Complaint Review: Dell And Bantec

I am so disgusted with Dell it is beyond words! I had an ongoing issue that was diagnosed as a faulty video card by Dell...4 different times including the original as well as 3 replacements, the last of which was installed by their outsourced technician from Bantec along with a new motherboard and new memory cards all of which were useless and did not fix the problem. To explain, after about a month with my new computer it started giving me an error message on my screen whenever I tried to turn the system on, it would say "Auto detect - entering powersave mode" and the screen would stay black. Every technical support person I talked to had me go through the same troubleshooting steps and would all respond the same, "it's the video card", even after their own technician had come out earlier that day to replace all of the above mentioned parts! By the way, I wasn't there when the technician came for the installation (not by choice) but when I came home, the computer wouldn't even power up and the fan was so loud it could be heard 2 rooms away. You can read my detailed experience (nightmare) below. I am stuck with an exchanged system right now since they refused to refund my money but I will never go Dell again and advise everyone I know to boycott them.

February 5, 2009
Ordered computer through Dell.com, est. ship date 2/18/09

On or about February 13/14, 2009
Received Computer through FedEx

On or about week of March 22, 2009
First Incident where experienced error message on screen "Auto Detect - Entering Powersave Mode" and black screen. Tower appears to be booting up correctly.

On or about March 29, 2009
IT technician (family friend) came over to assess the problem and diagnose the cause. Determined the problem to be the video card which was confirmed by Dell technician whom my friend spoke with on the phone regarding this issue and together they performed troubleshooting.

Dell is going to ship replacement Video Card for installation by my friend.

On or about April 1, 2009
My friend attempts to install replacement video card, (labeled refurbished), sent by Dell Tech Support. Video card fails to correct problem. Per telecom with Dell Tech Support during installation, Dell instructs my friend to wipe the hard drive clean to factory settings (loss of all personal uploaded information) with no positive results.

Dell Tech Support is going to ship another replacement video card as well as a new motherboard for installation.

On or about April 14, 2009
My friend installs new video card into tower, this time with success. Computer appears to be functioning properly and I do get images to the monitor. Per Dell's instructions, old video card and unused motherboard sent back to Dell via FedEx.

On or about April 28, 2009
Tried to boot up computer only to receive error message, "Auto Detect - Entering Powersave Mode" again. Call Dell Tech Support to find resolution. Tech Support technician, upon completing troubleshooting procedures, including me having to open up tower and remove and then replace memory cards, states that the issue is again the video card, no elaboration given.

Technician is going to be sent to my home to replace video card, memory cards and replace motherboard. Not sure why all of this equipment is being replaced. Cell phone number given to technician as primary contact. Also, time frame set up between 1-3pm to set up time/day for technician visit.

April 29, 2009
I receive automated call to my cell phone stating that the parts have been shipped out to the technician via FedEx and they should be received the next day.

April 30, 2009
I arrived home from work to find out from my teenage nephew that the technician called my house (secondary) number and spoke with him early that afternoon regarding a time for the technician to come out to replace parts. I, the account holder, have never been contacted on my cell phone (primary) number or directly by this technician regarding visit. My nephew made the appointment for that afternoon, without my knowledge, after technician said that it would be too late to wait for me to arrive after work @ 4:30pm. Technician arrived at my home around 1:00pm according to my nephew and proceeded to replace the motherboard, memory cards and video card, again, without my knowledge.

After learning of the day's events, I proceed to try to turn the computer on. At this point, not only is the screen still black but now the tower is not booting up properly. The power light is steady yellow/orange instead of the steady white it should be and the fan inside the tower is so loud it can be heard in the next room(s). I find out via the work-order card left at my home by the technician, Michael Riley, BancTec, that Dell contracted out for this work.

I tried calling the District Team Supervisor's number left on the work order card from BancTec to discuss the issues with the technician's visit only to get a voice message stating that as of April 11, that number was no longer in service but no forwarding number was given. There was a prompt to leave a message, for who I don't know, so I did that requesting that a District Team Supervisor please call me back. I still have not heard back from anyone at BancTec.

