Laptops 1.3k for overpriced laptop battery installation? Ripoff by dell !
- Thread starter greenhorn
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its better to get a battery from sources apart from dell. I don't think dell will ever give a battery at the lowest available price.
mehrotra.akash
Contributor
You do realise that the battery installation is entirely optional, and is basically the price for a technician to come to his place, change the battery and go back.
It would just be a standard option, which noone would be taking, so noone noticed it.
And CC,etc. will cover batteries only for 1 year(standard across all companies in india), not more..
As for the battery cost , you have 2 options -- take it from Dell, who officially say that battery life is 1 year.
Or from outside for half the price. Then you will have to deal with the place you buy your battery from in case of any problems, which are more likely. Also the cheaper batteries often only give a 3 or 6 month guarantee, vs 1 year for DELL
It would just be a standard option, which noone would be taking, so noone noticed it.
And CC,etc. will cover batteries only for 1 year(standard across all companies in india), not more..
As for the battery cost , you have 2 options -- take it from Dell, who officially say that battery life is 1 year.
Or from outside for half the price. Then you will have to deal with the place you buy your battery from in case of any problems, which are more likely. Also the cheaper batteries often only give a 3 or 6 month guarantee, vs 1 year for DELL
sad , even my battery has dried out , now i just get a back up of 10-15 mins on lowest brightness system idle.
i see few thirdparty US websites which just deal with replacement laptop batteries , are they legit ? perhaps we could get them via iccworld / shopyourworld etc.
a few sites :
Supply Replacement Laptop Battery Pack, Laptop AC Adapter Online
Discount Laptop Battery|Laptop battery Charger Adapter replacement
Laptop Batteries|Laptop Battery|Laptop AC Adapter|Laptop Keyboards|Laptop Keyboard|AC Adapters
i see few thirdparty US websites which just deal with replacement laptop batteries , are they legit ? perhaps we could get them via iccworld / shopyourworld etc.
a few sites :
Supply Replacement Laptop Battery Pack, Laptop AC Adapter Online
Discount Laptop Battery|Laptop battery Charger Adapter replacement
Laptop Batteries|Laptop Battery|Laptop AC Adapter|Laptop Keyboards|Laptop Keyboard|AC Adapters
RS4
Herald
laptop batteries are a big problem as they get spoiled in 2nd or 3rd year of the laptop and no warranty covers batteries and the original replacement batteries are horribly expensive whereas the cheaper chinese batteries arent safe and also their backup and life is lower than the original ones.
adityamunshi
Contributor
Yes the screen issue is really horrible and I can understand you getting pissed for that. It's really SAD 
But couple things to note regarding battery
1. No one gives more than 1 year warranty for battery.
2. Official prices of batteries will always cost you more
3. mehrotra.akash is right - The Dell technician is giving you home delivery? then the cost is justified for Rs.1300. Yeah your local guy will charge you Rs.500 or less to come over but company techs always cost more. Ever given your car to official company and to your road side mechanic? the cost is enormous is many cases!
4. Complete cover does sound that battery gets covered but I don't think it does. I'm sorry to say but you must've failed to read what it covers and what i doesn't. Also I'm very much miffed that companies don't say it clearer, instead of prominently saying it with simple language and using visual elements. Companies just hide under a lot of tech and legal jargon.
regarding mehrotra.akash's warranty suggestions about 1 year and 6 months, I think that is valid. Did you know that Mac charges Rs.9k for Mac Book Pro battery and that even though they are a premium company, they dont give more than 1 year for the battery.
I can understand your irritation but it is improperly placed for the battery issue, for the screen issues, it is indeed sad situation. I wish the service technician could've explained this to you, it would've been better, but really when customers have blown their top, no matter how much you reason, give logic, the customer just doesnt listen.
And no I don't work for DELL or any computer manufacturer/service company and neither am I a Dell fanboy! Just wanted to help, I hope I have buddy!
But couple things to note regarding battery
1. No one gives more than 1 year warranty for battery.
2. Official prices of batteries will always cost you more
3. mehrotra.akash is right - The Dell technician is giving you home delivery? then the cost is justified for Rs.1300. Yeah your local guy will charge you Rs.500 or less to come over but company techs always cost more. Ever given your car to official company and to your road side mechanic? the cost is enormous is many cases!
