Dell
reviews and complaints

I'm at the end of my rope. Let me give you an excellent example of why so many end-users are fed-up with Dell:
2 years ago, March 21, 2009, I bought an XPS M1330 for my son’s high school graduation. From the first, every time he opened the laptop, we would see odd marks on the screen. By May, it was clear that the marks were an imprint of the keyboard, and this had gotten so bad that it was hard for him to decipher what was on the screen. We had purchased a 2 year warrantee, so called tech support, and a very nice young man came out and replaced the screen. Within a few months, the same thing happened again, and this time the tech replaced the bezel and the screen. My son went off to college, and the next year when he came home for the summer, he showed me that the screen was badly marked again. Again, the tech came, replaced the bezel, screen, and I believe the hinge that time as well,

Finally, on 2/14 of this year, when I knew that the warrantee was about to run out, I called my son and asked how the screen was. All marked-up again, he said. So I called tech support and told them it was clearly an unfixable problem and that we needed a replacement laptop, as this one would never work correctly. After an hour-and-a-half on the phone with tech and customer support, all in India (and let me assure you, language was a problem, attitude was a problem, lack of knowledge was a bad, bad problem), I agreed to try to have it fixed once more, this time replacing screen, bezel, hinge and keyboard. I was told by at least 5 individuals, including the tech who did this last work, that even if the warrantee ran out, as long as the ticket was open, Dell would fix the problem for free. So the tech went to my son’s dorm and did the work.

I called my son yesterday, and he mentioned that the screen was getting marked-up again, after only 6 weeks.

That day, March 29, 2011, I spent 3 hours on the phone, went to 12 different departments, spoke with 17 different customer “support” reps, was told again and again that though they “didn’t replace this model” (I was given many different reasons for this, none of which made any sense. I’m sure Dell had already spent more on tech support with this issue than a replacement would have cost), since the ticket was still open, they would replace everything again. This, of course, was not an adequate response, as it had already been well proven that this would not fix the problem.

Today, I was the unlucky recipient of a call from Sunny Sharma, a member of the Executive Customer Support Team, a unpleasant and arrogant man, who told me that, not only wouldn’t they replace the computer, they wouldn’t even repair it again since it was now 8 days out of warrantee, despite the ticket still being open. Did the many Dell reps who’d told me an open ticket would assure the problem would be fixed, lie? Mr. Sharma, not at all a sunny man, would have me believe so, and told me that the problems with the screen were nothing but normal wear-and-tear, not a design problem or anything that deserved Dell’s attention. By the way, I was told by 2 techs that this has been a common problem across the model. Obviously, this model should have been recalled, but I guess if Dell won’t pay Americans (10 percent unemployment in the US, and they sent thousands of jobs overseas) to work for them, they’ll be too cheap to properly support their products. He told me that Dell would do nothing to fix the problem. Nothing at all. My son now has an expensive laptop that will be good for nothing but a door stop within 6 months, and Dell has refused to support this product.

I would like to inform everyone about my experience with the Dell company... I had purchased my first laptop at Wal-Mart 23 days prior to me posting this. I installed the McAfee that had come with the computer, a 30 free trial. I had experienced within the first week of having my laptop it had crashed almost every day, it would stop responding, and it was very frustrating. I don not know about computers so I had called the Dell Warranty Dept. and spoke with a man and although I could not understand him at times, he was very helpful indeed and had my laptop running like it should. THE VERY NEXT DAY...I got the Security Tool Virus...(For those of you that do not know..Security Tool Virus is a Virus that tricks you into thinking that your computer is infected by viruses and it tricks you into thinking that it is a legitimate Anti-Virus program. It will run a scan on your computer and then will not let you access any of your programs and it is a very hard process to get rid of it! It will try and charge you to get rid of it and it will steal your credit card information.) I called Dell before I did anything else and the woman that I had spoke with instead of helping me, told me that I had to buy a Software Contract before she could even help me! Ridiculous! I asked to speak with a manager, and she repeatedly told me that there is not one at this time. And further proceeded to try and sell me the contract...So I hung up. I turned off my computer and decided I would wait and call back later to reach a manager. AND THEN...The ### called me back! Once again, she tried to sell me the dang contract and I told her that Some kind of warranty should have came with the computer and I will not be purchasing a Dell again. EVER. And she told me that if that is what I want to do, then do it. So I did it. Overall, my laptop should have functioned right in the beginning, I should not have had to call them ever, I know that the virus was not their fault, but they should have been a LOT more helpful if they truly valued their customers. Thank you. I want to hear others opinions as well, so feel free to comment.

