Dell Frauded Me!!!

Please note, Fraud is a serious accusation and if you want to skip to that accusation, read the final paragraph.

I purchased a 640m on January 4th. I cancelled my order 2 hours later I didn't think the deal was very good. It was hell getting a new order in place but it was worth it since they upgraded some the CPU. I cancelled it the second time based on the fact they LIED about my financing option which would have cost me $700 in additional interest fees. I just had to RE-cancel my order because my sales representative went in 2 days later RE-processed my order.

I'll back it up a little. On Jan 4th, I decided that I liked the 18 month buy out program and this computer would be perfect for my business. I wouldn't have to worry as much about inventory costs and I would get a computer for relatively no money up front. I placed the order with Mohan Rao in the sales department and everything was great. After I placed the order, I came back to NBR to check out some reviews. I read a thread that said just how bad the deal was for the 640m right now. I called the sales department back and tried to explain that the computer was $300 cheaper in October and November but they claimed this was the cheapest they have seen it. I told them if they wouldn't give me the same deal, I would just cancel and wait for a better deal to come around. They didn't budge so I cancelled.

After thinking about it for a while I decided, with the 18 month no interest buy out program, the extra $250 or $300 isn't really that bad and I do need notebook ASAP. With that notion I attempted to replace my order. I called up Dell and told them I changed my mind, put the order through... Apparently only 2 people in the company had the authority to do this, Mohan Rao my sales rep and his supervisor Mr. Vallore. Every representative that I spoke with would do their best to get my info and treat me like gold until they found out I was "taken" or "claimed" by Mohan at which point they would put me on hold for half an hour or transfer me to someone else. One guy decided he would process my order with an extra $70 off but he would have to run my credit again... I said I was already approved, you don't need to.. but he said because I cancelled, they would need to. I was fed up. I had been on the phone for 3 hours trying to get my order re-instated. So he put me on hold saying he would be back in 2 minutes.. He was just contacting DFS. 45minutes later the line disconnected. Turns out he didn't run the check or attempt to place the order at all. Another guy put me on hold and I could hear him breathing... after 5 minutes of asking him to answer, I told him he was personally the future industry of his country.

FINALLY I got on the phone with a supervisor named Sachin. He was nice enough to listen to me rant about the people I dealt with and the how bad the experience was (at this point I had spent 1.5 days on the phone with them). He processed my order without a call to DFS since I called them and had my credit approved. He even put the $70 that was promised to me in the deal... then upgraded the cpu for me instead. He said all I had to do was reply back to an email and everything would be great. I opened my in-box and read the 5 page financial agreement. I read through it and didn't see a single mention of the 18 month buy out. I looked at the original contract that was mailed to me and it was identical. I called DFS and they said I was never qualified for the 18 month buy out. As per the contract, I told them I wanted the deal cancelled entirely. I called back the sales department and told them I wanted to cancel as well telling them why. I told them Mohan lied about the financing and it would have cost me $700 and I want nothing to do with Dell. About half an hour later, Sachin called me back. I explained the reason to him as well, I told him about the mis representation and that I wanted to cancel it.. I told him I don't want anything to do with them and there was no way to change that. He agreed to cancel the order.

That was January 5th. I have had no contact with them since that day. I have not sent an email or placed a phone call. Today I received an email stating that my first monthly payment of $44.57 would be debited on February 11th. I immediately called Dell who instructed me the order was placed on January 7th (2 days after I cancelled the order) and the computer was shipped yesterday. I said WHAT!!!!! I told them I cancelled the order and if they debited me account there would be serious problems. The customer service lady put me on hold for 2 minutes.. She put another woman on the phone who asked me if they gave me another $200 off would I keep the computer. I told her no and she hung up without another word. No comfirmation or anything. I called up DFS who said they had not received a confirmation and if I didn't get the cancellation number, and threatened that they would debit my account anyways for the next 6 months if I didn't call Dell back to get that number. Now I had to call Dell customer service again to get the DPS# so that they wouldn't debit me.

FINANCIAL FRAUD!!! As bad as it is for Dell to re-process my oder and send it through, the worst part is this. They sent DFS a contract with my approval of a 48 month purchase plan contract including approval of interest rates and permission to debit my personal bank account in the amount of $44.57 per month. DFS took this contract and processed it despite me informing them I did not approve. Dell did not simply neglect to cancel my order, they put through a new one 2 days later and approved a 48 month finance plan without even talking to me. I'm not a lawyer but I am sure that is a serious infraction of the legal system. This system was shipped and would have arrived at my house within a couple days had I not checked me email.

