Dell not supplying Computer: Legal advice

Hank_Scorpio

Got this from Dell today, what legal standing do I have to receive my computer?

Dear Customer

This is Dell Customer Services in relation to your XPS 600 order which you placed online last week. For a limited period last week on the 16th of August, an additional discount was incorrectly applied to a specific model in the Dell XPS 600 range, appearing on our Irish web site. The error was quickly identified and rectified by our Pricing and Online teams. We sincerely regret this error and apologise to you for any confusion.

During that time period, you attempted to place an order at the incorrect price. However, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions of sale which say that orders are only binding when confirmed by Dell in a written order confirmation, we cannot honour your order [IE****-****-******] at that price as you did not receive order confirmation.

As stated in our order acknowledgements Dell is not responsible for typographical, pricing or other errors and reserve the right to cancel any orders based on such errors. Our Terms and Conditions also confirm that an order is only binding when an order confirmation is received.

Regards

Dell Customer Care

aidan_walsh

INAL, but Invitation to Treat seems to apply here.

Wikipedia wrote:

A shop owner displaying their goods for sale is generally making an invitation to treat. They are not obliged to sell the good to anyone who is willing to pay for them, even if additional signage such as "special offer" accompanies the display of the good.

...

The distinction also means that if a shop mistakenly displays a good for sale at a very low price it is not obliged to sell it for that amount.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invitation_to_treat

RuggieBear

none

unless you got your hands on the product before they noticed the error they qre entitled to tell you that it was a mistake and that you can take i at the new price or leave it

egan007

An old one - There is no deal until they they take payment / confirm the order
You don't have any legal legs to stand on you don't even have a cruch / zimmer frame.

Anyway you agreed to their terms and Conditions "Our Terms and Conditions also confirm that an order is only binding when an order confirmation is received."

Fanny Cradock

as far as i know you have no recourse in the matter. it was a mistake and that's that. for instance, if you where to go into a shop and see something priced at €10 only to be told it's €20 when you go to pay the shop is under NO obligation to sell it for €10. sorry mate!

you might want to chase it up and see if you can wrangle some free stuff out of them, but i'd say your chances are slim with them tight bastards.

Khannie

All of the old legal precidences apply there. Invitation to treat is correct, HOWEVER......if you believe that they were trying to deliberately suck you in with the false price, then you can call foul on them and consumer rights come into play. TBH though, that's a tough road to travel. Basically you're just gonna have to suck it up.

Was there a major price differential? If not, you could just phone and ask them to honour it anyway.

RangeR

This actually happens wuite a lot. In short, you have no standing.
You either have to agree to purchase at the regular price or cancel the order.

Their T&C'x will state something similar and I'm sure they E&OE everything on the site.

Hank_Scorpio

Basically when you customise a computer in Dell the price varies to the amount they have specified depending on the components. I changed the customisation to suit me and what I wanted. At the time it didn't occur to me that it was an error. It was advertised as a new computer the "Dell 600xps" or something. So I made it the way I wanted it. I gave them all my details including credit card number and they issued me with an IR (internet reciept). That's my whole argument. They gave me a receipt.

If that is their case, then I assume they can do this with all their computers and lure people in with cheap computers and tell them later on actually it's a 100 or even a thousand extra and ask them do you still want it and make an extra 100 on each computer?

To me this is a severe case of false advertising? Would I be correct in this?

Does the situation affect my statutory rights?

sceptre

Amazingly, this may be the first consumer issue I've ever seen here with more than a few replies where all replies to the original poster are correct.

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

That's my whole argument. They gave me a receipt.

Not enough. The decision from the 1950s in Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain V Boots Cash Chemists (Southern Ltd) stands.

If that is their case, then I assume they can do this with all their computers and lure people in with cheap computers and tell them later on actually it's a 100 or even a thousand extra and ask them do you still want it and make an extra 100 on each computer?

They could but repeatedly doing it more often than not would pretty much show it's not a pricing mistake but an evil honeypot of profit.

To me this is a severe case of false advertising? Would I be correct in this?

Not really. No. It's perhaps a moderate case of false advertising but realistically it's a pricing mistake. The fact that you say you didn't know it was a pricing mistake (and I've no reason whatever not to believe you entirely) doesn't change whether it is or not. Feel free to complain to the relevant organisations btu realistically it's a pricing mistake.

Does the situation affect my statutory rights?

Nope.

astrofool

you posted here last week about getting a good deal on it, and fingers crossed they didn't notice how cheap they were going.

Sometimes in these cases, they'll honour the contract because of good publicity when/if they do, but I doubt it in this case.

here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=3219190#post3219190

aidan_walsh

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=3212671&postcount=8

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

Ha ha to anybody who didn't get one.