Two men have been convicted in Los Angeles of receiving fraudulently leased Dell computers and reselling them to unsuspecting customers.
A federal jury convicted the two men Friday after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Harry L. Hupp. Sentencing is set for January.
The two men, Ronald Reinsdorf and Chang Suh, both 26, ran an ad in the Los Angeles Times last summer, offering Dell notebooks in unopened cartons for $2, 700, although the notebooks go for about $4, 300.
Computer crimes of various types are booming, and few people are protecting themselves sufficiently against assaults ranging from stolen laptops to high-tech Internet heists worth millions, a watchdog group said earlier this year.
Getting a jump on the Los Angeles case was as easy as opening the newspaper, said Assistant United States Attorney Brent A. Whittlesey. Federal agents saw the ad and set up a sting last June, he said.
Reinsdorf and Suh eventually attempted to sell nine of the computers to an FBI agent who posed as a purchaser, Whittlesey said. He expects the men to receive sentences of two to two-and-a-half years in federal prison.
The two men obtained 46 laptops from Dell, Whittlesey said.
The operation worked like this: Unknown persons leased the computers from Dell, using the name and Social Security Number of someone with good credit. They sent the order to Dell by fax, using a public fax machine, Whittlesey said. They then transferred the computers to Reinsdorf and Suh.
Besides the nine recovered in the sting, agents found 19 more computers at a Public Storage space rented by the two men. The rest of the 46 machines have not been recovered.
Whittlesey would not say if this type of leasing scam is a growing problem, but other investigations are ongoing.
"Other agents are following people doing mail drops today, " he said.

Stay Away. Dells finance company DFS is a rip off. They have turned me into collections for an amount that I am not sure what it is for. I opened a loan with them in 2005, the total for my loan including interest was $1300. I have bank statements proving I paid $1800, and the amount turned into collections is $1100. They will not show me documentation of what I was billed for, said I will have to pay them to pull the records. I opened a case through the BBB and was told I have to call the collection agency and make payment arrangements? Serious ? With all the negative reviews, and complaints with the BBB I can not believe they are still in business. The business practices they use are unlawful and pretty pathetic. Tell everyone you know to STAY FAR FAR AWAY, so they do not become the next victim. They have over 2200 complaints with the BBB in 36 months !

I have an account with Dell Financial Services. Every day of every month I receive a phone call. It's either an automated call or someone who identifies themselves by an American name from India. I tell them that I make a payment every month so why are they calling? They want me verify my SS# so they can talk to me about my account. I tell them that I won't give them that information because they already have it and my monthly payment so why are they calling? This continues until I hang up. I have to make my payments via automated pay by phone because when I had surgery several months back and was late, just late, they removed my ability to pay online. I had always paid online previously to having surgery (sorry Dell) but not only could I not pay online, there was no record of my account number to reference since the had removed any reference of that in my payment history online. Sure wish I could win the lottery to pay off this bill and never do business with Dell again. This is a sad situation for an American company to let idiots from India run his company like this. No more Dell for me.

I have been repairing, designing, and building computers for over 15 years. When asked by a client what brand I would buy if I absolutely had to--I had the same answer for them that I have had for the last fifteen years: Buy a Dell. They're reliable, their tech support is usually decent, and their "Bloat Ware" (manufacturer's software they add to your computer to crap it up and spy on your buying habits) is easy to remove. My recent experience with them has changed my mind and pretty much left Christmas in ruin.

It all started when a client brought a year-old Dell Mini 10 notebook to my office. He told me "There really isn't much wrong with it, it just needs your touch to speed it up and weed out the annoying and un-necessary.” This sounded a little too good to be true, and of course it was an exaggerated outlook on this particular pc's condition. When I booted the aforementioned pc, the time was two hours slow, devices in the "Device Mangler" (that's what my mentor Brian Snook calls it. He also says that Microsoft Operating Systems are a virus, ) were showing exclamation points signifying they were not loading drivers.