 

Wow. Thats horrendous. For retarded reasons like that, I ALWAYS order mine online, getting ~$200 off isn't worth the headache or time lost imo. Printing out a spec sheet and double checking it throughout the entire process gives me alot of control over whats going on. I'm sorry that happened to you man, customer service just isn't what it should be.

 

That is a horrible story indeed. Sorry to here about that. Hope things work out for you.

 

That sucks! Sorry 4u mate..

 

I wouldnt go as far and say they commited any fraud, thats a very complicated situation you put yourself in,that spans several people you dealt with, people make mistakes, and with multiple reorders and cancellations, someones bound to screw something up, I dont think your entitled to any legal action, but you should be exonnerated of any charges, there is a very good reason they only want you to deal with a single rep, and its not for commision, you get too many cooks in the kitchen, and all your going to get is a big mess, as you've found out, good luck, stay calm and document all your converations in the future regarding this and I'm sure it will all get worked out

 

Sorry to hear. This is why I always use Visa or Mastercard, not in-house financing. This way, if something goes wrong, I know I have the upper hand, as I can file dispute with VI/MC, who reverse charges immediately upon request. With in-house financing, be it at Dell or any other retailer, you are literally at their mercy.

Always, always, always get any confirmations in writing. If you're cancelling, tell them you want an email to that effect sent right now while you wait on the phone and do not hang up until you receive and confirm details. Also, take down not only the rep's name, but their operator ID number too. It helps if you ever have to document things to build a case. That way you're not left with saying things like "that Rajpal fellow". To you, that name may seem unique, but in that country, that name could be the equivalent of Smith. Also, it could just be a screen/work name, to make contact with us easier. So, always get the operator ID details.

Good luck.

P.S. It seems lik they are on commission, the way you described them all enthusiastic until you disclose that you're "taken". Classic signs.

 

In the future take the time to really know what you want. Do the research first. You created your own problem by canceling.

 

These are the calls I made just now.

1800-847-4096 opt 1-0-0 :spw shelley. Informed her of the situation. She advised me to contact the same number hit opt 1-2-request manager in customer care

Pearl Ext 60828 says she needs info to transfer. Provided first last name and phone#

Transfer

Kelley 71073 advised her of the situation. She advised me that I would need to speak with the Privacy compliance department. 1800-387-5759 ext 5433 and request that my information is not shared with anybody else. She informed me that the sales department has 30 days to keep the information (that means the order could have been placed as late as February 4th). I asked her if this situation was unique and she informed me that no this is not unique. I asked her how this situation would be handled and she informed me I needed to call the privacy compliance department. I asked her again "how will this situation be handled so that it does not happen again" and she advised me it wouldn't. There was nothing she could do. I could also contact the head office 1800-387-5752

1-800-387-5759 opt1 opt1 ext5433 direct to vm requesting order# etc. Left message including details of my ordeal.

Head office 1800-387-5752 is not the head office number... this is the same number as their main switchboard however after no options were pressed it rang to "the head office switchboard opporator". She informed me that it was simply an accident that occured as I was put onto a reorder list accidentally and that I would need to speak with the my sales rep's manager. I explained that the sales department is simply going to cover themselves and make excuses. On top of that, I don't want to speak with them since they already have my personal information. Home address, telephone number, SIN number and everything else which is exactly how this order was placed in the first place.

Sales rep put me on the phone with a supervisor by the name of Surya badge# 371423. He said has never heard of a re-order list. He confirmed there is no such list. He did say there is a list for cancellations which they use to call back customers and find out why they cancelled (ei too expensive, competing product etc). They can rebook the order but only if they speak with the customer and the customer agrees.

I was told by one of the people that yes they are commission based. That explains why this order was processed in the first place. That plus the fact that this is not a unique case and they have 30 days to rebook your order is very concerning.

I took all the nessasary steps to cancel. I contacted both DFS and the Dell Sales department to cancel. Also, I was contacted by a supervisor who was also told this was cancelled. In addition to that, I recorded my cancellation number. That deal was as dead as possible!!

 

To be honest, I had a hard time following the summary in the first post. After all the orders and cancellations, I can see where there might have been a mix-up, and indeed there has. I'm not saying it's acceptable though.

