Dell Outlet - Certified Refurb/Scratch & Dent definitions

eden188

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Hi all,

Just want people's views of what they consider as a Certfied Refurb and Scratch & Dent product in Dell Outlet, here's the blur for their definition.

The reason I am asking is that I have recently bought a Certfied Refurb XPS 12 convertible tablet from their outlet, when I received it, there were already dents and chipped metal parts around the bezel (in attached picture). I am going through hell with their customer service to accept that the product has dents and should be returned, but they want to charge a collection fee as they said "it falls within grading standards for our Certified Refurbished systems".

To me, these are obvious dents and further concerns is that the laptop may have dropped or harsh impact to have created these dents, so I am not confident with the life or reliability of it. I have already mentioned the Distance Selling Regulation as it is within 7 days of taken delivery, but they are insisting to charge a £20 collection fee, which I am not prepared to pay.

What do you all think from the pictures? Dents? or acceptable refurb? Note, I paid £730 for this, so it's not exactly a cheap product either.


Thanks in advance.

Edit: Just want to clarify, my assumption is that Dell Outlet sells Certified Refurb OR Dents & Scratched, 2 separate types of products, like Grade A and Grade B, I maybe wrong?!?!
 

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I haven't read the link but surely a scratch and dent product would suggest that it will be scratched and/or dented. Or am I missing something?

None of the dents in the pics look particularly bad to me.
 
I'm afraid it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, it's between you and Dell. Nothing we can say will make a difference. Perhaps if you had asked before the purchase, someone may have had experience, but even that may have been different.

I'm sorry that you feel you have not got what you expected, but when it has dents in the description, I feel you rather must have hoped it wouldn't have any and are disappointed that it does.

It's always going to be a grey area, so hope you can fight your corner.
 
Thanks for the quick comments both. The bezel is made of solid metal, so it's not metal effect paint that has been chipped away.

hammers1, the thing is that Dell Outlet doesn't actually describes what the 'damage' is in the detail when you buy the product, so it's either be certified refurbish or scratched & dents. I guess it's a lucky dip and if you are unlucky and end up with a bad one.

Consider this was spotted on HUKD by the OP who has bought one as well, he said his is like brand new, just add salt to my wounds :(.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the quick comments both. The bezel is made of solid metal, so it's not metal effect paint that has been chipped away.

hammers1, the thing is that Dell Outlet doesn't actually describes what the 'damage' is in the detail when you buy the product, so it's either be certified refurbish or scratched & dents. I guess it's a lucky dip and if you are unlucky and end up with a bad one.

Consider this was spotted on HUKD by the OP who has bought one as well, he said his is like brand new, just add salt to my wounds :(.

Cheers

Hope it works as advertised and the odd dent doesn't really make any difference as they will all go in a skip in a few years anyway.
 
I'm afraid it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, it's between you and Dell. Nothing we can say will make a difference. Perhaps if you had asked before the purchase, someone may have had experience, but even that may have been different.

I'm sorry that you feel you have not got what you expected, but when it has dents in the description, I feel you rather must have hoped it wouldn't have any and are disappointed that it does.

It's always going to be a grey area, so hope you can fight your corner.

Thanks blue max. I just want to see how other feels about it or am I simply kicking up too much of a fuss. I have purchased other refurb from Logitech, Apple products, and they are literally like new with no sign of damage.
 
Thanks blue max. I just want to see how other feels about it or am I simply kicking up too much of a fuss. I have purchased other refurb from Logitech, Apple products, and they are literally like new with no sign of damage.

That is true, but Apple don't advertise them as dented products, just refurbished.

I do think you had too high expectations from a product that was really as described.

Just use it and enjoy it. It won't make any difference really. Now you can be less precious with it and it won't matter - and you saved a few quid.
 
Just want to clarify, my assumption is that Dell Outlet sells Certified Refurb OR Dents & Scratched, so I wonder how bad the Dents & Scratched products are?? Would it have a huge chunk out of it? Just been cynical :p
 
Just want to clarify, my assumption is that Dell Outlet sells Certified Refurb OR Dents & Scratched, so I wonder how bad the Dents & Scratched products are?? Would it have a huge chunk out of it? Just been cynical :p

I've never heard of another person purchasing from there so thanks for the heads up. Can't really add anything further so will have to leave it to people who may have experience.
 