Yes. "Ha ha" indeed.

K.O.Kiki

I guess this proves what was being said:

1. Don't buy from Dell.
2. Get an AMD system for gaming.

Take solace in the fact that they've just lost themselves a few customers

aidan_walsh

K.O.Kiki wrote:

I guess this proves what was being said:

1. Don't buy from Dell.
2. Get an AMD system for gaming.

Take solace in the fact that they've just lost themselves a few customers

Thats a fair reach by you, isn't it...

optiplexgx270

No comeback but it shows them as arses for not honouring the deal.

Out of interest what was the price difference?

savemejebus

If you have proof of the price, machine and options (i.e printouts of the purchasing process) then ODCA will take a look at the situation and bring it to DELL as a case of false advertising.

I'm not sure about this but you may also have some comeback based on the fact that "some" orders have actuallyl been processed. I don't know though. Did you ring Dell at all to check on the status of the order at any time?

I did this and over the past 10 days i've got the worst customer service I've ever experienced . Blatant lies, broken promises, being hung up on it was unreal.

Khannie

sceptre wrote:

Amazingly, this may be the first consumer issue I've ever seen here with more than a few replies where all replies to the original poster are correct.

WOOTZ! Comp forum rulez.

You guys make me proud. *snif*

savemejebus

Khannie wrote:

Was there a major price differential? If not, you could just phone and ask them to honour it anyway.

just noticed this. The pricing error seems to have been

500GB Serial ATA Raid 1 Mirror (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DATABURST cache) [add/subtract] €1,415.69

heggie

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

At the time it didn't occur to me that it was an error. It was advertised as a new computer the "Dell 600xps" or something. So I made it the way I wanted it.

And to quote you from another thread

'Anybody see the Dell site yesterday? I think somebody there made a mistake.'

hahhaha who u kidding!

optiplexgx270

You chanced your arm, lost, move on.

Khannie

That's a fairly substantial difference allright. Ouchies.

Victor

savemejebus wrote:

If you have proof of the price, machine and options (i.e printouts of the purchasing process) then ODCA will take a look at the situation and bring it to DELL as a case of false advertising.

Apparantly a business' own website doesn't count as advertising.

savemejebus

weird I was talking to the ODCA earlier and they told me to send them copies of the order page printouts (i'm paranoid so i print out each step) and that they'd bring it to Dell once i did that. The lady i was talking to was pretty surprised i had the m though

*I should point out that the only reason i'll send that stuff in and follow up on this is because I got such shabby treatment on the phone over the last few days. If they'd been straight and said "Sorry, tis a mistake you can't have that" within a reasonable amount of time after placing the order I'd be grand, but they rang me up confirming details and then lied etc. for 10 days so I'm gonna have some fun now

sceptre

savemejebus wrote:

I should point out that the only reason i'll send that stuff in and follow up on this is because I got such shabby treatment on the phone over the last few days. If they'd been straight and said "Sorry, tis a mistake you can't have that" within a reasonable amount of time after placing the order I'd be grand, but they rang me up confirming details and then lied etc. for 10 days so I'm gonna have some fun now

Knock yourself out. I've little doubt that you won't get the product (given that Dell, unlike Amazon don't appear to do that kind of thing) but it'll cost them a bit of time and effort and if you've some of both free it might at least make you feel better.

Hank_Scorpio

Well, I think that because Dell only sell through their websites that is their main place of business. It is their only advertising outlet. And they advertised it as 2x500 gb raid system which on it's own costs 680 euro from komplett (that's not even in a raid config) . I took this down to 2 160 gb drive which costs 170 euro from komplett. There were other things to knock the price down too. So I don't think Dell would of lost anything at all on the price of the computer. I think they're being pricks and I won't be buying anything from them at all ever again.

I placed the order on the 16th of August, I got the IR on the 16th. I waited a whole week and didn't hear from them. I emailed them 3 times and got no response, 3 days in a row. I rang them and I gave my IR number and they told me the order was going to be processed that day. 2 days later I got an email saying my order was cancelled. To me that's bad business and no way to treat customers. I didn't even get the option to buy the computer at whatever price they had messed up on.

The whole thing stinks. And so does Dell.

aidan_walsh

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

The whole thing stinks. And so does Dell.

Come off it. You knew you were chancing your arm when you ordered it. Stop throwing your toys out of the pram, suck it down and get over it.