From what I've read in other threads, you wanted the notebook--as recently as yesterday.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=97168

I think at some point you authorized something (probably the email you got), because it is unlikely they'd do a financing deal based only on a telephone conversation.

They use the no-interest for 18-months headliner to attract people. Every time I've seen it on their website, it always says " for qualified buyers. And there is always an application to qualify for that deal somewhere along the line.

As mentioned, in the future try to do your communications through email or chat. That way you can just print out your conversation for reference if there's a problem. Otherwise, take some notes along the way as mentioned above, so that you have something to go on if there's a problem.

I do understand how you feel, as I know how frustrating it can be when dealing with the disjointed customer service of a large corporation.

Good luck to you in sorting it all out.

 

people make mistakes, its not the first time, and it wont be the last

I dont think its accaptable by any means, it is understandable though

 

Don't worry, Dell will fix it up all nice. Companies make mistakes, but atleast Dell has the reputation of fixing them promptly when it happens.

 

they are also well known for giving very nice tokens of compensation on a regular basis

 

I appologize. I wanted to include as much information as possible and explain the circumstance in full. I could have reduced it substantially but I was afraid to leave out details.

It's impossible. First of all I checked my email in and out box. I use Windows Live Mail which saves all outgoing emails. There was no communication to or from dell on any day after Janurary 5th. More specifically there was no outgoing mail period.

As far as phone conversations, there were none after January 5th, the conversation with Sachin specifically, during which he was told to cancel the order.

I asked Customer service if the cancellation number I had corresponded to the cancellation of the second order. She confirmed that it did.

I asked her how many orders had been placed on my account. She said 3. I only ordered 2 systems, both of which were cancelled.

Yes I am hoping to get my 640m ASAP. The open box I purchased in full on January 5th from www.dfsdirect.ca The notebook that has 40GB more HDD space, 0.4Ghz more processing power and 2 years additional warranty for the exact same price as the garbage Dell Canada was trying to sell me... even after I told them no. I seriously hope there are no problems with it since I really can't stand dealing with those people.

Exactly! I applied over the phone with bank and SIN. The sales rep told me I qualified. I asked more than once since that was the main thing I wanted. I guess he was hoping I wouldn't read the contract.

 

Don't make the mistake of thinking this was a mistake. This had to be intentional. They created a new order on Janurary 7th without approval, conscent or even simple contact with me!

 

I'm not a customer of theirs and after this I never will be again. I purchased a notebook from DFS however they are 2 different companies. I don't see how they can compensate me?

 

I was basing that initial post on this:

But it must have been somewhere along this point:

But if they told you that you qualified for the financing, it should be reflected in the deal you got. Why would you qualify for a good deal and then accept a lesser one? I agree that's terrible.

 

I repeat... all deals at that point were cancelled. There was no further contact between myself and dell after that point. 2 days after, a new order was placed in my name without my conscent.

I asked him several times and different ways to eliminate confusion. He told me I qualified so that he would get the sale.

 

I'm sorry. I thought we were talking about the financing not being approved. My apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

Well, you might legally be able to keep the computer Dell sends you. Granted, it probably wouldn't be easy and they might threaten a lawsuit. They could argue there's a gray area about whether or not you ordered the merchandise.

But, federal law does say that any merchandise you receive that you did not order, you can consider as a gift. And it's illegal for the company to try and collect money from you for it. From the FTC's website:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/products/unorderd.htm

And from the Better Business Bureau:

http://www.bbb.org/Alerts/article.asp?ID=452

These lawss are really meant to cover situations where people just send you something and then demand payment (a scam, in other words). And that's not quite the same situation here. You would be hard pressed to argue that Dell is a "scammer". But it might be worth keeping in mind when you talk with them, if you have problems straightening it out.

 

Thank you for the info... Definitely good for future reference. In this circumstance, the order has been cancelled. While DFS has authorization to debit my account for the next 6 months, that will cease the minute I give them my 9 digit DPS number.

While my ordeal is over, numerous dell reps have informed me that no steps will be taken to prevent this from happening to anyone else. That with the fact I was also informed that my situation is not unique is a disturbing reality for Dell customers.

