ZaLiTHkA
Epic Member
Deal Thread URL: https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/dell-latitude-i5-12th-gen.502006/
Seller: @PCS SALE
Buyer: @ZaLiTHkA
Description of Bad Deal:
I take absolutely no pleasure in doing this, and in all my years on this forum, I've never felt the need to.. until now. The seller and I have gone back and forth a number of times regarding this now, and it's getting me absolutely nowhere.
To provide some context for this, I would like to list a few critical points from the laptop ad thread that relate to my complaint:
I messaged the seller on the 8th of October to express an interest, and we moved the conversation to WhatsApp as it makes things much easier all round. I requested photos of the laptop, which were provided, I was happy with what saw and I agreed to purchase it.
We decided on PostNet for delivery, as it needed to move from Pretoria (GP) to Merrivale (KZN), insuring the contents to a value of R9000 with PostNet, on account of not having the original packaging.
I then collected the laptop from PostNet during my lunchtime on the 13th of October, and it sat in my car until I got home that evening. The laptop itself was a gift for my mother, and so I did not open the packaging myself, instead letting her do that (it was a gift, you don't open somebody else gift).
Late afternoon, I took the package around to my mother and presented the gift. Upon opening it, we discovered that while the charger was there, the clover power cable for it was missing. I messaged the seller immediately to query this, and he passed it off as "I had some package it they must have forgotten a power cable". This was not a deal breaker, we found an appropriate cable to use temporarily, just to get things up and running.
We then discovered that Windows 10 Pro (21H1) had been loaded onto the laptop with absolutely no drivers, no LAN, no WiFi, nothing. Which also meant we couldn't just connect to our local network and install said missing drivers.
Personal Disclaimer: I was having a pretty crappy day all round, and this was just the last straw for me.. I suspected that the charging port on the laptop itself was damaged, so in combination with everything else, at this point I insisted on a refund.
The seller then kept making suggestions of "I'll send you a cable", and "can you maybe find one at a local shop", and "it's just missing drivers", etc.. At this point, I took the laptop home with me to attempt to sort out the driver story, which I did by means of USB to transfer WiFi drivers, and then everything else was done through Windows Update. All devices installed with no issues, software and hardware all good to go. While doing so, I worked that the charging problem was not actually the port on the laptop, but rather that the USB-C plug on the charger itself was damaged. Searching online I found replacement chargers to be about R1k.
I messaged the seller early morning on the 14th to apologize and inform him that I did manage to get the driver issue resolved. I also queried some light spots that I noticed on the laptop screen, which I only noticed because I was using it in the dark. At this point I needed to present a case to my mother and see if she was happy to keep the laptop, or if I should find something else for her.
Later on that day, I confirmed with the seller that the issues were nominal and that we're happy to keep the laptop, no need for any refund.
On the 15th of October we tried to go through Dell "Ownership Transfer" process, so that we could actually get access to the warranty through Dell. I requested some basic info from the seller in order to do this, and he avoided the question, instead asking for it's service tag.
I provided the service tag as requested, and then he sent screenshots of a form from the Dell website with a message that read "Please provide this" with absolutely no context of what the form was or why he wanted it. After getting clarification, I provided the requested details.
After this, I discovered that Dell do not allow anybody other than the new owner to perform this process. So on the 16th of October, I tried to phone the seller hoping to get this resolved, as I thought that would be quicker and easier than the messages back and forth. Ultimately that phone call did not achieve much of anything, other than the fact that I finally got an invoice for the purchase, after both having the seller offer to send an invoice three times and myself having requested it twice (I think?). FWIW, the date on the invoice was not the date of my purchase, so this was only created after-the-fact.
This morning, on the 19th of October, my mother received an email update from Dell with the following message:
I then messaged the seller to explain what had happened, and again request some basic information in order to do Dell's "Ownership Transfer" process, this time including a URL to Dell's website where they state in no uncertain terms that this cannot be done by a reseller on behalf of a client.
And at this point I'm actually just going to drop our WhatsApp conversation from today in this post directly, as it explains my problems here way more clearly than any summary or paraphrasing I could ever give:
So in short, this guys is selling Dell laptops, claiming that they have a warranty with Dell, but then refusing to provide the necessary details for the buyer to access said warranty, instead resorting to offering a warranty from his little shop instead...? Surely the Carbonite community would never condone behaviour like this from somebody sporting a nice bright yellow "Reseller" tag?
