Dell Order

chinchi_2

My husband ordered a TomTom Go 740 Live from Dell on 07.07.09. We received an order confirmation email and given a delivery date of 15.07.09. The item was showing on the website as in stock at the time of ordering.

On 11.07.09, we received an email saying that as demand had exceeded their forecast, the revised delivery date would be 20.07.09.

On 16.07.09 we received an email in an identical format, giving us a new revised delivery date of 23.07.09.

On 17.07.09, we received a response to our email of complaint regarding the continuous change of delivery date, and when we asked to cancel the order, they told us:

When you placed your order it was “locked down” – and hence entered our automated process. As the order is locked down, I am afraid we cannot cancel the order.
If you wish to cancel the order kindly request you to accept the delivery and contact us within 7 days from the date of delivery, so that we can collect the order and process the refund.
The refund will be processed within 5-6 working days once the order is returned back to Dell.

On 21.07.09 we received yet another email giving us a revised estimated delivery date of 28.07.09.

The money for the item (£236) was taken out of our account last week, and we were given a delivery date of 28.08.09.

I again sent another email of complaint asking for the order to be cancelled and our money to be refunded. They replied on 12.08.09 saying that our order cannot be cancelled, and that the order will be delivered on 31.08.09! That is almost 2 months since we ordered the item!

Where do we stand with this? Any help would be very much appreciated.

Mechanicus

Wow, these Dell problems seem to be coming thick and fast lately! This is what I posted on another Dell thread:


I am only repeating what I said on my own thread, so don't take this as gospel truth, but it worked for me...

It seems that everyone's email address at Dell is in the format [EMAIL="firstname_lastname@dell.com"]firstname_lastname@dell.com[/EMAIL]

With that information in mind, go to Dell's page, here and find someone who you think might be worth contacting. I suggest this person. Send them an email outlining everything you have been through. Include copies of any correspondence (if you emailed them). Also sent the same email via their online support form.

When I did this, I had several emails and phone calls telling me they would refund my item. In fact, I had another one yesterday keeping me apprised of the status of the refund. They even said if my order turns up I could keep it as a goodwill gesture (I had already refused delivery of it but oh-well).

derrick

"

chinchi wrote: »

My husband ordered a TomTom Go 740 Live from Dell on 07.07.09. We received an order confirmation email and given a delivery date of 15.07.09. The item was showing on the website as in stock at the time of ordering.

On 11.07.09, we received an email saying that as demand had exceeded their forecast, the revised delivery date would be 20.07.09.

On 16.07.09 we received an email in an identical format, giving us a new revised delivery date of 23.07.09.

On 17.07.09, we received a response to our email of complaint regarding the continuous change of delivery date, and when we asked to cancel the order, they told us:

When you placed your order it was “locked down” – and hence entered our automated process. As the order is locked down, I am afraid we cannot cancel the order.
If you wish to cancel the order kindly request you to accept the delivery and contact us within 7 days from the date of delivery, so that we can collect the order and process the refund.
The refund will be processed within 5-6 working days once the order is returned back to Dell.

On 21.07.09 we received yet another email giving us a revised estimated delivery date of 28.07.09.

The money for the item (£236) was taken out of our account last week, and we were given a delivery date of 28.08.09.

I again sent another email of complaint asking for the order to be cancelled and our money to be refunded. They replied on 12.08.09 saying that our order cannot be cancelled, and that the order will be delivered on 31.08.09! That is almost 2 months since we ordered the item!

Where do we stand with this? Any help would be very much appreciated.

"I am afraid we cannot cancel the order."

Absolute nonsense, under Distance Selling Regulations, (DSRs), you can cancel before delivery; -

[FONT=&quot]OFTs BUSINESS GUIDE TO DSR [/FONT]; -

From page 22; -
“Can a consumer cancel an order before they receive the goods or where goods are lost in transit?
3.35 Yes. Where the DSRs give consumers rights to cancel, this right is unconditional. If consumers cancel before they have received the goods you must refund the total price of the goods, including any delivery charges. Consumers who have cancelled under the DSRs may refuse to accept delivery of the goods. Refusal in such a situation cannot be treated as a breach of contract.


From page 18; -
The time limits for cancellation are as follows.
For goods:
Provided you give your consumer the required written information no later than the time the goods are delivered, their cancellation rights end seven working days after the day on which they received the goods

From page 20; -
What must my consumers do if they want to cancel?
3.26 They must tell you in writing, or in another durable medium, if they want to cancel. This includes letter, fax or email. A phone call is not enough unless you say in your terms and conditions that you will accept cancellations by phone.

From page 25; -
What specifically do I have to refund to the consumer if they cancel?

3.48 The DSRs require you to refund any money paid by or on behalf of the consumer in relation to the contract to the person who made the payment. This means the full price of the goods, or deposit or pre- payment made including the cost of delivery. The essence of, distance selling is that consumers buy from home and receive goods at home. In these circumstances, almost every case of home shopping will involve delivery of the goods ordered and so delivery forms an essential part of the contract.

The_Pedant

If you requested a refund, on or around the 17/06, then under the terms of the Distance Selling Regulations (section 14), they have 30 days within which to provide you with your refund, starting from the day on which the cancellation was given.

Remind them of their obligations, reiterating your original cancellation request, pointing out that they are on the verge of being in breach of the act.

To avoid any problems of a delivery & then having to arrange return etc, it's often easier to simply state that you will not accept delivery of the goods. This ensures that the goods remain their responsibility (or that of their carrier).

I really get the impression that Dell's order system is in need of an overhaul, to better support regulations that have been in effect for nearly 9 years now!

chinchi_2

Thankyou all for your fantastic replies. I really have been going round in circles with this!

I have emailed the said person at Dell, and will telephone them today quoting the above customer rights.

Fingers crossed, and will report back!

biggoatyman

I've just had the same problem with Dell. My view is that they are simply inept, rather than necessarily trying to dodge their responsibilities under the DSR.

I tried to cancel my laptop order because the lead time was too long. It is ridiculous that they don't tell you the delivery date until after you've placed the order, and then don't allow you to cancel it on the system. I guess this is to discourage you from doing so.

However, I found that the best thing to do was to call the offshore customer service centre to cancel the order. You will be politely told that a supervisor will call you back the same day in order to process the cancellation. In fact, you will receive no such call.

Phone back the next day and you will again be told to expect a call back. Politely decline and insist on speaking to a supervisor there and then, as you do not believe that you will be called back. Do not take no for an answer.

They will eventually give up and put you through to a supervisor who I found to be extremely helpful and empowered to deal with the issue. They confirmed that they were unable to stop the goods from being delivered, even though delivery was still some way off. I was offered an apology, and a 10% discount to keep the order.

They also said that if I did choose to cancel, I should sign for the goods on delivery then call them back to arrange a free pickup. I was told that if I were to reject them, they will simply send them back again, thereby wasting time.

Good luck.