Headshot

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

The whole thing stinks. And so does Dell.

i agree
bought a pc off dell outlet

8-9 days later no pc or second conformation

pisses me off

wouldnt you think as a sign of good will for all my waiting they give me somthing extra like printer etc

Hank_Scorpio

Well put it this way Aidan, I put in an order for the computer. I got no word from Dell regarding the computer. Not even to say it wasn't going to be delivered until I emailed 3 times, rang and was told it was being processed and getting an email 2 days later saying it was cancelled. It took a week and a half to get an answer from Dell.

When I first put the order through I didn't think anything of it untill it was pointed out to me by a friend of mine. That's when I put the original post up.

I think I would of still bought the computer at the amended price but I wasn't given the option. So here I am stuck on my old computer because Dell made a mistake. I could of found another computer in that week and a half and now I have to start looking all over again.

I wasn't the only one who ordered one of their computers that the price was wrong on, and everyone who did order one got the exact same treatment. So I don't think I am throwing my toys out of the pram, I'm just annoyed of the lack of communication that Dell provided. It's easy to set up a default email and send it to the customers who ordered a computer. But Dell weren't interested, they just threw a coat over the orders.

And that's the second time I didn't get a computer from Dell. The first time I went to buy one I got IR and an order confirmation but no computer. I rang them and they told me that order didn't exist. No money was taken from account and nothing was ever done about it because to them the record never existed.

I think Dell's attitude to their customers stink. And I'm not the only one.

optiplexgx270

You wernt a customer you were in their words a mistake :P

+ delivery for dell is 5-10 working days you got notified in 7 if was over 10 the you would have the right to complain.

Just reorder the system now if you want one else....

_Turismo4

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

Dell is not responsible for typographical, pricing or other errors and reserve the right to cancel any orders based on such errors.

I think they are, I’d phone and ask to speak to a manager, give him or she hell.

SAY THIS: Have you ever heard the expression – The customer is always right.

optiplexgx270

No they are NOT as in the second post the guy has NO, NONE, NADA comeback.

Until they take the money from your account (acceptance) you have NO contract.

Hank_Scorpio

Ok guys, thanks for your input. It's appreciated.

I didn't think I was going to get the computer in the first place but I am just infuriated with the lack of interest from dell. I think I will ring and speak to the manager but I don't think I'll get anywhere.

I will never again deal with Dell ever again.

maidhc

Dell are bound by contract when they send out the PDF order confirmation, which may be before money is taken from your account. Their T&Cs state as much and when you buy you agreee to those T&Cs i.e. the contract. End of story, if they cancel before you get the PDF tough luck, if they try cancelling after you can laugh at them.

This happend me with a laptop I bought from the Dell outlet. Between everything the laptop proved nonexistant, and they kindly sugggested I cancel the order and get a different one. I had paid €300 for the laptop and I refused to cancel and demanded a laptop within 10 days of equivalent or better specifications.

I got a brand new one along with a carry case and a 3yr NBD warranty as a consolation for my order being held up for almost 6 weeks.

So they are true to their contractual obligations. You took a gamble, you lost nothing, get over it.

Venom

Hank why are you still flogging this dead horse? In your own words from a previous thread you knew this to be a blatant mistake on the Dell website and took a chance that didn't pay off. Deal with it and move on man as all this talk about never doing business with Dell is just sad man.

savemejebus

savemejebus wrote:

The pricing error seems to have been

500GB Serial ATA Raid 1 Mirror (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DATABURST cache) [add/subtract] €1,415.69

Turns out this wasn't the pricing error, as it is now :eek:

500GB Serial ATA Raid 1 Mirror (2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DATABURST cache) [add/subtract] € 1,645.60

they must have had a low cost base price for the thing to start with.

micks

i reckon you have some thing to go on with a reciept - contract law and all that
i once got a jacket incorrectly priced at 1/2 price in arnotts
it came up full at the till
i chanced my arm , they got a manager - who apologised and gave it to me at 1/2price

also a mate's dell packed up on main fan failure 1 month after the warrenty expired he was having a bad day and went ballistic with them when they said it wasn't covered - 3 days later he recieved a new pc and they told him to bin the old one - strange but true

dont give up on them - contact the citizen advice bureau or someone
and try give them hell on the phone
you never know

astrofool

micks, what Arnott's did is purely good will, they were under no obligation to sell at that price if it was mis marked, it'd be easy for everyone to mark their own price and chance it if the law agreed with that type of thinking.

Anyway, the first few posts were correct, legally you don't have a leg to stand on.

AND BESIDES,

now you have a chance to get a proper computer, and not a piece of crap from Dell

TerrorFirmer

astrofool wrote:

micks, what Arnott's did is purely good will, they were under no obligation to sell at that price if it was mis marked, it'd be easy for everyone to mark their own price and chance it if the law agreed with that type of thinking.

