Complaint Review: DELL - Round Rock Texas

This is in response to the dell employee who said to call the number to cancel it.  I tried cancelling my order within minutes of pressing the submit button and I was not able to!

I got an email for dell specials and I went to the website.  I chose a configuration expecting I will get to review the details before submitting the order.  Also it kept saying that at the last page the tax exeption will be calculated.  I kept expecting it to give me the chance to review whether I would get the tax exemption or not but it went ahead and submitted the order, without a chance to review it. 

I immediately called Dell customer service asking them to cancel my order as the configuration was not what I wanted either.  The lady at the CS told me if I want to change the configuration instead and that I would still have the chance to cancel the order if I did not get the configurtion I wanted.  I thought I had already waited 10 minutes so I won't have to wait more and had her transfer me.  However after waiting 25 minutes no one ever picked up the phone.  I disconnected and called the customer service which was now closed!!!

I came on chat with a CS and asked him to cancel it , he said he could not and assured me to call back in the morning and dell will cancel it. I called back in the morning and I was told the laptop had already been shipped and they declined to cancel it.  Now they tell  me I will be charged 15% restocking fees for returning it.

It has been a terrible experience with Dell.  I have wasted hours on phone and chat and your website without avail.  Was it my fault that dell would not pick up the phone when I was trying to cancel my order??? and now they want to charge me restocking fee? is this a money making racket by dell??? 

Can someone tell me how I can return without being charged this 15% restocking fees?  Can anyone tell me where I can complain? The dell customer service people seem to be terrible.  They are just following a script and can't do anything!

You made several mistakes here. First you emailed your sales agent. You should have called customer service immediately. Second here is the policy on cancellation you agreed to when ordering: Can I cancel my order? A If you have ordered a Dell system: It's only possible to cancel your order before we start to manufacture it. To check if it's still possible to cancel your order, please go to the Dell Order Status tool * If your order is listed as Pending or Order Processing , you may still be able to cancel your order please call us right away on 1-800-624-9897. * If your order is listed as In production or Shipped it's no longer possible to cancel it. However, after you receive delivery of your order, you still have the option to return it to Dell within 21 days of the invoice date. Unless the product is defective or the return is a direct result of a Dell error, a restocking fee may apply of up to 15% of the purchase price paid, plus any applicable sales tax. If they have already started manufacturing your PC then you can't cancel. Its right there in black and white. THEN you refused to follow their return policy which would have gotten you money back: 21-Day Return Period for Certain Hardware and Software Products and Accessories: Unless you have a separate agreement with Dell, or except as provided below, all hardware, accessories, peripherals, parts, and media-based software that is unopened and still in its sealed package or, if delivered electronically, that has not been downloaded, may be returned within 21 days from the date on the packing slip or invoice for a credit or a refund of the purchase price paid, less shipping and handling and any applicable restocking fees. Any product returned to Dell without prior authorization from Dell will be considered an unauthorized return, and the customer will not receive credit for the product and Dell will not ship the product back to you. again by purchasing the item, you agreed to these terms. When will people start reading what they agree to before they order. At this point by disregarding the contract you agreed to when purchasing the dell, you have cost yourself a lot more than a restocking fee.

I just spend 4 hours trying to resolve the same exact problem you discuss. Dell will loose more money (customers) than they gain by this "no cancellation" policy!!!

