Dell Customer Service
Vostro 3550 blue screens and warranty refused for major problems

I purchased a Dell Vostro 3550 in late June (6/25) and it has blue screened 5 times since I set it up in late June/early July. In the last couple of days I tried numerous times to get assistance through on-line chat and email and kept getting error code that the service tag number belonged to a computer that was purchased outside of the US (product was ordered directly from Dell and shipped from Tennessee)!

Yesterday I contacted Dell technical support to report the blue screen problem and after two phone calls (first call got disconnected when I was put on hold by Customer Care rep after waiting for more than 15 minutes) and second call another rep entered service tag number for the purchase and after some time was able to sort out that it was a software problem. The standard warranty came with the purchase and after review of error codes the technical rep said this was a major problem and the standard warranty only covers minor problems (error code suggests it's either a problem with installed wireless card or security settings between laptop and wireless router).

The technical rep said that I would need to purchase a one-time technical service call for over $100 or a full year of higher warranty coverage for roughly $250 in order for him to fix the problem. I asked about the standard warranty (60 days) and he said it was just for minor issues.

I have had the computer for less than 60 days, and it has blue screened 5 times since I set it up less than 60 days ago. The technical rep only looked at the most recent error code in the log, not the other 4 error codes associated with blue screens that occurred weeks before. I feel that Dell has done me a disservice by not standing behind its product, which automatically establishes the connection and identifies the correct compatibility settings when the laptop makes the network connection.

It took more than 1.5 hours of my time to learn that standard Dell warranty does not cover "major" issues with its new products.

Company: Dell Customer Service
Country: USA

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