Anyway, the first few posts were correct, legally you don't have a leg to stand on.

AND BESIDES,

now you have a chance to get a proper computer, and not a piece of crap from Dell

Hey!

I have a pc from Dell and it plays Doom 3 and Half Life 2, as well as BF2, on full whack....

RuggieBear

MobileInfantry wrote:

Hey!

I have a pc from Dell and it plays Doom 3 and Half Life 2, as well as BF2, on full whack....

aye...but you probably paid a good 25%-50% more than you should have for the priveledge

Hank_Scorpio

Got to give it a go. Why not? As someone said there I have nothing to lose

CuLT

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

Got to give it a go. Why not? As someone said there I have nothing to lose

Your dignity? Self respect?

Jesus, let it go. Really.

sketch sums it up:

aidan_walsh wrote:

Come off it. You knew you were chancing your arm when you ordered it. Stop throwing your toys out of the pram, suck it down and get over it.

sceptre

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

It is their only advertising outlet.

I find it difficult to watch TV for a few hours without seeing that new wally with the badly-synched overdubbed voice they've got flogging the things on TV. Or pick up the Irish Times. And stuff keeps coming through the door.

This thread is veering towards farce but I'll knock it over to the shiny new Consumer Issues forum where it really belongs and see if the mods would like to indulge in some thread-steering.

Hank_Scorpio

Appologies if I posted it in the wrong area.

And I'll never let it go... never. I want my computer

Ah I suppose people have a point. I just wanted to see what the general reaction was and basically it's what I was thinking in the first place. I'll ring them again and if nothing comes of it I'll just leave it. Don't want to make waves for anyone.

Cheers for everybodies input and I won't talk about it anymore because I see it's getting on peoples nerves.

Adious amigos. Thanks again

parsi

Hank_Scorpio wrote:

Appologies if I posted it in the wrong area.

And I'll never let it go... never. I want my computer

Ah I suppose people have a point. I just wanted to see what the general reaction was and basically it's what I was thinking in the first place. I'll ring them again and if nothing comes of it I'll just leave it. Don't want to make waves for anyone.

Cheers for everybodies input and I won't talk about it anymore because I see it's getting on peoples nerves.

Adious amigos. Thanks again

A few years ago Kodak had a similar problem on their website reagrding a particualr camera. The error occurred over the New Year weekend and was flagged left right and centre. I order 2 of the cameras on the off-chance. What they did in the end was to supply 1 camera to everyone at the erroneous price.

It was a UK site so the Trading Standards people were involved and the basic fact that came out was that unless the seller had actually taken payment for teh goods they did not have to honour that price. This gives them some leeway for the inevitable pricing errors that do occur and the way they propagate way beyond (bit different to yor local shop mispricing the bread..). This is why the retailers don't generally debit your card until the goods are shipping - it at the very least allows a sanity check on pricing and probably gives them to chance to react to a sudden massive & unexpected demand for a product.

Lets face it - in these situations all the intending buyers _know_ its an error and are only buying on the off-chance it is accepted. Its not like some poor innocent soul is getting ripped off...

MrPudding

parsi wrote:

A few years ago Kodak had a similar problem on their website reagrding a particualr camera. The error occurred over the New Year weekend and was flagged left right and centre. I order 2 of the cameras on the off-chance. What they did in the end was to supply 1 camera to everyone at the erroneous price.

It was a UK site so the Trading Standards people were involved and the basic fact that came out was that unless the seller had actually taken payment for teh goods they did not have to honour that price. This gives them some leeway for the inevitable pricing errors that do occur and the way they propagate way beyond (bit different to yor local shop mispricing the bread..). This is why the retailers don't generally debit your card until the goods are shipping - it at the very least allows a sanity check on pricing and probably gives them to chance to react to a sudden massive & unexpected demand for a product.

Lets face it - in these situations all the intending buyers _know_ its an error and are only buying on the off-chance it is accepted. Its not like some poor innocent soul is getting ripped off...

I was under the impression that payment was actually taken in the Kodak case.

MrP

parsi

My memory is blurry but I seem to recall havin to ring Kodak to pay as there was some issue with Irish orders..of course there is the possibility that payment was taken for a small number of early orders which then flagged some error somewhere but at the very least the vast majority didn't have payment taken.

Sponge Bob

Speaking as a beneficiary of this particular Dell Cockup last year I will say that if they DO take your money you will (eventually) get your servers as promised. In my case they took my money , lost some paperwork on their system and delivered higher spec machines a few weeks late under a smidge of pressure . Some of their 'offers' cause a frenzy so the product is only on the website an hour or two before they are sold out and then some.

If they DO NOT take your money they have a get out .