The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hi ciderboy,

Thanks for the response. Hopefully Paul will see my post when he is back in the UK, and will get back to me

I have just checked the orginal spec for my laptop on the Dell website:

My graphics card is listed on there as a "128MB NVIDIA GEFORCE GO 84"....are you able to confirm whether or not it is a model that is affected by the defect for certain?
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I got back in touch with Dell this afternoon...the guy was pretty rude (as it seems most of the customer service teams are...) He asked why I didn't mention the heat problem when I first called, and why I didn't query their decision over the phone earlier today.

My reasons were that during the initial phone call, the woman I spoke to seemed to already be aware of the defect, and therefore should've already known that it involved overheating!!! And I didn't query the decision earlier today because I couldn't fully understand the guy on the other end, and I'm not sure that he understood me fully either!

Anyway, they've basically stuck to their line of "it isn't the NVIDIA chip", and seem to be accusing me of trying to mislead them. They're also saying that the symptoms of my laptop aren't the same as those caused by this NVIDIA defect (Could somebody list the symptoms?)

In summary, they're accepting that repairing/replacing parts due to the NVIDIA defect would be OK. But they're saying that my laptop's GPU is OK, but my MoBo and Screen are faulty. I can't really understand how a fully working and well looked after, £800, 2 year old laptop, can suddenly develop two faults at exactly the same time, without something else being to blame.

*sigh*

If anybody could offer more help/advice, it'd be appreciated.
Simon.

The 84 at the end of the graphics card looks interesting.

If, as I suspect, it's short for 8400 then it's one of the chips with the highest failure rates.

_________________
Please note: I am not legally qualified and therefore any postings I make are just my own personal opinion based on my experience of working for a number of years at a busy County Court.

Thanks again ciderboy,

I'm doing a little more research on it all so that I can call Dell back tomorrow to try a little harder!

the motherboard area around the GPU is damaged FROM THE HEAT OF THE GPU. to say its not the gpu is retarded..
the gpu may still be functional its attachment to the circuit is damaged by the heat from it. . to says its not the GPU is like saying its not the fall that kills you its the sudden stop.
that tech is acting like an ass, he should be considered a nuisance.

Hi,

The laptop came back to me today, un-repaired.

Firstly, the little 'memory hatch' wasn't even screwed back in place correcty. Not a major issue, but it clearly shows a lack of care. (Picture attached)

Anyway, I contacted Dell to request further details on why they didn't consider it to be repairable for free. Again, they were very rude and I was transferred to a supervisor. (All I had done is reasonably ask for further details, and a guarentee that any replacement would be free from defect)

I got them to send me a brief summary of the call (which they first said they couldn't do, due to them "having a team to run"):



Okay, all of that seems fair. However, I'm not sure what damages they are referring to, as my laptop honestly looks as good as new externally! (I'll try to attach a few pics..) And I can't see how such terrible damage could possibly be my fault if it is internal!? I've never even opened it up!!

So basically, they initially said that they couldn't repair it, as due to the 'damage', it would not be possible to put a new motherboard inside. They are now offering to send out another engineer to replace the motherboard in front of me (I'll be sure to watch out for the 'damage' lol)

Should I accept this? Consumer Direct say that if the retailer offers a repair, it is an acceptible outcome.

Simon.

Hello Simon,

How bad is that!

I can see no damage to your laptop so can only assume that they are referring to a different laptop.

Consumer Direct are correct in part, but any repair should be of "a satisfactory quality". Would a potentially inherently defective mainboard be classed as "satisfactory quality"? I don't think so, do you?

If Dell are not prepared to give you written assurance that the replacement mainboard will be 100% free from the defect then why on earth should you accept their offer of a repair?

If they refuse you should just sue them and let the judge decide if they have provided you with sufficient evidence to show that the repair will be of a satisfactory quality.

What do you think?

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, thanks for that!

I think that what I'm going to do is to let the engineer come to repair it at my home, so that I can watch him do it and ask questions/take photos if he mentions the damage again. (Because I have a feeling that's what will be said, so at least I get to hear/see their assessment myself!)
If they go ahead and repair it with no questions...I'll put in a complaint about their service, questioning why it wasn't done in the first place without trying to make me pay for faked damage! At least thdn it will be on file ready for when it fails again!

On the phone to them today, they were very patronising and stated the following:

•They are fully aware of the NVIDIA problem, as they have "many" returned. When I told them I wasn't happy about their verdict on the condition of my laptop and that I felt the heat from the GPU was likely to have caused any internal damage they may have seen - they simply brushed it aside by saying that their engineers deal with the problem on a daily basis (therefore..im wrong, and they're right)

•The supervisor mentioned their legal team as soon as I spoke about the sale of goods act....i can't remember the exact context, but looking back, it may have been intended as a warning...

Anyway, I'll keep you updated. The engineer is due on Monday as I'm busy from tomororrow!

Thanks,
Simon

Okay, I'll just update this thread.

On the back of the advice from Consumer Direct (08454 04 05 06 for anybody who is interested) I sent Dell a final email stating their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act 1979. I also sent some sources of information to them, which support everything I have been saying to them so far (articles from Cnet and The Inquirer).

Their reply was as follows:


to which I replied:


I will be contacting Consumer Direct tomorrow, who have said they will put me through to a relevent person in my local Trading Standards office.

I'll try to keep this updated.

What do you think Paul?

Thanks
Simon.

Hello Simon,



Well, they have said that many times, to many customers, but when the county court summons dropped through their letter box they soon changed their tune.

My advice is to obtain a report which will refute Dell's findings. I would then use that report as your evidence in the Small Claims Courts, though it will not get that far.

Once Dell realise that you will go all the way to court then they will capitulate.

As they have done many, many times before.

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 Simon

I'm just wondering if you could kindly update us on the situation?

It would be interesting to see if you received a positive outcome or not, I hope you did...

Thanks
Stu