Dell Sued Over Supposed Bait-and-Switch Tactics

What a week for lawsuits. First HP gets hit with a potentially massive class action lawsuit over allegations that it is programming ink cartridges to expire artificially. And now it looks like Dell is getting slammed for pulling a bit of the old bait and sitcheroo.

“A California law firm has slapped Dell with a class action lawsuit charging the computer giant with “systematically deceiving” its customers. The suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court on Feb. 14, seeks class action status in California and accuses Dell of “bait and switch” practices, false advertising, fraud and deceit in sales and advertising, and breach of contract. The law firm behind the suit, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, publicized it on Wednesday.

“The case centers on the allegation that Dell advertises low prices for its computers, but people who try to purchase a machine at the advertised price find it’s no longer available for that price. Often those customers wind up with another computer, the suit said.

“One plaintiff is a San Francisco nurse who said she bought a Dell notebook computer listed at $599 along with an $89 printer, but was billed $1,352 for her order. Another plaintiff said Dell shipped him products of lower quality than the ones he had ordered from the company’s Web site. The Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker then resisted his efforts to resolve the problem, he said.
Source: news.com