Man Haggles With Dell Over Laptop Since 2005
There have been several business article written about how Dell is changing its bad customer service ways, but after you read Anthony's horrible tale, you will know that Dell hell is very alive and very real:
In April of 2005, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop computer. Approximately a year later, I was given a replacement for ongoing issues with the computer, and that replacement served me fine for approximately another year before it too had ongoing issues and was replaced under warranty. However, this is where the problems began...
In June of 2007, I received the replacement for my Inspiron 9400, which replaced my original Inspiron 9300). The model was an Inspiron 1720, and in several ways, was inferior to my previous system. I explained this, and was granted a replacement for it as my points were valid. Once I received the replacement, a Dell XPS M1710 computer, I shipped back both the Inspiron 1720 and the 9400 that I had in my possession. However, upon inspecting the XPS M1710 I received, it was not, still, "the same, or better than" my Inspiron 9400 (which I was told it would be). So, I escalated the issue even further, and was granted yet another replacement. In mid-August of 2007, over 2 months since my original request for a replacement, I finally received an adequate replacement, that certainly exceeded my expectations in terms of its specifications and features.If you're from Dell and you want to clean up your mess, you can email Anthony at fenuxx@live.com. You probably should, if you don't want to got to bed feeling like the failure that you are.
This XPS M1710 worked great for approximately 2 months before it, too, started having issues. I proceeded with NUMEROUS replacements. Only 3 times was I able to have a technician to my home to replace the damaged/malfunctioning parts, due to the duties of my job, but I am a capable A+ Certified technician myself and am fully qualified to replace the parts myself, although I am not a "Dell Certified" technician. Each and every time a parts replacement dispatch was sent to my home, I promptly returned the defective part within the 15 business day allotted time that I am given. I, however, after a pattern of specific replaced parts (namely the videocard) began searching the internet to see if anyone else was affected by consistent videocard issues. It turned out that I was not the only one affected by these issues, so I requested a replacement computer in February of 2008. The replacement arrived at my door on February 19, 2008.
Approximately 2 months before this, however, I received a phone call from someone in Dell Collections asking about the defective parts I returned, along with the Inspiron 9400 and first XPS M1710 I received. I provided any and all information that was asked of me, including tracking numbers and ship dates, and believed the matter to be closed, and never heard anything more about it.
The replacement computer that arrived to me on February 19, 2008, was an XPS M1730 computer which was shipped to me directly from Dell Returns. Upon opening the box for the computer, I was appalled. The computer is heavily used, very beat up, with 2 noticeable dings below the DVD drive, scratches on the LCD lid, LCD itself, palmrest, and finally several dead pixels on the LCD screen, coupled with very low brightness of the LCD. COMPLETELY unacceptable. On top of that, it does not have certain things that I was told it would have.
I began stating the issues with this new computer, and ran into a brick wall, as I kept being told to be "happy" with what I received. I finally got into contact with Mr. Mike McKinney at the Dell Resolutions department, and he agreed to replace the system yet again, and sincerely apologized for the inconveniences. I thought these matters would come to a close, and awaited Mike's response and notification of the system replacement.
However, none of this came, and I wanted to (obviously) know the status of my case. At this point, I filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) as I've grown extremely tired of these constant issues. On February 24, I was told by a very rude Dell Technical Support representative that there would be no more replacements, and he escalated the case to the Fraud department. This made me VERY angry as I had not, and never would, commit ANY kind of fraud. Again, I will repeat what I stated above. For everything that was asked of me in terms of replacement computers and replacement parts, I did EVERYTHING exactly as I was told to do. I shipped back every defective part without fail, and shipped back every computer that was replaced. After several days of not knowing what was happening, I finally was given the contact information for "Neil", who was handling my case. I got into contact with him at approximately 10:30AM on February 28th, and was treated VERY rudely. The person did not listen to ANYTHING I said, and repeatedly said that there would be no more replacements. At this point, I am so frustrated and so angry, I cannot even describe it in words.
The Better Business Bureau case is still open, and has been updated with the most recent information. I have not, nor would not, commit any kind of fraud against Dell. I don't know where the error is, but it is CERTAINLY not on my end, as I will state again, I did everything I was told to do in a timely fashion.
I would like a timely resolution to this problem, and expect someone to contact me regarding this. Please contact me at the above address, or by phone at [redacted]. I appreciate your time and help in these matters.
