Alienware support not dealing with query

It isn't Dell you need to contact for an explanation.  It's your seller.

Here's the thing:

- It's possible to contact the seller only within the first 90 days of the purchase.

- There's also money back guarantee from ebay if the product is not as described. 

I have registered the laptop within 1 day of my purchase on the Dell website under my products, and provided all info it was requesting (purchase order wasn't part of it).

- this lead me to believe that there's no issue with the item since the warranty was showing valid until next year with Premium Support services. 

- as a consequence of the successful registration on the Dell website, I have kept the item and provided good feedback to the seller.

More than three months later, I started experiencing an issue with the laptop. I have contacted Dell support.

- My warranty and Premium support are no longer showing on the website.

- It's no longer possible to contact the seller or request a refund from ebay or the seller (because the time window for this closed). 

- I'm returning the item, losing the money.

- The seller gets away with selling a stolen item.

If the Dell website had requested the purchase receipt from the start (when I registered the product, once I got it), or had shown that there's a hold on the label (as they told me on the phone when I needed tech support), I could have returned the item and recovered my money.

My problem with Dell is that their website allows registering products without requiring the Dell invoice number and is showing valid warranty and Premium support up until the moment when support is required. This means that:

- any stolen products that are sold can be registered on the Dell website and the fact that they are stolen/not returned goes unnoticed until (if ever) tech support is required.

- the consequences of being scammed are faced by the buyer, who risks prosecution due to possessing a stolen item.

- the seller gets away with it

If the Dell website had shown that there's a "hold on the label" or something is wrong with the purchase (which could have been possible if they requested the invoice number), the outcome would have been adequate:

- the laptop goes back to Dell or the seller

- the seller risks prosecution

- the buyer who was scammed gets return from ebay or the seller

Registration is not owner transfer:

https://www.dell.com/support/assets-transfer/en-us/ownershiptransfer

Would be good to know this during the registration process and check ownership as well.

I was curious what would happen if I registered the same laptop to an additional account.

It worked! Fascinating, it's possible to register the same product to multiple accounts and there's no notice that ownership transfer is required during or after the registration.

When adding products to an account it says:

Registration does not automatically transfer the warranty -- see the other link I posted.  I suspect that's where you will run into issues (one of the requirements is that you have the current, registered owner's information before the process will succeed).

I read the link you posted. If registration doesn't transfer the warranty, then this should be at least indicated when registering an item. Instead, this fact is hidden in some documentation that is not provided when adding a product to your account.

It is possible to add the same product to multiple accounts. The warranty/support status is showing the same on both accounts I used ("Issue with support services").

I assume this possibility exists, so that whoever is in possession, can check the warranty/support status. But if it's for this reason, then, again - I would have expected to see the correct warranty/support status from the start (when I bought the laptop). This was not the case - it was showing valid warranty and Premium support up until the moment I have opened the support case (and it would have shown this status for all accounts where this device was added).

If the reason why it went from "Premium Support" to "Issue with support services", is the fact that I wasn't able to provide the purchase ID - and for the fact that it is possible to register the same product to multiple accounts, this implies that anyone who reads a service tag from the back of a Dell laptop (e.g. someone who doesn't own the laptop) can void the warranty/support services by calling tech support  and claiming it's their laptop.

What is happening here:

1. Dell is not updating the warranty/support status when a device is not returned/stolen up until the point where support is required and additional information is requested (I was told there's "a hold on the label" on the phone, because the item is an item that wasn't returned to dell - please refer to support the conversation recordings).

2. For this reason, buyers from Amazon, Ebay, etc. are being mislead into thinking that there is valid warranty and support on products which may be stolen/not returned items.

3. Anyone (in particular not owners) reading a service tag from the back of a Dell laptop can add it to their (or a fake) account, call support and have warranty voided by opening a support case and not providing a purchase ID (as I happened to do, by holding the service tag of an item that Dell are claiming I do not own). This can be done, even if the email address on the account is not validated by clicking on the link in the email received when creating the account.

4. It is impossible to be certain if a laptop has warranty and support (regardless if it's purchased directly from Dell, retailer or some online platform) up until the moment where support is required and ownership is confirmed by technical support. Until then it will show Premium support and warranty for the period starting when it was first registered.

The fact that registration is not ownership transfer, doesn't change any of the above possibilities or consequences. There's a flaw in the registration and ownership transfer procedures, which favours sellers of items that are not returned or stolen.

The moment an item is added to an account (with name, contact details, address) and a service tag or other means for adding a product is provided, ownership should be validated. This does not happen and buyers cannot know this fact, unless searching specifically for documentation, which they may not be aware it even exists. There's no reference to ownership transfer when adding a product to an account.

I ran into issues when I was convinced that the laptop I purchased had warranty/premium support (as shown on your website) and this proved to be false, once I required support.

As with any used purchase, or purchase through non-authorized channels, it's buyer-beware.  I would be very skeptical of buying a relatively new, used Chevrolet from a Toyota dealer at a substantial discount.  The same applies to buying discounted, "new" or relatively new, notebooks on EBay, Amazon storefront, etc.

In exchange for the discount, you assume higher level of risk.

If you cannot transfer ownership of the system with Dell, file a complaint against the seller with EBay.

I've also ordered another Alienware laptop directly from Dell in the meantime. They are good devices. I take back what I said about support - I understand there's 24-48h before reply and given the weekend, this might explain the delay.

I still think that requiring previous owner details when registering a laptop to an account with a different name than that of the purchaser should require ownership transfer at the point when the device is added to the account, and also that the product shouldn't be showing Premium support until ownership is validated. This would provide a more pleasant experience for buyers and reduce their chances of being scammed.

Thanks for your reply. When you register a car, you need the previous owner details and there are not two separate processes, based on where/how the car was purchased.

I managed to eventually obtain the details of the seller. I'm looking forward to having this resolved.