Anybody else buy a Dell monitor off Ebay from Precisiontechexperts? It was a big scam

[tboo]

I bought a used 3008 monitor off Ebay back in Feb 2010 from precisiontechexperts. He was an Ebay seller who was selling a lot of 3008s back then. He always had three or four for sale at any time. The weird thing was it was shipped to me with one day shipping & came straight from Dell. The monitor was also, from what I could tell, brand new. I thought that was great, the service tag said I had over two years of warranty left so I was content. Fast forward to now. My monitor is having issues so I contact Dell tech support. They tell me it needs to be replaced so they set up a service request. A few days later I notice the service request was cancelled so I call Dell. Well after being sent around to several different agents is different departments, I end up talking with Dell Enterprise about my issues. They said the service request was canceled because they have a note that I had a warranty replacement done back in 2010 & I never sent back the original monitor. Well, that never happened. I bought the monitor from the guy on ebay the 23rd of Feb 2010, it was shipped overnight to me on Feb 25th of 2010 & I got it the 26th. I never initiated a service request with this monitor. The Dell rep says the replacement was shipped to me on the 25th of Feb, 2010. That's the day the guy shipped it to me!! Something seems fishy. So I dig around on Paypal to check the transaction & also dig up the packing slip from the 3008. In the details on the paypal transaction the tracking number is recorded. I check the tracking number with the Fedex tracking number on the Dell packing slip I got & its the same. I also dig around in the box & find a prepaid Fedex return label which I must have missed. Anyway, the return label is addressed to be sent back to a business in Ohio(Decision One) & not Dell. This is weird. Somehow this guy was selling 3008s on Ebay & is having Dell send warranty replacements to the Ebay winners.

After some further research it turns out these guys had quite the scam going & were eventually caught:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2012/JAN/PR_03202012_Grooms&Ruggles.html

More info: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/03/dell_computer_warranty_scamste.php

They sold a lot of monitors & I remember hearing about their deals in the Hot Deals forum. I know a lot of other members bought from them as well.

Looks like Im screwed now for warranty service. I hope Dell wont want the monitor back now.

 

[Soundmanred]

Wow, I don't even remember this.
I'm glad they got caught though, that's pretty messed up.

 

[gorcorps]

Once an eBay buyer purchased the item, Grooms and Ruggles would access Dell’s website, transfer a legitimate owner’s warranty to the eBay buyer, and then make a false claim to Dell for a replacement part.

So, were they hacking accounts or was there something even simpler in place to take advantage of?

 

[goog40]

Don't advanced RMAs require a credit card? I'm guessing stolen credit cards were involved as well.

 

[tboo]

Don't advanced RMAs require a credit card? I'm guessing stolen credit cards were involved as well.

They didnt ask me for a CC when I called for warranty service a few days ago. All they said was they would ship one out.

 

[lupi]

so they hacked the dell website to give new ownership info?

 

[jjyiz28]

check their sellers ratings and see if its any big ticket item? and its another red flag that it looked like it came from dell; dell and big name companies dont have individual accounts on ebay to pose as a smaller time retailer.

 

[Newbian]

Why would you buy from a ebay seller and worry about the 2 year warranty to begin with if it was advertised as used?

At best you have a 30 day from normal stores for that so since it lasted longer then that you got what you paid for.

 

[tboo]

Why would you buy from a ebay seller and worry about the 2 year warranty to begin with if it was advertised as used?

At best you have a 30 day from normal stores for that so since it lasted longer then that you got what you paid for.

Dell warranties are transferable.

 

[coloumb]

Interesting. Somehow they managed to obtain service tags to file a warranty claim without sending in a replacement - probably part of Dell's New Service Partner Program or knew people in the program?

 

[Newbian]

Dell warranties are transferable.

Also don't you need for him to transfer it over?

 

[Conscript]

Wow, pretty sure I got my wife's 27" dell from them.

 

[Imp]

I don't bother "saving money" anymore: too many scams. I just pay full price, or close to it. More peace of mind.

 

[Lifted]

Interesting. Somehow they managed to obtain service tags to file a warranty claim without sending in a replacement - probably part of Dell's New Service Partner Program or knew people in the program?

Just like with the unlock codes that got out into the wild for GSM phones, either an employee at Dell sold them or they were stolen/hacked.

I wonder if they'll be sent to one of the white collar Club Fed facilities.

 

[bradley]

I don't bother "saving money" anymore: too many scams. I just pay full price, or close to it. More peace of mind.

I agree. And elaborate scams (like this one) are even harder to detect. We are better off sticking with deal sites and waiting for great below retail bargains.

 

[Pardus]

dont buy electronics from ebay

 

[Ms. DICKINSON]

Must be something internal @Dell and your seller.

 

[Leopardos]

LOL , i find it funny to read the article about them getting arrested..
Much win..

 

[RichieZ]

crazy i bought my 3008 from them back on oct of 2009, I guess the price was too good to be true:

 

[JimmiG]

dont buy from ebay

There, fixed it

 

[T_Yamamoto]

There, fixed it

+2

 

[tboo]

Also don't you need for him to transfer it over?

Thats the beauty of their scam. We were getting new monitors with different service tags. These new monitors had service tags that were never registered with an owner so when we registered them with Dell the warranty was valid.

 

[gorcorps]

Thats the beauty of their scam. We were getting new monitors with different service tags. These new monitors had service tags that were never registered with an owner so when we registered them with Dell the warranty was valid.

Well... valid until they don't get their "original" monitor back, like you found.

 

[tboo]

Well... valid until they don't get their "original" monitor back, like you found.

Correct, but the new owner wouldnt know that until they tried a warranty claim. Even after finding this out, if I go online & check my service tag, it says I have a valid warranty.

 

[Aharami]

scam talk aside, what problems are you having with your monitor? My out of warranty Samsung 204b started getting dimmer and would take a long time to turn on, flickering off and on multiple times before turning on. And one day the screen went yellow. Instead of throwing it out, i googled around and found that couple leaking caps could be the problem. Further googling got me to a site that showed step by step instructions on how to take the monitor apart and which caps to replace. I repalced the caps and the monitor is as good as new.

You might want to see if the problem you're having is a widespread one.