Sincerely,
Anthony Nicholas
March 3
Dell at this point is REFUSING to do ANYTHING. They don't want to replace the laptop, they don't want to send me the parts to replace the defective/damaged ones on the laptop, NOR do they even want to send a technician to replace the defective/damaged parts.
The laptop itself now refuses to boot (Machine Check Exception bluescreens on bootup, not fixed by reinstalling or reimaging the OS) and crashes in Dell Diagnostics when it gets to the point of testing the CPU, which leads me to believe it's a CPU error (the processor is likely faulty). Also, there is no wireless card or bluetooth card, which I hadn't noticed before as I had never tried to do anything significant with the laptop, it had been sitting in its box. I verified the lack of bluetooth card and wireless card by removing the keyboard to see if the wireless card was present, and it's not, only 3 wires that WOULD connect to the wireless card. The bluetooth module SHOULD be situated in a holder accessible by removing the battery, and it too is vacant.
A catastrophe this is, and Dell refuses to fix it or take any responsibility for it.
-Anthony Nicholas
March 6
OK guys at Consumerist... I could REALLY, REALLY, REALLY use your help.
Dell is refusing to "release my account" so that the computer can be fixed. The guy holding the account's name is "Neil" and he won't return my calls, nor will he bother to deal with me anymore. As I had said in my previous e-mail, the computer has gotten worse. At this point, after sitting for a couple of days, when I press the power button on the computer, the power LED comes on for about 1/2 a second, and then goes out. It refuses to boot at all, so now I'm stuck with a perfectly non-functioning, scratched up, dinged up, $5000+ computer.
Dell refuses to give me any refund, or fix the computer at all. I still have warranty coverage for 43 days, and at this point, I'm thinking Dell wants to stall and "review" my account for the next 43 days so my computer goes out of warranty, and they don't have to do anything, unless I pay HUGE bucks for it.
Again, please help guys, I'm at a loss.
RELATED: Man Haggles With Dell Over Failed Laptop For 3 Years
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Comments:
Small claims court? Chargeback?
Whitespace is your friend.
They should have quit replacing your computer a while back, and you should have gone with another company at some point as well. You're obviously getting nowhere with each other.
@Aladdyn: There is a statue of limitations on damages, aren't there? 2-3 years ago may be too long to make a claim.
DId you try the EECB? Search for Dell on Consumerist... it has all the executive email addresses. I was on similar ground for a whole year... The day after I EECB-ed, I got a call from Dell corporate. They ended up settling the matter with me for $200... less than what would have made me happy, but at least the response was quick.
Dell is the pits. My brain was wrapped around a pole many times over after talking with their clueless tech support. Next time, buy a Lenovo or something.
Your first mistake was buying a dell laptop.
sell it on ebay as is. lol jk.
So what were your problems with the initial two laptops? I've had two Dell laptops and one desktop and I've been pretty happy with both the product and service I paid for. I had an instance of a bad laptop screen connector that was replaced by a Dell technician. Then another where I applied a firmware update and hosed my drive. *I* did that and really, they didn't have to replace the drive, but they did. No offense, but with all the problems you are having you should have either sucked it up or gone elsewhere by the time the 2nd replacement started to crap out. You've been though at least 4 generations of Dell notebooks at this point. If they couldn't provide you with an acceptable computer, then it's time to part ways.
Well, the computer itself isn't 3 years old. I originally PURCHASED my ORIGINAL computer 3 years ago. The most recent replacement is only a couple of weeks old (and died in less than a week).
I tried an EECB, didn't get anywhere, my BBB case is still going, with no response from Dell, and they refuse to do anything, be it fix the computer, replace this pile of garbage, or even refund my money (the last one is a longshot, I know).
The guy I spoke with, "Neil" was, as I said outrageously rude to me, wouldn't listen to anything I said, and refused to work with me. Heck, he wouldn't even give me his actual department (just "top escalations") nor his last name. I know he's legitimately from Dell, as I dialed his extension (given to me by a chat rep).
I've done absolutely NOTHING wrong here, and somewhere, somehow, SOMETHING got screwed up along the way. It certainly wasn't on my end, as I did everything exactly "by the (Dell) book".
This rambling letter doesn't make clear, exactly how many replacement computers were sent? If I'm reading right, 4 replacements, then " I proceeded with NUMEROUS replacements". And how many parts the poster installed himself.
