Beware of Eagle Computers

[lgonzalez]

This is what the Eagle Computers website states:

No games, just good service, quick shipping, fair prices, and no hassles. You will have your questions answered quickly by a knowledgeable staff with a touch of Southern hospitality thrown in. If you feel disappointed in any way we want to know what we can do to fix it.

Is this true? We shall see. I ordered an Dell Axim 3 that was advertised as NEW with a full manufacturers warranty. See copy and paste from website below.

Dell Axim X3 Pocket PC PDA w/Wi-Fi [New] [MFT] DELLAXIMX3-WIFI-V04 -V04-stk-t
Dell Axim X3 Pocket PC PDA w/Wi-Fi

Brand: Dell
Category: PDAs & Accessories
Condition: New
Full Manufacturer Warranty

What I got was a refurbished item that stopped working after 3 days, with software burned on a CD and no license number for the Outlook 2000 that comes with a "NEW" Dell Axim 3. Calls to the Long Distance support number (901-683-3302) were not returned and a woman at 901-683-7851 another Long Distance support number rudely explained that I had to be patient. I called Dell about the Full Manufacturer Warranty and they asked for a Service Tag andor Express Service Code, according to Dell all NEW items, even those obtained by resellers must have these tags so the Full Manufacturer Warranty can apply. None of these tags exist on the item I received. As luck would have it the Dell Systems support person that supports the servers at the company I work for just happened to be visiting and took a look at the "NEW" Dell Axim 3 I purchased from Eagle Computers. He took off the battery and right away told me that I was sold a refurbished item because the above mentioned tags were missing and therefore Dell would not provide any warranty or support. He got the Axim 3 to work by doing a hard boot which is recommended in the manual when you want to start from scratch and erases everything, then advised that the problem would likely come back, and indeed it did. As of this day 3/14/06 the "NEW" Axim 3 I purchased from Eagle Computers on 3/3/06 and received on 3/6/06 is non-functional.

I persisted in calling the 901-683-3302 number and finally got an answer. I told the gentleman that answered the problem with the Axim 3 and what the Dell employee had called to my attention and the Eagle Computers product support employee proceeded to explain that it is Eagle Computers that provides a 1 year warranty and that I would have to pay for the shipping of a "New" item that broke after 3 days back to Eagle Computers. He did agreed to exchange the item and sent me an ra#9299 which stated:
Please DO NOT write on or deface the original RETAIL box. This includes writing rma number, return address, or any other information on box with a pen, marker, tape, Etc. Defacing original retail box will result in a box replacement fee, whether product is defective or not!

And this disclaimer:

**Please make a note...Serial numbers MUST be visible for all items being returned and can not in any way, be covered up, removed, tampered with, written, or marked through. If these requirements are not met, the item will automatically be returned without any further processing.

I kid you not, the above are actual disclaimers from Eagle Computers. If I can't put tape on the box and can't put an address on it how do I avoid paying the "box replacement fee" if I want to safely sent it back? Furthermore, the "original RETAIL box" came with my address already written on it with a marker. And one of the serial numbers came on top of the box and came off (tampered) when I removed the tape that sealed the box thereby "defacing" the "original RETAIL box". So I ask, is this a joke? I sent the RMA Dept folks an e-mail asking these questions and can't wait for their response.

So much for Southern Hospitality.

At this time I'm requesting, begging that Eagle Computers please provide the NEW Dell Axim 3, with FULL MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY as advertised or please refund my money. A one year warranty from Eagle Computers is not acceptable as the above examples highlights that I would rather deal with Dell directly. I indeed would prefer my money back, although I'm sure there is refund fee, but will give Eagle Computers the opportunity to make it right. Will update this post promptly and fairly when I get results. In the mean time beware of Eagle Computers.