Disgruntled Dell customer finds crafty path to lawsuit settlement

Pat Dori, a disgruntled Dell customer who found no resolution to the issue of a broken laptop after five long months and 19 wasted phone calls, decided to go legal and sue the company for failing to adequately address the problem. The method by which Mr. Dori initiated the claim is the juicy core of this story: instead of going through the normal process of sending the court papers to Dell's headquarters in Texas, Dori thought to have the papers delivered to a Dell shopping mall kiosk instead. Quite unsurprisingly, no-one from Dell turned up in court on the stipulated date, resulting in Dori winning a $3,000 default judgment and a ruling to allow bailiffs to close the kiosk and seize items if the judgment was not paid. Dell has now settled the case out of court for undisclosed terms, although the company would have appealed the decision -- had it actually turned up to court, that is. Mr. Dori, our latest hero for sticking it to the man in such a crafty manner, says that he thinks "any regular person can do this," as long as you "have the law on your side." Apparently the key is to "get their money" first, which will inevitably be followed by "[getting] their attention." It's gotta beat screaming down the phone, that's for sure.

[Thanks, Mike]

[jenna @ Dec 30th 2008 7:19PM]

I just got done spending over $1800 on two computers and two monitors and one of the monitors came with the wrong cable.(the replacement cable costs 75 bucks) I cant even get them to do something as simple as sending me the right cable. Igot re routed to so many people who just sent me somewhere else. And now I somehow can't even get the link for live chat from there website. (something I had no problem getting before all this.) What am I supposed to do?

[jenna @ Dec 30th 2008 7:25PM]

Well I just figured out how to get them to respond to me positively. The trick is to ask how you can send the whole shipment back to them C.O.D. After this statement, my hour and forty-five minute phone tag problem was successfully resolved within five minutes.

[jenna @ Dec 30th 2008 7:39PM]

The problem is with the customer support, dillhole! Just wait, it will happen to you! They will forget to include something in your order or something just as trivial and you'll have to call "Customer Support?" and then you'll understand where we are all coming from!!!

[kathy s @ Jan 14th 2009 8:15PM]

Stop the fine print and make them to infor the consumer all there rights and not the Company's only. I always thought fine print is a cover up for some crooked business. If they can't put in big print they shouldn't be allowed to sale any product. This is a big problem with seniors and people can't see well.
COMPANY JUST OUT TO SCREW LITTLE AMERICA IF THEY CAN. This happeneds with all products sold.
STOP FINE PRINT.
MAKE NEW LAWS FOR CONSUMER.

[David @ Dec 10th 2006 7:01AM]

My Dell laptop fried a year and half after I bought it. I called tech support and they wanted me to reinstall windows even after I told them I had tried reformatting mutliple times. After calling/emailing Dell for a few months we finally sent the laptop in and paid around
$400 to get it fixed however the problem was of course the one thing they didnt cover for that $400, it was the motherboard. So they told us it'd be $700 more to fix it or they could send it back exactly as they recieved it. I cut my losses and took the broken laptop back.

[Ellianth @ Dec 10th 2006 1:45AM]

3000 bucks says he's gonna spend his winnings on another dell laptop.

[Rohit Kapur @ Dec 10th 2006 1:46AM]

Woo hoo!! Way to go!!

[Logik @ Dec 10th 2006 1:48AM]

Wow! Now that IS crafty. : ) Way to go.

[Stoked x 10 @ Dec 10th 2006 1:50AM]

After being retarded enough to waste 19 phone calls, he somehow redeemed himself.

[Ralph @ Dec 10th 2006 1:54AM]

Pat Dori is what's wrong with America. I hope he gets ass sued off him -- for what, I don't care, but karma dictates he burn in legal hell for the rest of his life.

[pizzaluvr @ Dec 10th 2006 2:19AM]

ROFL, obviously dell ripped him off, companies do that, that's whats right about america and wrong about iraq, in iraq you would get your toung cut off for that :(

[fuddermucker @ Dec 11th 2006 10:42PM]

It is wimpy lap dogs like Ralph, that let big biz, operate the way they do! SIC EM Pat

[Brian @ Jan 15th 2007 3:16PM]

He's doing what any corporation would do to hard working people... every hear the phrase "read the fine print" how much crap do you think goes by un-noticed by the average consumer in "the fine print"? Then when you sign on the dotted line or give them your hard earned money "gotcha!" or how about when the RIAA decides to sue you wrongfully and you end up blowing thousands in lawyers fees to defend yourself? All because "they can"

[Tom @ May 18th 2007 12:15AM]

Ralph must work for Dell! Who else would defend such deceitful business practices!

[Andy @ Oct 9th 2007 11:42AM]

Ralph, you're an idiot. You'd rather have the big corporation doing nothing to take care of their customers aside from putting him on the phone with someone from India who knows nothing win? As I said, you're an idiot.

[William @ Dec 10th 2006 2:11AM]

Pat Dori is what's right with America: engenuity, creativity, the will and power to seek right where there is wrong, and not to be afraid in doing so. Maybe they won't be so smug and dismissive next time someone calls for technical support. This is assuming he didn't sit on his computer or anything. Way to stereotype ace...

[PreGHz @ Dec 10th 2006 12:14PM]

Pizza, who's talking about iRaq around here?

[Shredsled @ Dec 10th 2006 2:13AM]

Congraulations, Mr. Dorti. Job well done.

[Jypson @ Dec 10th 2006 3:07AM]

Handing summon papers to a temp worker at a kiosk who doesn't give a @#$%....brilliant!

[gt2378b @ Dec 10th 2006 4:14AM]

Wow - after years of reading about how companies can basically force you into arbitration wherever *they* like - the shoe is on the other foot.

Have a kiosk in a mall? You must accept service of process there.

Civil Procedure wonks could point out that, most likely, by opening the laptop package & using the computer he agreed to serve process on Dell Inc.'s home office only - but clearly, litigating that would have cost more than $3k.

I feel a little better about America. :)

[Marian @ Dec 11th 2006 10:43AM]

I bet all the 19 calls were answered in India

[jfischer1975 @ Dec 10th 2006 12:37PM]

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h)(1) provides that, when serving a corporation, delivery of the summons must be made "to an officer, a managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process."

Somehow I doubt that a mall employee fits into any of these categories.

[Lou @ Dec 10th 2006 12:50PM]

According to FRCP rule 4, service of process can be given to "an officer, a managing or general agent" of the corporation. Usually this does not include the schmuck that works the cash register and frequently does not include mid to upper level management at an individual store (especially a kiosk!!). Of course, service can also be done by any means that the state's law provides so maybe thats why this was permitted. I doubt it would be permissible solely by the federal requirement.

[Mikey @ Dec 10th 2006 4:27AM]

I've been complaining of Dell's crappy tech support for years. I wish I had thought of something like this before.

[Ralph @ Dec 10th 2006 4:41AM]

I repeat, Pat Dori is what's wrong with America.

Anybody who can't get satisfaction from Dell after five months and 19 phone calls, then serves legal papers to a dipwad at a kiosk, OBVIOUSLY just wanted to sue Dell from the start. Sure, why not, Dell has deep pockets, right? It wouldn't surprise me the least bit if he damaged his computer on purpose, just so he could sue. Some people will do anything for a headline and a little notoriety, plus a little unearned cash.

I personally have never seen a more responsive customer support department than Dell's. Every problem I've ever had with them, I've been blown away by how quickly and professionally they worked to resolve the problem. If some jerk can't get his problem resolved after 5 months and 19 phone calls, I have to, I mean I really have to, assume that the problem is on the customer's end. Like, maybe he was an ***hole to them from call #1? Like, maybe his computer was out of warranty? Who knows. The dipwad.

Reminds me of the ****ing ***hole who had the nerve to tap MY car's rear bumper, then started screaming SOFT TISSUE DAMAGE!!!! I HAVE TO CALL MY LAWYER!!!! GET ME A NECK BRACE!!!!

Friggin' wank, that Pat Dori. I curse him and the computer he rode in on. If it weren't for lawyers and their hell-spawned ilk, our computers would probably cost 1/10 of what they do.

[Britton Yoder @ Dec 11th 2006 3:20AM]

Dude you have anger issues. Are you an Indian Dell Tech Support Rep?

[SHOTT3R @ Dec 10th 2006 5:06AM]

There are shitty people in all walks of life. Lawyers are no better or worse than any other. All they do is work within the laws, which your representatives that you vote for implement. The legal system can be abused much the same as anything else, but please don't be so uninformed. If it were not for suits against corporations on behalf of wronged individuals I guarantee you, most things would be a lot MORE expensive, if they were even available, and you wouldn't even have warranties. Maybe you're a fan of the old feudal days, I don't know. The lawyer is just the means by which two sides try to assert their respective will under the existing law. No more, no less.

But it's the same old story. People think it's cool to hate zealous lawyers.

Until they need one.

[fgdfgdfdfgdfg @ Dec 10th 2006 5:15AM]

Well, I owned a Dell. And had to deal with the tech support. Never in my life have I encountered a tech support so incompetent. NEVER. I had to deal with them twice and every time it was a PITA. The first problem is still only half solved, while the second problem I had to solve myself.

