Ordering Dell Inspiron-1.

I am a happy user of Dell machines and screens for many, many years now. Mid-January my last desktop broke down (only 3,5 year old, but this can happen). Reason: motherboard unrecoverable damaged. Ordered on January 22 on the Dell.NL site a new and powerful machine (necessary for my work). To my surprise I had to order a new screen as well; this was not my initial intention but I could use it; above all I needed fast replacement. For the payment the site offered 3 possibilities: creditcard, Paypal and iDeal. I choosed iDeal which I find very efficient because the amount is immediately payed. By agreeing to receive messages Dell guaranteed 2 ‘shipping days’. I didn’t think too much about this strange definition, assuming it was another phrase for ‘working days’. After 3 days I requested Dell about the status; I was told that paying through iDeal causes a delay of 2-3 working days because you don’t pay to Dell directly but through a third party. Apart from the delay in handling my order my money is at extra risk with a third party involved. Dell should mention this two important consequences of iDeal payments. Furthermore they informed me that ‘shipping days’ means ‘working days’ necessary to arrange dispatchment from the factory. One employee told me that the machine was coming from a factory in China, a second employee was sure it is a factory in Poland. Expected date of delivery: February 5. Again: Dell should inform the client in advance of this specific and strange procedure. With that knowledge I had ordered a machine elsewhere; delivery in 1, 2 or 3 working days is usual. I am not hesitating to call the withholding of this important and relevant information misleading!

Ordering Dell Inspiron-2.

The above machine (Ordering Dell Inspiron-1) was finally delivered on February 2; all the time I had to perform my work on a laptop where I normally work with 4 screens. The new machine was not what I expected so I send an email to Dell on February 3; NO REACTION. New mail on February 10; NO REACTION. New email on February 15; NO REACTION. February 22 email to ‘customer care’; NO REACTION. March 3 new email; NO REACTION. March 10 new email: NO REACTION. For all clearness: Dell confirmed the receipt of these mails and promised to do the utmost to settle the problem within 24 ‘werkuren’ (working hours). I never saw that phrase before, but I now know that it means: ‘we have a part-time employee that is hired for 2 hours a week for handling complaints, so you have to wait 12 weeks before you may expect a reaction‘. At last I have forwarded two registered letters to the management of Dell Nederland BV to ask attention for this horror story. Result: both times NO REACTION. It seems that they have hand over the letters to the people I complained about. On a written complaint I am entitled to a written reaction; the employees involved called me and tried in a unfriendly way to let me certify that I received the machine I ordered. All in all it is an unbelievable story; after almost 3 months I still have a desktop that I cannot use for my work; three months of offending treatment, three months of an enormous handicap with my work, three months of expiring guarantees and free use of software, three months of useless efforts to solve the problem, three months of unnecessary attention on my side.

Of course I will not give up: I will inform the US management, contact consumer interest organizations, juridical measures, and what else. Anyone a suggestion?