Would You Be This Honest?

[mommalina]

Paying for free computer
is costly for honest buyer

http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/advice/v-echo/story/413552p-349669c.html

Some people might be happy to receive a free computer. Not Samuel Black. The only thing he wanted to do was pay for the computer as quickly as possible.

But that simple intention proved more difficult than Black expected. More than three months after he received the machine, he was still trying to persuade Dell Inc. to take his money. "It is a burden on me," the New York man complained. "I am an honest American and I can't afford to damage my excellent credit rating."

The problem started in early January when Black bought a computer from Dell.com and authorized payment through his PayPal account. PayPal, an electronic-payment service, makes direct payment to merchants without disclosing the consumer's financial information.

Dell.com just started accepting payments from PayPal in November. Maybe it is still trying to work out all the details of the relationship. Or maybe someone just screwed up.

One way or another, Dell.com promptly shipped Black's computer, apparently without noticing that PayPal had cancelled the transaction. Black noticed something was wrong when the purchase was missing from his monthly credit card statement.

Black called Dell.com for an explanation. Dell.com referred him to PayPal. "A representative at PayPal told me the order had been cancelled. I tried explaining that it hadn't been, and, in fact, I was already using the computer."

Black made repeated calls to PayPal and to Dell.com, explaining to anyone who would listen that he wanted to pay for merchandise he was already using. "No one knew where to direct me," he said.

Even after I contacted Dell.com on Black's behalf, it took representatives two weeks to determine what to do. Just recently, Black received an invoice, which he promptly paid.

He's still waiting for a thank you for his honesty.

Originally published on May 1, 2006

[photolady]

I hope he doesn't hold his breath waiting for that thank you. And yes, I'm that honest too. If I didn't earn it, didn't buy it, it's not mine to keep.

[mommalina]

I hope he doesn't hold his breath waiting for that thank you. And yes, I'm that honest too. If I didn't earn it, didn't buy it, it's not mine to keep.

Me, too. I agree. But sometimes it can difficult to straighten out some errors.

I once gave up trying to get a credit card company to remove someone else's sizable payment erroneously credited to my account. The employee I talked to on the phone said, "Forget it." He was adamant even though I told him it wasn't my money but that of another card holder. He was annoyed when I protested further, so I did not pursue it. I worried that if I asked for a supervisor, the employee could lose his job. I thought about writing to the credit card company, not mentioning the phone conversation. But I feared if he found out, he'd be angry and perhaps cause identity theft problems for me. I still feel guilty.

Another time, Customer Service assured me that a supermarket cashier would not get into trouble, so I returned $17 she erroneously gave me in change. The clerk looked shocked and then said, "Let's split it." He insisted. I assumed half was going back to the company. Now, years later, I wonder if I misunderstood what "split it" meant, and perhaps half was going into his pocket. At any rate, his math was lousy. He returned less than half back to me. :doh: :doh:

Lina

[RAK]

Ethics: Do they still teach that in school(I know they don't teach History; but then again, if it was current history,you wouldn't witness much "ethical behavior" in that) ? Reminds me of an incident my son had. He found a Twenty Dollar bill on the floor at school. Since "Dear old Dad" wasn't there to explain the Time-tested ethic of "Finders-Keepers" he followed his instincts and took it to the Office. There he was praised for his honesty and told if nobody claimed it in a reasonable time, he could come back to get it. Well, to make a long story short, a reasonable time to him was the next day, and the day after that, at which time they gave him the Twenty; proving that not only was he honest, but he also wasn't a fool. I would have given Dell and PayPal one chance to get it right, after which I would have just considered that they were idiots and deserved to lose money; and anyone who invests in companies that don't know how to count money are idiots, too. It would be downright unethical to convince them that they are idiots. Life, after all, is the greatest teacher,

RAK

[PeteF]

I would have given Dell and PayPal one chance to get it right, after which I would have just considered that they were idiots and deserved to lose money;
RAK

When it comes to dealing with red tape or disorganized organizations,
I think it's important to give them notification in writing so that your
honest efforts are documented. Then if they don't respond, the burden
is on them due to their own negligence. Then you can rightfully hold on
to that money and earn interest, but it would be wise not to spend it.
As time goes on, you earn interest and then if some years go by and
they still have not re-claimed their money you could feel more
comfortable about spending the money. Biggest problem here is being
disiplined as not to spend the money for such a long period of time.
---pete---

[Dan18960]

If it ain't nailed down I am lugging it to my to my Hummer to get a hammer to get the stuff that is nailed down :eek:

[Terry Hanushek]

Another way to look at this situation is to imagine what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot. Say for instance that Paypal had accidentally charged your account twice for the computer and you were affluent (or careless) enough not to check your statement, do you think that Dell would have recognized the error and refunded the overpayment? Perhaps a company that is this disorganized should give away a few computers.

Terry

[athomsfere]

With the quality of some of their computers, I think they should give a few away! Practically garbage anyway.
Just my opinion of course, had way too many problems with Dells over the years, both as a consumer and a fixer.

[Seth]

With the quality of some of their computers, I think they should give a few away! Practically garbage anyway.
Just my opinion of course, had way too many problems with Dells over the years, both as a consumer and a fixer.

Haven't had anything out of the ordinary with Dells. Now Emachines on the other hand...just look at those the wrong way and the psu blows. Change the psu and within a couple of weeks the mobo usually heads south too. At least with the "T" line anyway.

[SkipCox]

What BlackMirror said...

And, those pesky eMachine psu's might just be getting a bad rap.

http://skipcox.net/folding

Yep, it's still running.