it should be. Not accepting a different SSD was being picky but justified, and their behaviour after that was unacceptable, but now they're willing to pay for your entire machine. Simply forget that you ever used it, and you're spitting in their face.

 

I appreciate what you are saying, Brother Hybrys. I have to disagree with some of it, though.

I WILL be worse off, no doubt about it, because how can I purchase a like for like machine from Alienware without having to find an extra £1,300 to do so. £3000 refund for my original purchase price is not gonna cut it - by a LONG chalk. My 'mission' is simple - to get warranty service that everyone else and his dog gets offered. It's not about getting this or that, it's about Dell honouring their warranty in the same fashion as they do other folk.

As for my 680m's (that are completely SEPARATE to this incident, and have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with it) why should I have to sell something that I own just to get back to what would be like for like under warranty - if Dell actually honoured that - when it's blatantly clear that others do not have to do the same. Dell offers US customers great replacement specifications for far older machines than mine....brand new, better gpu's, better cpu's etc etc......why should I be the exception to this rule? - Was the money that I paid for my warranty not as good as the money they paid for their warranty or something????? - please enlighten me as to why I should just 'crawl off into the night, to die, like an injured animal'...just to make Dell's life easier???

Stone me, am I the only one who can see this?? - if other customers get offered like for like (or better, in Brother Alienwolf's case) then why should I be treated ANY differently??

 

Im sorry Stevie ... but some things are not totally fair, not always.

Just imagine DELL pursuing intel to launch backdated update on IRST OROM regarding this case and giving you 2 x 840's instead with IRST RAID TRIM SUPPORT...? How would that turn your current casino table around?

You're playing with fire, I am sorry to say that but you've been given best option to take pressure off, me know ing you wont be using your DELL product since you really DIDNT ENJOY there warranty services and customer care treatment...

Price / value for money was different back then vs today, hence things cost more if you wanted to buy best of the best today. Sure would be great if they did the right move and gave you swap equivalent to your current config. , but hardly they will. Being a real man in my opinion is not fighting to death, but give a way to the fool (in this case DELL) and just wash your hands of them with zero loss, and let them stuff your old machine where sun doesnt shine. Simple as. Yet you feel you can get lucky and regarding to how dell US treats system swap routines their customers, you should be lucky too, this may not happen and you just may get "burned".

Im sorry but me too, have done watching this, reading this on and on to last few posts drove me go red with blood boiling in my face, but you taking it to the extreme level instead of walking away from this pool of dirt, just doesnt make common sense to me any more, world will never be equally good place to be everywhere at the same time, this case USA vs EMEA DELL warranty, and I doubt one man can take the whole pyramid and turn it upside-down.

I will check this thread from time to time but no more regularly since I just lost interest as my opinion and your chosen actions differs too much and I just dont see the point anymore.

Sorry

Unsubscribed

 

There is a difference my m17x was or is being replaced under warranty..its under complete care. Which will not come out of Dells pocket. It is coming out of a third party insurance company. So Dell will lose nothing. Makes it easy for them. If I had an issue under regular warranty I am sure it would take all kinds of hoops to jp thru. So its not apples to apples on why I got a replacrment. Even if I am glade.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Your logic makes sense, but you cannot "save" Dell or punish Dell. Take the refund and see where such customer service leads Dell over the next few years.

 

I perfectly understand why you want to continue. It shouldn't be any drop for them, and they should've offered you an honest like for like machine. What it comes down to is that you're looking to get an upgrade, but the same upgrade as everyone else.

What you SHOULD be offered is an AW 18 w/ 4900MQ, SLI 770s, 6GB RAM, 512gb mSATA, and 750gb HDD. You can get all of this with your refund, easily.

The 2920xm has it's limits, and although it's not XM, I think that the 4900 is quite analogous in performance, given it's 4.2ghz max XTU clock, and architectural differences. The 4900 also has an 8mb cache, just like the rest of the XM CPUs do, compared to most at 6mb. Even if you ran the 2920xm at 4.5ghz, the 4900MQ should match it.

Then you pull the 770s, place your 680s, and have fun!

 

I understand a little of what you are saying but I do not agree with it.