Any good tech knows this is a sign of bad battery or possible Bios issues. Like a good trained pro, I surfed up to Dell to check drivers, Bios versions--you know, all the stuff that makes your pc run well. I see DELL RECOMMENDED updates for all the hardware including the Bios. I don't know about you, but when I see the manufacturer of a computer recommend an update I DO THEM! These updates are usually fixes for known problems. The Bios had two updates from A09 to A11. As you can probably predict, I did the updates. Everything went well until the pc froze in the middle of a Bios flash.

For you novices out there, this turns your computer into a paperweight. No Bios, no computer! As I sat staring at this pc, the disbelief and shock set in. It seemed the blinking power light was feverishly mocking me with every flash of its LED. This was the first time I have ever turned a pc into a paperweight! I have flashed hundreds of computers and never ruined one! Why now? Christmas is a couple of weeks away and now my client is buying a new pc.

The Dell warranty expired one week ago; that information was like a knife to my heart. Dell informed me the warranty was extendable and they would be happy to do that for $110.00 (US.) This sounded reasonable. After all, the client spent $600.00 to buy it. The only problem was the credit card. I pondered this for a while. I don't own a credit card and figured if I can't pay for something I don't usually buy it, but this was a special case and I needed help from my cousin to pull this off. After a brief conversation with my cousin I dialed up Dell and we had a three way conversation (for you perverts out there!) Dell was all too happy to take my dear cousin's credit card number and told me to call back in 24 - 48 hours and the warranty would be all set.

It’s 24 hours later and I'm on the phone with Dell being told the computer was never registered and ownership had to be transferred to me in order to send the pc to the depot. This phone call lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes, at the end of which I was assured an e-mail would be issued with a dispatch number for tracking. That was Tuesday!

Friday came and the computer still showed “out of warranty” and I knew there was no dispatch number or box headed my way. Now it's time to cut my loses and walk away. I called Dell and demanded a refund to my cousin's MC and was told I had to hold 15 minutes for a Customer Care rep. That was it--no more!

My four letter expletives were flowing like the Hudson River . At the end of the tirade I told the rep to call me back when he had Customer Care on the line and hung up on him. My husband was staring at me with that look--you know the one that says you’re an ###. This didn't seem to faze me much; I continued staring at my computer in utter disbelief. A multi-million dollar company like Dell can't do a bill to ship to order without wasting several hours of my time? My company can do that. If a client calls up and pays for someone else’s work, I create an invoice that notes that, and voila, happy customer.

Dell apparently does not know how to set up billing to accommodate the credit cardless people out there who only spend what they can afford. The irony in this is if more people spent only what they can afford, the evil banking empires would lose their icy cold grip on the American economy and actually have to learn customer service.

Right on cue, the phone rang and the caller id was flashing Dell across the screen. I looked at my husband with that told ya look and proceeded to answer the call. As I'm listening carefully to the rep, confusion and anger set in. I interject with the purpose of getting whatever he was try to say done and over. The rep came to the conclusion he had to refund the credit card. This process would take 6 days! Anyone that runs a retail outfit can enter a credit card number and hit the credit button and the credit is applied to your account in about 36 hours.

Six days represents Dell holding onto my cousin’s money for three extra days, probably for banking reasons. As the intrepid Dell rep is typing the refund, he actually tried to sell me the warranty again. As Mr. Spock would say, “I simply couldn’t believe my ears.” As you might have guessed by now I exploded into a diatribe of “what planet are you on?” I bought the warranty once, you didn’t keep your word about anything, and you want me to buy the warranty again? “Does that sound logical to you?” I scream scathingly. “Just refund the money and give me the refund number.”

Now I am left with a paperweight instead of a computer. My client told me to pick out a new laptop for her and I was going to repair the year-old mini and give it to my college student daughter for Christmas. Her school doesn’t have enough computers per number of students, which makes getting lab work done a lot harder.

The moral of this story is: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." – Milton . Also, sometimes you can't make a silk purse out of a cow’s ear! It's my Libra-ish nature to want balance, so consciously and sub-consciously I seek that level. The really funny part is you can't be right in a wrong world. It doesn't matter if I keep my promises and actually do the things I say I will do if no one else reciprocates.