I immediately called Dell's technical support regarding these issues. I inform the support technician about the invalid number from BancTec and that I'm not comfortable or happy with how things are being handled up to this point. I am told by the Dell Technical Support technician that we have to troubleshoot which I proceeded to do. I checked all of the cable connections in the tower again per the Dell's support person's instruction. At this point, the support technician states that the issue again appears to be the video card, no mention as to why the tower is not booting up properly or why the fan is so loud since the BancTec technician's visit earlier that day. I am so fed up with this situation that I demand a refund. The technical support person informs me that they can only send replacement parts and that if I wanted a new machine or refund that I would have to speak with someone from Escalated Services. He immediately forwards my information onto someone in that department and tells me to expect a call from them in the next 24-48 hours.

May 1, 2009
I receive a call from someone in the Escalated Services department regarding my case. He states his name as Andy Paul. After finding out that I am not at home where I can troubleshoot my computer, he says he will have to call me back later. We agree on a call-back time of 5:00pm EST that afternoon and he enters that information into the case log.

After waiting around until 5:30pm, I left for an appointment. Upon my return home at 7:00pm, I am informed that someone named Lucky(?) called from Dell at 6:30pm and since I was not home they would try again at 7:00pm. Finally, around 7:30pm, I receive a call back from Escalated Services, (but not Andy Paul or Lucky(?)).

I am told by the Dell escalated services technician that we have to troubleshoot which I proceeded to do yet again. I checked all of the cable connections in the tower per the Dell's escalated services technician's instruction. At this point, the support technician states that the issue again appears to be the video card, no mention as to why the tower is not booting up properly or why the fan is so loud since the BancTec technician's visit earlier that day or why his installations didn't work for that matter.

I informed the technician that the video card has already been replaced 3 times in less than a month's time. Response is the same, video card is the issue. Support technician proceeds to suggest that I open up the tower to remove the faulty video card and he will at least get it to working order by having me bypass the system. I inform the technician that this response is unacceptable, I do not agree that I should be digging around inside the tower removing parts, I believe that is a qualified technician's job, nor do I feel comfortable or satisfied with "rigging" my system to work while they send a fourth replacement video card out with no past proof that that would even be a successful solution.

After demanding a refund due to incompetence and faulty practices, in my opinion, I am told that their procedures state that refunds are not an option after 21 days of purchase. The fact that my problems started occurring shortly after that time period and that the past 1 1/2 months were spent trying to correct this issue unsuccessfully had no relevance in swaying them to issue me a refund. My only option was to have a system exchange. I expressed my doubts to the technician that any product they send me will be of any quality since my confidence and faith in them as a reputable company, are irreversibly ruined. I am told that the "new" computer will bear the words "refurbished" since it is standard procedure for the system to be tested before it is shipped thus making it illegal for them to continue to label it new. I distrust this statement and believe I am going to be sent a used computer. Process for exchanged computer will take 10-12 days.

I had contacted a couple of news agency consumer groups during this process to express my frustration and dissatisfaction with Dell's handling of this situation.

May 5, 2009
Received a call from Channel 6 news "Call for Action" department. I briefed them on the situation (I had emailed them originally up to the point where the technician was going to come to my home) thus far and expressed my lack of confidence in the company and their products. They offered to call Dell and find out if nothing else, would I be issued a refund should the replacement computer experience issues. They left me a voicemail stating that they spoke with a supervisor, Jasminder Sing, at Dell who stated that "yes" I would be issued a refund should the second computer fail due to the rarity of such a situation.

May 8, 2009
I contacted Dell, via email, to find out if my 1 year warranty will be renewed with the new system as opposed to just transferring the existing warranty over 3 months into it. Also, I wanted to know what the time frame was for the possible refund should something go wrong with the exchanged system, would it be the standard 21 days they use or would it be extended at all considering the rate my original computer failed. I would like these responses in writing since I do not trust anything they tell me.

May 12, 2009
Received replacement tower from Dell.

May 14, 2009
Replacement tower is hooked up and has been working so far. One incident has occurred however, I plugged my iPod into the tower to charge but didn't get on the computer. Maybe an hour or two later when I did try to log onto the computer I received the "Auto Detect - Entering Powersave Mode" message again so I hit the F8 key and jiggled the mouse and the screen did come back. This may be normal for most PCs but considering my history with this issue, it set my red flags waving and I keep expecting the issue to return any day now.

May 21, 2009
As of today, I have still not received a response in writing to my inquiries, I will try to give them a call today to find out.

Pa72
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.

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