You got same capacity as you had in your Raid setup: 2*256GB or 512GB.
You got a slower SSD, but lets face the reality here brother, do you think you notice much from a Samsung 830 vs a 840 PRO despite the 840 PRO being much faster on paper? I can tell you from my own experience from owning both, no. Shure it boots up faster, and maybe start program faster, but we are talking 2-3 seconds here. Is this really worth creating a 48 pages thread about? Sounds like too much energy wasted away which you could have used for gaming instead

The final deal you got was a full refund. Not money back for what your system is actually worth now (which is very little), but what you paid for it. That means they honoured your warranty.

Sorry Stevie, I`m not feeling you entirely now

 

I'm sorry you feel like that, Bro. If your face was going red etc, Imagine what mine has been doing of late - you've just been reading about it - I've been living it. What Dell have done to me is WRONG. Sorry, but it is plain WRONG. It boils down to this single fact:

They offered me a LIKE FOR LIKE replacement of their own volition. I did NOT demand it, and they have failed miserably to come through with their promises. Period. An offer of full refund, whilst some may find attractive, is NOT gonna permit me to obtain the same like for like machine from Dell/Alienware without me having to sell stuff I OWN to do so. To me, that is Dell 'shirking' their warranty commitment TO ME in favour of the easiest way out for THEM. It is by no means the BEST thing for their customer, myself. They honour this 'commitment' to other customers, so why am I so vastly different??? - not acceptable in my book.

I know that these examples are by no means directly comparable to my situation, however, indulge me for a second here: Is it wrong to see US war veterans on the streets, sleeping rough after years of serving their Country well? - Hell yes it is wrong. Is it also wrong to see 'fat-cat' city bankers making millions of $$ or ££, whilst the majortiy of the world is in financial turmoil because of events they caused in the first place? - Hell yes it is wrong.

I hope I do not offend anyone with those examples - they were just the first things that came into my head as things that are wrong in this world today. Of course, my problems melt into insignificance in relation to those examples.

My point is simply this: Two wrongs do not make a right, and I strongly believe that Dell was WRONG in offering me the replacement specification they did, and also WRONG to simply want to refund me instead of honouring their like for like promise. Giving me my money back does NOT make it RIGHT....it just makes it easy for Dell, that's all.

That is what I am not happy about. That, along with the fact that I personally have to PAY to get back to like for like when my warranty should have covered all of that, is WRONG.

There is no difference, Bro. I have Complete Care warranty, too - just like you - and my machine would have been replaced under the same terms of that warranty, had Dell actually provided a like for like solution. If what you say is true, then they would not lose any money on my replacement either......

 

Wait, what? Dell are not going to use a 3rd party, unless it's under exceptional circumstances, like say they're doing a very large job for a corporate client. For regular users they'd be constantly claiming on it, and it would massively reduce their margins at best. Complete care is just a broader warranty, nothing else.

My M17x R1 was replaced under a regular warranty with no hassle or jumping through hoops. Why? Because it's a numbers game and the numbers add up for Dell, so they take a loss here and there. Not because of anything to do with insurance. They ate the loss because of the 50 other people (or whatever) who don't claim and end up being pure profit.

 

^^^^ Exactly. Complete Care is simply the broad name given to a Dell warranty which includes accidental damage cover, basically. That's what they mean by 'Complete' - if it breaks down, they've got your back...if you break it in an accident, they've got your back on that , too. Well, I say 'they' for AD, but that IS when it's handled by a 3rd party insurance company. In the UK, that such insurance underwriter is London General. Nowt to do with Dell.

And I wholeheartedly agree with the point about the 'umpteen' people who do NOT claim any warranty service, MORE than makes up for those that do. Dell makes a MASSIVE amount of money on warranty - I KNOW this to be true, because whenever I talk to my rep in relation to the business from NBR that I have been referring to him, he is saying to me "mate, get them to take 3-4yr warranty, there is a BIG margin in it for the sale - bigger profit margin than ANY component".......so, actually honouring warranties, in reality, does not cost Dell much at all...yet they are still trying to shaft me big time....

I think there is a misconception that Dell makes a lot of money from machines with XM cpu's and top end SLI configuration.....sure, they make SOME money off those components, but the REAL money lies in warranty sales, Ram and Hard drives - and as we ALL know, the structure in which you can configure a new machine has changed to reflect the fact that they make more money on memory and HDD's - if you want top end cpu/gpu, you now have to get the other stuff from Delll too.....smart money making move.....