I have exported our WhatsApp conversation and uploaded it with all attachments to a folder in my Google Drive. I do not feel comfortable sharing it with anyone and everyone that passes by, as it does contain a great deal of personal information, but I am willing to share a link with forum moderators on request.
Regardless of the purchase price, this is not what one expects when buying a 2 month old laptop where the only issue disclosed ahead of time was "minor scratches"... I just can't wrap my head around how someone can do business like this and still sleep soundly at night.
In closing, I must be clear: we are keeping this Dell laptop, regardless of whether or not we manage to get access to it's warranty. Simply because it honestly is a good deal at this price, even with having to replace the charger ourselves.
Seller: @PCS SALE
Buyer: @ZaLiTHkA
Description of Bad Deal:
I take absolutely no pleasure in doing this, and in all my years on this forum, I've never felt the need to.. until now. The seller and I have gone back and forth a number of times regarding this now, and it's getting me absolutely nowhere.
To provide some context for this, I would like to list a few critical points from the laptop ad thread that relate to my complaint:
- Age: 2 months old
- Warranty: SEP 2025
- Warranty Holder: Dell
- Packaging: Can be packaged
- Condition: Very Minor Marks
- Accessories: Original Dell Charger
I messaged the seller on the 8th of October to express an interest, and we moved the conversation to WhatsApp as it makes things much easier all round. I requested photos of the laptop, which were provided, I was happy with what saw and I agreed to purchase it.
We decided on PostNet for delivery, as it needed to move from Pretoria (GP) to Merrivale (KZN), insuring the contents to a value of R9000 with PostNet, on account of not having the original packaging.
I then collected the laptop from PostNet during my lunchtime on the 13th of October, and it sat in my car until I got home that evening. The laptop itself was a gift for my mother, and so I did not open the packaging myself, instead letting her do that (it was a gift, you don't open somebody else gift).
Late afternoon, I took the package around to my mother and presented the gift. Upon opening it, we discovered that while the charger was there, the clover power cable for it was missing. I messaged the seller immediately to query this, and he passed it off as "I had some package it they must have forgotten a power cable". This was not a deal breaker, we found an appropriate cable to use temporarily, just to get things up and running.
We then discovered that Windows 10 Pro (21H1) had been loaded onto the laptop with absolutely no drivers, no LAN, no WiFi, nothing. Which also meant we couldn't just connect to our local network and install said missing drivers.
Personal Disclaimer: I was having a pretty crappy day all round, and this was just the last straw for me.. I suspected that the charging port on the laptop itself was damaged, so in combination with everything else, at this point I insisted on a refund.
The seller then kept making suggestions of "I'll send you a cable", and "can you maybe find one at a local shop", and "it's just missing drivers", etc.. At this point, I took the laptop home with me to attempt to sort out the driver story, which I did by means of USB to transfer WiFi drivers, and then everything else was done through Windows Update. All devices installed with no issues, software and hardware all good to go. While doing so, I worked that the charging problem was not actually the port on the laptop, but rather that the USB-C plug on the charger itself was damaged. Searching online I found replacement chargers to be about R1k.
I messaged the seller early morning on the 14th to apologize and inform him that I did manage to get the driver issue resolved. I also queried some light spots that I noticed on the laptop screen, which I only noticed because I was using it in the dark. At this point I needed to present a case to my mother and see if she was happy to keep the laptop, or if I should find something else for her.
Later on that day, I confirmed with the seller that the issues were nominal and that we're happy to keep the laptop, no need for any refund.
On the 15th of October we tried to go through Dell "Ownership Transfer" process, so that we could actually get access to the warranty through Dell. I requested some basic info from the seller in order to do this, and he avoided the question, instead asking for it's service tag.
I provided the service tag as requested, and then he sent screenshots of a form from the Dell website with a message that read "Please provide this" with absolutely no context of what the form was or why he wanted it. After getting clarification, I provided the requested details.
After this, I discovered that Dell do not allow anybody other than the new owner to perform this process. So on the 16th of October, I tried to phone the seller hoping to get this resolved, as I thought that would be quicker and easier than the messages back and forth. Ultimately that phone call did not achieve much of anything, other than the fact that I finally got an invoice for the purchase, after both having the seller offer to send an invoice three times and myself having requested it twice (I think?). FWIW, the date on the invoice was not the date of my purchase, so this was only created after-the-fact.
This morning, on the 19th of October, my mother received an email update from Dell with the following message:
Previous owner information provided in the request is not valid for asset provided. Please contact your seller or your Dell sales representative.
