Dell...and why they suck

[kompressornsc]

So I bought a new Dell laptop 18 months ago and did their "Preferred Customer Financing". Preferred?? What a joke! It was 0% for 18 months. My balance was down to just a couple of hundred dollars and I was going to pay it off this month when the program ended. Get my bill today, and my `special rate` expired 6 days ago. No big deal right, one month finance change on a couple hundred dollars. No...they go back and hit me with 24.99% on the ORIGINAL BALANCE! I was on time every month, paid way more than the minimum and had just a small percentage of the account left. My finance charge is larger than what I still owed.

Now, technically, they can do that if you know how to read between the lines on the statement. After reading it half a dozen times, it does (sort of) state that if you don`t pay it off by the end of the promotional period that you receive a `deferred finance charge`. You actually have to combine 3 different paragraphs on the back to figure this out.

So, I called & raised hell. They took $100 off, but it`s still ridiculous. Between the `your preferred rate ends in October` deal and the `Deferred Finance Charge`, I feel like I`m dealing with an extremely shady company. I told them I would never buy another Dell (POS anyway) personally or for my company-and I`ll bet I`ve spent $25,000 with them over the last 10 years on equipment.

So, there`s my little rant. :) I hate that I`m even typing this on a Dell.

[Mikeyc]

I think you`ll find if you read the fine print on almost all of these 0% financing deals this is how it works. I believe it`s called deffered interest financing. If you play the game right it can save you some money. If you do it wrong then it can cost you some cash.



The same thing happened to my roommate in college as what happened to you when he financed his stereo 0% interest for 6 months at Circuit City. A couple of years ago I financed a TV on my Circuit City card at 0% for 18 months. It worked out GREAT for me because I had it paid off before the 18 months. So, I paid no interest.



In the end, I feel for you because they don`t exactly put this clause in large bold type. However, as a consumer it is your responsibility to know what you`re getting yourself into when you sign a contract. IMO you were lucky they were nice enough to give you $100 off your bill.

[BigJimZ28]

sorry you got the short end of the stick



but this has nothing to do with dell



that is how those loans work if you did not understand the terms of the loan

then it is your falt on no one else

[Banacheq]

Finance and loan companies do this all the time. This is "the catch", if you will, when you get a deal offering no interest on a purchase or purchases. I got hit once with this too and the only person I was mad at in the end was myself for not paying closer attention.



It`s definitely not a "Dell" thing and this could have happened regardless of who you bought your computer from. I wouldn`t hold it against Dell, but you can if you want. I`ve always had terrific service from them over the last 15 years.



Just take it as a lesson in reading the fine print.

[Setec Astronomy]

That was probably not even Dell you were dealing with, but some financing company. They played all the corporate MBA-CEO games, at least when Michael Dell wasn`t in charge.



Where I work, we got burned by a small webhost company that went belly-up and just closed without notice, we were without email or website for weeks while we tried to get our domain name transferred, etc. So this was just about the time Dell got into the "webshosting" business, so we figure, what can be better than that, Dell isn`t going to go out of business. So we sign up, and find out that it`s not really Dell, that it is another webhost, that Dell is really just acting as an agent for with their "Dellhost" service. After a year or two (after Dell got enough people sucked in using their name) they announced that they were "spinning off" Dellhost to another company...you guessed it, to the hosting company that it was all along.



Another one like that was when it was brutally difficult to, as a business, order on open account. The only alternative, other than using a credit card, was to open a Dell "account". So I say ok...and it turns out that the Dell "account" is simply a credit card from...you guessed it, some unrelated CC company, using the Dell name.



That doesn`t even touch on all the foreign tech and order support (I personally haven`t had any problems with the order support, I don`t think I personally have had to call tech support).



So I disagree with BigJim...yes, you should make sure you understand the terms of any finance deal, but Dell has been acting like a car stealership with all these bordering-on-scams things. I wish they would remember that they are a computer company, and not a fleece-the-consumer-any-way-possible company.

