On May 25th, I made a purchase of a digital SLR camera and lens from a very nice sales agent from Austin, Texas. Laura stated that one of my items was out of stock (the lens) and it would ship in 1 week. She also said that the main item (the digital SLR camera) was going to ship the next day and I should receive it in 3 - 5 days. I agreed to the delay of the lens only and we completed the contract.
When I went on-line to check the order, I found that the scheduled ship date was June 12th! This is nearly 3 weeks after I placed the order. I also found that they had already added this to my DFS (Dell Financial Services) account and I was paying interest for it. This is in violation of the "contract" I made with the sales agent regarding shipment and billing.
I contacted customer service, which seems to be in India as they do not speak English very well. Not only are they very, very rude, but they refused to help me. I contacted DFS about the credit issue and received an email back which was not even close to what I was complaining about. I sent an email to the sales rep, and she promised she would resolve this and get back to me the same day. (Yah right). I sent an email to her supervisor [email protected] and she has yet to respond. I am not surprised that this has happened. It is just more of Dell screwing with consumers.
Another issue to be aware of is their "rebate" program. I purchased a maintenance agreement (call me stupid) and I was supposed to have received a $75 credit towards a further purchase. When I did not get it within the time period specified, I contacted customer service (in India) and was given a run around and was actually hung up on. I called back and believe it or not, I got it corrected. They agreed to credit it to my DFS account as I was trying to purchase the item stated above and wanted to use it against the purchase.
I have always purchased my computers from Dell. Until this incident, I have always been pleased with their service - but i must admit I never had to deal with their customer service (or lack of it). I am going to have to reconsider my further dealings with Dell as their customer support is deplorable. I also plan on contacting the IT Department of my company - TYCO International, regarding this issue. Maybe it is time that we look for another vendor for our computers and peripherals.
The New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has filed a lawsuit against the company stating "that the company engaged in deceptive financing practices." http://www.crn.com/hardware/199601141.in the lawsuit, the New York attorney general said that consumers "who purchase Dell's products often find that many of the benefits and inducements featured in Dell's advertisements are illusory."
Dell, wake up and smell the coffee before it is too late and you find yourself out of business.
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