For some reason it won't allow me to post in the "Laptops General" forum so I'm posting here.

<Laptops General is a locked/read only board. DELL-Admin>


My 1 year Premium Support Warranty which I bought when I purchased my laptop is expiring on 9th May 2018.
Last week my fingerprint stopped working and my PIN too. I called Technical support who didn't know how this was caused but I have a feeling it was probably because of the BIOS update.

Eventually I got the PIN to work by deleting the ngc folder but Windows Hello had totally vanished. Apparently there had been a critical malfunction in the TPM chip which is required for the fingerprint to work.The technical support assistant said the motherboard would have to be replaced because the TPM chip is part of the SoC.

They called an engineer out who replaced the motherboard on site (because it's Premium Support) and it fixed the problem. The fingerprint now works! Happy Days

However it made me aware that something like this - however unlikely it may be - can happen again so I decided to ponder the idea of extending my Premium Support warranty because replacing the motherboard outside of warranty costs an eye-watering £600! No thanks!

This is where my problem arises and it really has left a bitter taste in my mouth with Dell's Customer Service.
Apparently there is no way to upgrade your warranty online! It's 2018! You have to fill out a form and then Post Warranty Support who quoted the following prices for Premium Support and Onsite Service

1 Year...... £218.02
2 years...... £348.83
3 year.s...... £414.23

These prices are so expensive! So I sat an pondered further feeling really disheartened that Dell was asking so much.

So today I went to the Dell store and placed an order for the exact same laptop (specs etc) just to see what the options were for adding Premium Support with Onsite Service, and indeed there was the option of up to 4 years. The prices are as follows:

1 Year..... Included in the price
2 Years.....£130.00
3 Years.....£170.01
4 Years.....£290.01

Needless to say I got on the phone asked why there was such a difference in the prices during purchase, and after sale. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever why Dell would charge double the amount for exactly the same laptop but just extending your warranty after you've purchased the laptop. It's beyond belief.
I managed to speak to the Premium Support Manager named Richard to air my disbelief, and although sympathetic, he was unable to assist in pricing. However, he said he would pass all my comments on and escalate it to the Resolution team whom he said would call later in the day.

Indeed, true to his word, I received a call in the late afternoon from Dell. He introduced himself as Marshal B from the Resolution Team. I think he said he was the Senior Support Resolver. He asked me to explain the problem to which I responded that he should have the notes from Richard whom I spoke to earlier. Instead he insisted I tell him again so that he can understand batter which makes me think nothing was sent to him. Typical! Anyway I explained my concern as before and his explanation was lame to be quite frank. Marshal said that because you're doing all the research for yourself when purchasing online that the price is less than when you purchase on the phone from the Post Warranty Team. Really?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. So I asked why isn't there an option to purchase the warranty online because that way, according to his statement, the warranty would be the same as when you purchase the laptop. He went on to give an example of purchasing something from Amazon would be cheaper than purchasing something from a shop. Errr ok! So I said repeated why there wasn't an option to extend the warranty online. That way I could get it cheaper. He said there was nothing he could do about that and I told him this was a fraud. Just because I can't purchase my warranty online you're going to charge me double? Really?!

So now I'm going to write a formal letter of complaint to the Head Office. There is no way Dell can justify this difference in prices. I think it is unethical, unfair and needs to be addressed. Why should I have to purchase the laptop again to get the cheaper price? What happened to customer satisfaction? What happened to customer retention? What happened to customer loyalty? I could have spent my hard earned on HP, Acer, Asus etc, but I chose Dell and this is how they treat their customers?

I am extremely disappointed with Dell Customer Service. Their technical support has been good but their Custom Care has been diabolical. There should be one price (1, 2, 3 or 4 years warranty) regardless of when you purchase the warranty. It amounts to the same things whichever way you look at it.

A valued customer is something I do not feel like especially after spending so much money on their products. The least they can do it look after their customers. They're going to make money regardless so why do such a ridiculous thing like this? The mind boggles