Dell is Ripping Off its Notebook Customers
Rants 9 Comments
Yesterday my the battery on my one-year-old Dell laptop died without warning. Today my AC adapter died. Thankfully I have a desktop I can use and a friend with a Dell AC adapter, so I’ve been able to get on the Internet. This afternoon I went on Dell’s website to check the price of an AC adapter, and boy was I surprised at what I found…
Note: Dell replied to my complaint in the comments below and I have since made a new post replying those comments.
The particular Dell notebook I have is the Inspiron 1501. I got it 15 months ago for around $600. What I love about it is not the great features I got for the price, but the fact it doesn’t have Vista. It’s served me well since the day I bought it, and the only issue I’ve ever had is a missing key. In that particular instance, I called Dell and had a new keyboard on my steps in less than 48 hours.
When my AC adapter and battery died, I didn’t think it would be a big deal to replace. Dell has a handy site that lets you enter your notebook model and shows you compatible batteries. That may seem like nothing to you and me, but to the average user, this is a godsend. After entering my model, I found my battery and AC adapter in an instant:
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery – $139.99- 1.3 star rating
90-watt AC adapter- $69.99- 2.3 star rating
Yeah, you got it right. Dell is charging $140 and $70 respectively for products that have dirt-poor ratings, ratings which are posted on their site. Reviewers of the products complain about the same issues I have- short life spans and high prices. This isn’t that surprisingly considering the scary past of some Dell batteries.
Normally I would have a problem with Dell if my computer had been under warranty. Unfortunately, I only opted to purchase the 1-year warranty when I bought my laptop. meaning that around 3 months after the warranty expired, I’m stuck with a $210 purchase, which is more than 1/3 the original purchase price of my laptop more than a year go. Not only that, but the replacement products will probably break again in another year considering the low reviews they received.
So, what am I going to do? Probably look somewhere else like eBay or Amazon. This makes my situation less serious, but what about the average Joe who doesn’t know he can get a better deal elsewhere? Most people automatically assume they must get replacement parts from the manufacturer. In the case of Dell, these are replacement parts that are faulty and being replaced at exorbitant prices for other faulty parts. They are selling ignorant people faulty technology and charging them high prices to replace it when it breaks. I’ve had a good track record with Dell in the past, but now I am reconsidering my position on the Round Rock tech giant.
Upon taking a look at some other notebook makers, some seem to be charging similar rates to Dell, but others much lower prices. Still, their items at least don’t have low ratings as far as I can tell. HP has power adapter prices very similar to Dell’s, but Gateway and Lenovo both offer $39.99 adapters. Apple’s AC adapters and batteries seem to be both overpriced and have low ratings.
In my opinion, I think Dell should replace my battery and AC adapter. Though my laptop isn’t under warranty, is it unreasonable to expect an AC adapter and battery to last longer than 15 months? Up until a few months ago I had a 10-year-old Thinkpad with a working original AC adapter. I know you’re listening Dell, and we both know you can do better.
NEW: Check out our guide to longest battery life laptop computers.
I work at Dell headquarters, and came across this post.
While I realize this is a rant I am posting to, I thought I’d drop by and give the other side of the story, and give some advice.
Li-ION battery chemistry won’t last forever, no matter who makes them. When I was in support, I received numerous complaints from people claiming we were giving them a shoddy product when their battery failed after a year and a half, and I had the enviable job of explaining Li-ION chemistry to these dissatisfied customers. Check this site is you want to see how these batteries actually work:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/
Battery problems that affect one computer manufacturer affect them all. Simply put, the batteries we sell are made by the same manufacturers as most of our competitors. The battery recall Dell issued in ’06 was followed by recalls from several other notebook manufacturers, and you can also see similar results to your scary past link here:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=mac+battery+fire
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=gateway+battery+fire
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=acer+battery+fire
In fact, put any manufacturer’s name in Google followed by the words “battery fire” and you’ll get similar results. It’s a bit disingenuous and very misleading to represent Dell’s past history with batteries the way this review does.
Regarding the AC adapters, the two you linked as being cheaper than Dell adapters appear to be incomparable. The gateway adapter is completely out of stock, and all the other gateway adapters on the page are as or more expensive than those found on the Dell site (http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&k=AC+adapters&cat=all&p=1). The Lenovo adapter is a 65 watt adapter, and isn’t even comparable.
As far as the complaints voiced on the ratings portion of Dell’s sell site, most complaints on the battery are from people who either didn’t take advantage of the warranty on their battery during a premature failure, or had incorrect expectations on how long these cells are supposed to last. I counted 36 reviews of the batteries.
As for the power cord complaint on these adapters, one only need visit a local coffee house to see why people are having problems with the power cords. I constantly see people hanging the brick over the edge of the table, pulling the power cable out of the wall by yanking it from the brick, etc. Considering these D-Series adapters are the norm for all Dell notebooks, 46 mixed reviews averaging to 2.3 out of 5 is surprising. I’d expect it to be a lower score with more complaints. People tend to voice their opinions 20 times more often when they’ve been disappointed than when they’ve been pleased.
In your particular case, you opted for a 1 year warranty, and after 15 months, want us to replace both battery (which only ever carries a 1 year warranty as industry standard) and your AC adapter for failing outside this warranty period. I understand that electronics failure is frustrating, but the fact remains that electronics do fail. There is no exception to this rule, which is why when you don’t opt for a 2, 3, or 4 year service plan when buying your system, you are inherently taking a risk. You took a risk, and unfortunately lost. The battery would never have been covered beyond the first year, but you could have at least had a replacement AC adapter under contract. On the bright side, AC adapter failure is minor compared to motherboard or LCD failure.
John
Dell Online Community Outreach Liaison
Oh, and the advice?