[kompressornsc]

Oh, I agree I should have read the fine print, but honestly, you have to link a bunch of stuff together to find out how it works. Once you know how it works, it`s easy to see how they link together, but if you aren`t looking for it, I don`t think you would figure it out. If it said `If you don`t pay the full balance by XX date, you will incur a finance charge of 24.99% on the original balance of the loan from the original purchase date.` I`d of understood. The disclosure is very sneaky-I just don`t like to deal with companies that feel they have to hide / trick / fool you to get your business and/or take your money. Reminds me too much of the companies that send you the fake checks with the little disclaimer at the bottom saying you`ve enrolled in something or now owe something after cashing their check. Those companies go on my `never deal with list.` Say it up front and clearly and I don`t have a problem with it. Guess I just expected more from Dell (which is a partner with CIT for their financing deals).

[TigerMike]

I`ve had those 0% for xx month loans and they are wonderful, IF you are going to pay off before the grace/promotional period expires. Basically free borrowed money...but every one of them state that the interest charges are retroactive to the very first month you took out the loan and at the percentage rate on the loan if you have a balance one day beyond the promotional period. The interest charges keep accruing and accumulating but I pay mine off well in advance of the promotional period ending, so that I am never billed those interest charges. They count on people NOT actually paying off before the promotion ends, so that you pay interest just like any other credit card. That`s just how they work, definitely not specific with Dell. Bill Me Later is owned by CIT I believe IIRC, and that`s how those work.



Sometimes it almost takes a finance degree (thankfully I have two!) to understand these credit agreements, but I don`t see this as anything Dell did specifically. The credit terms are not issued by Dell, but CIT. That is the company you should be concerned with...



Before I ever take out ANY credit offer, I read the terms backward and foreward to understand exactly how it works. That`s the only way to protect yourself. They can bury the terms any way they like and that`s ok because it`s up to the consumer to read them no matter how convoluted. I have been *very* happy with Bill Me Later and CIT because I`m basically using their money interest free and paying off before the grace period ends.



The only way that these kind of loans are useful is if you are absolutely certain you can/will pay off before the promotional period ends. Otherwise, you should look at them like just any other credit card...

[BobD]

sorry you got the short end of the stick



but this has nothing to do with dell



that is how those loans work if you did not understand the terms of the loan

then it is your falt on no one else



Yeah, any place will do this, not just Dell. Any place you finanace for x amount of months with zero down you had better get it paid off in FULL before the time expires or you are paying intrest on it all.

[BobD]

Oh, I agree I should have read the fine print, but honestly, you have to link a bunch of stuff together to find out how it works. Once you know how it works, it`s easy to see how they link together, but if you aren`t looking for it, I don`t think you would figure it out. If it said `If you don`t pay the full balance by XX date, you will incur a finance charge of 24.99% on the original balance of the loan from the original purchase date.` I`d of understood. The disclosure is very sneaky-I just don`t like to deal with companies that feel they have to hide / trick / fool you to get your business and/or take your money. Reminds me too much of the companies that send you the fake checks with the little disclaimer at the bottom saying you`ve enrolled in something or now owe something after cashing their check. Those companies go on my `never deal with list.` Say it up front and clearly and I don`t have a problem with it. Guess I just expected more from Dell (which is a partner with CIT for their financing deals).

No offense but if you read the fine print and did not understand it you should of gotten it explained to you so you did understand it before hand. And honestly, lie I said before, this is practice on about 100% of all loans from any place on the planet. at least you know next time is all. Better to learn on a small purchase like a computer rather than with a car or something.

[imported_Yal]

The other sneaky one that is done happens when you charge something else to the card. Any payment you make after that doesn`t go to the original purchase but to the new one. So you think the payments you are making are to the 0% purchase but in actuality you are wasting time paying off the new purchase.

[BlackElantraGT]

The other sneaky one that is done happens when you charge something else to the card. Any payment you make after that doesn`t go to the original purchase but to the new one. So you think the payments you are making are to the 0% purchase but in actuality you are wasting time paying off the new purchase.



Thank you for bringing this up. I think this is something more people are actually unaware of.