Grrr! Dell!

natalie_ca

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Last year on November 30th I declared personal bankruptcy. One of the debts was to Dell.

I notified them via telephone and email at the beginning of December that I declared bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee also notified them. Dell filed a claim at the beginning of January, 2008. In February or March the trustee told Dell that they had no interest in the equipment and gave permission for Dell to deal with me privately.

Now in the meantime Dell was still trying to take money out of my bank account in December, January, and February despite my having stopped payment and them being notified of my bankruptcy.

They also kept sending me letters during that time indicating a balance owing. And they were also phoning me, and each time I told them I had declared bankruptcy and they asked who the trustee was!


And each time I told them that I had no plans to continue with the contract because I am still on long term disability and my financial situation has not changed, and I have told them repeatedly that they can take the equipment back (a camera, power bar and a graphic tablet).

The last time I heard from the was back in June I think.

A couple weeks ago I got a phone call from some guy who didn't indicate why he was calling. I called back and it turns out they are the collection agency for Dell. I repeated all of the above, told him that if Dell provides me a local representatives address, I will be happy to deliver the equipment there, and also told him to not call me about the matter anymore. He told me that Dell doesn't want the equipment: they want the money. I told him "Aww! Isn't that too bad. Unfortunately the only thing they will be getting from me is the equipment and you won't be getting a commission off the money you so want to collect."

I got another call from him yesterday. I called and left a message on his voice mail telling him that I had talked to him about this matter once, and I am not going to do it again and that I was issuing a formal "cease and desist" and told him to not call me anymore.

He called me back asking me the name of the bankruptcy trustee. To which I replied "Contact Dell. They've been given that information at least twice a month for nearly a year." He told me that he did, but they don't have it. I told him that I'm done talking to him and to not call me anymore.

He went on to tell me that he has every right to contact me about the debt and that I'll be hearing from him again. I told him "Look! You aren't dealing with someone wet behind the ears. I worked in law and I know what my rights are. When I tell you to cease and desist, you have to cease and desist because any further communication from you will be construed as harassment." He then said "You'll be sorry....." to which I replied "No, you will if you contact me in any way" and then I hung up.

I'm so immune to collection people that all I could do was laugh and roll my eyes.
 

icklemiss21

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An employee listed me as a reference once for a loan and didn't pay it - they call me looking for him even though he hasn't worked for us in 3 years (which they have been told) and when I stopped answering their calls and paid for call privacy so they can't call with a blocked number, they typed in my BF's parent's # which I guess they got from the phone book to pretend it was them so I would answer.

These people are terrible!
 

krazycatlover

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wow what a silly person. I was going to say I don't think he can call you if you say not to. Maybe he needs to get a new job.
 

whisky'sdad

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That is why I love answering machines!! We screen all of our calls and if we do pick up, the person who they are asking for is no longer living here.

Or, I can do what was suggested in another thread....a whistle!
 

fastnoc

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I understand your frustration, but just my thought, wouldn't it have been much easier to just give him the trustee name and be done with it? it seems almost like you wanted it to continue from what you said. Not trying to sound crass or rude, but common sense tells me if you'd just have given him the trustee info you'd have been done a long time ago. you've been complaining about this situation for months.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

I understand your frustration, but just my thought, wouldn't it have been much easier to just give him the trustee name and be done with it? it seems almost like you wanted it to continue from what you said. Not trying to sound crass or rude, but common sense tells me if you'd just have given him the trustee info you'd have been done a long time ago. you've been complaining about this situation for months.
I have to agree. How difficult would it be to just give him the Trustee's name? Our daughter declared bankruptcy 9 years ago when she was young and stupid and ran up her cell phone bill. We refused to bail her out so she has had to live with this issue for the last 9 years with 1 year to go before she has a clean record again. She had calls much like yours and simply gave them the name of the Trustee - end of calls.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

I understand your frustration, but just my thought, wouldn't it have been much easier to just give him the trustee name and be done with it? it seems almost like you wanted it to continue from what you said. Not trying to sound crass or rude, but common sense tells me if you'd just have given him the trustee info you'd have been done a long time ago. you've been complaining about this situation for months.
It's not hard. It's the principal of the matter! Dell already has the information. They've been given it many, many times. They are just too lazy to look it up and keep asking for it. I could have given it yesterday, but next week or next month they would be asking for it again. I'm sick of it.

I'm just so fed up dealing with them. How many times do they need to be given the same freaking information? They already have it and if they want it again, they can darn well dig it out from my file! It must be listed dozens of times because that's how many times they were made aware of the fact that I declared bankruptcy and given the name of the bankruptcy trustee.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

It's not hard. It's the principal of the matter! Dell already has the information. They've been given it many, many times. They are just too lazy to look it up and keep asking for it. I could have given it yesterday, but next week or next month they would be asking for it again. I'm sick of it.

I'm just so fed up dealing with them. How many times do they need to be given the same freaking information? They already have it and if they want it again, they can darn well dig it out from my file! It must be listed dozens of times because that's how many times they were made aware of the fact that I declared bankruptcy and given the name of the bankruptcy trustee.
Well, that's certainly one way to ensure they keep calling. Once you tick them off they'll probably continue calling just to irk you and it's working.
 

theimp98

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i think i posted some where,
that several years ago i brought a dell laptop, paid in off in 2 months.

flash forward 7 years later, i still get calls from dell trying to collect a balance of $0 dollars.
 

yosemite

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I got a Dell in the spring and my desk top was a Dell - I had excellent service from them. Mind you, I paid cash for both up front so there was no payments or balance at any time which may have made the difference.
 

cdubbie

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Originally Posted by theimp98

i think i posted some where,
that several years ago i brought a dell laptop, paid in off in 2 months.

flash forward 7 years later, i still get calls from dell trying to collect a balance of $0 dollars.
Oh that is hilarious!
I wish you would have The Consumerist print your story. That is right up their alley.
 

lsanders

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

I have found with Dell, you either get outstanding service or the worst service - there seems to be no middle ground.
I heard about someone who bought a computer from them with an extended, 3-year warranty. About a year after that, the computer broke. Since buying it, the guy moved about 200 miles away from where he was living at the time of purchase. He sent the computer in to be fixed, and after it was fixed, he found out that they would only ship the computer back to the address that was listed on the warranty. Even after he explained to them that he moved, they said there was nothing they could do, it was for security purposes. I think the guy had to contact the person who was living in his old house, ask if he could hang out outside to wait for this package to be delivered (driving 200 miles to get there and 200 miles back) on the day they said it would be.

I tried to look this up to make sure it was true, and I couldn't find the exact story, but found a lot of other ones like it, like this one. That story is from this year and I'd heard about the other one several years ago.

This is why I love living in a Mac household.
 
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