We ordered a Dell online expecting delivery within 7 days. Two weeks passed by no delivery. We started calling. Started with dell.com website and there are no telephone numbers to contact dell. After spending about 3 hours online, we found a website called ihatedell.com which listed a phone number. We tried the phone number and were transferred to India. First we wanted know the status. Dell rep said "Oh! it is in production". So they advertise for a item it is not ever on shelves for sale. Per the rep it will take 4 weeks for delivery. Here I have a new Dell credit card with a payment due within two weeks and no goods. Highspeed internet installed already paid for one month no computer. I asked Dell to cancel the order. First Dell rep said was "no we cannot cancel". I said no you can, this USA not India. USA has a policy if we do not like an item we can cancel within 30 days. Finally my husband got on the phone and said "Cancel it" and need a phone number to their Corporate Office" Dell did not provide a number. We spent another good two hours and found out there are no Retail Dell stores in USA any more, andcalled the Corporate office in One Dell Way, TX but the phone number still gets transferred to India. We then found an e-mail to Michael Dell which is [email protected] .We sent a e-mail which was immediately responded to. I said cancel the order. The rep said they have to deliver the goods, and after receipt call them for a return authorization. I said I will not pay $35.00 for shipping. They took that out too. Somehow magically the production got faster and the computer was delivered one week faster. We found that Dell computers are not compatiple with Comcast internet services. Packets are dropped and connection is difficult resulting in slow or no internet service. Using any other brand of computer on Comcast is just fine. We then called Dell again asked for the return authorization. THIS MUST BE DONE WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE COMPUTER IS DELIVERED TO YOU. Dell cannot refuse. Dell then immediately provided us the return authorization. Stick to your determination to return. Dell will try and transfer you many times trying to discourage you or may drop your call, but keep calling again and again. PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY In the meantime, we called Dell Finance and we were connected to Philippines. Wow they had good customer service. The Dell rep even provided the direct extention number. Put a stop to the Dell payment and personally mentioned going to follow through that we get the credit. But did mentioned there will be a $37.00 re-stocking fee. We will dispute for that too when the time comes. We also sent another e-mail to [email protected] stating the horrible experience we had to endure. Within less than 24 hours we receivced another call from Dell asking what else they can do for us.... Ofcourse, it was too little, too late.. We will never ever buy a Dell and we all agreed that we will not USE THE DELL WORD IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. We will not say the "D" word ever again.

We ordered a Dell online expecting delivery within 7 days. Two weeks passed by no delivery. We started calling. Started with dell.com website and there are no telephone numbers to contact dell. After spending about 3 hours online, we found a website called ihatedell.com which listed a phone number. We tried the phone number and were transferred to India. First we wanted know the status. Dell rep said "Oh! it is in production". So they advertise for a item it is not ever on shelves for sale. Per the rep it will take 4 weeks for delivery. Here I have a new Dell credit card with a payment due within two weeks and no goods. Highspeed internet installed already paid for one month no computer. I asked Dell to cancel the order. First Dell rep said was "no we cannot cancel". I said no you can, this USA not India. USA has a policy if we do not like an item we can cancel within 30 days. Finally my husband got on the phone and said "Cancel it" and need a phone number to their Corporate Office" Dell did not provide a number. We spent another good two hours and found out there are no Retail Dell stores in USA any more, andcalled the Corporate office in One Dell Way, TX but the phone number still gets transferred to India. We then found an e-mail to Michael Dell which is [email protected] .We sent a e-mail which was immediately responded to. I said cancel the order. The rep said they have to deliver the goods, and after receipt call them for a return authorization. I said I will not pay $35.00 for shipping. They took that out too. Somehow magically the production got faster and the computer was delivered one week faster. We found that Dell computers are not compatiple with Comcast internet services. Packets are dropped and connection is difficult resulting in slow or no internet service. Using any other brand of computer on Comcast is just fine. We then called Dell again asked for the return authorization. THIS MUST BE DONE WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE COMPUTER IS DELIVERED TO YOU. Dell cannot refuse. Dell then immediately provided us the return authorization. Stick to your determination to return. Dell will try and transfer you many times trying to discourage you or may drop your call, but keep calling again and again. PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY In the meantime, we called Dell Finance and we were connected to Philippines. Wow they had good customer service. The Dell rep even provided the direct extention number. Put a stop to the Dell payment and personally mentioned going to follow through that we get the credit. But did mentioned there will be a $37.00 re-stocking fee. We will dispute for that too when the time comes. We also sent another e-mail to [email protected] stating the horrible experience we had to endure. Within less than 24 hours we receivced another call from Dell asking what else they can do for us.... Ofcourse, it was too little, too late.. We will never ever buy a Dell and we all agreed that we will not USE THE DELL WORD IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. We will not say the "D" word ever again.

