Dell Financial Services lawsuit settled

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I previously posted about the BIZARRE Dell refusal to settle an old charged off account:

Suing Dell Financial Services because it REFUSED to settle an old chargeoff

Dell actually hired an outside attorney and he scheduled a contested trial. The attorney refused to communicate with me when I asked him whether my posting was accurate, but he finally responded to my client’s email and Dell then offered to delete the balance and my client accepted.

It cost my client $80 to sue and serve Dell and he had paid me $300 to settle the account, so I think it worked out ok. I have NO idea why Dell wasted the money to hire a local attorney, but not communicating with customers seems to be an important part of Dell’s procedures.

This was SLOW going and the dismissal was just filed last week, a few days before the trial. We had asked the attorney to have DFS change the payment history, but the settlement agreement states that Dell is not responsible for Fair Isaac’s FICTITIOUS late payments. Of course we know that, but why couldn’t Dell be nice about it and change the payment history?

As of today, the Equifax credit report still shows the balance and my client has to dispute with the credit bureaus. And we’ll get a new myFICO report to see whether the fictitious lates are still an issue.

Comments

13 responses to “Dell Financial Services lawsuit settled”

June 30, 2014

Pam

I am having the same problem. My credit report states charge off and I’ve paid Dell too much money. Dell has thousands of complaints, but nobody wants to tackle the corruption.

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August 19, 2014

Rebecca

I have the same problem I purchased a laptop that quit working the first year…. I paid 645 for it through Dell Financial services and have never missed a payment and now they are saying I owe 1250… What the heck why do they get away with ripping people off…..

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1. August 19, 2014
  
  Christine
  
  Because nobody bothers to go public with regulatory complaints and / or sue — that’s why. Do you have your statements and proof of payments? Have you disputed with Dell?
  
  Reply
October 13, 2014

Linnea

Hi, I am being sued by Asset Acceptance for a Dell Account. I paid if off and closed the account. I also moved since then and never got any more statements. Now they have this and filled MSJ and I am spending a ton of time defending it and I was able to find my old emails showing three items that I returned and the date that I asked for the account to be closed. It was on an old computer that was damaged from a Home Invasion and I also disputed with the credit reporting company’s and they have an address in TX on the computer generated files the collection company is using and I have never lived in TX. They also show purchased things after the date I closed the account that I never ordered. I just hope the Justice of the Peace here in AZ sees that this is clearly not mine. I would like some money for my time and stress but no attorney here will take it. Any help?

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1. October 13, 2014
  
  Christine
  
  I can’t believe you that no attorney will take your case. Where is your court? Did you contact all the NACA attorneys?
  
  It would be difficult for Asset to provide “admissible” evidence for charges you did not make. However, you probably don’t know how to “properly” challenge their evidence (computer generated records) and the only way you can get paid for your time as per AZ court rules is if you file a lawsuit against Asset for violations of the FDCPA such as misrepresentations, unfair practices, etc.
  
  In justice court you can get badly screwed as many judges are corrupt and always rule for the party with the attorney — the corporate creditor and NOT the consumer.
  
  And even worse, many superior court judges are no better and once you lost an appeal to superior court, you’re out of options as you can’t appeal any further. Also, you can’t present NEW evidence, arguments and legal theories on appeal.
  
  So, it’s extremely important that you win your case NOW or even better, you get Asset to give you a couple thousand dollars in “going away” money and dismissing their claim on their own.
  
  Have you seen the sample filings regarding my Acarta and Midland filings?
  
  When is your response to their msj due?
  
  Reply
  1. December 9, 2014
    
    Linnea
    
    Christine- I just now found your response thanks to gmails new way that they deliver email. I got an Order of Judgment. I requested a hearing and it was denied. The court was in Buckeye. They are such idiots here. There are so many errors by the court. I know that nothing is fair here. I am ready to have a nervous breakdown or something bad. I just can’t stand the total injustice of this. Arizona is the worst place to live in terms of the law. I need to appeal it. How can they possibly have ordered against me. There are so many holes in their paperwork. Any idiot could see that.
    
    Reply
December 9, 2014

Christine

Well, all is not lost yet. First of all, when was the judgment against you entered? And when was your request for hearing denied?

You only have 14 days to appeal.

