Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
Bought my Vostro 1700 a few weeks back for £375 delivered. Got a ~£15 kickback through using Quidco... wrote Dell an email requesting a refund on Vista as I have no use for it.
Heard nothing. Wrote another a week later...
Heard nothing. Wrote a strongly-worded letter on the 14th April... heard nothing. Come the 14th of this month, I was going to write another strongly-worded letter, pointing out their obligations under the EULA...
Went in to my online banking today for something totally unrelated. Spotted the following:-
Still not heard anything from them, but I'm assuming that'll be my Windows & Works refunds.
Happy chappy.With that refund, and my kickback, I've paid under £300 for my 17" 1920x1200 laptop...
It's a good day, today.
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I'm over the moon. Half expected them to keep ignoring me. Also half expected it to be for ~£20.
Fair play to Dell for doing the right thing. But I do wish they didn't force you to buy Windows on your machine... it's a pity they only offer a very limited(15" Inspiron 1525 or 13" M1330) range of non-Windows laptops to buy.
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IMHO, i dont think that was a nice thing to do....
just pick another laptop that doesnt come with Vista...
or stick with what you bought....
sorry for my bad english
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They don't offer the laptop without Windows. Not a nice thing to do? Dell agreed to be bound by the EULA when they sold the laptop to me. I, on the other hand, didn't agree with the EULA - I'm not a Windows user, and am offered the right under the EULA to return the software as it is of no use.
It was Dell who accepted this contract, not me. They agreed to be bound by it when they sold it with the laptop. I didn't. Whether it is nice or not depends on your own point of view(I fail to see what is nice about a company forcing you to buy additional products that you'll never use with your chosen purchase, but hey...) - but at the end of the day, I haven't done anything not covered by the agreement Dell made with Microsoft.
Chilled & radditz - the above clause in the EULA outlines, in simple English, that if you have no use for the software, you are entitled to return it for a refund. I didn't think to make a copy of the first support request for information on returning the software, but this was my second request:-
When I heard nothing, I sent a letter to their UK address on the 4th April, 10 days after receipt of the machine:-
It was that simple.
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Congrat's to you...
Glad things worked out with the refund...
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Ask them! The EULA is the same throughout the world...
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Crickey!
Sent the email this morning, and about 30min later got a confirmation that my account has been credited and that they don't want the DVD back either!
100000 thanks Daytona 955i
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Excellent. Glad to be of help to you.
I'm glad things look like they're starting to turn for consumers - it would be best if we didn't have to buy software we didn't need, but so long as the refund process is easy and simple, I don't regard it as that much of a problem.
Kudos to Dell. I'll bet they're in the minority of manufacturers who would have such schemes set up. -
If you accept the EULA by booting into Windows (you can't boot Windows without viewing the EULA, so there's no way around it) you're bound by its terms.
I was going to do this but was so excited when I received my laptop (first brand-new laptop I ever bought) I just fired it up and thought "sod it!". I paid £1900 for it, £60 did not seem worth the bother.
My next laptop will have Ubuntu installed without me agreeing any EULA terms and I'll have my refund
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If you decline the EULA, you can't use the preinstalled version of Windows. Photograph the screen with the EULA on it, then photograph booting up using your own installation medium for whichever OS you already own, or choose to use.
I didn't have to supply any evidence, but it's best to be prepared. You're not doing anything wrong in rejecting the EULA, but the onus will be on you to prove that you did indeed reject it should they raise a query.
Anyone contemplating a refund - if you've already completed the installation, then you're out of luck. The very first thing you have to do after powering on(aside from potentially entering the BIOS) is to click that you accept the EULA. As soon as you do this, you agree to take ownership of the software and to be bound by the terms set out in the EULA
This isn't at all useful if you buy a laptop, and decide 2 days later that Vista sucks. That's well documented in the press already.
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No, you paid £1835 for the laptop, and £65 for Windows and Works.
That £60 - it isn't much hassle, just a couple of emails and a letter. Less than 10 minutes work if you were to copy the ones I used. £60 would get you the best part of a screen upgrade, or a bigger hard drive, a faster CPU, or if you've already maxed-out the ticks on the option page, it's a good meal for you and yours at the local family pub.
£65 is always £65. It may seem less in the grand scheme of things, but you'll always get £65 of goods with it.
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Go back and ask them, seeing as the OS is free, if you can have a dozen copies to give to your family and friends.
Bottom line is XP, or Vista, both cost money to buy. It is sold to you with the machine, whether the cost is individually documented or not.
It's there in black and white - if you didn't want it, and did not accept the EULA, the supplier is required to give you a refund. The supplier(Dell, in this case) agreed to be bound by the EULA when they shipped the software with the machine. It cost them money, and whether the CSR understands is or not, that cost must have been passed on to you somewhere down the line, else Dell is operating at a loss with every Microsoft OS they 'bundle'.
They give you a power cord with your purchase, but they had to buy it in. They give you a motherboard with your purchase, but they had to buy it in.
Use Google, and find examples where the software has been refunded. Quote these facts in your next request for a refund. And, in my opinion, don't talk to a CSR. Mail them a letter, so you have a hard-copy of your request, and can reasonably expect to have a hard-copy of their reply.
http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/Public/sblicense/English_SB_License.pdf
Under the terms of the "OEM System Builder License", they accepted to be bound by the EULA by distributing the Microsoft software, and definitively are bound by it by pre-installing the OS on your machine. And by agreeing to it, they are the licensee. It is their responsibility to fulfil your request to return the OS and receive a refund.
If Dell continue to insist that there was no charge for the software, consider launching a claim via the small claims court. I'm not familiar with how such things operate in the US, by common sense presides here in the UK. If Dell refused to give the value of the software to the court, then a refund would be ordered using a reasonable example of the actual cost of the end-user buying that software. This would be the retail price from a high-street retailer.
It is worth pursuing, IMO. Like I said earlier, nothing is really free in life. Just because the Dell representative is either ignoring common-sense, or massaging the figures, it doesn't mean that your fight has to stop there.
ETA - a common sense real-world link here. -
Heh, that's more than I got
. Well done!
Oh how I love Dell!(UK)
Discussion in 'Dell' started by Daytona 955i, May 8, 2008.
