Blog
July 17, 2008
Dell Continued...
FINALLY! Dell FINALLY gave me my money back. It took three months, about 6 phone calls, four or five emails, but finally, after begging, yelling, and then threating to settle the matter with legal assistance, Dell finally refunded my money. I will NEVER EVER buy anything through them again.June 7, 2008
Dell
In case you didn't know, the State of New York has accused Dell of fraudulent practices. For more information read this article: "New York Sues Dell on Consumer Fraud Charges". Between this law suit and my experience with them, I have compiled a list of tips in case you still want to buy from them. But if I was you, I would look at slickdeals.net or buy from a different dealer... one not so distant and fraudulent... one where you can go to the store and cuss them out face-to-face instead of the phone if they do you wrong...
1. While you're building your computer, write down all the things that come free with the computer - antivirus program, wireless card, operating system, etc. That way they can't trick you into buying something that you already have by using the bait-and-switch method.
2. Dell doesn't attempt to give any time of explanation or definition of the products they offer, their goal is to cause confusion and to rely on their customers to upgrade when not necessary. So if you don't know what something is - look it up on wikipedia. You might even want to check for compatibility. I bought an Inspiron 1525 that came with a preinstalled Dell wireless card. It wasn't until I got my computer that I realized the wireless card had compatibility issues with Inspiron 1525.
4. Keep every piece of paper that Dell sends you in the mail, especially any paperwork that has the itemized prices of your products. I only received one statement in the mail that had the prices of the products I bought. My statement had two prices, one for the computer and one for a bundle I purchased along with the computer. I never received my bundle product in the mail because DHL delivered it to the wrong address. In response, Dell promised to correct my Dell Preferred Account balance. They never did. Even after I called four times and send two emails, Dell continued to deny that the balance was incorrect and even said they deducted the cost of the bundle, but I knew better because I had my original statement.
5. This segue brings me to my 5th point - don't give up. Dell hung up on me 2 times and ignored 2 of my emails, but I kept calling them. They finally said they made the changes in the system and it would be reflected within 16 days. To date, the balance is still incorrect so I will likely have to call again.