If it’s too late to appeal, you can sue for FDCPA violations. But you really need an attorney. Not long ago I read a lawsuit over a Dell account that was paid, similar to your situation. If I run across it again, I’ll post it here.

You need to prepare a case summary, print out a copy of the docket for your case and explain in 3 to 5 sentences what REALLY happened.

There are not many consumer attorneys in Arizona and it’s very hard to get one to take your case without a retainer. You should scan all the major filings (complaint, answer and any motions) so an attorney could review the documents if they are interested in the case. Just say you can email the filings if they’re interested. The easier you make it for them, the more likely it is that they’ll represent you.

If you want, you can email some of the docs and your summary to me before you contact attorneys and I’ll give you my two cents.

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March 18, 2016

Diane

I am in the middle of a battle with Dell as well. I have been going back and forth with them since I originally bought my laptop from them back in October 2014. Between having issues with the equipment and trying to make my payments on time through their website it has not been an easy process.I have spent numerous hours on the phone with them trying to get this rectified to no avail. The last time i spoke with someone they actually told me to let my account go into collections in order to get a better payoff amount. The supervisor i spoke with yesterday became indignant with me on the phone when i tried to explain my ordeal i have had since opening my account with the company She simply didn’t want to hear it about any issues I had with the company. I did agree to a settlement offer with them if for no other reason then to fix my credit report. Once payment was made to the company i asked if they could remove the the derogatory mark from my credit report which they refused to do. They also refuse to give me anything in writing until the settlement offer is paid off and even then i have to wait until after May 18th to receive it.

I am paying way more than I should be for the two computers. Most of the charges on this account are late fees due to their inadequate website which includes their lack of being able to delete or merge a 10 year old account that had been paid in full and satisfied.

The interest on the account is absolutely insane. The interest i was being charged is a revolving 29.99% interest rate per month which is absolutely ludicrous.

I am trying to get my credit cleaned up and am not sure what my next process should be. I am hoping anyone who reads this can aid me in my next steps with this awful company.

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1. March 18, 2016
  
  Christine
  
  I feel for you, Dell is awful. Most likely, you’ll need LEGAL claims against them and having a crappy website and incompetent people isn’t illegal. I’m not sure about their refusal to give you anything in writing, are you referring to the terms of the settlement?
  
  You need to review your credit reports and hopefully you can find INCORRECT reporting. You need to dispute INCORRECT info with the credit bureaus and if they then VERIFY incorrect data you may have enough to eventually get DELETION of the account.
  
  Having the account correctly reported as a PAID chargeoff is better than being currently delinquent, but it will still hurt your credit rating until it is deleted. Whether it’s worth the effort depends on WHAT ELSE is on your credit and most of all, what you need credit for. If you have several open accounts with NO lates Dell will have less of an impact.
  
  Reply
2. March 18, 2016
  
  Charlie
  
  I took DFS to small claims court in Kissimmee FL. An attorney showed up and stated that DFS does not settle accounts and they rather pay more that what is owed in attorney fees.
  
  I voluntarily dismissed the case in small claims and intend to file a lawsuit in federal court for violation of the FDCPA and the FCRA. They are reporting inaccurate information to the CRA and they have continued to call me after I requested DFS to stop calling.
  
  So The balance on the acct is 1300.00 and they will spend more than that defending themselves as I will file the complaint pro se.
  
  Reply
  1. March 18, 2016
    
    Christine
    
    Unfortunately Dell is the original creditor and therefore not subject to the FDCPA. You need solid FCRA violations or you might end up paying their costs and wasting a lot of your own time and money.
    
    Reply
    1. March 18, 2016
      
      Charlie
      
      Christie it was a typo on my part I meant the FCCPA. In Florida an original creditor falls under the definition of “any person”. Florida co before-mentioned definition and it violates the statute when e.g. the call a consumer who has sent them a written request to cease and desist.
      
      Reply
      1. March 19, 2016
        
        Charlie
        
        Christine it was a typo on my part I meant the FCCPA. In Florida an original creditor falls under the definition of “any person”. An original creditor violates Fla. Stat 559 as they fall under the before-mentioned definition and they violates the statute when e.g. they call a consumer who has sent them a written request to cease and desist and specifically request not to be called regarding the alleged debt.
        
        This is a repost as the original had several typos.