 

Iwas told by the people that approved my replacement it can only be used once..once it is approved if they stopped it the coverage is no longer any good and they said they have the replacement covered by a third party. Just like Best Buy or any big box company. It makes it a no vost deal for them and thry get a cut from the premium.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

I used to work for Apple as a manager in Applecare support for Laptops and went over hundreds of "replacement" calls. I can surely tell you in the 10 years I did that I have never seen an entire computer get replaced/upgraded over a hard drive issue. The ONLY time we ever did, is if the laptop was sent in 3+ plus times or was TOO far gone and had extensive damage to the screen that cost more to fix than replace. The people didn't have to jump through hoops, but they certainly had to put a LOT of effort into sitting on the phone over the period of several months.

I'd say 9/10 times the people were SO happy with the replacement itself it stopped at that. Then we had the 1% extravagant people that it was nearly impossible to make happy.

VERY RARELY were decisions made based on how you were treated in the past.
VERY RARELY were decisions made based on he said/she said or what others were offered previously
and most importantly
VERY RARELY were decisions made based on how irate someone was, if anything this negatively KILLED the chances of getting an entire replacement. The devil himself could have spewed molten lava at you for 9 months, but if you got to me and returned the favor, my intent to help you went from 100 to 0 extremely quick. The front lines get yelled at/abused for 10+ hours a day which really tends to suck the human aspect/emotion out of life. A lot of them are on work permits as a part of their immigration and can't apply/look for jobs elsewhere. That quality of life is pretty bad and it was extremely hard to find anyone to empathize with a situation after being emotionally blank after 5-10 years in the industry getting paid minimum wage to deal with it.

All the lies/deceit, the selling of the laptop and the fact Dell didn't own up to "intel's mistake" is TOTALLY irrelevant to someone trying to fix the problem. That is sad to say, but its the TRUTH and the faster you come to that reality the better.

Less than 1% of the time decisions were made based on how someone was treated. You can wipe all the previous inequality with the US and other things off the table because in reality it simply won't help you. I never heard anyone say "here have this upgraded macbook pro because of the way the previous 100 agents treated you over 5 years of ownership" The point I'm trying to raise is NOT to say this is what Steevie is doing, but trying to get the point across that NONE of that really matters to someone authorized to give replacements. We were instructed to make judgment calls based on how poorly the machine treated them over the ownership period, NOT how poorly they were treated as human beings etc.(missell falls into how you were treated).

The fact of the matter is, I was SHOCKED to see you get a full refund out of Dell. You got to "TRIAL" a machine for a while, it didn't work out and you got ALL your money back. They probably offered the refund due to the "missell" of the laptop, but the percentage of companies in the US that will do this are SLIM TO NONE. Good luck trying to get a full refund with that much usage, outside the refund policy in any industry no matter how bad they treated you.

Whatever @DellCares offered you, "Like-to-Like" is obviously subjective to them. The fact they offered you a "newer" system with "subpar" parts is a huge accomplishment in there eyes. You can turn yourself red in the face all day but the fact remains there isn't much of a case to pull a replacement AND an upgrade.

You probably blew the chances of getting an upgrade by sending that last email. SURE you have EVERY RIGHT to do that, but it probably killed the chances. I probably would have STATED what I deem fit as a total config replacement, (because in all honesty they probably don't know), in the calmest way possible holding back all the rage I had because I know this would give me the best chances of getting what I think is FAIR. If that didn't work, you are at the mercy of the manager taking the case.(and often it is just that, another day, another case… and move on)

Just saying...

Take your money and buy something else or stay on here and whine and moan and I guarantee you, it will probably all be for nothing. You will be left p'd off and bitter. By the looks of it, you will probably accomplish your goal. To each their own.

My 2 cents: SHOULD DELL do the right things, YES. Will they? Probably not a chance in hell.

 

I think all them years working for Apple may contributed to your misunderstanding of DELL warranty, which you clearly do not understand. I keep saying this, and people keep overlooking it for some reason. It was DELL's offer to replace my machine with like for like - not mine. Not my fault that they cant compare stuff accurately. I HAVE tried until I have been blue in the face (politely, too until yesterday, when I snapped momentarily - which I think I was entitled to snap, going off the treatment) to explain that a 3630qm is not comparable to a 2960xm etc etc.....would anyone here be happy with a Ford as a replacement if they bought a Ferrari? - nope. same logic here.....

About this 'Test driving' or 'trial' thing.....I did not buy my machine with the thought of test driving it for 18mths. If I had of done, I would not have taken out 4 years warranty. I expected to be fully covered for that 4 years and for Dell to replace/repair my computer during those four years accordingly. I did not take warranty to have my money thrown back at me. I paid the premium so that I would not have to be in the position of hunting around for a new machine, having to haggle all over again, put my own money to it etc etc.....you guys just do not see that, you are quite content to jusy say 'well, you used it for a bit...you should be happy'.....WRONG.

You PAY more for Dell warranty because it is supposed to be comprehensive in these circusmtances. We see it all the time on NBR where people, not just myself, post threads abot their woes. The majority of them end up getting taken care of - some with great replacement machines WITH UPGRADES THAT I DID NOT ASK FOR, NOR EXPECTED - some of you are missing the point that all I wanted from Dell was like for like as they promised.

How many more times do I need to say that before it sinks in?

Location aside, if customers X and Y both get offered a replacement machine, and customer X gets a cracking replacement with superb specifications, where is the argument or justification for customer Y not getting the same treatment if they both paid for the same warranty service from the same company....answer me that one...

 

You can say it all day brother... and nobody will listen! CERTAINLY not Dell.... How many times do we need to say that before it will sink into you?

I have purchased and read over the terms of the Dell warranty with my new AW17 so your snide remark of working for Apple lead to misunderstanding is a bit put off and quite frankly you are starting to make that impression on me and the greater majority of people on this forum.

People are leaving this thread for good reason, this is starting to become a little ridiculous.

 

There was nothing snide about my comment, it was simply stating that as you worked for Apple, you were not conversant with Dell warranty. Have you had three years experience of seeing Dell/Alienware warranty issues on these forums and how Dell deals with them and how they are resolved, more often than not with better than like for like specifications? - nope, but I have. I find it quite insulting, that you, as a junior member with 47 posts who has not been around these forums for very long, turn up here and criticize me for trying to get what everyone else seems to get when it boils down to replacement machines. I am not forcing anyone to stay and subscribe - if they want to leave, that is their decision, not mine.

If I choose to push the issue, that is my right to do so. I do not expect for someone like yourself to come on here and criticize me for doing so.

 

I was simply trying to bring you back down to reality of a hard drive issue on a 95% working machine by comparing my experiences in a similar industry. You can quote the warranty all day long, but nobody at Dell is going to take that as usability beyond the point of no return that justifies a replacement and upgrade. You are clearly missing the point that we are ALL on your side... but trying to politely tell you it probably won't happen.

I will be unsubscribing to this as well.... I hope it works out for you and that you put your time to better use than ranting and raving on this thread to people that ultimately cannot decide your fate.

 

Again, you are free to read or not. Your choice. I have actually spoken to various UK authorities Today who DO say that I have a case...... Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982. which states that goods should be as described, work accordingly as advertised for a reasonable period of time. It also states that I am entitled to "like for like or betterment" from the seller, in accordance with those laws.

If I cant share my emotions here with fellow Alienware owners, where can I? - if you do not understand, then I cannot help you to understand, and I won't even try...

 

Good luck in pursuing that. Buy a nice suit and lawyer up. Go waste a judge's time after they offered you a full refund. See how far that goes.

Like I said, you had this entire thread pulling for you. You were offered all your money back as an OUT and decide to keep dragging it through the mud. You were offered SEVERAL rational tidbits of advice from members and choose to drag an objective "like for like" clause to the ends of the earth.

You could probably buy 5 disposable M18s equal to the amount of time you are willing to drag this out. There certainly has to be better things to do with your time.

 

Maybe things work different where you are, but we in the UK do NOT HAVE to take a refund - the law is on the side of the smaller individual here......just so you know...

 

This has turned into a one man vendetta at this point. I don't care what the law says in the UK, no judge on the face of the earth will force Dell to give you a upgraded machine with more market value today than whatever your R1 was worth back in 1992 ......ESPECIALLY after offering you a full refund that you rejected.

You have to be living in some sort of delusional dream world if you honestly think that will happen....

 

If you cannot contribute anything constructive to this thread, please reply to other threads you may be interested in.

1. People are listening
2. I believe you may be suffering from some form of psychosis because this didn't make sense: How many times do we need to say that before it will sink into you?
Are you referring to voices you may be hearing in your head? or are you referring to a plurality of members of this forum? if so, who!?
3. You do not (and cannot) speak for the "greater majority of people" on this forum.
4. People are not leaving this thread (evidence?)

