Should I Have to Pay Money to Get Something Repaired When The Original Repairer Damaged The Component?

No Username on 11/01/2019 - 14:53
Last edited 11/01/2019 - 19:41 by 1 other user

Hi Everyone, Just wondering if I should be held liable for paying a Dell Technician to come to my house to fix a mistake he made 2 years ago?

Heres the story. My Alienware 15R3 has been thermal throttling a lot recently so I decided to replace the thermal paste with liquid metal. While %80 into the disassembly, I was not able to unscrew 5 of the 7 screws which held in the heatsink for the CPU and GPU. As the screw head was stripped caused by my previous Dell technician using an electric screwdriver. My laptop ran out of warranty 2 years ago. So I contacted Dell to see if I could get it to replace but they said

I would like to set your expectation that there no guarantee that we will approve for sending our technician and get it fixed due to you already open the casis without Dell acknowledgement. If we need to send our technician, it will billable. It's all subject to approval given.

The thing is why would I need to contact Dell to tell them that I am going to disassemble my laptop, It out of warranty so I don't think they would care. Since then I put everything back together and it works.

So if the technician admits it's his fault. I should not be billed for this right? Since it was his fault.

Thanks

Computing

Comments

  • whooah1979 on 11/01/2019 - 14:55

    stripped caused by my previous Dell technician using an electric screwdriver.
    Since it was his fault.

    Do you have documentation to support this claim?

    • No Username on 11/01/2019 - 14:56
      -1

      Not really. I have a service history log which details what repairs were carried out.

      • zonra on 11/01/2019 - 15:24
        +10

        Not really.

        /thread

  • spackbace on 11/01/2019 - 14:56
    +1

    So if the technician admits it's his fault.

    2yrs later, you want him to admit fault when you could've just stripped it yourself? Cmon now..

    Did you film yourself disassembling it? If not, too bad so sad, you can't prove that it was his fault and not yours.

    • No Username on 11/01/2019 - 14:56

      I have CCTV but that's pretty much it.

      • spackbace on 11/01/2019 - 14:57
        +5

        Yeah nah. Move on and fix it yourself. It's no longer Dell's problem.

        • Baysew on 11/01/2019 - 15:01
          +22

          Perhaps ask girlfriend to pay?

          • No Username on 11/01/2019 - 15:12
            +3

            @Baysew: It was the Dell technician fault. He made me angry.

            • dcep on 11/01/2019 - 15:24
              +6

              @No Username: Not sure who neg you, prolly missed the girlfriend thread yesterday.

              But it's your laptop and your problem. He's not even your boyfriend.

              • Caped Baldy on 11/01/2019 - 16:55

                @dcep: That guy is a psycho and has a few screws loose so isn't OP.

                • Baysew on 11/01/2019 - 17:30

                  @Caped Baldy: Same as OP?

                  I was not able to unscrew 5 of the 7 screws

  • bob smith on 11/01/2019 - 14:58
    +1

    Try a screw extractor? Not sure if they have ones for tiny screws.

    • No Username on 11/01/2019 - 15:03

      Tried using a rubber band but no luck. If Dell does not want to fix it imma just drill it out and use a new screw. The thing is Dell has repaired my Laptop over 5 times. So it has done so much wear and tear to the screw.

      • Chris2027 on 11/01/2019 - 15:39
        +1

        Is there anything of the screw head left? Use a dremel type tool with a tiny piece, if it is close to components or close the circuit board then be very careful you do not slip and scratch anything (such as a trace or a tiny resistor / capacitor).

        Make a deeper but straight line, keep trying with flat bladed precision drivers until it grips and you can remove it.

        Be sure to remove any metallic dust, (maybe cover the area) and do not press down too hard!

        Dell technician: not a good idea to use a power tool on a laptop :(

        Good luck!

        • No Username on 11/01/2019 - 19:49
          +1

          Just tried your method and worked fine. Couldn't wait any longer as Dell said they could fix it, but I would have to post it and it would be returned within 20-30 days which is too long since this is my work laptop. Temps are now at 65 instead of 98. Thanks.

  • [Deactivated] on 11/01/2019 - 15:53

    The screws on a laptop shouldn't be torqued all that tight.

    Get some penetrating lubricant (I'm not even trying here) and carefully place a few drops with a dripper or toothpick. Place as close to threads as possible.

    It's unlikely that the screws are flush mount types so try a needle nose to get some movement. Good quality carbide tooth pliers go a long way here.

    If you've managed a tiny bit of movement, you can either slowly work with the pliers or switch to the rubber band over the head technique.

    If all else fails, get a screw removal tool for micro screws. Try and avoid this if possible because power tools and delicate circuitry doesn't allow for many mistakes.

    • whooah1979 on 11/01/2019 - 19:47

      WD40 or vaseline?

  • HighAndDry on 11/01/2019 - 15:54

    I don't see a solution pretty much because the laptop right now is working fine. Thermal throttling at this age, with this build-up of dust/etc is pretty standard.

    The only way the 'damage' is affecting you is that you're unable to unseat the CPU (which is something you want to do, but not need to) in order to re-apply thermal paste. (Actually, if you're using liquid metal, you're thinking of de-lidding the CPU, which is a far more extreme DIY process).

    I don't see that that's a right at all (it's far and above normal maintenance a consumer should be able to do on their product), and so you being prevented from doing that I don't see as an issue that needs to be rectified by anyone.

    Edit: Just to be clear, I'm not sure the technician did anything wrong. He was sent to fix a laptop, it was fixed (because you've used it for 2 years without issue). Having user-replaceable screws is not even a minor function of the machine. Hell - XPS13s have soldered RAM, and that's by design. Just imagine that your laptop has a non-user accessible CPU, and you're in exactly the same position.

  • bluesky on 11/01/2019 - 17:22

    Have you vacuum up all the dust everywhere especially at the vents, fan blades, heatsinks etc? Having done so, check if the fans are worn out and running slow? That is probably the main culprit. They look like specialised fans though, so may not be easy to source (have not checked this).

  • elgrande on 11/01/2019 - 22:20
    +1

    Common mate, anyone who ever tries to pull anything appart knows there is atleast one or two screws tha give you hell. Normally its towards the end too!

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