This is my first ever 'blame the consumer' post (are there prizes), but in this case it seems valid.
It seems like Dell has given this guy everything he's wanted, over and over and nothing makes him happy and they finally said enough's enough.
Is it realistic that 6 - 7, maybe 10 (how many replacements was it) are ALL broken and unsatisfactory?
I call shenanigans.
@RIP MRHANDS:
Possibly but he has a current contract with them (warranty) I would send them certified mail with all information and whatever proof. Let them know you intend to file suit. Obviously very important to get some paper trail of you telling them that computers broken before the warranty ends
I'm on my second Dell laptop. My sister and mother are on thier first. I've never had any issues as bad as I have seen described by some people. With my current one a 9300, my keyboard has been replaced twice (both times due to my three year old) and I got a replacement for their poorly designed power brick (if you're going to desion an item so that its cord can be wrapped around it, why have any connection on it that don't turn 90 degrees?). I don't know anyone else personally with problems, and where I work, all our PCs are Dell. So what the hell are these people doing with their computers?
@Hanke: Oh, the first one took 5 years to fail, with a 'flex' issue. touch it a certain way, and the video goes to hell.
With Dell, it is quite possible that the replacements are not adequate. He did not say they were broken... but that they were not as good or better than the original..
I ran into the same brick wall. After fighting for a year, they said they are ready to replace it with a laptop which is as good or better than the existing one. When I asked them for the specs of the replacement, they refused... they said I wouldn't know until I get it!! I only had their reassurance that it would be better.
When I asked them what they meant by "better", they couldn't answer. My laptop was a 700m 12.1 inch monitor and they said the replacement can't be guaranteed to have that. Since I specifically wanted a small screen monitor, this was already unacceptable.
I have owned 3 Dells and can tell you with authority that they are good as long as they work fine. God save you the moment you need to deal with their tech support.
At this point the guy is just a huge cost, all profit has been lost. As a money making business, it's no longer profitable to mess with him. And you know he isn't going to purchase his next computer from Dell. And while that sucks for the consumerist, and this is a consumer advocate site, you have to understand Dell has no reason to mess with this guy.
Take them to court or move on.
Christ, I would've demanded a refund after the second machine died.
I would go to small claims court without hesitation; if you have kept good documentation, this can go a very long way.
@SkokieGuy:
when he said numerous replacements he was referring to parts, not the whole laptop i believe. The guy wants a laptop that was of equal quality to the one he originally paid for. After they finally gave him one that was equivalent it stopped working after two months, and had problems with the video that other dell users also had. Im not sure how you read this as being "given everything he asked for" If I had a laptop that had issues and was still under warranty I would expect things to be fixed. I certainly wouldn't except being ignored completely. if dell thinks he is trying to fraud them they should just have him ship everything back and when they get it give him his money back.
@MissTic: Relax. You can read for the main idea, right? I bet when you read the National Enquirer, you don't bother to read every column-inch. When people get sucked into these problems, it gets hard to figure out what the important details are, so you cough up the whole hairball. And any Consumerist reader knows that when details get left out, trolls use it as evidence that you're a liar or worse.
I've been trying since 2006 to get Dell to tell me how to clear the NVROM in my WiFi printer to get rid of old settings. They delayed for awhile, and now that the printer isn't in warranty, they won't return any communication.
In 2000, I mailed a notebook in mid-purchase agreement to Michael Dell, since it didn't work and Dell wouldn't honor the in-home repair warranty I'd paid extra for. Dell shipped it back, but I refused delivery.
My name is Jay. I've been dealing with the same issues as Anthony with the same systems and issues. Different people spoken to, same circumstances. Dell is REALLY dropping the ball with regards to honoring it's warranty.
I'm offically on replacement number 7 since 2006. Took 5 weeks for a status update on my last replacement. Pathetic.
@Aladdyn: I would love the original poster to clarify. It's hard to tell, but it seems:
The 9400 replaced his 9300 (1)
The 1720 replaced the 9400 (2)
The MXPS1710 replaced the 1720 (3)
The MXPS1710 was not same or better & he rec'd another replacement (4)
This 4th replacement started having issues after two months and then there were 'lots' of replacements, (parts?).
So it appears Dell sent him FOUR different computers all sorts of parts and he's still having problems. I don't think the company's response (initially) was anything less than stellar.