Never buy a third party manufacture battery or AC adapter for your notebook. If you do and something goes wrong, and something gets damaged, you’re pretty much out of luck. If the part was a Dell part that caused the problem, you may get an out of warranty repair or replacement if something goes wrong.
John
Dell Online Community Outreach Liaison
In all honesty it sounds like a repackaged deal of this
http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/
Its a marketing ploy, Dell wins no matter what. Basically no matter what you do, you are losing money to them.
A) no warranty, battery dies in a year… You get a new one $100
B) Spend $150 on a warrenty, battery dies in a year… You get a new one…
C) no warranty, battery dies in a year… You buy a new computer
But are you really losing? You still get a cheap computer that works, its just not as cheap as you originally thought.
No, it isn’t a marketing ploy at all, imho.
Notebook batteries are treated as consumable items by ALL notebook manufacturers. This isn’t unique to Dell. The chemistry that allows these batteries to provide their higher capacity than other chemistry types also dictate their average lifespan, i.e. 18-24 months. We guarantee it will work within specifications for at least a year. If it doesn’t, we replace the battery.
Also, not only does battery failure not dictate you replace or overhaul your portable computer, a battery is not even required for the system to work as a portable device in most sitautions where one would be on their computer. Once again, walk into any coffeeshop in America, and you’ll see what I mean. Most people are plugged in and abusing their AC adapters. Most people treat their batteries as battery backups, where extremely short battery life won’t make much of a difference.
The extended warranty also protects you against costly repairs, i.e. hard drive, motherboard, LCD display, processor failures. Scenario B in your list should take this into account.
Notebook computer owners need to understand that the total cost of ownership of these systems includes replacing the battery within 2 years if the battery is required for their normal use of their computer, much like the cost of ownership of a color printer is expensive ink cartridges. Batteries get used up, light bulbs blow out, pens run out of ink, CRT tubes grow dim, and tires lose their tread. We’re all slaves to thermodynamics.
John
Dell Community Online Outreach Liaison
I’m not saying that companies should be selling “invincible” batteries. I’m just saying they should at least last a bit longer. You try to make it out that Li-Ion batteries will die 100% of the time in a year and that it has nothing to do with manufacturing. I’ve got a 2005 iBook that its battery went from 7hrs to 5hrs in 2.5 years, my girlfriend’s Toshiba is also 2 years old, and its battery still lasts 4hrs. Both of these are using for college classes, so battery usage is around 20hrs a week, for over 2 years. So obviously not all die in a year.
I’m a Mathematician with focus in Actuarial Science, and I have to say it’s no coincidence that Dell’s 1 year basic warranty ends before most batteries die. I’m sure that their are plenty of statisticians crunching numbers to save a bit of money, and hey I don’t blame them. What I’m trying to say is customers eventually find out that for the most part you get what you pay for and whether they are happy getting the cheapest, knowing that it will break in a year, will be their decision.
On a side note, if
“Notebook computer owners need to understand that the total cost of ownership of these systems includes replacing the battery within 2 years if the battery is required for their normal use of their computer…”
Then perhaps Dell should provide this information to customers to help them make informed decisions when looking at warranty plans.
The battery wouldn’t be covered under warranty after a year no matter which service plan they chose. Neither would printer ink be covered on an extended warranty with a printer purchase. Your warranty choice should have nothing to do with the battery.
Warranties are a lot like insurance. If a company were to lose money by offering a warranty for a specific time period, you’re right, the bean counters would have something to say about the warranty periods being offered. Warranties are essentially a numbers game as you suggest.
I never suggested all batteries die in 1 year. I said that the average “usable” lifespan of Li-Ion batteries is around 18-24 months. I suggested notebook owners factor that cost of ownership into their notebook purchase, much like car owners factor in normal maintenance, tires, and gasoline into the cost of ownership of their car. If people’s tires wear out after 2 years, I don’t see them writing bad reviews of their Ford. I do see people writing bad reviews about their Dell when their battery gives out after 2 years though. I don’t think it’s very fair.
One thing I did notice when learning about batteries is that the more these batteries are used, the longer they tend to last. If a Li-Ion battery is constantly at 100% charge, it degrades faster. That may explain why you’ve had such good luck, and why most people’s batteries degrade faster than yours. Who knows, though. I don’t claim to be a chemist
If the industry standard is 18-24 month life expectancy for Lithium-ion batteries, why did Dell for years only offer a 12 month warranty? And if Dell has denied any guilt in bilking it’s customers out of money for batteries, why is it now offering an additional warranty for years 2 and 3 on the L-ion batteries?
Let’s face it…you are losing customers and market value when your batteries die so soon. Lately, I wouldn’t mind if the batteries lasted 18 months…it would be an extra 6 months on what we usually get.
I purchased 1 Dell Inspiron XPS 1530 (yes the top of the line) in March of 2008, and another IDENTICAL one 3 weeks later in april of 2008. EXACTLEY 54 weeks later my battery on laptop 1 would only charge to 43%. I purchased the 4 Year FULL warranty including accidental damage! ($400). Dell would not repolace the battery, same BS this guy posted above! GUESS WHAT! 3 WEEKS LATER THE OTHER LAPTOP BATTERY FAILED! Only charging to 43%! Dell also told me to screw off an they would not replace it, EVEN THOUGH i had 2 laptops with the same batteries fail 3 weeks apart, both of them LESS THAN 2 WEEKS OUT OF BATTERY WARRANTY! STUPID ME bought a 3rd IDENTICAL laptop in March of 2009 JUST Before this problem appeared, so i have this to look forward to in less than a year i am sure! I have a sickenign feeling these are PROGRAMMED FAILURES! These batteries died within 1 week of eachother according to activation date! If you have experianced a similar issue PLEASE CONACT me i am willing to join a class action suit!