Windows Vista Home Premium

[Emmy]

You know Biff I know exactly how you're feeling right now but my problem is not with a computer its with my conservatory - it's been an ongoing problem for almost 9 years and it cost me a lot of money re lawyers, surveyors etc before the firm actually dismantled it and rebuilt it - then it leaked again. It will be a year in December since their surveyor was out to check it and and said new roof panel etc. was required and I'm still waiting for the job to be done and still waiting for replies from phone calls etc I think these firms just hope we will get fed up and then disappear - its so easy to say 'dont worry about it' but it doesnt go out of your mind the fact that firms are not playing the game! but they're quick enough to ask for the bill to be paid!

(My son has threatened to make it public on the 'net' but I keep preventing him from doing it)

Hope you get everything sorted out soon
Emmy

[Biff83]

Cathy wrote:

Or is Dell really that bad?

I can honestly say that it's been the most frustrating thing I've experienced in years. Being on hold for a long time, getting transferred to other departments, etc. was bad but bearable. What I could not stand is the multiple promised call backs which never happened. Shabby, shoddy, poor, you pick the adjective I didn't feel like I was a valued customer. Needless to say, Dell is no longer on my Christmas card list.

Tonight I finally did speak to someone at Dell who has arranged for a replacement printer/scanner to be sent in the next few days. Hopefully, when I connect it to the computer, this one will work properly.

One of the things I am frustrated about is the fast pace at which technology is advancing and my inability to keep up. I have been and will continue to be technically challenged. Things are just moving too fast. I was watching one of the shopping networks over the weekend and they were talking about the new HD technology that will be out in the next 18 months or so. Not that it matters to me, I'm still watching my 10 year old Toshiba 29 inch monster and have no intention of buying anything else in the near or distant future. However, I've finally decided to replace my 35 year old Fisher amplifier but I'm having a devil of a time locating an amp that has a phono preamp and will connect to my 35 year old speakers.

To be continued. I'll let ya'all know what happens.

Thanks for reading me.

Baci ed abbracci,
Biff

[Eleven]

I never look in this forum and dont know what made me check it out now. I wish I had seen this, because I would have told you to run as far away from Dell as possible. Out of all the people that I know who own Dells..more than half had problems, some from the gitgo, like you. Their customer service stinks (as you now know) and I have never heard of a company who wants to replace (and does) their brand new broken computers for a refurbished. I would NEVER settle for that.

From the day I owned a computer..it was always IBM. I have had three and not only their computers, but their service, is outstanding. The problem now is, IBM no longer sells personal computers. They sold that to some company in China.

I used to be one of the biggest IBM "cheerleaders" around, mostly because of their customer service. Toward the end..they had it setup where you got the same rep all of the time..and HE handled all of the nonsense for you. You didnt get these phonecall pass arounds.

Prior to this computer..which is also 8 years old, I had one of the first black computers they made. I kept wearing out the white lettering on the keyboard. They replaced it 3 times for me..and I didnt even ask for a replacement keyboard..I thought I could just have the individual keys replace. No fight..no aggravation..I told them the keys are fading and THEY offered to send a new one.

Anyway..I am so sorry I didnt see this sooner. I would never by a Dell. I dont know how they got to number one, but they sure dont belong there. I am still using windows 98 (I dont like xp we have it on the laptop.) I will NOT buy another computer, until this one totally drops dead. I think I would look into Sony, then. I have never heard anything bad about them.

[Biff83]

Well, the saga continues.

When we didn't receive a follow up communication after a week on our replacement printer, we called Dell to determine the status. It seems that the initial rep screwed up the paper work and had to have a supervisor intervene. Okay, that can happen but nobody bothered to call or even email us relative to a delay in the shipment of our replacement. The replacement is finally on its way via DHL ground service. For all the grief they put us through I would have thought they'd at least have sent the darn thing overnight.

Biff

[nuccia]

My God, Biff!

Its been a friggen nightmare for you with this darn thing. I'm sure once everything is put together though it will ll work out. Just stay positive. I have never owned a Dell before and I don't think I will after reading all this. I know my best friend bought a Dell and is going through a similar thing. The funny thing is that her computer isn't working yet they keep sending her upgrades and info to repair it through her email..which she can't acess! It seems the call center is in India..

Oh well..this too shall pass, right?

[Carole]

I don't know how true it would be to describe the attitude to 'that pc company' in Britain...

They are NOT popular for the exact kind of sales problems described here. I understand that their 'after sales service' should read "after you've given up service....."

Personally I think their sales slogan should be:

Don't Ever Laugh Loud!!!

[Biff83]

More of my saga with Dell

The replacement printer finally arrived today and guess what? The bastards sent a refurbished unit!!! It's being returned tomorrow. Can't wait till I get home this evening. I pity the poor person who picks up my call. I'm usually level headed but this has sent me over the top.

Biff

[nuccia]

Are you serious? Thats insane! Biff why don't you just return everything and go out to somewhere like Best Buy and buy one all set up already. Then just take it home and plug it in, install a few disks and you're done?