I then messaged the seller to explain what had happened, and again request some basic information in order to do Dell's "Ownership Transfer" process, this time including a URL to Dell's website where they state in no uncertain terms that this cannot be done by a reseller on behalf of a client.
And at this point I'm actually just going to drop our WhatsApp conversation from today in this post directly, as it explains my problems here way more clearly than any summary or paraphrasing I could ever give:
19/10/2023, 11:44 - Dre: Dell responded to the request to transfer ownership of this laptop, it was denied with the following reason:
"Previous owner information provided in the request is not valid for asset provided. Please contact your seller or your Dell sales representative."
So, who actually owned this laptop before you sold it? <This message was edited>
19/10/2023, 11:45 - PCS Sales: Hi
Am a middle man seller
I sell for companies that have bulk laptops
I find buyers specifically I don’t know who registered under their name before
19/10/2023, 11:46 - PCS Sales: You can return the laptop and I’ll refund hence it’s been giving us issues one after another
19/10/2023, 11:46 - Dre: Then stop telling people in your ads that they have warranties, that's an outright lie.
19/10/2023, 11:47 - PCS Sales: When someone has a problem with the laptop I help out
I don’t ignore
19/10/2023, 11:47 - PCS Sales: As you can see am helping you out
19/10/2023, 11:50 - PCS Sales: Honestly am not selling laptop for personal gain, my mom has breast cancer and am paying all her hospital bills
That’s why am working and doing business at the same time
And I try my best to leave the customer satisfied even if it means refund so I can grow the business to be able to handle my bills
19/10/2023, 11:52 - Dre: So you're telling me that you buy and resell laptops (probably other things as well), without keeping any record of where it came from?
Then you will try and claim that it has a valid warranty, even though you yourself have just admitted that you have no way of proving that?
19/10/2023, 11:56 - PCS Sales: I resell for companies
A company may have 10x 5430s instock that it wants to sell
I find a buyer add R1000 to R1500 as profit
19/10/2023, 11:57 - Dre: Ok, so please give me the company name that *this* laptop came from, so that we can do the transfer of ownership.
19/10/2023, 11:59 - PCS Sales: That’s another phase, will have to contact company and go through it and all of that and if the transfer fails again it’s another issue
That’s why I simply suggested you return and I refund
I don’t think you happy with this laptop and the transaction
19/10/2023, 12:00 - Dre: All I need is the company name, they don't need to get involved for any of this.
19/10/2023, 12:01 - Dre: Specifically the name of the company that originally registered as the device owner. <This message was edited>
19/10/2023, 12:07 - PCS Sales: Am not quite sure I’d like to let go of my suppliers details like that
It’s best you purchase a laptop you’ll be happy with
Am wrong for selling you a incompetent product
19/10/2023, 12:07 - PCS Sales: I have to get back to work
My response may be a bit slower
19/10/2023, 12:10 - Dre: As per this Dell Support KB article: Ownership Transfer and Dell Product Registration Guides | Dell South Africa
Transfer of ownership can only be done by the new owner and will only be allowed if sufficient information is provided for the previous owner.
That "sufficient information" is literally nothing more than a business name and postal code.
19/10/2023, 12:27 - PCS Sales: I’ll check
But I see it simpler for both of us if we reverse the transaction
Cause if the transfer fails again
Back to square one
19/10/2023, 12:31 - PCS Sales: Another simplification
I can send you another invoice stating 2 years of warranty from my company
When you face issues you’ll contact me
So in short, this guys is selling Dell laptops, claiming that they have a warranty with Dell, but then refusing to provide the necessary details for the buyer to access said warranty, instead resorting to offering a warranty from his little shop instead...? Surely the Carbonite community would never condone behaviour like this from somebody sporting a nice bright yellow "Reseller" tag?
I have exported our WhatsApp conversation and uploaded it with all attachments to a folder in my Google Drive. I do not feel comfortable sharing it with anyone and everyone that passes by, as it does contain a great deal of personal information, but I am willing to share a link with forum moderators on request.
Regardless of the purchase price, this is not what one expects when buying a 2 month old laptop where the only issue disclosed ahead of time was "minor scratches"... I just can't wrap my head around how someone can do business like this and still sleep soundly at night.
In closing, I must be clear: we are keeping this Dell laptop, regardless of whether or not we manage to get access to it's warranty. Simply because it honestly is a good deal at this price, even with having to replace the charger ourselves.