Dell is refusing to provide service, still under warranty

Hello Everyone,

I would like to know how to file a complaint to Dell before I submit to organizations. I bought a quite expensive laptop, Dell Alienware 17 R5 with premium, onsite service warranty that is still valid.

The story of the problem begins a few months ago. Some white, powder-like dust started appearing around my device. I was quite confused and couldn't figure out the source. Then, the computer began to overheat. I requested repair service and received it without an issue. Unsurprisingly, the cooling system was full of that white powder-like dust. After the repairs, the white dust continued to appear, but in smaller quantities that kept declining overtime (probably the source of that dust was getting exhausted). One of my colleagues said that he's seen a similar type of dust on corroding batteries. Since it seemed that my battery was functioning well at the time, I didn't consider it to be the source of that dust, but later I started having issues with the battery. The computer would just shut down when it has nearly full charge or wouldn't turn on without connecting a charger (after I connected it and the computer started it showed a "100% charged" reading). Due to that behavior, I began to suspect that my colleague was right and that the source of the dust was the battery. Therefore, I requested a service once more and here is where the struggle began.

First, the representatives held me on emails back and forth with some tests that for some reason took almost 3 weeks. In the end they came to a conclusion that the battery was functioning well and that the white dust wasn't coming from the battery. After some BIOS updates, the problem continued (the computer sometimes doesn't start without a charger). I kept requesting an onsite service (which is part of my warranty), but they just kept stalling for time with some silly statements like "First we need to find the source of the white dust" (isn't this what an onsite service is for? Send someone to take the computer apart and find the source of the problem!). They asked me to send them the photos of that white dust, but after all this time, it wasn't coming out in such a large quantities that I can just take a photo of it. When I asked them if there is any part, other then the battery, that they know of, that can produce such type of dust, I didn't get a proper response and we went back to talking about the battery replacement.

The support representative said that I have to do a TAG transfer to receive that service. Now, I understand that when a person relocates and wants to move his LOCAL warranty to another country, there is a procedure such as that. I paid for INTERNATIONAL warranty that provides service in every country that Dell has a support in. I am in fact, temporarily reside in Japan, but my warranty covers it. Nonetheless, the representative refused to provide the service before I complete a TAG transfer (that takes more than half a month, as I was told). Finally, this week, they told me that the issue is with the battery warranty. They said that it is a "consumable", thus its warranty is only one year. Due to that reason, they need me to transfer the TAG so they can issue the service that I WILL NEED TO PAY FOR. Even though nobody told me that the battery has shorter warranty period than other parts when I bought the computer, I can accept this statement since I did find this mentioned on the Dell website when I searched it. My major, mind-blowing issue is that this is a paid service, but they still refuse to perform it on a device that is under an onsite service warranty even if I am willing to pay for it. What the heck? They've been stalling me for a month and now they want me to wait for at least half a month more so that I can pay them to receive an onsite service that is part of my warranty.

My patience is running low. Especially because I suspect that the white dust that is coming out of the computer is causing me health issues. About the same time as the white dust appeared, I started having a cough. I've been through countless test since than and the doctors can't find any cause for that cough. Again, only recently I mage the connection between the cough and the white dust because now that the amount of dust is very low, my cough started to subdue (almost 3 months since it began). I spent a lot of money and time on various tests and medications suggested by the doctors and even when I mentioned that to the representative, nothing changed. They did however, proposed to take my computer for testing at the lab, but I cannot do so because I use it on a daily basis for research and work related matters. Also, I have a data on that device that cannot be handed to a third party. These are also partially the reasons why I bought a device with an onsite service.

With all of this headache, I am already more than willing to take that issue. If I will do so, I will go all the way. I will collect the dust from inside the computer and have it tested to prove that it was the cause of my health issue. I am sure that the judges won't see it agreeable that there was no need to dispatch an onsite service to locate the issue and solve it. Not to mention that the technician that replaced the cooling system, just whipped the dust from the internal parts with some wet cloth and didn't even think of checking where it came from. As a professional, I expect him to realize a potential problem source when he sees something like that.

I am writing all of this here because, before I take a and start an aggressive campaign, I would like to try and resolve it peacefully with Dell, but I don't know how to reach the correct representative for this matter.

I apologize to all the readers for such a long post. Hope someone knows who should I contact at Dell to solve this matter. If a Dell representative reads this, please make sure to provide contact for me to reach out to.

Thank you all for your time.