Could this A+ Certified tech have tinkered with the computers and created some of the problems? Could he have been arguing about trivial differences in the specs of the computer, showing off his superior geekness and refusing to be satisfied with the multiple replacements?
Toward the end, he encounter rude or unhelpful people, which of course should not occur. I would suspect they couldn't believe the amount of returns and back and forth and were afraid to agree to anything without getting a superior involved. When you see four replacement PC's and all these parts, and probably hundreds of pages of CSR notes, you don't just cheerily comply with every new request.
Should they accept everything back and give him a full refund, yes, and they should have done it a LONG time ago.
There is nothing wrong with consumers voting with their dollars and avoiding merchants who don't treat them fairly, but merchants and businesses also have the right to 'fire the customer'.
This customer should have been fully refunded and 'fired' a long time ago.
Shenanigans remain.
And so, the Dell XPS just fell off my list as my next computer. Dell was in high running too.
at some point in there I would have just asked for a refund....
It seems to me that Dell went above and beyond normal expectations for this customer.
It makes me wonder if I was just plain lucky with my Dell.
Ether way, this is beyond EECB. Talk to a lawyer, because Dell basically sold you a lemon.
Yea I have to agree with you here. This just doesn't seem to add up right. Also the guy admits taking it apart some to at least inspect it to see if the wireless card is in it. One has to wonder if he did anymore to it. Also A+ doesn't mean you are qualified to work on notebooks. They do take some extra experience that the poster may or may not have.
If I was dell I would have had a tech put anti tamper stickers on his machine a while ago to try to see if he was messing with it. Generaly from my experience(I was a notebook tech for a few years) people that have issues like he is explaining have either done something to the machine or treated it like shit causing the issues to pop up over and over again. We had a few people we refused to see extended warranties too when we would figure out that every 2 years or so they got a new machine as they kept breaking the old one.
I agree. How can one customer keep having so many issues. It seems more than odd. What the heck is he doing to the notebooks.
With Dell, there's a trick to getting decent customer service and a well-built machine. Buy business class. So... no Inspiron, no Dimension, no XPS. For laptops, buy a Latitude. Or a Lenovo Thinkpad.
Dell just came out with their Vostro line, which is a "small business" class laptop. Not as expandable as the Latitude (as far as Dell's docking stations go), but they are supposed to be well-built, and much less expensive then their Latitude line. Plus, you get the Dell Business tech support instead of the Hell Home tech support.
After a number of disasters in the past with Dell, I only purchase dirt cheap disposable latops from them, otherwise I buy Lenovo (but their customer service is taking a turn for the worse lately). Anyway, my last call with the "Outlet" dept. went like this:
Me: Hi, I'm on your outlet website and wanted to buy a refurb. with my DPA account. The site takes me all the way to the final checkout window after taking all my info only to tell me to call you. Can you help me?
Dell: Sure, which unit are you looking at?
Me: well, I have it in my cart under my sign-in. Is there some way you can view my cart?
Dell: Um, no. You'll have to delete it from you cart. It should go back into inventory and I'll grab it.
Me: Well, if it goes back into the inventory, isn't there a chance that someone else will grab it? This laptop is red and I'm buying it for a girlfriend and waited forever for something with these specs and color to show up. Is there any other way to do this? If not I'll just use my CC.
Dell: Um..no sir. Once you let it go, I'll grab it immediately. You have nothing to worry about, I do this all day. This is the only way to use your DPA account.
Me: ok. ready? it's deleted.
Dell: Ok, let me take a look. Ummm, sir did you delete it out of your cart?
Me: yes. do you see it?
Dell: um..no.
Me: (sigh) well, what do we do? I deleted it.
Dell: I don't see it. Hold on sir. [click, line goes dead]
I call back and after another 10min. of cursing on hold...
Me: um...I was just hung up on. I was trying to buy a refurb. from your outlet using my DPA. The guy told me to delete it from my cart and now I can't even buy it w/my cc. I copied down the system identifier. Can you grab it for me before someone buys it?
Dell: which one? Sir, I can't pull it up that way.
Me: hey know what? I'm looking at your inventory list and I see it again!! Can you grab it? Hurry before someone buys it!
Dell: um..I can't see it sir. You sure it's there? [after 10min. someone else buys it]
Me: well, know what, now it's gone. I remember now why I hate Dell so much. Thanks for nothing!
I wish people would take these at face value. He's not asking for a judgement call on past actions, nor is he attempting to categorically prove his case to the oh-so-important people posting comments at Consumerist.
