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Judge Rules Dell Deceived Consumers

Dell 'strongly disputes' decision; judge will determine restitution

May 28, 2008 

Judge Joseph Teresi ruled in a case brought by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a year ago, charging Dell used ads touting no interest and deferred payment options, then failed to deliver. In fact, the judge found that Dell's financial services division often charged high interest rates.

ConsumerAffairs.com has logged 986 complaints about Dell in the last 12 months. Not all of the complaints are directly related to the issues cited in the judge's ruling, but many, like Keith's, from Liberty, Texas, are.

"When I purchased my Dell computer over the phone the salesman got me into this Dell preferred account," he said. "I asked him if I could pay it off with my Discover Card when it came in he said yes, no problem."

Keith says it was, in fact, a problem, which he discovered when the bill for $864.91 arrived from Dell.

"I go to pay it online with my credit card and it says we only accept account transfer balance check or money order. I don't have the full amount to pay this. I explained to them that I was lied to but all they could say is 'sorry' and that there was a miscommunication."

In the wake of the judge's ruling that Dell has, in fact, engaged in fraud, the court will next decide how much the computer company will have to pay in restitution to consumers. Dell, for its part, believes very few consumers were affected and will be getting monetary damages.

"We don't agree with this decision and will be defending our position vigorously. Our goal has been, and continues to be, to provide the best customer experience possible," the company said in a statement.

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