Did dell cheat me? 14.1" laptop with a 2.5" border!!

Hello all.

I have just recieved my new Latitude D531. I bought this 14.1" laptop it as a replacement to my old 15.4". There was cheaper, but I wanted it to be smaller so it can fit in my work bag.

Anyway, I opened the package and was shocked at how ugly the laptop looked. it was like the old laptops with a small screen in a large base. The width of the laptop is 36.1cm which is about 14.2 inches (for people not in the know, when the screen sizes are referred to in the spec, it means diagnally). This is exactly the same as my old laptop (acer aspire 1642wlmi). Sideways, the laptop screen bit is 17.3inch, the same as my old laptop too. Now, there arent many portable laptops, and I would've got the same specification for quite a cheaper price if I went for the standard 15.4" but I wanted something small.

In the conversation with the sales person, I said "I want something very portable to replace my 15.4 inch laptop. It has to be either 12.1 inch or 14.1inch (first 2 standard sizes under 15.4inch). Well I got this and I don't know what to do.

Can any one offer any assistance?

Thanks in advance

 

You can send it back and get a D630.

 

Do you know how i should go about sending it back. Do they offer an automatic refund if opened? (infact, i'm using it right now to add this reply!)

 

call them and tell them you are sending it back, period. they will issue you a return tag for it and come pick it up

 

I've sent this message to the sales person and her manager

 

they might charge a restocking fee though

 

DONE DO THE RETURN THROUGH SALES OR TECHNICAL, make sure to only set up your return with cust service they will not charge you the restocking fee. and make sure to make it clear you are upset about the system. dont simply send it back just "because", make sure to make them know you are UNHAPY WITH IT. i have had 5 systems go back with 0 retsocking fees

 

If you actually plan on buying the additional laptops, tell them either waive the fee and treat you right or you'll take your business elsewhere. Dell thrives on larger orders than just the single ocmputer. They're pretty good about getting multiple pc orders out to consumers fast, faster than pretty much anyone else and they're USUALLY accurate.

That being said, your greatest weapon is the promise of more sales. Leverage that against them as much as you can and then when they start treating you right say "Okay, now about my other personal laptops..." make some orders or at elast talk numbers. If they are still treating you right at that point THEN give them the whole burrito and talk about the 10 laptop order. You can get some serious deals ordering...what 13 laptops at the same time? Yeah that'll make them listen to you.

 

If you order a D531 you get a 15" frame...but you choose to get a 14" or 15" screen. That is why it is so ugly.

If you truly want a 14" frame, you need the D620.

 

If you have already activated Windows, they won't refund the cost of Windows, but they should still give you an otherwise complete refund.

 

^^^ they will refund the cost in full. trust me if not MAKE SOMETHING UP.. all of a sudden THERE IS SOMETHING wrong with it.. i.e. it will not boot, or makes noise or .... SCREEN IS GRAINY AND LOOKS HORRIBLE... simple. done. now you can get a refund with no fees for anything.

 

But all i said was i wanted a small laptop and that is what I should've got.


As for the windows license, I dont think that would be a problem as I think I would rather have it replaced than a refund. Im going to be lookinf for another model from Dell.


EDIT: Thanks to all of you for your feedback, i never saw them when i wrote this the first time. I was actually planning on buying many, and I will be holding that against them. There is no way i'm paying any fees for this laptop.

 

Vostro 14" is true 14.1" and it's cheaper.

Just a suggestion.

 

Or the Insprion 1420. Get a red one!

 

You never saw pictures or reviews of your machine before buying it...?

 

Hi. Actually I did. I didnt read the whole review but it seemed Ok. And the picture looked perfect, see for yourselves


This was actually what it looked like

Can you spot the difference between that and the dells website photo?


and this is my 15.4" acer which has the same dimensions.

 

You're right. That looks like the wrong model.
The Notebookreview review has better pictures than the one on Dell's site, and it still doesn't look like yours
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3751

 

Definitely the right model:


but I think they use the same chassis with the 15.4" which is why this has happened, but in that case, the sales person has made a mistake because i said i wanted a small laptop, not a normal laptop with a small screen, right?