The poster is looking for someone who knows what the next step is, not a litany of questions concerning his actions thus far.
In light of that, I say small claims court. Also, try to contact a corporate company rep. And start documenting a time-line of issues, returns, down-days, etc, with your supporting documentation for future use.
This doesn't sound kosher to me. The OP claims that he's now sitting on a useless $5000+ laptop that doesn't work. Five thousand dollars!?!?! I currently own two Dell 17-inch laptops, an Inspiron 9200 and an Inspiron E1705 (9400), and neither one cost more than $1300 and neither one is stripped either. If Dell sent him a $5000 computer to replace an Inspiron 9400 then he should just shut up, take it to a local repair shop and be thankful. Otherwise I want to know the specs on the original 9400.
@MissTic: Sorry, but if he left stuff out you (or others) would be saying, "You've got to have everything documented" or "I have a feeling there's more to this story" or the like.
The original letter was a decent length, and what follows were updates. If your powers of concentration are that lacking there's no shortage of other blogs out there.
RStewie is right, but based on the article, all of these things have been done, at least once. Small claims court is only good to a certain amount of money, and according to his note, the value and time lost go beyond that limit. I personally would consider contacting a lawyer and check the viability of bringing up a full-blown lawsuit.
Aside from that, I would strongly recommend buying a completely different machine from a supplier that doesn't have Dell's reputation. At least one brand that I can name (but won't) has bluetooth and wi-fi built-in to every model of laptop and either built-in or optional on every model of desktop from the lowest price to their highest-priced models.
It's long past time to escape the problems you've been having. Time to move into something that has a reputation for reliability rather than a reputation of failed hardware. Remember, "You get what you pay for" and "You pay for what you get."
Neil needs a swift kick to the nuts.
The OP shot himself in the foot the minute he dropped the "well I'm A+ certified and could replace it myself." That suggests he may have been giving an attitude to the support people and such. Also, if his computer was under warranty he should not have been replacing the parts himself because if something broke again, the liability would be on him and not Dell. As others have said, he probably did tinker with some parts he shouldn't have been tinkering with.
Dude should have sucked it up and had the techs come in more often or taken it to a repair center with a Dell-certified tech.
Sorry Mr. OP, but I'm blaming you the consumer on this one.
Dude - Stop buying Dell.
@ChuckECheese: I see that the OP has been modified to reflect paragraphs. Guess I wasn't the only one who needed to "relax".
I think the Consumerist has posted numerous articles on the finer art of correspondence and problem resolution. Brevity and proper grammer were mentioned IIRC.
Sorry, I can put myself in the other person's shoes much easier when they take the time to properly format their lengthy story. I would think those recipients of the EECB's feel the same. Details are fine but it doesn't take much to be succinct and still get the points across.
Wow this brings back bad memories! I have long been a satisfied Dell customer and over the years have purchased numerous desktops and laptops from them. However, I did one time purchase a laptop from them that had nothing but problems, and I will spend the rest of my days trying to forget the feelings of total frustration and helplessness trying to get this POS repaired under the pricey extended warranty I purchased. After replacing every component they could, one at a time (meaning multiple mail-ins to Dell), they finally decided that all my problems must be due to a defective motherboard. They replaced that, and FINALLY everything was fine. But that took more than a year to get to that point, and hours/days/weeks on the phone to tech. support, n ightmare in itself. At one point, they "replaced" my laptop with a refurbished one, but it was in such poor condition that I wouldn't accept it.
I have no words of wisdom for this individual, only sympathy! I like the idea of small claims court that others have suggested. I have only twice filed suit in small claims court and both times, I received a check from the defendent prior to the date of the hearing, and settled the case. I don't think it would hurt to take this approach. Dell will have to pay some lawyer to show up to represent them in court if you sue them. They will probably decide that it's cheaper to send you the check rather than their attorney.
No offense, Anthony, but you bought one laptop from Dell in 2003 and have been getting replacements ever since.
2003 was FIVE YEARS AGO, dude.
If I was Dell, I would be slightly suspicious of you as well.
How many other people have you met (or even heard of) who have had 5 or 6 laptops replaced in that period of time, all of which have been "broken"?
I'm actually on my 3rd Inspiron 1720 since December, and a tech was at my house replacing the motherboard on this one just today. I've had a similar situation as the original poster, though not with the rude responses from tech support. They've been nice, and competent for the most part, I just can't get a system that works for more than a couple of months.
