The Dell Conclusion
Today I witnessed a flock of pigs (or where they sheep ;-) ) fly past my window.
About to send another letter to Dell, I checked my bank account and believe it or not, my final refund for $99 was there. This then concludes my dealings with Dell. As they did refund the total amount paid, I won’t publish my entire correspondance history as I would have had they denied the refund, but, as I have absolutely no confidence in the company to provide a quality service, I feel it is my duty to warn other potential customers about the danger they may face. So here it is – a summary of my treatment as a customer of Dell.
The Dell Timeline
- 2004-06-02
Ordered Computer (costing over $4000 which in hindsight was way too high for what I was getting) - 2004-06-05
Rang to cancel order - 2004-06-09
Order officially canceled with cancellation fee of $99 (generously reduced from $175) - 2004-07-01
Dell claimed to have processed the refund (with proof), but there was no sign of the money. - 2004-07-13
Refund finally processed – 34 days after it was cancelled. To get this I had to ring Dell several times a week and even had to fax (with serious misgivings) a copy of my Credit Card statement to prove I hadn’t received the funds! The delay was in the end blamed on inputting my credit card number into the system incorrectly. - 2004-07-14
Letter of complaint written (sent using registered post) - 2004-07-20
In response to my letter, Dell apologised and offered to refund final $99 as sign of good faith. I accepted. - 2004-08-16
No sign of the refund – follow up letter written (sent using registered post) - 2004-09-01
Dell claimed to have processed refund. No sign of funds in my account (de ja vu?) - 2004-09-20
Refund finally received
The whole experience cost me a massive amount of time and effort. It took Dell nearly four months to process my entire refund. Their incompetance is truly amazing. Based on this, I award Dell the strongest possible blacklisting I can.
What kind of company makes you fax a copy of your last Credit Card Statement just to process a refund anyway? Talk about an invasion of privacy not to mention a security risk!
Will.