 

Actually the one in the review is a D531 with a 15.4".
"Display: 15.4” WXGA+ “TrueLife” (250 nits) (14.1" screen is also an option)"

That must be the difference.
Same chassis with the lid having a smaller viewing area.
It's kind of misleading.

 

I checked dell.co.uk and they would charge just £13 (25 bucks) to put a 15.4" screen, so it is most probably the same chassis. But why would she give me this model if I want a small laptop?

 

Maybe she wasn't familiar with the model and assumed the 14.1" D531 was actually a 14.1" laptop. Unless you're OK with a 15.4" laptop, you'll have to return it. Considering you were misled as to the actual size, you ought to be able to get it replaced with a smaller laptop.

 

That looks exactly how my Inspiron B120 looked. Do they use the same shell?

 

Thanks for that everyone. I will tell you what happens tomorrow, hopefully I will get another model.

This one had 2GB RAM, AMD Turion64 2.00Ghz (im not a big fan of AMD) and I got it for about £500 ($1000) inc. delivery ex. VAT as a small business buying 4 (well bought one to test out first and they gave me a discount anyway) so I'm thinking around £570 ($1140) for a normal user. Anyone got any alternatives with that spec and portable even if it isnt dell?

 

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/latit_d531?c=us&l=en&s=biz&cs=555

Click on tech specs and scroll down a bit.
The D531 14.1" shown here seems to have correct proportions...and also a smaller casing size.

 

What you and, previously, I, dont/didnt know is that this is for the 15.4" screen. In the 14.1" screen, you just get a smaller screen but same chassis.

EDIT : sorry, i never read it well... and your absolutely right, I wil use that link against them if they dont give me a replacement

EDIT2 : mabey there was a mistake when mine was built as that picture for the 14.1" also has some kind of holes at the front, 3 of them according to that photo, which I do not seem to have


If you guys can't find the image, it is this:

Latitude d531 screen size
15.4" WXGA+ TrueLifeTM (250 nits)
1440x900 resolution


Latitude d531 screen size
15.4" WXGA (220 nits)
1280x800 resolution


Latitude d531 screen size
14.1" WXGA (220 nits)
1280x800 resolution

 

I recieved the same thing yesterday and was royally pissed to see the 2 inch plastic border around and the fact that it was a smaller screen put in a bigger chassis. I called nicely asked for a full refund and ordered a d630.

 

Great news. Did they charge you restocking fee? and did you actually call customer services or someone else?

 

I wouldn;t fully blame Dell for this. The Customer ordered the D531 without checking properly the specifications. The D531 which is a 15" chassis with a 14.1 inch screen and a 15.4 as option.

I do offer some sympaties though. I'm sure you can send the notebook back, stating that the Sales rep misunderstood that you wanted a 14.1" "CHASSIS".

However, the other 14.1 inch Chassis don't have AMD CPUs. (at least in my region).

@Kathumia,

That last picture is of a D630. The slots in front are the mono speaker. I think Dell might have put the wring picture up. I'm sure you can use that against them for your return.

 

The picture Dell is using for 14.1" D531 is VERY DECEPTIVE. It looks nothing like what he got. Infact, if you compare the 3, the 14.1" looks different and smaller.

 

If they won't refund the cost of Windows, how much would that be? Could he keep the hard drive to swap into a new smaller chassis? Would it fit?

 

I'm been thinking about either getting the D531 or a MacBook. Yes that picture confused the heck out of me the first time I saw it (months ago). I just thought that maybe they just used a slightly diff. chassis than the 15 inch version. I'm sure glad that I didn't decide to order it because I would have definetly got the 14 inch screen! I would have been steaming mad if I had got what the OP got.

I'm sure that, with the incorrect picture, Dell would exchange it.

 

Also there seems to be a ton of 14 inchers in the Dell outlet, Jeez Dell, just accept that it was a stupid idea and give the US the mythical D631 already!

 

They havnt replied yet (and its nearly 2pm UK). There is one problem though,,, that photo was from dell's US site, so that may be something they will bring up.