A computer system is critical during the pandemic to the efficient working of a doctor’s surgery. Photograph: Brian Jackson/Alamy
I am a GP. I replaced our practice’s Dell computer last August with a system that cost just under £3,000 and included a support plan promising a repair within 48 hours. In November it failed one morning to start then became sluggish for no reason Dell could find.
On 2 March it again failed with very disruptive consequences for a surgery working round the clock to cope with the pandemic. Dell told us a new motherboard had to be ordered from China, a country then in lockdown. My request for a temporary computer was refused and we had to revert to a manual system. I had to work 21-hour days to keep up.
Two weeks later, still no sign of the motherboard so I asked for a refund or credit note, but was told this was not possible, so we had no choice but to buy another computer.
It is close to impossible to describe the stress my team and I are experiencing. Reliable IT systems are critical. Patients’ records, prescriptions, drug interactions, allergies, blood test results, health monitoring and recall systems depend on a functioning computer system.
GKK, London
All businesses are struggling with supply and staffing issues because of the global lockdown, but Dell’s seeming insouciance regarding your urgent circumstances is concerning. It insists its response was in line with the terms and conditions of its support plan which only provides for a repair. It is not in line with consumer law, however. Under the Consumer Rights Act a customer, including a business client, is entitled to a repair or replacement if a new purchase develops a fault. A repair must be within reasonable time and without causing undue inconvenience, otherwise a refund is due. Even a support plan should allow for a replacement if there are likely to be long delays to a repair.
Following my intervention, Dell has now decided to stump up the cost of the equipment as a “goodwill gesture” but you should not have had to turn to the media to get that far.
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