4. Complete cover does sound that battery gets covered but I don't think it does. I'm sorry to say but you must've failed to read what it covers and what i doesn't. Also I'm very much miffed that companies don't say it clearer, instead of prominently saying it with simple language and using visual elements. Companies just hide under a lot of tech and legal jargon.
regarding mehrotra.akash's warranty suggestions about 1 year and 6 months, I think that is valid. Did you know that Mac charges Rs.9k for Mac Book Pro battery and that even though they are a premium company, they dont give more than 1 year for the battery.
I can understand your irritation but it is improperly placed for the battery issue, for the screen issues, it is indeed sad situation. I wish the service technician could've explained this to you, it would've been better, but really when customers have blown their top, no matter how much you reason, give logic, the customer just doesnt listen.
And no I don't work for DELL or any computer manufacturer/service company and neither am I a Dell fanboy! Just wanted to help, I hope I have buddy!
mehrotra.akash
Contributor
If he found Dell's expensive, he'll throw the Mac out of the window.greenhorn said:I think I'll tell him that the installation = optional means he can do it himself.
But 3x the grey market price?
Anyway too late, he's sworn off dells, and he's gonna get a MBP from his to be wifey, so he could care less
In Dell, paying the install fee is optional, in Mac's its compulsory.
If you want user servicability in a laptop, I think the best choice will be a thinkpad..(T,X or W series)
Which model is this, greenhorn? Depending on the model & rating of the battery, the costs vary.
Coming to the installation charges - personally I would not bother asking for installation but there are many users who would not know even as simple as batter replacement and don't mind paying extra.
One of our old friends (yes! on TE) had an issue of no display on his laptop and went to the Service Centre and unfortunately it could not be serviced by them, as he had a 'business' model and the centre seviced only 'consumer' models. He took it to a local store and the guy took one look at the laptop and said "i can fix it, but it'll cost 300 bucks!" Our good ol' friend relunctantly agreed to it - that guy taps on the keyboard, pops open the small piece of plastic above the keypad, taps on it and voila! Display is ON. Turns out the laptop lid switch was stuck and the 'tapping' popped it back up and display resumed. And our friend had to pay 300 bucks for it!!! Whatta RIP-OFF eh?? And imagine the phone call I got after that.. unfortunately the laptop in question was made by the company i work for
Also, CompleteCover covers accidental damage to the laptop, however, consumables are not covered under this. Batteries are classified as consumables in the industry, hence they cost extra and not covered under this.
Coming to the installation charges - personally I would not bother asking for installation but there are many users who would not know even as simple as batter replacement and don't mind paying extra.
One of our old friends (yes! on TE) had an issue of no display on his laptop and went to the Service Centre and unfortunately it could not be serviced by them, as he had a 'business' model and the centre seviced only 'consumer' models. He took it to a local store and the guy took one look at the laptop and said "i can fix it, but it'll cost 300 bucks!" Our good ol' friend relunctantly agreed to it - that guy taps on the keyboard, pops open the small piece of plastic above the keypad, taps on it and voila! Display is ON. Turns out the laptop lid switch was stuck and the 'tapping' popped it back up and display resumed. And our friend had to pay 300 bucks for it!!! Whatta RIP-OFF eh?? And imagine the phone call I got after that.. unfortunately the laptop in question was made by the company i work for
Also, CompleteCover covers accidental damage to the laptop, however, consumables are not covered under this. Batteries are classified as consumables in the industry, hence they cost extra and not covered under this.
dasgupta_arup
Contributor
@mehrotra.akash
what u said is true, that is not not the cost of the job but the cost of the technicians "VISIT"
found similar thing for scanner servicing after warranty (min cost of visit makes me faint
)
recently my friend changed house and samsung asked 1000 to install bracket of wall-mounting of lcd tv
(the bracket was there in the tv package itself)
another case: lg tech for washing machine came to fix a new "head" on the tap said the min official cost for the visit is 450/- (plus tax AFAIK) plust cost of the head
what u said is true, that is not not the cost of the job but the cost of the technicians "VISIT"
found similar thing for scanner servicing after warranty (min cost of visit makes me faint
)recently my friend changed house and samsung asked 1000 to install bracket of wall-mounting of lcd tv
(the bracket was there in the tv package itself)
another case: lg tech for washing machine came to fix a new "head" on the tap said the min official cost for the visit is 450/- (plus tax AFAIK) plust cost of the head
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