Couple fed up with broken Dell computer

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (KGO) -- The last thing anyone wants after buying something is for it to break practically out of the box. Nothing is more frustrating than constant trips or phone calls to try to get something fixed and that's how a Santa Rosa couple felt, until they called 7 On Your Side for help.

Kathleen Smith of Santa Rosa gestures to show us how big the crack was on her computer screen. She said, "It looked just like jagged pieces came out from all around the crack. There was no picture."

She says the incident happened a month after she bought her dell last year in May.

"We closed it and the next morning we got up and opened it and it was cracked. It was not dropped. It was not mistreated, just broke," said Smith.

Dell was prompt in sending someone to her home to replace the whole screen and everything was fine until one month later when the computer would not boot up. She took it into Staples where she bought the computer, hoping to get it repaired.

"It was just a big hassle for a new product, something I had just purchased," said Smith.

Those hassles continued a year later when her partner used the computer.

"I turned the computer on. It started making these weird beeping noises that I've never heard before," said Charles Borg.

Borg took it to a repair shop to get looked at, but was told it wasn't worth fixing. Frustrated, he packed up the computer and sent it back to Dell.

"We went back and forth exchanging phone calls about a week and I basically had given up on getting this unit fixed," said Borg.

He also alerted us at 7 On Your Side about his troubles, so we called Dell and it jumped into action.

"All of a sudden out of the blue I got a call from her telling me that unit, they were going to replace the unit," said Borg.

And it did. Dell sent Smith and Borg a brand new computer. In an e-mailed statement, Dell told us, "We are sorry about Ms. Smith and Mr. Borg's frustrations and problems with their laptop and are glad to report that our customer engagement team did resolve the problem."

"I had just lost my job so I wasn't ready to go out and purchase a new computer. And I was very thankful it was replaced," said Smith.

Dell agreed to replace the computer even though the couple did not have a warranty for the computer and that was really good of them.

Get more 7 On Your Side »

dell, 7 on your side, michael finney

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•