Reason: The tech support does not consist of technicians, but of stupid call center agents. If something goes wrong that's happening all the time - ok, no problem, they got it in their computers. But if a problem occurs that is only a LITTLE out of the ordinary, you're screwed.

They won't let you speak to a technician, they promise to call you back and won't, every time you call they tell you a different story, they are not authorized to make ANY kind of decision, they won't escalate the problem, because they think they are fully capable of dealing with it themselves (and aren't).

Never again will I buy from Dell, and I admire Mr. Dori for his efficient revenge... although I wonder why he waited so long for it.

[fgdfgdfdfgdfg @ Dec 10th 2006 5:25AM]

BTW: http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert200612187260.jpg

[gt2378b @ Dec 10th 2006 7:47AM]

Ralph: "Reminds me of the ****ing ***hole who had the nerve to tap MY car's rear bumper..."

Ah! So *that's* what it's about. I was really wondering where you were transferring all this from.

[Drew Green @ Dec 10th 2006 9:30AM]

From Ralph: "I personally have never seen a more responsive customer support department than Dell's. Every problem I've ever had with them, I've been blown away by how quickly and professionally they worked to resolve the problem."

Then you sir, must not know a damn thing about computers. When I was 11 years old (literally) my family spent countless hours on the phone with Dell tech support trying to fix a problem that a dell technician CAUSED when they came into our house for an under warranty replacement. Dell had no idea what the problem was. I finally got fed up enough that I decided to give it a shot and I was able to fix the problem just by thinking logically (because at that time I was starting to learn a bit about computers, unlike my family) and acting upon that. An hour later our computer was up and running again with everything working.

Dell tech support is crap, and not to be a bigot or anything, but half the time you're dealing with the tech support you're talking to the call center that's been outsourced to India and can barely understand what the tech is saying a lot. I am not racist and have nothing against people of different races or ethnicies, but for Christ's sake, doesn't it make sense to have customers talking with people they can understand clearly when dealing with a matter most people don't understand to begin with (fixing computers)?

And one final word to Ralph: you have some kind of anger built up against the legal system because you are making serious accusations that you have no grounds to make. Besides, I don't think that the price of replacing a laptop ($3000) that Dell owed him anyway is going to hike the prices of computers. It's one thing if he purposely caused the problem, which you are saying he probably did, but you have no proof or reason to think that, so keep quiet.

[KRocker @ Dec 10th 2006 9:36AM]

You are what is wrong with America!

[Kenny @ Dec 10th 2006 9:32AM]

Pat Dori shows what's RIGHT with America's legal system. I guess Ralph thinks Pat should either continue making phone calls to Dell until he's dead or just eat the $3000. Pat's choice to sue Dell in order to get his money back for a defective laptop was obviously his only recourse. Dell didn't want to help him. Ralph must be a great customer: the product I bought from you doesn't work and you refuse to fix it--well, OK, I'll just keep calling the same phone number.

[Edward @ Dec 10th 2006 10:32AM]

Wow Ralph, I think you need to be a little less critical and not quite so anal. Maybe get laid or something. I see that someone got screwed by corporate america, and he devised a crafty method to get them back. Dell was given 19 oportunities to satisfy a customer and did nothing. It "serves" them right for not upholding their own policies in customer support. Having first hand experience with Dells inability to back up its product all I can say is Kudos for this man standing up for his rights. As for you, Have some coke and a smile and get on with your useless measly hacking life. You Hater.

[Chris @ Dec 10th 2006 1:49PM]

@ RalphRalph

You at making upsurd generalizations about subjects you just don't fully understand--- mainly the lawyer comment. Without lawyers, laymen (like you obviously) would just get bent over a screwed by any company that wronged you rather than that company compensating deserving parties for damages incurred. I could go on an on tearing your arguments apart, but one example will suffice because you are not any more of my time. Coming from a family of lawyers, I know very well that most lawyers are very good people and sincerely help those in need.

Ralph: You are not Mr. "know-it-all" and are not even close, so just stop.

[Manteca @ Dec 10th 2006 2:28PM]

sounds like u work for the MAN!

[Shadyman @ Dec 10th 2006 2:54PM]

Dude, They DO cost 1/10 of what you pay for... Just shop somewhere else.

[mikelieman @ Dec 10th 2006 9:22PM]

Calm down fanboy.

I remember a time where a Dell salesman took a prepared spec for a server, and decided to substitute a piece of shit Travan drive for the useful DAT drive.

THEN There was the go-round with Dell about the shitty Travan drive not working.

About 3 months in, I got everyone who was trying to dick me around in a conference call, and they figured out that replacing the shitty drive with what we ASKED THEM FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE was a hell of a lot cheaper.