I wanted to know what happened. Did you ever get your money back and/or were you charged any bogus fees such as shipping or restocking? Were you able to get your full refund back? I am in a similar situation as you because I ordered an item from dell and then decided to cancel the next day, which they denied and lied to me that it is in process of shipping even though it says "in production" on status. When they sent me the tracking number two days after I tried to cancel, it says the item was picked up by the shipping company a good 6 hours after my cancellation attempt. I am planning to refuse package and then complain to my credit card company, but I'm hoping they won't force some bogus shipping and restocking fees when they issue my refund. Please tell me if your situation was finally resolved.

Art said, "2/28/2009 - Email the sales agent (Michael Ruiz) on 2/28/2009 asking to cancel the order because I noticed it had Vista Business bonus installed and I requested Windows XP." Art, are you aware that if you want an XP operating system, the only choice is Vista Business Bonus? Although it says "Vista", you get a system that is configured with native XP and an upgrade disk for Vista to use at a future date. This is the only way you can get a new XP system. The last date that Microsoft allowed sales of straight XP systems (with a few exceptions) was last June. It's surprising to note that you went to Wal-Mart and bought an XPS 420, which comes with Vista. Seems to me you just shot yourself in the foot on this whole deal. I don't work for Dell, but I was in the market for a new 530 system that didn't have that Vista pig of an OS. I ended up with a super fast, reliable system. I think if you'd done your homework, you would have realized that the system you originally ordered was actually what you wanted.

Art said, "2/28/2009 - Email the sales agent (Michael Ruiz) on 2/28/2009 asking to cancel the order because I noticed it had Vista Business bonus installed and I requested Windows XP." Art, are you aware that if you want an XP operating system, the only choice is Vista Business Bonus? Although it says "Vista", you get a system that is configured with native XP and an upgrade disk for Vista to use at a future date. This is the only way you can get a new XP system. The last date that Microsoft allowed sales of straight XP systems (with a few exceptions) was last June. It's surprising to note that you went to Wal-Mart and bought an XPS 420, which comes with Vista. Seems to me you just shot yourself in the foot on this whole deal. I don't work for Dell, but I was in the market for a new 530 system that didn't have that Vista pig of an OS. I ended up with a super fast, reliable system. I think if you'd done your homework, you would have realized that the system you originally ordered was actually what you wanted.

