Working with Dell on this issue is relatively easy. If you are the registered purchaser, you can get your copy of your original invoice online. It is not a warranty issue, but the cost is standard. It takes a programmer who knows how to program an EEPROM, but once that is done, Dell can produce the code on disk to repair each model. It takes only 20 minutes including setup time, but an hour to unpack, fix, repack, and ship. Technicians who do this work normally get $85 an hour. So I consider the Dell price reasonable.
Most of the time, the person is not the original owner. And of course many are obtained by inappropriate means. For people who are legitimate owners, but not the original owner, you need to register as owner. The form and format to do so is found at
www.dell.com.
Once Dell has your application to register owner, it takes a minimum of 21 business days. The routinely check for reported thefts of that product and that Service Tag. After that 21 business day minimum, which may extend to 60 days if there are complications, they will not notify you, but you can verify on line or by phone. Then ship the Dell computer to addresses that Dell will select.
Remember that Insurance Companies and legal authorities are vitally interested in this process. Dell and other companies must do it properly. If you attempt to register a device reported stolen, you will be asked to discussed this by a law enforcement officer in your own local after Dell reports you.
Altogether, if you have done nothing wrong, you can get it fixed at a reasonable price. But it will likely take you 30 to 60 days to do so if you are not the original owner.
All international sellers of laptops and computers offer a service to re-register computers unless they are "De-Branded". There is no help for a "De-Branded computer in which the EEPROM has been erased or labeled as de-branded.