So... They suck about as much as anyone else at the end of the day. What the poster did was PERFECTLY LAWFUL, so if you have a problem with it, take it up with your legislature.

[chameleonz @ Dec 10th 2006 5:00PM]

Large companies have terrible service in general and also have distain for people who want what they paid for.
I have had the same problem with a Rio karma.Instead of posting on the website that they no longer repair them you have to buy a $20 service ticket for them to tell you that over the phone.
So I basically had a lawyer friend shoot off a letter and presto a refund.

ralph you will need a lawyer most likely one day and I hope you get screwed becuase there arent many avenues to get satisfaction other wise.

[Jonandra @ Dec 11th 2006 2:26PM]

5 months and 19 phone calls says that he kept hoping he'd just get his laptop fixed.

Just because someone dinged your bumper and made a big deal out of it threatening to sue, doesn't mean that EVERY person filing a lawsuit is only out to leech money.

People out to leech money act a lot quicker on the legal action than 5 months.

Pat showed a tremendous amount of patience before resorting to legal means.

What's "right" with America is that Pat came up with a clever, and legal, recourse to the sort of treatment he'd been recieving.... Sort of a "turn about is fair play" the legal way...

Take notes, and stop letting your own anger cloud your vision... Pat's action is a lesson for us all on how to bring America back to the "common man".

[Michael Dell @ Mar 7th 2007 1:58PM]

You must be drinking some cool aid from Dell. Look at Dell's stock. Look at Dell's market share. Obviously you must be employed by Dell. Dell does not care for its customers. Their customer service stinks. Customers are deserting dell in droves. There must be a reason. Ass holes like you blame everyone else but their own faults. Dell has a problem. Go fix that first.

[Tom @ May 21st 2007 12:26AM]

Maybe Ralph is pushing for a promotion at his job at Dell! Maybe he's the dork at the kiosk who failed to show up in court and got fired by Dell?!!
Ralph, do you also defend the the oil companies for helping us cut back on our gas usage by their outrageous profits from spiking gas prices?

[Britton Yoder @ Dec 11th 2006 3:20AM]

Ralph... Dude, you have an anger problem. Are you a moonlighting Dell Tech Support Rep from India?

[Foof @ Dec 10th 2006 5:53AM]

"Well, I owned a Dell. And had to deal with the tech support. Never in my life have I encountered a tech support so incompetent. NEVER."

Obviously you've never had to deal with Verizon.
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/clips/verizon-doesnt-know-difference-between-dollars-and-cents-220362.php

[TV James @ Dec 19th 2006 3:38PM]

You've obviously never had problems with Sprint PCS if Dell is the worst you've ever seen.

[kompression @ Dec 10th 2006 5:26AM]

Freakin genious!!! Absolute genious!!! That really got Dell's attention and that's all Mr.Dori wanted (I presume). Why Dell would not help its customers? I don't know. Well, they just got pwnd. $3000 is pretty nice too...

[kris ziel @ Dec 14th 2006 8:27AM]

hey, thats enough for him to buy a brand new 17inch 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with a 160GB HDD and 2GB of RAM, horray for him...

[Wickedashtray @ Dec 10th 2006 5:51AM]

Sorry, Ralph, but simply because you happened to have a good experience means nothing. There are entire websites devoted to Dell's shenanigans. Incompetent tech support, rebate scams, stonewalling customers who are having documented problems etc. Its obvious you've never dealt with a large impersonal company who has screwed you. I bought a H-P PC back in '98 only to find out the combination modem/sound card was screwing up the entire system. H-P knew about yet chose to delete every post on their support forums that brought it up. A tech support guy had told me off the record what the issue was and stated they weren't supposed to talk about it but he told me anyhow because he took pity on my situation. They quietly changed the offending hardware and left those who still had to deal with it hanging out to dry. This is just an example of what can happen when you buy off these companies that look at issues strictly as a bottom line thing. Would it cost more to admit the issue and fix it or just stonewall? Never is the customer their #1 priority. The shareholders are. Remember that.

[Mike @ Dec 10th 2006 11:14AM]

I like how he tries to confuse the verizon rep by .002 of a dollar rather than 2 cents.

[Bill Dueease @ Dec 10th 2006 4:06PM]

"Well, I owned a Dell. And had to deal with the tech support. Never in my life have I encountered a tech support so incompetent. NEVER."

Obviously you've never had to deal with Verizon.
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/clips/verizon-doesnt-know-difference-between-dollars-and-cents-220362.php

Or You've never had to deal with Sprint/Embarq. I wish I had the gumption to sue a Sprint Kiosk like Mr. Dori did. Sprint's customer service system is organized to divert, avoid, delay, and pretend they care, so customers will just give up. Looks like Dell has the same intentions.

Way to go Dori.