Dell Hell (Dell)

Member Name: edqm

Product:	Dell
Date:	19/09/02 (351 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Terrible Customer Care

On the 7th August 2002, I placed an order for a computer system on the Dell website. The system was a (A15) Dimension 4500 2.26GHz Desktop Offer of the Month. Within a few hours I had received an email confirmation of my order.

On the 12th August I contacted Dell Customer Care to find out the status of my order and I was told that the order had been shipped and I would receive it within 5 days. They also gave me a reference number so that I could track the order online with the delivery company.

On the 14th August I contacted the Delivery Company to arrange a suitable date for the delivery. This was arranged for the 16th August and my wife re-arranged her working hours so that she would be home. The 16th came and at around 2.30pm my wife called me to say that the delivery had not yet arrived and could I call to find out when we should expect this and she wanted to go out. I called them and was informed that the system was still in there depot at Coventry because there was a missing box??? I was naturally irritated as my wife had been sitting home since 8.00am waiting and we had not been notified that the delivery was not coming. I contacted Dell Customer Care and was told that the delivery could be rearranged for the following monday (19th August). I explained that since it was there error and both my wife and I worked could they deliver during the evening. They reluctantly agreed.

So Monday evening came ( I had to leave work early as they classified evening as anytime between 6 and 10) and at around 7.30 the system arrived by courier. When I unpacked the system I was horrified to find that a number of items were missing. Namely, a modem, a printer, a scanner and some speakers. I called Dell immediately but of course Customer Care were closed and I would need to call back the next morning. The next day I called them and explained the missing items. I was given no explanation or apology but informed that somebody would call me back.
>
Several days went by, and every morning I called and was given the same response. Eventually, somebody in Customer Care informed me that a new order had been raised and that I should receive the items within 5 - 7 days. 7 Days later I called to find out where the order was and was informed that it had not yet been shipped. I was given the usual reply of "it will be shipped later today" and "somebody will call you regarding this". This pattern of calling continued for 2 weeks until eventually I was told on the 2nd September that the order had at last been shipped ! I arranged delviery for the 6th September and again my wife rearranged her working hours to be home.

On the 6th they delivered but when I returned home I was astounded to find a single small box. I opened it to find only the modem. Where was my printer ? scanner ? speakers ? The next day I once again contacted Customer Care only to be fobbed off once again with excuses like "I will chase this up and call you back", "I will escalate this to a senior manager" etc etc. On the 5th I called and this time I was told that the printer was "out of stock", and that this was the reason that my order had not yet been shipped. Why couldn't they have told me this a month ago ? They then said that they could offer me a different printer and that this would be shipped immediately on high priority to reach me within 3 - 5 days. Although agrieved, I reluctantly accepted this.

On the 9th I had heard nothing so I called back to find out what was happening. I was told the order had not yet been shipped as they were expecting a delivery of printers at some point this week. I could not believe what I was hearing. I had been blatantly lied to again ! I really had had enough now so I told them I wanted a refund of the 3 missing items and that I would buy these items myself from elsewhere. I was told that a refund would take 5 - 7 days and th
at a sa
les rep would call me to confirm this.

I waited patiently for a week but of course no refund materialised (and of course no phone call). On the 16th Sept I once again gritted my teeth and called Customer Care. I was told that they would find out the status and call me back within 2 hours. After 2 hours I called back and this time they said that the situation was "complicated" and that it would be escalated to more senior management who would contact me immediately. Since then I have called at least twice per day and have been given the same response.

Today I asked to speak to sales directly and after being passed around for 45 minutes I ended up back with Customer Care. Its now over 6 weeks since I placed and paid for my order. I have never received what I paid for and as yet have not been refunded for the missing items. Despite all of the promises from Customer Care I have never once recieved a call from anyone at Dell offering an apology or explanation.

I am now at a loose end as to what to do next and have now contacted both BBC Watchdog Online and Trading Standards Consumer Complaints in order to try and get this resolved.

Summary: