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#1 |
Illuminator
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,105
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Help, advise needed!
So, about 5 months ago I bought a new, cheap Dell laptop for $200. It has been nothing but trouble, which has caused me to phone Dell tech support several times. Then, a few days ago I got a virus, and once again I called.
I was told that the virus could be taken care of, new protection would be installed, and the on going problem of it being so slow would also be fixed. I gave them my credit card info to buy the protection. The virus was gone and the computer working, but it was still running frustratingly slow. This morning I received notice from my bank that I was overdrawn. It turns out Dell tech charged me $400, though I am still under warranty. How should I handle this? I wrote Dell, and am getting ready to call my bank. Can anyone advise me? Thanks so much. Julia |
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Julia |
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#2 |
Show me the monkey!
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 19,687
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Dell charged you $400 for virus removal and protection?
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Bigfoot believers and Bigfoot skeptics are both plumb crazy. Each spends more than one minute per year thinking about Bigfoot. |
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#3 |
Show me the monkey!
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 19,687
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I am concerned that you may not have actually been talking to a genuine Dell tech representative. It sounds like it could have been a scam or fraud.
Can you explain your certainty that the person(s) helping you was legitimate? |
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Bigfoot believers and Bigfoot skeptics are both plumb crazy. Each spends more than one minute per year thinking about Bigfoot. |
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#4 |
Not a doctor.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 15,257
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#5 |
Meandering fecklessly
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,571
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Yeah, $400 is way wrong. If you were not aware that they were charging you $400, I'd contest it with your bank ASAP and then try and figure out who exactly you were talking with.
Did you contact them or how did the contact occur? |
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#6 |
Show me the monkey!
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 19,687
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Now she can't respond because ransomware.
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Bigfoot believers and Bigfoot skeptics are both plumb crazy. Each spends more than one minute per year thinking about Bigfoot. |
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#7 |
Illuminator
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,105
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Thanks everyone. My bank just filed a claim, and they said they would try to have the money reversed and put back into my account. I feel stupid. After spending a total of 6 hours on the phone with tech support, the computer still runs as poorly as ever.
I don't know what type of reputation Dell has overall, and I don't know if the one I bought is just a lemon. I do know that I have had nothing but trouble with it almost from the beginning. |
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Julia |
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#8 |
Begging for Scraps
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: 20 minutes in the future
Posts: 1,785
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The $400 sounds like "dealership" prices, although they should have confirmed the amount first.
As for the speed issue, what's the spec of the PC? Despite the marketing not all i5s (for instance) are the same, there's a whole range that goes from "not fast but doesn't use a lot of power" to "Full on gamer". This page gives you an idea of what to look for |
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“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.” - Charles Darwin ...like so many contemporary philosophers he especially enjoyed giving helpful advice to people who were happier than he was. - Tom Lehrer |
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#9 |
Show me the monkey!
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 19,687
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$400÷6=$66 per hour. That might be a legitimate rate for computer consultation. But that's way too long to get you done. If the techie is working on commission or bonuses they might string along a novice user for their own personal profit.
Anyway, your computer already came with antivirus so you had protection. |
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Bigfoot believers and Bigfoot skeptics are both plumb crazy. Each spends more than one minute per year thinking about Bigfoot. |
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#10 |
Not a doctor.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 15,257
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Don't. They are good at what they do.
Quote:
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#11 |
Muse
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 793
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When you pay someone to remove a virus, all they do is google how to remove the virus and then charge you money for something you could have done yourself for free.
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#12 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,759
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If you have malware, you should really nuke and pave the operating system and not rely on any software package that claims to remove them(it works for much malware, but no guarantee). It is possible to remove and verify and ensure its removal using complex tools and analysis but that requires real effort and expertise.
Reinstalling the OS from scratch on a somewhat regular basis is a good practice anyway. |
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#13 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Blackstone River Valley, MA
Posts: 2,135
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There are two very important differences:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/pf/e...rds/index.html
Quote:
Quote:
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#14 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Directly under a deadly chemtrail
Posts: 19,781
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What a fool believes, no wise man has the power to reason away. What seems to be, is always better than nothing. 2 prints, same midtarsal crock..., I mean break? |
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#15 |
Do you want to date my Avatar?
Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 24,981
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Did you look up Dell's number and call, or did you get a warning on your computer screen asking you to call a certain number?
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I have the honor to be Your Obdt. St L. Leader |
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#16 |
Lackey
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: South East, UK
Posts: 80,856
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These are sub $200 laptops from Dell:
http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/p...97239035629860 Intel® Celeron® Processor N3060 Windows 10 Home 64-bit English 2GB, 1600MHz, DDR3L 32GB eMMC That is going to run like a dog, and I don't mean a greyhound - more like a Basset Hound. |
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I wish I knew how to quit you |
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#17 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: The Great Northwet
Posts: 16,110
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They're still making Celerons? I've always mentally added "de" in front of the name.
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Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant. |
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#18 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 15,333
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I wouldn't think virus removal was covered by a warranty. They probably charged for it.
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#19 |
Not a doctor.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 15,257
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#20 |
Not a doctor.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 15,257
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#21 |
Agave Wine Connoisseur
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Just past ' Resume Speed ' .
Posts: 14,961
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As others have mentioned, a $200 laptop is going to run slow no matter what you do..
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" What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about? " Prove your computer is not a wimp ! Join Team 13232 ! |
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#22 |
Illuminator
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,105
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Julia |
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#23 |
Illuminator
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 4,105
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Yes. I have used the same number to call that came in a booklet with the computer. I have called them several times. The first time I called their tech support was only a couple of weeks after purchase. I have had to call them about once every 3 weeks with one problem after another since then.
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Julia |
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#24 |
Neoclinus blanchardi
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,155
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Be very careful what you put in your head, because you will never get it out again. — Phineas Gage |
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#25 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Iowa USA
Posts: 12,131
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"Sufficiently advanced malice is indistinguishable from incompetence. = godless Dave |
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