Claims that it deliberately misled customers about a chip used
in its machines could lead to computer manufacturer Dell facing
hundreds of lawsuits.
Customers say their computers were fitted with cheaper, lower
quality processors than advertised and accuse Dell of fraud.
A first case brought by a single claimant was started in
Shanghai on July 26 but has now been joined by a further suit filed
by 19 claimants, at a court in Xiamen, Fujian Province, where the company's China
headquarters are located. .
Xiamen Huli District People's Court has ruled there is a case to
answer and now the suit brought by the 19 from Beijing, Shanghai,
Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guangxi, Hebei, Shandong and Fujian could be joined by many more.
An online bulletin board set up by disgruntled consumers to
publicize the issue registered more than 500 people whose computers
had different chips to those advertised and all could follow with
lawsuits of their own.
"My clients bought the Dell Inspiron 640M this June but found
out later that Dell used an inferior CPU (central processing
unit)," lawyer for the 19, Guo Zhongfang, told China Daily
yesterday.
The trouble first arose in early June when one computer owner
discovered the CPU in his Inspiron 640M was a T2300E instead of the
T2300 Dell specified on its website, in advertisements and on
specific invoices. He posted the grievance on benyouhui.it168.com,
a popular online bulletin board, and uncovered hundreds of similar
stories. The T2300E chip costs an estimated US$32 less than the
T2300 and reportedly has fewer functions.
Zhang Min, the Shanghai man who filed the first lawsuit, says
it's a typical case of double standards with Chinese customers
being deliberately ripped off. "I tried to negotiate with Dell and
simply asked them to change the CPU but they said there was no
difference between the two and it was unnecessary to change, "he
said. "My lawyer sent them a letter demanding compensation, which
Dell chose to ignore, so we decided to sue," he explained.
So far in Zhang's case, Shanghai Luwan District People's Court
has accepted the suit, but no hearing has yet been scheduled.
Zhang's lawyer, Ma Jianrong, is clear about his client's
demands: "We require a public apology from Dell, a full refund on
the computer 7,995 yuan (US$1,000) plus a fine of the same amount
and compensation for related costs," he said.
Attorney in the Xiamen case, Guo Zhongfang, is adamant he too
wants Dell to be punished. "Dell has defrauded Chinese consumers
and should be fined according to the law," he said. "What makes
things worse is that they've been arrogant and ignored consumers'
complaints. We're not suing for money -- what we want is to hear
the truth."
Dell China says chip manufacturer Intel stopped producing the
T2300 in June and the company was forced to use the T2300E chips
instead, International Finance News reported. The problem,
the company says, was an innocent case of accidentally forgetting
to change information on its website and in advertisements.
When China Daily tried to contact Dell China yesterday,
the company declined to comment on the case, but said it had
previously issued apologies for the mistake and offered refunds to
affected customers. This has done little to assuage those who smell
a potential lawsuit.
According to International Finance News customers in
Beijing and Guangzhou are already queuing up to sue and attorney's
Ma and Guo say they've received many enquiries about pursuing
further cases.
(China Daily August 11, 2006)