Atlanta, GA - Joe Doyle, Administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA), today announced that the agency has entered into a settlement with Texas-based Dell, Inc. and its subsidiary, Dell Financial Services, LLC (DFS).  Dell has agreed to modify its business practices with respect to certain rebates, service warranties, and advertisements associated with financing promotions.  Dell will also pay $25,000 to the State of Georgia to distribute in the form of restitution to consumers who suffered out-of-pocket monetary losses directly attributable to those business practices.

Consumers who have already lodged complaints with OCA relating to these practices that have not yet been resolved by Dell will be sent a claim form, which they must fill out in order to be eligible for restitution.  Consumers who have not filed a complaint but believe they may be entitled to compensation under the settlement can fill out a claim form and submit it to OCA, along with supporting documentation.  All forms must be post-marked no later than midnight on July 14, 2009, in order to be considered for restitution. 

Eligibility
In order to be eligible for restitution, the claim must meet the following requirements:

  1. the claim must arise from a transaction with Dell or DFS that occurred between April 1, 2005 and July 1, 2009; 
  2. the claimant must be a consumer, not a business;
  3. the claim must concern
    (i) a DFS Conditional Financing Promotion,
    (ii) a rebate that the consumer applied for but did not receive,
    (iii) warranty service that Dell did not perform as promised or as required by Georgia’s implied warranty laws, or
    (iv) extended warranty or next-business-day service that was not provided as promised; and
  4. the consumer must have suffered a verifiable out-of-pocket (monetary) loss.

Filing a Claim
Download a claim form here, or you may request a form by calling 404-651-8600 or 800-869-1123 (in Georgia, outside the Atlanta Metro area).

Completed claims, along with supporting documentation, should be sent via U.S. Certified Mail to:

Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs
Attn:  Dell Claims
2 Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. SE
Suite 356
Atlanta, GA  30334

Claims must be postmarked by July 14, 2009.  Claims that are postmarked after the deadline will not be considered.  After filing, your claim will be reviewed.  If you are not eligible, you will be notified accordingly.  If you are eligible, you will be mailed a check once all claims have been received and evaluated.  Refund checks will be mailed out to eligible consumers starting on September 14, 2009.  The refund amount of each consumer claim will be determined by the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs, but shall not exceed $500 per eligible claim.  If the claims received total more than the amount of the restitution funds, a proportionate amount will be distributed to all eligible claimants.