Windows 10: Who Is Liable - Manufacturer Or Retailer

My parents are in their upper 80's and they spent over $1000 on a new W10 Dell All-In-One from BestBuy. Model Inspiron 24 5488A I don't know if the OS is Home or Pro - there's nothing on the chassis beyond he name Dell and a service tag.

One month after they bought it they got an Oops message when they booted. The msg said that something was keeping the machine from starting properly and that a reboot would fix it. It did not - it just continued to loop. I called BestBuy, was told that the problem would be covered and to have them bring it in.
Three days later they got a call to pick up and were charged $100, the store saying that the warranty only coverd hardware issues. My father unfortunately asked what was to prevent the issue from reoccurring and left the store with the PC and minus another $100 from 24x7 support.
I was furious when I heard about it, and even angrier after I called Dell and was informed that they would've sent them a box with a prepaid shipping label. Dell would have fixed it and sent it back for no charge. I have gotten no help in recovering any money either from BestBuy or Dell.
Even worse, the problem has no happened to this now 6 month old monstrosity. I really don't know who to contact at this point. I can find no corporate phone numbers for either Dell or BestBuy.

I have created another thread asking how to boot from a DVD in the Drivers and Hardware subforum, hoping I can fix it myself.

:)

 

What is the responsibility of Microsoft, when Windows dies all of a sudden?

The doctor is liable, the mechanic is liable, the plumber is liable, why not Microsoft?!

-> Because you have a contract with your PC's manufacturer, not with Microsoft. When you have a problem with the tyres of your Toyota then the liability rests with Toyota, not with the tyre manufacturer.

 

Nokia can't release fw 40 for all device!nokia brand telco is penalized!

Guarantee is provided by the manufacturer ONLY. Warranty is provided by the dealer ONLY. If your dealer rejects providing warranty (eg. not publishing updated firmware) you have the right to get guarantee.





Not at all true in most countries the facts are one your retailer who you bought the phone from is the only one liable for any guarantee or warranty not the manufacturer .Its the retailer who has the call on the manufacturers warranty .

If the manufacturer wants to offer extra warranty guarantee that is up to them and is often a matter of goodwill .



But the main point is if you dont like the set up re firmware you have two complaints to make . One to Nokia and One to your Phone supplier and NON to this users help forum as its users who help each other .







It is something i find rather confusing in that customers buy a product with XX firmware making a choice to buy that product not i shall buy this product and demand better in time .

Firmware is given to phones already sold by Nokia they have no compulsion to provide that update to users who have already bought a product its given as a matter of goodwill .



Personally i dont like Nokia firmware policy but not enough to complain as i aint go to die if i dont get kinetic scrolling etc .



jje



.

 

It would be a difficult fight to go after BestBuy and there's no reason Dell would be at fault here. BestBuy's terms most likely state that their warranty is for hardware only and software problems will be charged for.

It would just be best in the future that all repairs are sent back to Dell and not BestBuy. If they go to BestBuy, they will go through the GeekSquad service.

 

Your parents contract of sale is with BestBuy and the faulty product makes them liable to repair, replace or refund. Reject the goods, write a formal letter of complaint stating so and consider legal action if nothing is resolved to your parents satisfaction within a reasonable time. Also, I don't know US consumer law but in the UK if the purchase of goods was on credit card, the the credit card provider is also liable and you can seek redress there. Maybe you've similar T&C's. Don't be fobbed off - also don't be angry, just get even. Good luck.

 

My parents told me that after they'd bought the computer, they salesman told them that if they had any problems or questions they should call BestBuy and not Dell. Curious.

I somehow thought that if Dell corporate knew that one of their licensees was doing an 'end around' Dell's own warranty that they could bring pressure on BestBuy to refund the 200 bucks. But Dell, at least the low-level peons I spoke with, could not care less. I also thought that if I could speak to someone at the corporate level at BestBuy, that they might be persuaded to honor the terms of the Dell warranty, which is for hardware and software for a year. But AIAS I can find no corporate phone numbers for either of the 2 companies.

 

Per Google:
(612) 291-1000
Best Buy Corporate Office, Phone

**Edit: Also found their customer service number: 888-237-8289

 

$100 is not bad for diagnostics, even if it was just rechecking all connections and making sure the system is not infected or having premature failure. It would be like taking your vehicle to the local garage, because it keeps squeaking while you turn, then question why they want to charge you a fee for having to look over the vehicle to see what is going on.

