Dell asked to pay Rs 42K for defective laptop

Computer manufacturer Dell India Pvt Ltd has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay a customer Rs 42,200 as refund of the cost of a laptop which stopped working within two years of its purchase.
The East District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held the company liable to pay the amount saying "the laptop stopped working completely when it was still under warranty" and the complainant was not interested in getting the system replaced.
"It is noted that the laptop stopped working completely when it was still under the warranty and opposite parties (Dell and its service centre) are liable to refund cost of the system as complainant is not interested to get the system replaced.

"In the above, we direct opposite parties to jointly or severely refund to complainant Rs 42,200 towards cost of the defective laptop," a bench presided by N A Zaidi said.
The forum's order came on the complaint of Delhi resident Abhinav Kumar who said that he had in August 2010 purchased a Dell laptop for Rs 42,200 and had also paid Rs 2,700 extra for an additional year of warranty.
Within seven months of its purchase the laptop started having problems which Dell's service centre could not rectify, he alleged, adding that in June 2012 the machine stopped working completely.

He had also alleged that the machine had manufacturing defects.

Dell in its defence contended that it had attended to the problems in the machine each time it was brought to the service centre and had also offered to have the laptop fixed or provide as replacement a refurbished system, but Kumar had refused the same.
Dell also denied the allegation of the laptop having inherent defects.
The forum, however, observed that Dell's offer to replace the laptop with a refurbished system itself confirms that it suffered from some inherent defects.