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"Wear and tear" exclusions under warranty?
Just got off the phone with Dell tech support, and have to say I was quite surprised by some of the things I heard.
After about a year and a half of usage, the insulation of my notebook's power adapter has frayed just behind the "head" which plugs into the notebook, exposing some electrically live bare metal. When I called support, I was told that this is considered "wear and tear" damage and is not covered by my Dell extended warranty.
Furthermore, the support person I was talking to also cited notebook LCD hinges as an example of "wear and tear" which would not be covered under warranty! As a previous owner of an Inspiron 7000 which -did- have two hinges replaced under warranty, I was surprised and queried him further, whereupon I was told that this applied to "newer models".
I would appreciate an official clarification, if possible--does this accurately reflect the current policy of Dell?
After about a year and a half of usage, the insulation of my notebook's power adapter has frayed just behind the "head" which plugs into the notebook, exposing some electrically live bare metal. When I called support, I was told that this is considered "wear and tear" damage and is not covered by my Dell extended warranty.
Furthermore, the support person I was talking to also cited notebook LCD hinges as an example of "wear and tear" which would not be covered under warranty! As a previous owner of an Inspiron 7000 which -did- have two hinges replaced under warranty, I was surprised and queried him further, whereupon I was told that this applied to "newer models".
I would appreciate an official clarification, if possible--does this accurately reflect the current policy of Dell?
jpm121
133 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 01:00
Don't know if you're from the US or elsewhere, but here's what Dell has to say:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/policy/en/policy?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~section=010#hardware
What is covered by this limited warranty?
This limited warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship in your — our end-user customer's — Dell-branded hardware products, including Dell-branded peripheral products.
What is not covered by this limited warranty?
This limited warranty does not cover:
Software, including the operating system and software added to the Dell-branded hardware products through our factory-integration system, third-party software, or the reloading of software
Non-Dell branded and Solution Provider Direct products and accessories
FreeDOSTM operating system shipped with Dell n-Series systems
Problems that result from: External causes such as accident, abuse, misuse, or problems with electrical power
Servicing not authorized by us
Usage that is not in accordance with product instructions
Failure to follow the product instructions or failure to perform preventive maintenance
Problems caused by using accessories, parts, or components not supplied by us
Products with missing or altered service tags or serial numbers
Products for which we have not received payment
If the product has a mechanical defect, such as a power adaptor cable that wasn't made strong enough for normal use then dell is responsible for fixing it. If they claim that you have abused, misused, or otherwise violated then warranty, then...
GSMan300
141 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 06:00
Hey man,
Just call again and you will get a different representative. Sometimes it is a dice roll to see whether or not you get a cooperative support person.
I had loose LCD hinges replaced on my Inspiron 8000.
GraemeW
45 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 10:00
RandyB
518 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 13:00
True dat! As a rule: representatives don't know they're talking about!
Message Edited by RandyB on 01-15-2004 09:12 AM
carlsad
26 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 14:00
Does this apply to the CompleteCare warrantly as well?? It seems ridiculous that it would cover you accidentally dropping and breaking the LCD but it wouldn't cover loose hinges.
Furthermore, if it's just a case of one call-center person being mistaken, then Dell really needs to work on consitenceny in thier policies.
spiked_martini
948 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 14:00
GSMan300
141 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 21:00
Very true spiked_martini,
Most people don't know this, but sometimes your customer support calls get routed to different parts of the world like India. The large number of represetatives combined with cultural variability would make it difficult for them to all be alike. I must give them credit, they do seem to have some sort of system down.
cat5e
2 Posts
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January 15th, 2004 22:00
The customer rep I spoke to sounded Singaporean or Malaysian. I'm Australian; the Dell online policies page for Australia excludes "normal wear and tear." I think the problem seems to lie in the definition of "normal."
( http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/ap/policy/en/au/termsau?c=au&l=en&s=gen)