Dell Faulty Laptop / Notebook Consumer Action

Hopefully this petition will send a message to Dell so they understand their actions are not acceptable to any of their customers. We have had enough.

If someone is going to spend several hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your product, you better make it right and if you don't, you take responsibility for it. You make it reliable. You make sure your customer service can not only speak proper English but understand it as well. This is but a few qualities a company should aim for in the least.

Below is my personal experience which no one should have to go through. How ridiculous is it for a customer to have to go as far as creating a petition to ask for a company to act responsibly towards its customers?????


I needed a notebook for work and bought a Dell 1150 Inspiron. I knew it wasn't top-of-the-line, but for simple word processing work. I shouldn't need to purchase an expensive computer. I bought from Dell because I had seen their commercials and figured a large corporation like Dell had a big client base because they were a quality, customer-oriented company. I trusted them.

Turns out my experience has been anything but "customer-oriented" or "quality". Here's a summary of my personal experience: The battery suddenly drained quickly - went from 75\% to about 10\% in a matter of minutes. It would also run so slowly and freeze up at the simplest tasks. Then it had problems charging: Wouldn't charge, said it didn't recognize the adaptor, would only charge after the battery completely drained and the system was off, wouldn't run on AC power, etc. Then after a while it would only run of AC power and didn't recognize the battery at all. It would get extremely hot and suddenly shut off. Upon restart I received a message that it turned off because the internal temperature was too hot (even though it was sitting on a table). Then it would only run on AC power if the power cord was pulled to a certain angle. The power plug became loose and eventually broke free from the board and the motherboard died.

At first I thought the issue was the battery so I argued with Dell Support that a battery shouldn't behave this way and thought it must be part of the huge battery recall, but they said it wasn't and I would have to buy a new battery because their batteries only carry a 30 day warranty. So I bought a new battery. I also bought more RAM because I thought it was the reason why the system ran (or shuffled along) like my Grandmother. I checked out Dell's vast section of Troubleshooting articles which suggested the problem was the battery or the power cable. So I bought a new cable. I also went through 2 laptop cooling pads with fans to keep the laptop from overheating. Everything I bought temporarily seemed to mend the situation...keyword: temporarily.

I didn't realize the warranty was only for one year which is my mistake. Unfortunately the serious problems above began 13 months after purchase. I spent many hours emailing, chatting, writing, and calling Dell because I felt like this problem couldn't be random. Never ONCE did they admit to seeing this before. They weren't sympathetic. All they did was try to sell me products they said would fix the problems.

Then I accidentally came across a web forum where angry Dell customers were complaining of the exact same issues I was. They also contacted Dell and Dell pleaded ignorance to them as well. Many of them had the same Inspiron model as me. I began looking and came upon hundreds if not thousands of other Inspiron owners, all with the same problems.

I read comments from repair techs who said they repair Dells daily with the same symptoms as my 'crap'top and they theorized several issues were at fault - cheap motherboards, weak fans, poor ventillation, and cheap heatsinks. They said the motherboard gets so hot the solder actually melts around the AC jack, loosening it. In my case it actually broke free and the melted solder melted into the motherboard, literally frying it.

I became outraged! I felt like they were deliberately betraying me this whole time. Making me believe it was one thing when really it was another.

Dell has been sued by owners of Inspiron 5150 laptops where a settlement was just reached this past September '06. Just a month later in October '06, the law firm of LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Dell for Inspiron models: 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160. Because of nearly identical problems arrising in the 5150 model of the previous lawsuit. I'm not surprised considering 5150s and 1150 have identical chassis and motherboards. Read about the lawsuit here: http://www.lieffcabraser.com/contact/contact-dell-inspiron-3.htm

Anyways, I filed a complaint with the BBB about Dell and the inept Dell representative assigned to my case is incredibly rude and condesending. When I first mentioned my problems and how I wasn't the only one, she said Dell isn't aware of any widespread problems with their notebooks.

When I pointed out the lawsuit above as evidence that apparently this isn't just some fluke I am arguing with her over, she had the nerve to tell me there was no lawsuit and I was wrong, even after I pointed her to the link.

Now she downplays the seriousness of the lawsuit by saying "All information being gathered on the website listed (Lieff Cabraser) is purely to collect complaints for possible litigation in the future"

Bottom line: I invested over $1000 in a laptop that was dying 13 months after purchase and completely dead in less than 2 years. I don't know about you, but $1000 is serious money for someone like me. I shouldn't have to pay Dell or anyone else to fix a computer they screwed up designing in the first place and neither should you.

If you agree with me, please sign this petition so we can send Dell a message that we as customers and human beings refuse to be treated like garbage and to let them know that contrary to their lies, There IS system wide failure with many lines of Dell notebook computers.

If we get enough signatures, hopefully this will gain enough momentum to make Dell realize people aren't going to spend their hard earned money for cheap, faulty products and outsourced, horrible customer service.

Thank you for your attention in this matter and hopefully for your support.