The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hello Simon and welcome to our forum.

Did you state at the time of purchase that it was a business purchase?

If not then the details that you entered were simply contact and delivery details and therefore does not mean that this was a business purchase.

The good news is that you paid by credit card and so if Dell refuse to comply you can also pursue a Section 75 refund from the credit card company.

Have you spoken to Dell yet? If so what have they said?

Please let me know and I will advise further.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Thanks for the reply,

I found the v. useful step by step guide (and templates) to try and resolve the issue and am following through that at the moment. I contacted Dell yesterday via their customer service email contact and am waiting for a reply at the moment.

My current assumption is that the problems I'm having are down to the GPU - occasional grey screen during boot up with scrambled characters and lots of dollar signs, occasional distorted image mirrored on top and bottom half of the screen, occasional freezing of the computer. The problem seems to go away if disable the GPU.

I will post Dells response if and when they respond.

Thanks again

Simon

Forgot to say that I can't remember whether I stated the intended use anywhere - there is nothing on invoice stating intended usage. It has my personal address as the billing address and my old work address as the delivery address (for convenience). The company name is the first line in both addresses.

Simon

Hello Simon,

In that case then this is a personal sale which can be backed up by the fact that you purchased with your personal debit card.

The fact that you had it delivered to your work for convenience does not constitute a business sale and again this can be corroborated by the fact that the billing address is your home address.

I wouldn't worry too much about this as Dell would have to prove that this is a business sale if they were to try and reject your claim.

Let's see what Dell say if and when they reply.

I hope the above helps.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Thanks for the information it is appreciated.

I'll give Dell till the middle of the week before I escalate to a letter (using the template I found) to their head office sent recorded delivery.

Simon

Hi,

Dell finally replied:

"<details removed for legal reasons>"

Not a very useful response - looks like its a letter to Dell then.

I've read some useful information on this site and have downloaded GPU-Z and Furmark to have a look at the temp of my GPU. When I boot up the GPU temp is 50-55 degC and after a couple of minutes of the Furmark burn-in test on full screen the temp shoots up to 85-90 degC. After stopping the test, the temp is now on average 62 deg C and all I'm doing is browsing the web. Are these temperatures abnormal and a sign that the GPU is the issue.

Also what would kind of tests would an engineer perform to identify whether the GPU is the issue - my problem is v. intermittent at the moment, so was wondering if it would be picked up if it was the problem and assuming Dell aren't very forthcoming.

Thanks

Simon

Hello Simon,

The temperatures under load are very high and could be a sign of impending doom. It could also be a sign that the fan/grilles are blocked with dust/debris.

Please could you explain fully the other problems that you are experiencing.

Once I know that then I can advise further.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Paul,

The problems that I have been having recently:

1. Occasionally on boot up the screen with the dell icon (which is usually blue on a black background) is a grey colour and there is a line running horizontally in the middle of the screen and either side of this is the same image with a distorted dell icon in a blue colour.

2. I've got windows xp loading without the splash screen, so normally I see a list of drivers scrolling down (white text on a black background). This screen is again grey and list of drivers is confused with lots of scrambled text, particularly a lot of dollar signs. The computer then switches itself off.

3. When I turn the computer on I get the same as 1. but with the option to load in safe mode etc. Again this screen is grey and its difficult to read the boot options due to all the scrambled characters. If I choose to start windows normally the computer turns itself off.

4. So I load in safe mode and get 2. the windows welcome screen is grey and distorted again with a line down the centre of the screen and two identical images. I login and then choose to restart.

5. Computer boots as described by 1. and 2. but screen goes blank grey and then vertical coloured lines appear (fading in with the colours becoming more intense) running down the whole screen.

6. Nothing then happens, so I turn off the computer and when I turn it on again all seems normal, but occasionally windows hangs and I can't use the touchpad or keyboard. When I reboot it goes through the same cycle as described above.

If I disable the GPU in the device manager I don't seem to experience any of the above, but I'm then limited to a low res.

Does this sound like a dodgy GPU?

Cheers

Simon

Hello Simon,

Thank you for providing that information.

From the problems that you describe I would say that it is highly likely that your laptop is indeed inherently defective.

I am unable to state that it is definitely inherently defective as only an inspection could prove that.

I would therefore say that you should now begin your claim against the retailer.

You should now proceed to obtain an engineers report and should send that along with a letter before action to Dell.

If they fail to respond within the seven days then you should file a Small Claims Action against them.

If you choose to write your own Letter Before Action then please ensure that the last line in that letter is:-

"In this matter time is of the essence" (please remove the quotes)

This means that Dell cannot prevaricate and have to respond to you in a timely manner. If they fail to do so then you should proceed straight to the Small Claims Court.

I hope the above helps.

Any questions please let me know.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Paul,

An update and quick question.

Dell are offering a free repair, as stated in my previous post, and an extension to the warranty (graphics chip specific) until 2013. However they will NOT offer a refund.
I have thus started a section 75 refund complaint against Barclaycard.
Barclaycard have asked for various back up details/information including all communication with Dell.

My question is this, do you think Barclaycard will throw out my claim if they know that Dell have offered a free repair, or will this actually help my claim with Barclaycard as Dell have all but admitted to me in an email that the Nvidia Defect is present in my laptop.?
Surely Barclaycard will say "well if Dell have offered you a repair then we can't/won't offer you a claim/refund on the PC"

Kind regards, Mike.