I'm one week out from my new Macbook Pro shipping, I finally had enough with the Dell and Vista and am jumping ship. Just want to make sure I get the Dell laptop working well enough to sell once my Macbook comes.
i went through this same hell. it took john stossel, putting a long message on the dell message board forum, the ftc, the bbb, and about 10k phone calls to fix the issue. I am now a Mac owner.
Sounds like you think Dell should be waiting on you hand and foot. From your rambling letter, they gave you 3 free upgrades. They are in the hole to you. Then your system kept breaking, but by you replacing the parts, Dell now has no idea if you are installing the parts correctly or not. The Dell techs don't have to go to your home, they can go and meet you on your lunch hour at work, or you can send it to them. If your still milking Dell for free laptops since 2003, move on. I am a Dell Reseller, and in no way is there anything beyond a 4 year service contract. Move on. Your clearly trying to cheat the system, and they aren't suckers.
OK, time for more explaining.
The original computer was NOT bought in 2003, it was 2005.
What issues did they have?
Inspiron 9300 (original) - Was virtually perfect until approximately a year and a half after I bought it. It severely overheated (videocard) and warped the bottom chassis, along with the palmrest. It was replaced with the Inspiron 9400/E1705.
Inspiron 9400/E1705 - Screen replaced, hard drive replaced twice, videocard replaced, motherboard replaced, and finally, videocard died once again (NMI Memory Parity Errors, common amongst Dell GeForce Go 7900 GS cards). It was replaced with an Inspiron 1720.
Inspiron 1720 - No "hardware issues" with the computer, simply of lower specifications in every way compared to my 9400/E1705, and in several ways, even my original 9300. It was sent back nearly instantaniously. Replaced with an XPS M1710 (only viable replacement to my 9400/E1705, look into it).
XPS M1710 (first) - Again, inferior in many ways to my 9400/E1705, slower/smaller sized hard drive, and inferior screen (WXGA 1440x900 screens weren't even offered on the XPS M1710, I have no clue as to why mine was shipped with one). Replaced with a second M1710.
XPS M1710 (second) - Met and exceeded my expectations, and I was quite happy with it. It worked beautifully for 2 months before it started having problems (hard drive replaced 3 times, motherboard replaced twice, once because of the tech, videocard replaced 5 times, various reasons and lengths in between, CPU replaced 2 times). This was replaced with the XPS M1730.
XPS M1730 - I had very little issue (save for the videocard, which I was disputing, and initially was going to have resolved). It began giving me errors on bootup, and then Machine Check bluescreens, and within 5 days of owning it, does not turn on. This is in conjunction of all of the cosmetic defects, (used, shipped directly to me from Dell Returns) along with a faulty LCD screen.
You tell me how acceptable this is. I paid for a computer to use and work with. I need a working laptop. I don't have one.
6 replacements and your still having problems. do yourself a favor and never use a computer again. you are obviously DOING IT WRONG.
Cough. Buy a...
No. I WILL show self control. I WON'T say it. :)
@babaki:
I count 5 replacements, and no, I'm not "doing it wrong". I'm a very skilled PC user. I'm a programmer, I'm a technician, I'm a videogame designer (or an aspiring one, at least, in college for it).
I'm certainly not "hard" on computers either. I've still got a "DOS-Box" (Pentium MMX 233MHz, 128MB RAM, Rendition Verite V2200 8MB video, 20GB HDD) that works like a dream. I've got a desktop that works like a dream. My first Dell laptop (Inspiron 9300) lasted over a year before it died. The second (Inspiron 9400) lasted nearly a year, and it just went downhill from there.
I'm very good with computers, I keep them well-maintained, and I pride myself in them. What has been happening to me is poor quality control (defective, REFURBISHED parts, a RETURNED computer that was NOT looked over, I guarantee it).
I'm sorry, but 6 laptops and tons of replacement parts in a little over 2 years sounds like the problem is with the user rather than Dell. According to the OP the Inspiron 1720 didn't even have anything wrong with it. Dell may suck, but unless the OP is exceptionally unlucky there's no reason he should need that many replacements.
Two words: brevity and paragraphs. Goes a loooong way when reading these things. I realize documenting your complaints can be tedious, but it's much easier to swallow when in a reader-friendly format.