It's not like-for-like, it's the "same or better"! And such a concept is clearly not subjective to them (this was not an educated statement you made). Moreover, explain to me how I was able to cancel my order for the AW17 and FORCED them to upgrade my incoming replacement (replaced my R4) with the same exact specs as my order - which I made them custom build-job for me... eh? I received zero hassle and argument while doing so. I even made them send me a copy of Windows 8 Pro and a portable HDD so I can seamlessly transfer my data from one device to the next. So you misplaced belief that, "You can turn yourself red in the face all day but the fact remains there isn't much of a case to pull a replacement AND an upgrade" holds zero weight. I made them pull my replacement off the line, order me a new one while on the phone during that instance, and had it configured according to MY specifications (I would have gotten the XM, but opted for the QM because that was the build I ordered originally).

If you do not have anything positive to say (hell at least words of encouragement because this is a jacked up situation Brother Stevie is in) and/or contribute anything of positive to the conversation.... just keep your comments to yourself. Your parents raised you better than this (I may be wrong). Do not go around these forums and attempt to troll or tear down our people here (and you obviously did not read the warranty based on your comments bro).

The evidence outweighs opinions.
The evidence unarguable shows what it is (walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... you know the rest).

Have a good morning :thumbsup:

 

Stevie, a few questions (that may or may not have been already answered, but i too have followed this debacle front-to-back and it's become a tad, how shall i term it--convoluted, to say the least):

1. where is the machine currently?
2. does the refund offer include the cost of your warranty?
3. could you maybe post up your warranty language that was sent/transmitted to you at the time of original purchase?

and lastly, an observation: your patience throughout this entire thing in terms of waiting for Dell/@dellcares's to reply every step of the way has been nothing short of commendable . . . until they've actually replied! it's like you're expecting a certain response and when you don't get it you fire back with some exceedingly snarky reply that totally goes against the entire case you've taken this long to build.

Sent from my PI39100 using Board Express

 

More evidence that you didn't bother reading the warranty/legal notices

And!

How in the world did you arrive at that!? I seriously would like to know because (if you read the warranty) you wouldn't have made that comment. The warranty is a legal binding contract/agreement... fact. Everything entailed therein is "usable"... fact. And did you read the portion about replacements and upgrades? I take it you didn't bother

 

1.The evidence of people leaving this thread in back 5-10 pages, several people have said they will be unsubscribing after giving heart felt advice on the matter and watching steevie continue to go off the handle
2. You may be suffering some sort of pychosis called "Stupidity" for making the comment about the voices in my heads. I DIRECTLY responded to Steevie saying to me "how many times do I have to explain the like for like theory" which was directly targeted at me.... Re-read the previous post before I said that you might have known. Congratz for making yourself look stupid in a public forum.
3. I don't speak for the greater majority on this forum, but ALOT of people agree with me...this is beyond the point of ridiculous
4. WHATEVER worked for you, is obviously not working for him.... and the more you pump him full of false hope, the more it infuriates him.... Dell has done all they are going to do. OBVIOUSLY!! IS THAT NOT CLEAR TO EVERYONE HERE...

Let's all take our heads out of the clouds, going through clauses in the warranty and threatening legal action is all pipe dreams.

To each their OWN, we could all bicker back and forth. I'm trying to play the part of a REALIST.

LET THE RESULTS speak for themselves, I would love to see Dell upgrade this machine, voluntarily or in a court of law...

 

^^^^^ personally, I just thing you are argumentative. It's also not very nice calling people stupid, incase you did not know...I asked a little further back in the thread (obviously, you did not read or take notice of it) for constructive posts. I have yet to see one from yourself. All you have done is belittle my situation and mock me for trying to get what I thinks is my equal right under warranty.

Very far from helpful, I must say...

 

Everything you mentioned was not accurate... I quoted you directly Sir

Have a good morning.

 

It's constructive to be called Pychotic? I can't respond to that?

And you are calling me argumentative? The person that is arguing with a FULL MONEY BACK resolution. Unreal....

I rest my case, this is absolutely ridiculous. Let the results speak for themselves, you have proven to be ignorant and hard to deal with back in the face of adversity.

Do what you want and enjoy your broken R1. The more I listen to you the more I side with Dell.... there had to be a reason they are sick of dealing with you to offer a full refund. That politely means "GO AWAY, we have more important things to deal with: