UK: Big problems with XPS L-501x - how to handle this?

Hi all,

I bought an XPS 15" L-501x in Janurary this year. The laptop has been running great (if a little hot) and I've been very happy with it. Sadly, it's suddenly developed a problem with the power supply (not powering up, not charging battery etc).

I called tech-support and had a conversation with a lovely man who told me that I would need a new motherboard. For £29 he arranged for a technician to come round the following day (which was today).

The WWTS technician was also lovely (if a little under-trained and heavy-handed) and he installed a new motherboard and another thing (a little cable with a square bit on). This didn't fix the problem.

He's coming back tomorrow with another new motherboard, in case the new one was faulty.

I don't expect it to fix the problem.

So, what's next? I don't particularly like idea of having the machine sent away to be taken apart again, fiddled around with, and sent back. It's only a few months old, I paid £800 for it, and I'd rather have it replaced with a brand-new one (not refurbished!) than sent away for repair. Is this a likely outcome?

Also, whatever happens, I don't want to send the hard-drive away. There's a little bit of data on there that I don't have a backup of, and I don't want anyone snooping around in my files besides. The man on the phone told me that the data would be wiped if the machine was sent into Dell (rather than paying £29 to have an engineer come out and try to fix it).

How should I handle this situation? What should I expect from Dell?

I'm in the UK, and the laptop was a custom-configured version ordered through the Dell UK website.

Thank you!

 

If the Tech decides the repairs he did, are not going to work out, and contacts Dell & they decide to have you send it it...You could push for a replacement vs. sending it in.

You would have to be firm & polite in your request, and reason why it cannot be sent to Depot for repair. (Also, you can say you are loyal Dell customer, have spent a lot of money at Dell, etc).

My old 1640 had some issues after receiving it (accidental drop for the primary), and they wanted me to depot it for repair & I flatly refused to the Tech & to Dell. They decided to just replace with new.

Sometimes, it works...sometimes it doesn't.