Washington Watchdog Takes On Dell
A Washington watchdog group that promotes ethics and accountability in government and public life is setting its sights on computer manufacturer Dell. Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with District of Columbia Attorney General Peter Nickles on Monday asking for an investigation into why the Austin, Texas-based Fortune 500 company reportedly refused to honor its next-day service warranty, which guarantees on-site response. The victim of the alleged breach of contract: CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan.
"Honoring a warranty is a matter of ethics and at CREW, we take action when confronted with unethical conduct," the group said in an e-mail. "If Dell promises next day service, Dell should deliver next day service." In a January 2009 settlement with 34 state attorneys general (not including D.C.), Dell agreed to pay $3.35 million to resolve allegations of deceptive advertising and its failure to honor its warranties. CREW also launched DELLception.org, a Web site where consumers can submit stories about similar experiences with the firm.
A Dell spokesman was unaware of Sloan's individual case and could not comment on her situation. Regarding CREW's referenced settlements with attorneys general, the number of actual complaints reflected represented a small percentage of the millions of transactions Dell had in those states. "Many of the customer issues were resolved satisfactorily before the settlements were negotiated," the Dell official said. "Settling with the AGs let us avoid long-term litigation and focus our efforts on providing customers a great experience."
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