I did this with my first computer (ok, so I paid through the nose for it) but I had it for six and a half years before anything happened to it. I was computer "challenged" at the time as well and I managed to pull it off.

I also have a new problem now....I installed my web cam and now my damn computer keeps restarting it self. Or maybe its my printer since updates just cam through two days ago!

I saw the now familiar "preparing to dump kernal files" message and am in the process of removing printer and web cam. Also am backing everything up -AGAIN.

I hate these damn computers...ughhh!

[Cathy]

I'm with Nuccia! Tell them their customer service is non-existant, you have been more than patient, and you are not going to take it anymore!! Go to Best Buy. They stand behind the products they sell and have great customer service and let Dell know that is your intention. And their Geek Squad will set you up in a few days. I have purchased all 6 of my compters there. Never had a problem - not once.
Oh and HOW DARE THEY SEND A REFURBISHED UNIT WHEN YOU PAID FOR A NEW ONE!!! Is that even legal?

[Cathy]

Ooops! Look at this:
www.ihatedell.net/foru...php?t=8757
and this
www.whydellsucks.com/
and this:
www.just-think-it.com/mydell.htm

www.michaelrighi.com/2...re-my-way/

[Eleven]

Tell me you paid with a credit card.

If I were you..I would send the entire mess back..computer, printer et al and call your credit card company.

Dell is famous for exchanging their new crappy merchandise for refurbished..and you know what that is, right? Someone elses hunk of junk that was returned and tinkered with.

My husband has a dell lap top BUT we didnt pay for it. We got it free for switching credit cards to one that offered it free, if you kept their card for a certain amount of years.

I swear my 8 year old computer boots up faster than his, and his is supposed to be more than twice as powerful.

Dell is bad..but, I will go one step futher to say..a lot of problems come from Gate's buggy operating systems. I dont know about this Vista, but my husband has gotten more errors in 3 years with xp than I have had in 8 years with win98.

Because he only knows how to surf the net and use emails..I am stuck sorting out the problems. Right now, it seems I cant get his volume control to stay in the tray by the clock. I get it there..he logs off, comes back, its gone. I have gone thru their instructions..step by step...I cant get it to stay. A simple problem, I know..but one that really gets you.

Every night..I pray that my computer lasts me another 10 years (or more) because I dont want to deal with a new one..nor Gate's new, probably more buggy OS.

[Biff83]

Stupid me. Instead of using one of my bank cards, I took Dell up on their offer to open a Dell account and "save" 15% on my purchase so I don't have the option of contesting the charge. Believe me, if I had used a bank card, I would have contested the charge and returned everything to Dell.

I took the refurbished printer/scanner home last night and decided to install it since I wanted to scan and print a couple of pix. You guessed it. It didn't work either. So we now have two non working printers. Rather than me calling Dell with smoke coming out of my ears, my wife decided she was going to call. She spent two hours on the phone last night with a tech support person who could not get the printer to work. He finally transferred her to customer service to arrange for another replacement. Customer service, however, said their system was supposedly updating and they would have to call back. They never did last night and I'm sure we'll have to call them today. Over this entire sad saga of woe, not once did a Dell rep ever make a promised return call.

To be continued.

Biff

[Eleven]

Biff, did you click those links that Cathy posted? Holy moley I was up till 3 am reading some of that stuff..and some had links to other Dell/Hell sites. There is one site that looks like their employees complaining..another site that said dell installs spyware, in the form of a tool bar or something, then tries to charge you $49 dollars for a program to get rid of it.

I learned more things on how dell cuts corners, to sell cheap, but the corners they cut are at the buyers expense. I couldnt believe all of the different type complaints, and some exactly like yours.

At the rate they are going, with all of the different complaints that I read, they sure arent going to be the top sellers for long.

Its too bad we didnt have this discussion before you bought..and not after.

[Cathy]

Eleven: They have lost their top selling rating over the past 5 years. You saw why.
Biff, Seriously I would consider trying to get a full refund and buying something else. You were sold a lemon and it is best to get out while you can. At this rate I'll be working on your system in December!

[Eleven]

Cathy, they are gonna give him a hard time trying for a refund. I buy everything with a credit card, even if I have the cash..I just pay the full amount of the item when the bill comes. Now a days, you need that extra protection.

I dont know if you ever experienced what the CC companies do. They take the charge off of your acct immediately and then they send forms to you and to the seller. You tell your story and they tell theirs. And in Biff's case, I think that charge would remain off. If the seller wins, the charge would go back on..but, in his case, I cant see any CC company siding with dell, after all of that.

I had that done 3 times. Once with an online service, that kept charging me even after I canceled. I won. The second time was with norton anti virus, that after downloading, I couldnt access the license page, therefore, couldnt install it. I won. And I lost when I was supposed to get dsl, when it first came out, only they neglected to tell me the phone company didnt have it in my area. I already paid the 100 dollars for the modem..and because I didnt read the no refund under any circumstances "fine print", I lost that one.

Its too bad IBM sold out to another company. They were more expensive to buy, but the service was well worth it. I couldnt rave about them enough.