I caught that article Wednesday, found it interesting. I actually began to purchase Dell equipment due to an excellent service experience one of my clients had. I do have extended service contracts for my Dell Servers, and luckily thus far have not had need to use them. As for the bait-and-switch practices of Dell's finance arm, I can see how one could be confused by their finance terms. I recently ordered a Dell 1900 Server for a client. I was going to purchase it using my corporate Visa, and pay that off upon receiving payment from my client. The sales rep advised I could get 2% off the purchase price if I were to use a Dell Small Business loan instead. As long as I paid the loan within 60 days there would be no interest charge (same as cash), The discount was less than $50, but my clients (car dealerships) are watching each penny in the current market, so I agreed to let her get me set up with a business loan. I did qualify for a tax free reseller's transaction, so I also avoided a double-tax bump on the transaction.
Well, the Dell Small Business loan eContract came through, and going through the finance approval process delayed the Server build by 2 days. When I received the eContract it stated there was a $75 processing fee, and if I did not pay the balance within 60 days there would be a 19% interest rate. The interest rate, although it is going to be a non-issue for me, really surprised me because my credit rating is extremely strong, and I am used to getting rates under 8% for pretty much any credit offer for a business related matter. But the $75 processing fee really ticked me off as it would pretty much eat up every bit of the expected 2% savings and more. All that would have happened is the amount "saved" via the discount would move to another pocket other than mine or my client's. I called and diplomatically asked about the $75 processing fee. The Sales Rep then told me that only applied if I did not pay within 60 days. We will see. It was not disclosed to me in advance, and if it turns out I get hit with that fee anyway there is going to be hell to pay - just because I will feel rather abused. At best the fee should have been disclosed, whether it would have affected me or not. BTW, I have not yet received the first statement for that business loan (20 days and counting), so it is not yet paid. I am hoping to get the statement in time to pay it off in one payment before the initial 60 day period. I had no reason to be so suspicious of Dell at the beginning of that transaction. But that $75 processing fee "oh, by the way" really got my attention. Now I feel I need to watch for any potential ambush. Shame, such a silly misunderstanding that could have been pre-explained - and I advised the sales rep of that recommendation. Gil > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Madigan > Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:47 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [NF] Dell Getting Sued by NY State > > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/business/17dell.html?ref=technology > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
