Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
25 Posts
0
6008
Surprised and Disappointed With Dell Customer Service
I am a long time Dell fan: two older desktops and two recent laptops. One laptop, XPS15, (L501X), was purchased as a Christmas gift for my daughter in December 2010. I liked it so much I treated myself to the newer version, (L502X), the following August.
Well, the battery on the L501X up and died the other day. I understand the warranty is for one year. This laptop is approximately 15 months old. When I called Dell about this, the two gentlemen I spoke with were very polite and professional. However, the bottom line is they refused to budge on this and insisted I was flat out of luck with regards to this. They insisted the life expectancy of a battery is only 1 year anyway, which I disputed. In my experience that hasn't been the case at all. I'm surprised that Dell would treat a 4 time customer this way, and risk losing and alienating me over what amounts to a mere pittance for them.
The cost of a new battery is a whopping $180! I'll have to purchase a generic brand battery, I suppose. A big "thumbs down" to Dell for the way they handled someone who was a loyal customer. :emotion-45:
Andy2902
25 Posts
0
March 20th, 2012 11:00
I appreciate your reply. From a purely contractual position you are correct. The warranty is for only 1 year and so I'm out of luck. Still, there are times when a company needs to think outside the box, beyond the black and white, and be a bit more customer service oriented than they are obligated to do. My position is that this is one of those times. Insisting I purchase a $180 replacement for a battery that is less than 15 months old is short sighted. I've purchased 4 computers from Dell. Surely they're aware I can look elsewhere in the future. As I said, I'm surprised and disappointed at Dell's inflexibility in this matter.
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
1
March 20th, 2012 11:00
Lipo batteries have 300 to 500 cycle life. They die whether you use them or not. That's why 1 year is the warranty for a battery. This is industry standard.
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
March 20th, 2012 12:00
Many companies offer an extended warranty on all parts including battery but Not free.
This is what Apple says.
Your one-year warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. You can extend your replacement coverage for a defective battery to three years from the date of your notebook purchase with the AppleCare Protection Plan. However, the AppleCare Protection Plan for notebook computers does not cover batteries that have failed or are exhibiting diminished capacity except when the failure or diminished capacity is the result of a manufacturing defect.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
This is what ACER says.
Acer warrants the battery to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one Year.
This warranty shall be rendered null and void if the product is damaged by misuse, accident, unauthorised modification(s), operating under unsuitable environment, exposure to weather conditions, improper maintenance or repair by unauthorised persons, removal or alteration of part identification label and/or warranty sticker, or failure caused by a third party product for which Acer is not responsible. Acer does not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation. Acceptable charge is calculated using the age of the battery or 400 charge cycles of the battery, whichever occurs first.
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
This is what Toshiba Says
All Laptop Batteries come with a one-year USA warranty, you can rest assured that you're getting a quality product at an unbeatable price.
Battery life may vary depending on product model, configuration, applications, power management settings and features utilized. Recharge time varies depending on usage. Battery may not charge while computer is consuming full power. After a period of time, the battery will lose its ability to perform at maximum capacity and will need to be replaced. This is normal for all batteries.