Fraud????

Question

I am trying to determine if I am being scammed or if this is legitimate.

In June, 2020 I bought a DELL OUTLET INSPIRON 14 - 5481 2-IN-1 for my daughter. We gave a Visa number for payment, received the laptop and an invoice that showed a zero balance. Everything was fine.

This week, I received a letter from a law firm, Lam, Lyn & Philip, PC, stating they are collecting a debt for Dell Marketing, L.P.! I googled them and it looked like a legit law firm so I called to verify I had paid for the laptop. The attorney was "not available", so I sent an e-mail disputing the claim. I then provided the invoice I received stating a zero balance. I even looked online at my account and it shows the balance paid in full.

The next day, I received a reply which included a "Dell Representative" that showed the exact same invoice I had sent to them, but the payment to the Visa was removed and it showed a balance due. They then asked me how I wanted to proceed, and I could provide them with my bank information to prove payment!! I am not about to do that.

I tried to call Dell directly to verify this issue, but that is frustratingly difficult. The first department I got was the payments department and this gentleman said that it showed I had made payment in full and forwarded me to a Fraud Verification department. This is where it seemed to get weird. First it didn't sound like a professional phone call and her English was horrendous. She then forwarded me to another Indian gentleman who, without explanation, asked me how I wanted to pay!! Sensing that something was not right, I took his phone number and told him I would get back with him.

Is there any way to talk to someone in authority, who can communicate in American English, and explain to me if there was a legitimate issue with my payment or if I am being scammed. If there is a legitimate issue, why would Dell not reach out to me before a year passes? Why would my first contact about any issue be from a law firm? I have not been hiding and Dell has my current contact information.

ejn63 · Answer

You should have your credit card provider investigate on your behalf;  that's what they have a staff to do.

MMcGath · Answer

Thanks, but I've already done that on the accounts still open. Problem is I don't have access to all accounts from that time and I don't know which card it was on. Anyway, I appreciate your post, but this is really just a last ditch effort to reach someone at Dell that I can understand and who can explain to me if there is a problem. If you have a phone number or e-mail to someone in the US in customer service, that would be helpful.

speedstep · Answer

No Legit company sues you and demands payment via phone.

The fraud is someone insisting you give them info via phone.

Don't accept anymore calls and don't call them back.

Demand they submit any complaints in writing.

And do not give them information. If they already know this then they don't need anything.

Service Tag and Personal info should never be given out online or over the phone.

Maddy388 · Answer

I received a similar notice from the same law firm . I purchased a laptop and returned it back to dell and dell credited the money back to me . This happened more than 6 months back  . and on June 10th I received the same notice asking me to pay the money for an order that had been closed more then 6 months back . makes no sense . I am not sure why dell is not contacting me directly instead sending notices via a law firm , either way I have proof of everything  and i did not send them any money instead just clarified the situation to them  .

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Fraud????

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