In a nutshell: I've been a Dell customer for years. I've purchased 2 laptops, a printer, AXIM Pocket PC, etc. I also have a Dell Preferred Account which I've used to make all of the above purchases. Dell has a return policy which is noted on their site. What's not listed is that if you place an order and want to cancel it, you will be given the run around and one way or another, Dell will get at least a 15% restocking fee if you cancel an order. That being said, they flat out refused to cancel my order claiming they would ship the order and then if you contact us after you receive it, you must call to get a return authorization #, pay for shipping (Insured of course) and be subject to a restocking fee. It's pretty clear that if a customer wants to cancel an order, there's no sense of shipping an order to the customer just for them to turn around and send it back.....unless there's something to gain from doing that. (1) Dell will charge you when the order ships so it's not in their best interest financially to allow you to cancel and not ship (2) Since they've shipped the order, they can initiate the charge and then they have your money so when you return the item, they can now take out 15% for themselves and send you back to rest whenever they feel like refunding...this of course will take longer that it took for them to get paid. (3) Contact customer service does no good...you'll get a call center in India and if you're so lucky to understand everything they're saying they still won't help you especially if you're trying to cancel an order..you'll get pass on to the sales department after they tell you the order can't be cancelled because our systems are automated..and you won't be transferred, they'll give you another number to call....so much for customer service right. I obviously wanted to cancel and they refused to cancel so I cancelled my debit card and ordered a new one, contacted Fedex as soon as the tracking #'s were available and told them I refused delivery and thought that was the end of it. I then went to my local wal-mart and purchased a Dell XPS 420 for $798...less than what you'd pay on Dell.com. The plot thickens below...I hate this company now and will never ever purchase directly from them again and I'm paying off my Dell preferred account balance and closing it once my bank resolves my dispute. It's safe to say that the XPS system will be my last Dell brand purchase also. Oh, I need to mention this. I didn't call to get a return number...I just refused delivery. According to Dell, they will not accept items without this return authorization # and they will not send it back to you if you didn't send it back with one. I never signed for it so technically I didn't send it back to them. They still want your money anyway... To finish up, see the better business bureau complaint I filed below which includes the case #: COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT Case # 90147XXX The Better Business Bureau Consumer's Original Complaint : 2/25/2009 - Placed order for a Dell 530 desktop system on my old check card. Estimated ship date when order was 3/19/2009. 2/28/2009 - Email the sales agent (Michael Ruiz) on 2/28/2009 asking to cancel the order because I noticed it had Vista Business bonus installed and I requested Windows XP. No responses from this agent to date. 3/4/2009 - After no responses from the sales agent, I contacted customer service and questioned why the agent took my payment information via a chat session and hasn't responded. I asked this question because I took a survey after the order and answered "No" to a question "Did the sales agent explain the option to pay via online chat?" which made me a little unconfortable. Customer service never answered the question as to why I wasn't told or whether the payment information was secure. I'm not even sure if they understood me over the phone because I could understand half of what they said to me due to their accents (India). 3/6/2009 - After several emails and chats with customer service about cancelling my order, I was flat out told that I could not cancel my order. That I would have to wait until it shipped, contact Dell to get a return authorization # and they pay to have it shipped back...after which they would charge me up to 15% of the purchase price and then take up to 60 days to refund my money. 3/6/2009 - Contacted my bank and had my check card cancelled and ordered a new one. 3/7/2009 - Identified tracking #'s for the order on Dell Website and contacted fedex to refuse delivery of the items. Items have been returned to dell due to refused by customer. Tracking #'s are 134619895404XXX and 134619895404XXX. 3/12/2009 - Per fedex site, items returned to Dell. 3/12/2009 - Noticed a charge for the exact amount of the Dell purchase on my bank account transactions and contacted my bank to file a dispute. According to the bank (partial chat log below): Gabe: Will you please provide me with the date(s) when the transaction(s) in question posted to your account? Will you please provide me with the dollar amount? you: today for $714.15 Gabe: I see so it was actually force posted by this merchant. you: I don't know... Gabe: That would be a force posted debit by the merchant, they contacted us in regards to this. I can file a dispute for you for this. Would you like your claim correspondence sent to the address you've already verified? Also, could you provide me with a valid day and evening phone number where you can be reached for the claim? Not only did dell flat out tell me I couldn't cancel the order, but they (1) shipped it anyway in order to (2) Get me contact sign for and accept the items, (3) Pay to ship it back to them which (4) gave them the chance to get money from me via a 15% restocking fee which. What type of company refuses to cancel an order, ships items to customers when the customer clearly didn't want the items in order to get some money from the customer as punitive damages for not wanting to cancel an order and (5) last but not least...forces a debit to a customers account after the customer cancels the original check card and refuses delivery of said items to enact their own cancellation. Answer: DELL. I have an open claim with my Bank (Bank of America claim # 2152212MAR09) and they are working to recover the funds that Dell forcibly debitted from my account. ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Account Number: Order Number: XXXXXX Consumer's Desired Resolution: Until my bank completes the claim process, I don't have a desired settlement from Dell. I obviously want every penny back and their policy of "No you can't cancel until we ship it to you allowing us to get a restocking fee" is rediculous and right out stupid.I've been a customer with Dell for years (2 Laptops, Printers and 1 Desktop), have a Dell preferred credit account and I'm so disgusted with their customer service and the issue as a whole, I contact Dell Financial Services about this and told them I'd be cancelling my credit account because I would no longer purchase anything directly from Dell. BBB Processing 03/12/2009 web BBB Case Received by BBB Art Concord, North Carolina