NY Attorney General Sues Dell on Deception

By Geoff Duncan May 17, 2007

michaeldell New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against computer maker Dell and its affiliate company, Dell Financial Services LP, allegeding numerous deceptive “bait and switch” advertising and failing to live up to customer service promises.

“At Dell, customer service means no service at all,” said Cuomo in a statement. “Dell’s consumers were intentionally misled, and they had to pay for that privilege. I hope this lawsuit sends a message to companies large and small that delivering a product is simply not enough—the promises they make must be delivered as well.”

The case is being handled by the state’s Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, which claims to have received an unprecedented level of complaints about Dell and its financing partner. According to allegations in papers filed in Albany, New York, Dell repeatedly failed to provide timely onsite repair to customers with service contracts and promises of “expedited” service and pressured customers on service contracts to service hardware components themselves. The suit also alleges Dell discouraged customers from seeking technical support by subjecting them to long wait times, disconnections, and repeated transfers, and claims the company used known-defective “refurbished” parts to repair and replace consumer’s gear.

The lawsuit also accuses Dell of enticing customers with “classic bait-and-switcH” schemes, offering “no interest” and “no payment” financing plans, but then denying those deals even to consumers with good credit scores.

In a written statement, Dell spokesperson Bon Pearson denied all the charges. “While even one dissatisfied customer is too many, the allegations in the AG’s filing are based upon a small fraction of Dell’s consumer transactions in New York,” Pearson wrote. “We are confident that our practices will be found to be fair and appropriate.”

Cuomo is seeking restitution for impacted customers, civil penalties, and promises from Dell that it will not engage in such practices in the future.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

Best Dell XPS deals: Save on Dell XPS 13, Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17

Dell XPS 15 OLED on a table.

If you're looking for an alternative to the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, then Dell, one of the best laptop brands on the market, has a great solution for you in the form of the XPS lineup. It has a similar small frame and weight while still packing a punch in terms of specs, depending on what configuration you end up going for. Unfortunately, Dell has just refreshed their Dell XPS lineup, so there aren't a lot of great deals floating around. So, if you don't quite find what you're looking for below, then be sure to check out some of these other Dell laptop deals, as well as the general laptop deals.
Best Dell XPS 13 deals

The Dell XPS 13 is the smallest in the Dell XPS line. It's great for commuters and students. These laptops don't generally have powerful GPUs, but they're fast, reliable, and sleek. That said, the new XPS 13 lineup has come out and there aren't a lot of great deals on them right now, so we've mostly focused on older deals.

Computing

Dell cut the price of this Dell XPS 13 to $800 for a limited time

The Dell XPS 13 9315 on a table against a window.

Frequently the home of great laptop deals, Dell has even better value right now since it’s cut the price of the Dell XPS 13 from $1,099 to $799, leading to $300 in savings. It may not have the latest hardware, but it’s sure to pack a punch for anyone keen to be productive on the move. Here’s what you need to know about it ahead of you making a purchase.

Why you should buy the Dell XPS 13
As the makers of some of the best laptops, it makes sense that Dell is one of the best laptop brands and potentially the go-to place for great laptops. The Dell XPS 13 is a perfect example of that. Considered to be the “true answer to the MacBook Air”, it’s powerful yet lightweight. If you want something that looks as good as it is to use, you'll love this.

Computing

Dell’s new G16 gaming laptop already has a price cut

The Dell G16 7630 gaming laptop on a white background.

The latest version of the Dell G16 gaming laptop, released last year, just had its price slashed with a $300 discount from Dell. In one of the brand's most attractive gaming laptop deals, you'll only have to pay $1,200 for this reliable machine instead of $1,500. Its price may go back to normal as soon as tomorrow though, so if you want to make sure that you get this device for cheaper than usual, there's no time to waste -- complete your purchase immediately, as otherwise, you're risking missing out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Dell G16 gaming laptop
The Dell G16 7630, the successor of the Dell G16 7620, offers upgraded specifications with the 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that's good for gaming, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. With these components, the gaming laptop will be able to run the best PC games without any issues, though maybe not at the highest settings for the more demanding titles. Additionally, it may last long enough to let you play the upcoming PC games of the next few years.