That looks really minor to me, certainly not something I'd be complaining about on a refurbished product.

I've used Dell's outlet for refurb laptops before and have found them to be pretty good. The first one I bought had a problem with the keyboard, but they organised an at home repair and it was fixed within a few days. I had no problem with the staff I spoke to on the phone and didn't have to pay anything for the repair.
The second unit I bought was all in full working order, but had some faint scratching on the lid. Nothing I wouldn't do myself over time anyway and nothing to complain about either. It was just minor cosmetic damage which they say units may have.

There is a big thread in one of the computer sub-forums I think that is purely for discussion about the Dell outlet. You can ask about it there, but I expect they'll say the same thing.
 
Looks fine to me, sods law you will play hell up to get it replaced, get one with no marks and drop it the same day, or at least that's what would happen to me :p
 
That looks really minor to me, certainly not something I'd be complaining about on a refurbished product.

I've used Dell's outlet for refurb laptops before and have found them to be pretty good. The first one I bought had a problem with the keyboard, but they organised an at home repair and it was fixed within a few days. I had no problem with the staff I spoke to on the phone and didn't have to pay anything for the repair.
The second unit I bought was all in full working order, but had some faint scratching on the lid. Nothing I wouldn't do myself over time anyway and nothing to complain about either. It was just minor cosmetic damage which they say units may have.

There is a big thread in one of the computer sub-forums I think that is purely for discussion about the Dell outlet. You can ask about it there, but I expect they'll say the same thing.

Thanks Miss Mandy, maybe I am expecting too much. I have to admit the person I spoken to was polite and professional. I got so angry when they would not accept the return, so I replied with an even more angrier email to threaten legal action about DSR, etc, etc. Oh well, let see what they will say, maybe they will just ignore me.

OK, I'll just take a chill pill.

Thanks all.
 
Certified refurbs do not have scratches and dents. Those could be argued as dents ok, tho it's not a big deal. Don't bother with the phone or Dell UK, just go to Twitter and look up Dell Cares in Austin TX.
 
As Blue Max says, it is irrelevent what we say.

But if you want opinion ...

Dell clearly state up front what Certified Refurb and Scratch & Dent is. So if you bought a Scratch & Dent then I would say that you have cosmetic damage that won't affect performace and so complies with Dell's up front description.

They also allow you to return it under the DSR and describe exactly when you would be charged and how much.

Some more bad news for you though, the collection fee is clearly stated as £20 excl VAT. So they will charge you £24 for the return.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
As Blue Max says, it is irrelevent what we say.

But if you want opinion ...

Dell clearly state up front what Certified Refurb and Scratch & Dent is. So if you bought a Scratch & Dent then I would say that you have cosmetic damage that won't affect performace and so complies with Dell's up front description.

They also allow you to return it under the DSR and describe exactly when you would be charged and how much.

Some more bad news for you though, the collection fee is clearly stated as £20 excl VAT. So they will charge you £24 for the return.

Cheers,

Nigel

Thanks for the comment Nigel. That is exactly what I thought, if I did buy a Dent & Scratched product, then I have no room to complain, but it clearly states that this is a certified refurb, hence the reason for throwing a wobbler.

To be honest, if I knew that it would come with such 'damages', I think I would pay a bit more for a peace of mind. Just trust my luck to get one like this. I always look after all my stuff like as if they are new, anyone who has bought IT stuff from me knows they always get a good product even when they are more than a year old. Consider the XPS 12 was only out not that long ago, I am surprise this has not been looked after. :(
 
Certified refurbs do not have scratches and dents. Those could be argued as dents ok, tho it's not a big deal. Don't bother with the phone or Dell UK, just go to Twitter and look up Dell Cares in Austin TX.

Cheers for the twitter idea Rock. Honestly, I have been such a hermit, I don't even know how to use Twitter :blush:, just joined now, let see if they are a bit more sympathetic. :smashin:
 
The £24 (including VAT) collection fee won't get waived and you're not going to be happy with it now you know the scratches are there so send it back and either try again or buy from somewhere else.

It doesn't matter if it's a Certified Refurb or a Scratch & Dent, it's not new so you can't expect it to look flawless.
 