That is how Dell stole Christmas.

Dell makes it very hard for you to unsubscribe; they have you running from one page to another, instead of just letting you unsubscribe and call it a day! I have clicked on the "unsubscribe" numerous times, without any success. It brings me right back to their website without acknowledging my request. It seems that I get even more dell e-mails per day now more than ever! It's obscene! I am going to write to the Attorney General of their State to complain. I am sick and tired of hearing about Dell, reading about Dell and getting ANYTHING from Dell. They have irritated me to the point where I would NEVER, EVER buy a Dell product. I will never recommend a Dell product to anybody.

Hello sir, my laptop"s adaptor is not working. below is detail of my laptop: laptop model
-
inspiron 1564

Date of purchase _21-04-2010
Service tag - 43gd585
Exp. service tag code - [protected]
Charger-cn-0k9tgr-73245-oin-02uh-400

i went to dell web site and bought a stuido 17 fully loaded computer for 963.00 on sept 18 2010 got email said will be delivered oct 7 2010 then i check my email next day email said oct 14 2010 so i went in chat with one of empolyee he said he do not know why so i called and they told me that a part number for screen was going to be different i said as lond as it is an 17 inch screen i do not care send my computer they said ok and i said for all my trouble i want an tv tuner they said we will check with sup and said ok so then they kept calling me said they could not get the part so will you cancel your order i said no no no you put the computer on your web for 899.00 so that is what i want they kept on calling about 5, 6 0r 7 times tring to get me to cancle order i said no my husband said no because all you want us to do is cancel order then you will jump the price up so no we will not cancel order so they called again last cancel you order we said no they called last night about 6:30 and said we are going to cancel your order now i want my computer the stuido 17 fully loaded with my tv tuner from them there order for my computer said it is in production they even took off 10.00 and now my computer is 953.00

I would be very careful when ordering any item from Dell.I have been debited with the cost of the computered ordered, but with no delivery.Their Courier Porulatot, delivered a package, with no contents listed.I assumed it was the dell computer, but it only contained batteries for the computer and the response I get is that I signed for it.
I am at a loss as to what to do next.Called Porulator, whose response is that it is a dell problem.
It is a business computer, they say they will replace it in the next 7 to 10 days.
My experience with dealing with them has been appalling to date.
I would caution all to be customers.Do not allow them to debit your credit card as once they have the money, the consumer as per them can go to hell.They have no intention of maintaining a long term relationship with you.
my oder no is [protected].

My father maintained an account with Dell which had a credit limit of 5000. He recently passed, but shortly before passing he wanted to make things easier for my mom, so he paid off every account he could. On some accounts, such as Dell, he paid twice, resulting in a credit balance (That is, he was owed money by Dell!) of 680 dollars. He has since passed, and Dell is making it impossible for my mom to get the money. First they want a copy of Dad's death certificate. Then, after Mom sends it to the payment center by mistake, they claim that the payment center can't process it, and they want us to send ANOTHER copy to their Minnesota office for review. The financial services division directs me to speak to DCM, who handles their probate accounts, but DCM tells me I need to speak to Dell Financial. No one helps, no one can do anything, and Mom sits waiting for a refund that isn't coming. I am looking at my legal options, but have decide never to buy another Dell product if I can help it. This company is slimy to the point of oozing slime.

I have purchased a Dell Inspiron 1764 lap top from BEST BUY N.Y on 24.05.10. Service Tag no. 9B6SYL1. Cash memo Ref. No. 1531006
Now my son is using this lap top in India and facing some technical problem with the equipment. Service center people have refused to give any free maintenence, as it does not have international warranty. At the time of purchase it was assured that I will get all short of maint. in India for a period of one year. Can you please help me on this matter...?
Presently I am posted in Oman. My mail id is [protected]@omifco.com
My email id in India is [protected]@yahoo.in

Waiting for your reply.

