Dead pixels on laptop?

[Binoculars]

At least I think that's what they're called. Daughter's Dell laptop, less than two years old, has lines down the screen. I gather this is not fixable and would require a new screen. Is that likely to be cost-effective or does she own an otherwise perfectly serviceable boat anchor?

[PPRuNeUser0211]

whole lines is interesting.. A dead pixel is usually just that, one pixel that is dead, producing a single spot on the screen. That you can usually cope with, but if it's a hardware issue that's causing whole lines to be dead, could perhaps be the interface cable. Might be worth a quick look by a pro, but if it is the screen just buy a new laptop though!

[matelot]

Under 2 years old I would suggest to Dell that you have a common law right of guarantee. A registrar in a county court may well agree that it should have lasted longer. Worth a shot.

[jetcollie]

A friend of mine had that problem. I discovered he only ever used the hibernation option to shutdown. I gave it a complete shutdown and reboot - hey presto, lines gone. Just a thought.

[Binoculars]

Just as an update; the lines now number 32 and increasing steadily, running from top to bottom of the screen. Contacted Dell about the common law thing having checked with consumer affairs. Having connected an external desktop monitor to the lappy with a perfect picture it was decided it wasn't the graphics card that was at fault.

I'm keeping a full log of all conversations with Dell as recommended by consumer affairs, including full names of people I've spoken to. Their chief tactic appears to be to get me to sign up for an extended warranty. "no, you fail to understand, I believe according to Australian legislation......... **

"Yes I understand that sir, but the machine is out of warranty, and if you sign up....."

"Stop! Please put me on to a superior who has authority to listen to what I am saying and make a decision".

"I understand what you are saying, sir (this is apparently the number one phrase to be used as frequently as possible, always followed by "but") but.... "

After three cycles of this Eugene Choo agreed to get a supervisor to call me back. So far, surprise surprise, that has not happened. This tactic will not work either. Tomorrow morning I will be back on the line.

Consumer Affairs gives excellent advice by saying you should keep a full log of everything, names, times places, reference numbers and conversations. I don't know whether I will finally have a win, but I'm going to have a lot of fun trying.


** For what it may be worth, the phrase I was quoted was “Australian consumer legislation means that consumers are legally entitled to a refund, exchange repair or replacement service at no charge (depending on circumstances) if the goods do not last a reasonable amount of time given the price paid for the item.”

A hard drive or graphics card would clearly fall outside this definition. Opinion was that a screen in a $1500 laptop less than two years old which caused the machine to become unuseable and unsaleable should certainly qualify.

I shall post further results as they come to hand.

[Saab Dastard]

In the UK there is a reasonably simple legal process - the Small Claims Division of the County Court (to give it its full title), more commonly known as the Small Claims Court.

It is specifically for "the little man" to pursue claims not exceeding a certain value against companies or individuals. Costs £30 to file a case (you get that back if you win).

I have used it successfully in the past to get a monitor replaced when it stopped working - and after many phone calls and letters (ignored).

It's amazing how quickly problems get resolved when the company involved gets a summons in the post! :ok:

Is there a similar process in Aus?

SD

[Bushfiva]

In the meantime, if you're feeling adventurous, you might want to give the screen surround a squeeze along the bottom between the hinges, on the offchance that it's a connector problem, the connector is between the hinges, and squeezing it would help :-)

And in some jurisdictions you need to avoid a legal threat as long as possible: some tech support scripts tell the support person to stop talking to you at that point, and simply repeat the address of the legal department from then on.

[Binoculars]

Hehehe, earwig O earwig O earwig O.
............................................................ ......
Dear Binos,

Thank you for your enquiry.

In order for us to fix your computer screen, you will have to purchase the one year extended warranty.

The price for the 1 year extended warranty is $695.20. But we are willing to offer some discount on the warranty.

This warranty will cover 1 year warranty Parts and NBD (Next Business Day On-site service) + 1 Year Complete Cover Accidental Damage Protection + 1 time faulty parts replacement + installation (within 72 hours upon confirmation order received).

If I can be of any further assistance please let me know by email.

Thank you.

Best Regards,
Mei Ping Lim

ANZ Spare Parts Specialist
Dell APOS Transactional Group (ATG)
............................................................ ..................

Thank you for your response. It is exactly what I expected. I will repeat, for the fifth time since I started this exchange, the reason for my call. I quote:

....although the computer is out of warranty, Australian consumer legislation means that consumers are legally entitled to a refund, exchange repair or replacement service at no charge (depending on circumstances) if the goods do not last a reasonable amount of time given the price paid for the item.

Before I take any further action it was suggested that I attempt to obtain satisfaction by attempting to reason with Dell. I have attempted that, and clearly I have wasted my time. If you check your records you will see that I have bought at least four Dell computers over the last few years.

Unfortunately, since you apparently believe that a laptop cannot reasonably be expected to last two years, I will have to resort to legal action. My association with Dell is now over.

Warm regards,

Binos.

............................................................

[Bo Nalls]

A fairly common problem at the 18 month point for certain Dell systems. See this site (http://www.spectrumz.com/z/dell_vertical_line_letter.html)and its various links.

I had the same problem with an Inspiron but also had a 3 year on-site warranty - screen replaced within 36hrs of reporting it to Dell.

[Cypherus]

if you get no joy with DELL you might try http://www.lcds4less.com/

They supply replacement New and B grade screens for Dells around the $250 mark 48 hours shipping.

[Binoculars]

bo nalls, thanks for that VERY interesting link! This opens up a new ball game altogether, and clearly it is a systemic problem with this LG PHillips LCD screen which Dell are trying to pretend doesn't exist.

I'm now confident that with the aid of this information I will have success in this case. I'll keep you informed. :ok:

[Bushfiva]

Just in case you miss it, at http://dellverticalline.com/ is this snippet from Delldate 6th Feb:

"We are aware of customer complaints regarding certain laptop displays. We do take this feedback very seriously and we are currently investigating these complaints. We will continue to update our customers as we gather information and get a better understanding of the situation.

During this process though, we encourage customers to provide us with information about their specific experience. If you feel your system is not functioning correctly, please contact [email protected] and include the phrase LCD VERTICAL LINE OUTREACH in the subject line of your email. Please also include the service tag of your Dell computer in the body of the message."

[Binoculars]

And thank you for that, bushfiva. I had missed that,and things are looking better and better.

[Binoculars]

Final update: Success at last!

After a truly awe-inspiring amount of procrastination and obfuscation, it finally occurred to Dell that I was going to keep yapping at their heels until I got some satisfaction. They have finally agreed to a "once-only offer" to send a technician out and replace the screen free of charge.

I found it odd that after all the emails exchanged, diverted, bounced and referred, the offer was finally made over the phone. Not that I'm the suspicious type of course, but I then sent them an email providing my daughter's address and thanking them for the confirmed offer to replace the screen free of charge. :E

Believe me, patience is required, but thanks to matelot's advice and Bo Nalls' link, a happy outcome has been achieved. The consumer can win in the end; you bloody beauty!