 

Mikeoo17 you have my sympathy from one dell fighter to another i am still waiting on specs for my replacement, i have logged over 50 hours on the telephone and 67 emails and chat logs, it took dell 2 months replacing parts to figure out my motherboard was bad on my 1405 and the only ray of sunshine is that they are replacing it with a xps 1210. don't let em have any slack eventually everything works out p.s keep smilin
jim

 

dell outlet is part of dell here in the usa, all questions and support go through exactly the same channels as a new order, once again good luck and I hope things work out, I still dont think they intentionally tried to pull a fast one on you though, with the sheer volume of buisiness they do on a daily basis, the order,cancel,reorder,cancel dance you did was confusing at best, and somehow your order got reinstated, as a company they have been more than accomodating for me, and they have gone out of thir way several times to earn my satisfaction

 

I always pay the full amount right away with Dell, never had a problem. Usually with these purchasing plans, they hit you up somewhere.

 

Im sure they didnt do it intentionally either. However, you could still tell them you think they tried to decieve you. This will give you lots of dicounts/free stuff. You might as well use it to your advantage.

 

Mikeoo17, this does suck and this is one major reason i would NEVER EVER consider getting a DELL. On the other side, you would not have got all these headaches had got an ASUS in the first place

 

The fact is
1) OP has been given wrong information.
AND/OR
2) The third order (if it is indeed a third order) was unauthorised.

OP- can you should at least write a letter to Dell and authorities like BBB. Give only the facts, minimise data like you were hold for 1 hrs, could hear breathing, being lied to etc.
The letter should be short, and make it clear that you have been given wrong information after having asked for repeated clarification. Make it a post here too.
I think you have enough data to prove Dell gave you wrong information and will be charging you without your authority.

 

I will say this one last time... I made 2 orders with corresponding cancellations. The cancellation number was confirmed over the phone for me. The lady specifically said, "that is a request for cancellation. There are no gaurantees that the order will actually be cancelled" I asked her if the order was cancelled after the request for cancellation and she confirmed yes it was. I asked her how many orders were on the account and she said 3. She confirmed the dates of the orders as follow...

Order1 Jan4th Authorized
Cancel1 Jan4th

Order2 Jan5th Authorized
Cancel2 Jan5th

Order3 Jan7th Unauthorized
Item Shipped Jan11th

Dell will not be charging me. They gave me an ultimatum that either I get the PDS# from Dell or they will have to debit me. Apparently there is no communication between companies and I am responsible for doing their work. I don't blame them though, if I was DFS, I wouldn't want to call Dell either. They probably save a lot of money making their customers do that job. I have provided DFS with the DPS# so they will not be proceeding any further.

It would take A LOT of free stuff from Dell for me to speak fondly of them again!

 

glad you got it sorted out, theyve been very good to me in all my dealings with them, they slightly botched an exchange recently, and they didnt give ma any gift cards, they actually credited 100 bucks back to my credit card, without me even asking for anything, they called me back the next day to inform me they had everything back on track, and to tell me about the credit, I know it was a pain for you, but it could've been a lot worse

 

Their financing is just a come-on. I have excellent credit and have bought previous Dell's. They would not "approve" me. Bought with a Visa!. Dell e1705 with many upgrades. One was the ati x1400 that I specifically asked if it would do multiple monitors. It does but with limitations. Seem to be a Ati issue that neither dell or ati will resolve. I can not get my 19" aux monitor to register as the Primary Monitor. Also, some programs will not work on the secondary monitor, namely the main drafting program that I use. ( the whole purpose for the computer and big screen). Dell will not address the problem unless I use a Dell monitor. They refuse to address the fact that the card is the probelm not the monitor. Ati's site list a similar problem with the x600 which is what the x1400 is built on!. THey have no solution!! I was a Big Fan of Dell, but not anymore. I would really think twice before purchasing another one!! Spent about 4 hours on the phone with tech support and got Nowhere!!!

 

What is the email address for dell? I'm going to write them a letter of intent to report them to the BBB.

 

just ask me!
attn: Michael Dell

Address: 1 Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682-2222
Phone: 512-338-4400 Fax: 512-283-6161
ps cool new avatar
jim

 

Thanks, but I honestly don't think the letter would ever reach Michael Dell. The number of complaints they must get, it would be a full time job just reading all of them. It would probably be pretty depressing being reminded of just how inadequate parts of his business are.

 

they also have a blog he visits occasionally ive bantered back and forth with him there
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/default.aspx
jim