Posted on 05/27/2008 7:42:50 PM PDT by abt87
A New York state judge on Tuesday found that Dell offered consumers no-interest financing for computers as part of an illegal scheme to lure them into high-interest loans.
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi decided that Dell and Dell Financial Services engaged in fraud, false advertising, deceptive business practices, and abusive debt collection practices, said the N.Y. State Attorney General's Office, which filed the lawsuit in May 2007. DFS is a joint venture between Dell and CIT Bank.
In his ruling, Teresi barred Dell and DFS from engaging in illegal business practices cited in the suit. The court will hold further hearings to determine restitution to consumers and the amount of profits Dell unlawfully earned that will be forfeited to the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at informationweek.com ...
This type of financing is pretty common, isn’t it? You gotta pay at the end of the “interest free” period, or you lose, and you have to back all the back interest.
I’ve always hated these deals, but I know some who use them all the time to good effect. Not sure why they’re picking on Dell.
My Dell (2004-2006)
Goodyear and Citibank had a deal like this, except with rebates on purchases. If you took the rebate and paid everything in full after six months, you got away with a great deal.
There is a reason for the Truth in Lending disclosure and the fine print contract. Individuals should read the disclosure, at minimum, before signing on to any loan or credit contract.
Without going through the trouble of having to read the actual opinion (which tend to be endless in apellate cases like this), it’s pretty easy for a trial lawyer to go after the evil corporation in Texas in front of a NY jury. It would be like suing Bush at the DNC convention and worrying about getting an impartial jury.
Yes. It’s called deffered interest. I’ve got one coming due in September, but if the balance is not paid off by then, I’ll switch it to another credit account to avoid the interest accrued over the year. ;-)
I will NEVER buy another Dell.
If you pay it off send the payment early and Certified.
"We didn't get it on time" is their favorite excuse to lower the interest hammer.
My first thought is that no "profits Dell unlawfully earned" should be "forfeited to the state," but returned to those from whom those profits were illegally taken.
Yeah, I’ve thought of that. I’ll make sure they get the final payment about 2 months before then.
What? Read the contract? Personal resposibility for one’s own actions? Geez, what planet do you live on?
/sarcasm
That which Dell calls Technical Support is a fraud. A heavily-accented Indian reading from a script isn’t my idea of support.
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