Hello der,

I Dhruv one of the craziest fello for Dell.I really have craze for Dell..i really wanted to be a part of Dell as being employee...n wanted to buy Dell studio laptop sooner this month..I have cleared my interview and went further for VNA training...n after succesfully completing my VNA trainin..i had interview that day with MR SUman..Unfortunately he was very rude from the word go...n on that i had n fast...he was like have a sit for sumtym n then he will call..but no he dint called us...(he was knwin dat i kept fast)...neways...he took us for interview...n he said "I don hav command over my english" n blahz...i smiled n went off...this the way dell employee or recruiter treat?...i hav many frndz who hav dell laptop..n many frndz askd me which laptop dey shld go for...i hav alwayz suggested DELLLLLLL DELLLL...n i had n great plans to solve the issue of customes who call DELL after the warranty been xpired to replace wid a new computer/laptop...i had an gr8 plan to fix this prob..bt it was quite unfortunate...DELL employess aint have any "HUmanity"..dat was the impression i got...

I have ordered a Studio 14 on 6/11/2010 and as per my sales Rep, A* and the Dell Order Status web page, I was supposed to receive the laptop on or before 7/2/2010.
I didn't receive it on that day, and the sales Rep had also told me she had expedited the shipment. Even her manager had told me the same. When I was unable to get the case any further a few days later, I contacted Customer Service. By then it had almost been a month since I ordered the laptop.
Now when I spoke to Customer Service, they gave me a new date saying that I would receive it by 07/26/2010. All the representatives except the last, named N* told me that they had made sure of expediting the order and that there was no request for expediting the order placed by the sales team. But I was told by N*, that customer service didn't have the option to expedite the order and that they haven't done any such thing. So that means that the other customer service reps, had actually lied to me in saying that they did expedite the order for quicker shipment.
When I hadn't received the laptop on the original date, I was told by the sales team, that there were no shortages in parts or backlogged orders and they didn't know why I hadn't received the laptop. When I finally spoke to customer service, one of them told me that there was backlogged orders because the laptop was in high demand. The last customer service rep I spoke to, N* told me that there was a shortage in parts.
So which one is it really? Wouldn't it have been fair to just tell me the correct one or if they didn't know for sure, couldn't they tell me that instead of making things up.

Now I don't know how much posting this here will help. I hope it does. As of now, I have also found outstanding issues form on the Dell Canada website and have filled it up with the appropriate details and complaint. I hope this things sorts out soon.
As of the date of posting this, I have waited for 1 month 10 days for a laptop to be shipped with the last rep, N* telling me that all dates given are just estimated and that they can't promise delivery on those dates. The picture provided is the website giving absolutely no information regarding shipping dates. It had all that information removed after 7/2/2010 since it wasn't shipped out the day it was supposed to.

A year ago I bought my computer. I specified what I wanted and that I was an information junkie and did a lot of graphics. Having been a computer owner since Comador 64 and CompuServe and later took classes I felt like I could figuare things out. there is actually a thread of logic that runs things. I had to get Vista, which to date I have yet to find anyone who likes it. I even bought a book...step by step did not work. Finally I got some help when they realized that I did not own this computer in 2007 and that they should not keep trying to charge me for stuff that is under warrenty. I have now had the E-drive, motherboard, power source, and a fan replaced and my problems are not over yet. I talked to the tech. the other day and he said he wished I could force them to give me a new computer...THAT'S SAD!

DELL Computers Japan have extremely limited customer services for foreigners, their "0120" 'phone number is one of those horrible "recordings" - of course, ONLY in Japanese - which I just cannot understand! When a human responds, I can perfectly well understand (however, other foreigners may have a problem since DELL apparently didn't figure foreigners would buy their products in Japan and have NO services in English...)

