Getting your money back from Dell - here's how

For over 2 years, I fought with Dell about their overheating laptops. I've been through their XPS 1640, XPS 1645, and Studio 17. Any of you who own one know the problems.

I wanted to tell you how I was finally able to get my money back - a full refund - from Dell after over 2 years. I went through the Better Business Bureau, Texas Attorney General, and did all the emails to Michael Dell et al to no avail. (Yes, I did get a few upgraded computers, but they all had the same overheating problems.)

What finally worked was the American Arbitration Association. Wow - did that get Dell's attention. Here's the way it works: You must complete a Consumer arbitration demand form (one specific for California if you live there or one for everyone else) and include the Dell Terms of Sale and a credit card authorization form, and email it all to [email protected]. Why the credit card authorization form? Well, by going through this process, it MIGHT cost you a $125 fee to file this.

To me, having spent almost $1500 on a computer that overheated and constantly had problems as a result - even if it had been upgraded multiple times - made me too angry on principle not to fight this. But the KEY point about the arbitration process is this: if you enter arbitration, the American Arbitration Association actually charges Dell $900 in filing fees, which Dell is REQUIRED to pay because of their contract with Dell and Dell's purchase terms. Although I can't confirm this, it's my belief that this is why Dell doesn't want to enter arbitration - not only do they have to pay the $900, but they also may lose and then have to give us a refund anyway. Ergo, rather than take the risk (and, considering how poor quality their laptops are, that's likely a big risk), they just give you a refund.

I filed my claim with the American Arbitration Association and then sent a copy to Dell, as you are required to do. Almost immediately, I then received an email from someone in Dell's Executive Customer Support Team - NOT from India - agreeing to refund my full purchase price if I cancelled the arbitration filing. I did so immediately and the American Arbitration Association did not charge me the filing fee.

I have since received my full refund (and bought an MSI GT780DX which doesn't have ANY overheating problems - you have no idea how great it is to finally have a machine that I can type on without my wrists overheating; I recommend Ken at GenTech).

At this point, I am not going to provide the email address of the woman I worked with in the Executive Customer Support Team as she was kind to me and I want to save her from the influx of what would likely be thousands of emails from people who deal with the crappy Dell customer service reps in India. So, please don't ask me for her name/email address. Just go through the process as outlined above. I hope you have as much success as I (finally) did.

It should go without saying that you should not request a refund after many years of use just to get an upgraded model. But if, like me and many of us here, you have had constant problems with your Dell laptop overheating and them not properly fixing the problem, I think this is an appropriate next step. I wish it hadn't come down to this. I would have much preferred a working, non-overheating computer from Dell. But, as they refused to fix the problem, gave us incredibly crappy service from customer support people who generally seem to have no idea what they're talking about, and cost us time, effort, and frustration, I think this is a proper course of action.

Feel free to post here how successful you were with this process.

 

Great post! I may need this info. Thanks...

 

great post yeh the 1645 i had got so hot when i used it on my lap that it would sometimes turn ff bad times

 

to be honest, customers like you are a pain in the and shouldnt be allowed to buy at all.
its a calculated loss, theres always 0.1% morons within the customers
you had 30 days return period, why didnt u just use that, hopeless

 

Just curious was her first name Susan??

 

Dell customers have 21 days from the "date of invoice" which means they'll most likely end up with less than 10 days, NOT 30 days! Some people did not want a refund because:
1. They wanted to work with Dell to resolve any issues, and Dell sure as hell would do anything in their power to avoid refunding.
2. Dell promises either their computers will be fixed and taken care of, or, a new replacement would be sent.
Dell has awesome customer support, but unfortunately the sh!t boxes they built and sold to us customers causes nothing but endless problems and headaches. Too late for the 21-days you see? Would you live with this after forking this amount of money?

After 6 months of owning my crappy XPS17 L702x with ongoing problems, I might have to use this afterall. All the computers on my sig has never had a single problem, except for one on that list...and you've guessed it; the Dell.

 

don't judge perhaps?

 

Are u still happy with your MSI GT? Thanks. Mt9

 

Congratulations on your success with Dell! This is a post we should all save as a Favorite.

 

if you put your machine in your lap, you should put it on a cutting board or other similar hard surface. No wonder the machine overheats, it's not getting any airflow when all of the vents are blocked by your lap. a cheap white plastic cutting board is like $10 and it works wonders.

 

Or this...
Lap Desk Lollipop Red : Target
They come in gray and black.

 

Great post! I will probably be using this in the future.

 

Thanks for brief explanation. great post.

 

Dell + 10$ cutting board = xD

 

I am based in Spain and I need a refund from Dell. Could you help me by any chance how to do that here? Please
Thanks

 

or a $10-$20 lapdesk from Bed Bath and Beyond with the bean bag structure underneath. I love mine. My dell gets hot as well, i've had the laptop for 5 years and love it, but i always use my lapdesk and have no problems. : )