It looks refurbished to me!

Consider: "Certified Refurbished PCs are laptops and desktops that have been returned to Dell, put through the production process, and then again retested to ensure they meet all original factory specifications. Certified Refurbished systems may have some observable cosmetic blemishes, but they will not affect performance."

They look like cosmetic blemishes to me, if the laptop had been dropped the damage would be a lot worse than that. Without knowing Dell's recertification procedure, I would hazard a guess that they check the HDD for drop damage and re-test to the same standard as new, which is all you can ask for.

If it was a significant discount on new (£150+), I'd be pretty happy with that.

What is the warranty on refurbished products?
 
Comes down to price really. If it was only 10% off I'd be annoyed. If we're talking 40% then its a bargain with some surface damage.
 
It looks refurbished to me!

Consider: "Certified Refurbished PCs are laptops and desktops that have been returned to Dell, put through the production process, and then again retested to ensure they meet all original factory specifications. Certified Refurbished systems may have some observable cosmetic blemishes, but they will not affect performance."

They look like cosmetic blemishes to me, if the laptop had been dropped the damage would be a lot worse than that. Without knowing Dell's recertification procedure, I would hazard a guess that they check the HDD for drop damage and re-test to the same standard as new, which is all you can ask for.

If it was a significant discount on new (£150+), I'd be pretty happy with that.

What is the warranty on refurbished products?

Thanks for your comment Pisto. I think I can accept it if the frame was plastic and just the metallic paint has been chipped off, but this laptop frame is made of aluminium and these small 'chunks' of chip/dents are obvious.

I'm just curious what it would be like if I'd bought a Scratch & Dent product, am I expecting a corner missing from the laptop? OK, a little OTT.

It is under 1 year warranty.

Cheers,
 
It looks refurbished to me!

At first I agreed with you. But looking at Dell's two definitions they are quite similar.

Certified Refurbished PCs are laptops and desktops that have been returned to Dell, put through the production process, and then again retested to ensure they meet all original factory specifications. Certified Refurbished systems may have some observable cosmetic blemishes, but they will not affect performance.

Scratch and Dent products are systems with considerable cosmetic blemishes that do not affect performance. They are a great way to save money while still enjoying Dell Outlet's rigorous rebuilding and testing process. Scratch and Dent computers will not have scratches or pits on the screen, missing or illegible letters on the keyboard, or damage to the touchpad or palmrest.

The real difference is that for Certified Refurbs they say that the products MAY have some observable blemishes. I read this as it probably won't and that if it does they are going to be very minor but observable like fine scratches.

With Scratch and Dent (clue is in the name) they talk about considerable cosmetic blemishes.

Personally, I would say that chucks out of metal trim are Scratch and Dent.

The point, whilst you may not think there is much of a difference I assume that Dell do, in that I suspect that they charge more for Cert Refurb than they do for Scratch & Dent.

So if the OP has been charged a Cert Refurb premium then I think he has grounds - but I do agree that he will have a hard time with Dell.

I have purchased Cert Refurbs before, including one from Dell and in all cases, apart from coming in plain brown boxes I could not tell that they weren't brand new.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
At first I agreed with you. But looking at Dell's two definitions they are quite similar.



The real difference is that for Certified Refurbs they say that the products MAY have some observable blemishes. I read this as it probably won't and that if it does they are going to be very minor but observable like fine scratches.

With Scratch and Dent (clue is in the name) they talk about considerable cosmetic blemishes.

Personally, I would say that chucks out of metal trim are Scratch and Dent.

The point, whilst you may not think there is much of a difference I assume that Dell do, in that I suspect that they charge more for Cert Refurb than they do for Scratch & Dent.

So if the OP has been charged a Cert Refurb premium then I think he has grounds - but I do agree that he will have a hard time with Dell.

I have purchased Cert Refurbs before, including one from Dell and in all cases, apart from coming in plain brown boxes I could not tell that they weren't brand new.

Cheers,

Nigel

Thanks Nigel, that is exactly my view too.

Anyway, received another reply from Dell that they would re-consider a replacement, failing that, then they would collect and waive the collection fee.

Thank you all for the kind comments. :thumbsup:
 

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