I got out of the computer repair and network setup business, because I had too many balk at a diagnostic fee that was the cost of my hours spent looking at issues. It costs money to run a business, even Best Buy has to make money to be able to pay for payroll, lease on the building, insurance to cover them from being liable, etc..

 

Incredible! Did you miss the part about them charging my parents 100 bucks to reinstall the OS on a one month old computer? Or the part about them squeezing another 100 out of them for 24x7 coverage? Or maybe you missed the part about the reinstall being covered by the Dell warranty? A warranty that BestBuy not only did not honor, but went out of their way to discourage my parents from using. We should all praise the Gods that got you out of the PC repair business.

 

Actually I think that you missed the point that the terms for having the Geek Squad look over the machine, is declared to you in their pricing, along with they area business and have costs. The same goes for mom & pop businesses. Fixing computer gear or running cabling, along with setting up a network is not cheap, especially in the way that manufacturers are making it so that you cannot crack the case to replace components.

My hourly rates used to be $75/hr computer work, $125 per Network wire run. The cost of setting up a network that is not just something like Comcast coming in and hooking up the modem, running a couple of lines, check speeds and charging nothing on a promo or $100 for the work. They are doing close to a grand in what they are doing and everyone balks at those prices.

 

I don't know how it works in whatever corner of the universe you live in, but here in real world, if you spend $1000 of an item, use it perhaps ten times and it malfunctions to the point of being useless, we're going to either get a replacement or have the seller fix it for free. It doesn't matter if it's a Sleep Number bed, a lawn mower, an air compressor or a computer. Throw in the fact that the manufacturer's warranty explicitly includes repairing the exact problem your product is having....

Anyone who defends a retailer exhibiting this sort of behavior is a moron. I feel bad for the users of this forum who might, through no fault of their own, get stuck with you when they post a question. Now let me and the forum alone and get back to your defense of Harvey Weinstein.

 

Well said, boweasel.

I'll add a lesson: I never buy anything from Best Buy. (Not anymore.) Their name is a misnomer.

The place to buy a Dell computer is from Dell. They've always offered top-notch service. I've purchased five desktop computers from them in the past twenty years. They stand by their warranty.

I'll also throw HP's name in. We bought two desktops seven years ago. I cannot vouch for HP's service, though, because we've not needed any service at all. The machines ran trouble free for years, and were only recently taken out of service, replaced by newer, faster boxes.

I know this doesn't fix your parents $200 problem, but let it be a lesson for the future.

 

Even if a Dell is purchased from a retail store, instead of direct from Dell, the Dell warranty still applies. The first step should have been to call Dell support. Whatever the problem, only Dell can take care of the problem under warranty. Any 3rd party, including in this case Best Buy, is free to charge whatever (or for good customer relations do it free) if an at additional cost Best Buy warranty was not purchased.

FWIW, here is the link to the Dell Manual for this model.
Support for Inspiron 24 5488 | Manuals & documents | Dell US


Probably too late now, but there is a procedure, accessed from Windows, to create restore media in case it is needed. I did that on my new Dell Inspiron laptop (received in August). Created a USB Flash Drive recovery media.

 

Sorry that your parents are out $200.00. To be prepared for any future software problems I would suggest installing Macrium Reflect and buying a external HDD. Use Macrium to Image the drive before any problems happen. Then put the external drive somewhere safe. I would also do occasional backups of any files they don't want to lose.

 

I am a Geek Squad Advanced Repair Agent for Best Buy. We run the diagnostics the MFG recommends to diagnose the issue. Dell does not cover software issues that has to be serviced by the client. If the OS is not booting and we were unable to find issue with the HDD or the controller. That is likely an issue with the OS installation. If your parents did something to cause an issue with the OS (I have seen machines come in with a HDD lock in less than a week after purchase) then blame Best Buy for not performing free labor. Kind of crap when I see things like this because people blame Best Buy for their failures. We are paid by Dell for servicing their warranties I nor has any agent I worked with turned our nose up as replacing a piece of failed Hardware under warranty. This issue is not an issue with the retailer but the consumer as computers dont become corrupted and unbootable in a vacuum.

If you spend $1000 or $10,000 on a product and do something neglectful to said product then please dont expect free help. If its a legitimate product failure meaning Best Buy is replacing a part (same part) multiple times. Then if falls under the "No Lemon" policy when can allow the user to get a new machine of same value. Though by your account there was no hardware issue and it was resolved originally resolved through a reimage,