Bought five and a half years ago, the Hard Disk "died" after only a few months. It was replaced free-of-charge (which is the least they could do) however, the "old" Hard Disk was NOT returned to me... When I asked them about t, they told me they had destroyed it - How do I know if this is true or not? Personal information can be garnered from "crashed" HDDs - this is a very serious problem... Then, a few months later, the "motherboard" had to be replaced. They wanted me to pay and I said I would as soon as they returned my old HDD (I am still waiting...) When the computer came back, the keyboard had turned itself into an "English" keyboard although it is a Japanese keyboard. I have never used an English keyboard and don't even know where the "at" mark is. I finally managed to get hold of a very nice man who helped me return the keyboard to it's original setting. We have since moved from Tokyo to Yokohama, so I tried to contact the same man for the same problem... That's when, after trying their "0120" number, I called the other number he had given me, only to be told the lines were all busy and that they'd call me back. That was around 9am this morning... After calling back a second time - at around 11:30 I finally received a "call back" at around 13:30... I was told the person who had helped me before no longer works there. I was also told to try the "0120" number... The lady was quite nice to me on the 'phone and said she'd try to get someone to call me back. I noticed someone had tried to call my "keitai" (it didn't ring though...) but when I tried to call back a recording confirmed this was DELL but that I should try to find the correct number...?

If you're a foreigner with a limited amount o Japanese comprehension, although DELL is an American company, try buying a Japanese make instead - the Japanese are beginning to get everything in English these days! (That is, all EXCEPT for DELL...)

Hi,

I have an issue with an order I have placed with this company and I need your help in getting the matter resolved as soon as possible. Let me give you some background on the matter – hopefully, once you understand where I am coming from, you will be able to appreciate my frustration with the situation.
I inquired about the Dell AlienWare laptop that was advertised on the glory electronics website. Bella Lin contacted me and confirmed that I must pay $305 (USD) and she will send me the M17 Dell AlienWare. I transferred the money via Western Union (MTCN = [protected]). Bella then gave me a tracking number for my parcel and I eagerly awaited it’s arrival. On the 30th June 2010, DHL delivered a package to me – but it was not my order! It was an EPC gadget. It was a tiny cell phone like toy as oppose to the 17 inch screen Dell AlienWare I had ordered from them. I contacted Bella immediately via email and telephone and informed her of the mix up. Bella asked that I send her pictures of the package I received, which I had instantaneously done. Bella reassured me that she will rectify this matter for me. I tried to follow up with Bella on the 1st July and the 2nd July 2010 but to no avail. Bella has not been returning my emails. I frantically tried contacting her through the telephone numbers on the website
(+[protected] and +[protected]) but it keeps ringing and there is no answer. I then sent her an instant message (through MSN) and I told her that all I want is the laptop I paid her for delivered to me. In the event that she cannot do this, then all I want is my money returned to me. Still, I have not heard anything from Bella. I am so disappointed because I have paid a lot of money for this laptop.

Please help me get closure and resolve this issue,

Thank You
Preea Nattar

Dell's customer service is horrible! They have screwed up my order and now I have to wait twice as long to get it - no apologies and no compensation. A customer care manager (Indian of course) told me in her horrible accent to go an get a glass of water and when I calmed down to come back and talk to her? I was just trying to explain my situation. It was so rude. You cannot talk to an american if you tried. I am having to suffer for a screw up that dell is responsible for, and it is a horrible feeling.

I bought the Nokia N900 at the end of April. Less than 60days the price drop with the EXACT same Dell Small Business Web site. Coupon LL17PBSTFKZ440. Almost 20% Price dropped within less than 60days. I called spoke with a gentleman. Came to find out Dell just a "middle-man". They can not honor or assist anything else from their manufacturer. It definitely was not showed any where on the actual product page they are not the direct merchant. Just a "third party" seller.

Amazon offers free financing PLUS no sale tax & shipping. Never will I buy anything from Dell again which is not dell product. Mind you for the EXACT same phone!

If they can not stay competitive selling the same outside product like other web site they should just stay with DELL only items.

Major Major disappointment!

Good day

I have received an email on 22 may 2010 informing me that I have won a million us dollars in a dell computer lottery online sweepstakes international program. When I contact the claim agent he asked for a few personal details name, surname, country, adress etc. Which I forwarded to him. Then I received an email stating that the only ways that I can claim my winnings is to come to their head office in indonesia or pay r4500 via wire transfer and they will open an account with their bank and the winnings will be send to my bank in 3 hours (?) in south africa.

I have also received an certificate to certify that I am a winner from a barrister chris bailey from barclay chambers, 2a barclay road, london, e11 3dg.

Is this a scam or what must I do? There are so many scams on the internet but I don't want to get caught. Can you pse assist me in this.

Thanks for your help

René

My email is [protected]@gmail.com