Dell Equals Disaster
Just recently I came across someone who purchased a Dell 26 inch flat screen monitor that stopped working well within the warranty period. Unfortunately for this person that had purchased the unit overseas and so, for her, there simply was no warranty.
And the fact that a Dell product should die within the warranty period was really no surprise to me and after doing a little research I found that there is a well-known fault with the Dell 26 inch flat screens. It’s been known for quite some time but Dell has never bothered to correct the problem.
Of course if the monitor fails within the warranty period Dell will replace it but what happens if it fails one day outside that warranty period? The simple answer to that is - nothing. As far as Dell is concerned it’s out of warranty and your out of luck.
If you’re an Australian and you purchased the item here in Australia and it fails outside the warranty period then talk to your state’s consumer protection people. The ACCC suggests that just because the warranty has expired the manufacturer is not off the hook.
In their 2004 leaflet entitled “Warranties and Refunds” they give the example of a television and suggest that in the view of the ACC a consumer is entitled to a refund if a television that could be expected to last at least 10 years develops a serious fault 12 months.
So what does that say about a computer monitor that costs more than a television but dies just one day out of warranty?