42 people from Washington. What about the other states?

I would if I could, Carey. Honest... but I'm a NYer :(

Damn my NY roots yet again.

Has anyone who owns a Dell NOT had a problem with a repair or warranty at some point?

I wish I was eligible (I've certainly had my issues with the two laptops I've purchased from Dell), but I live in NY. I wonder what discluded NY from the settlement in the first place

Damn, I shouldn't have been as persistent as I was with getting my rebate back. Had I not called the BBB on them and received a rebate back maybe I could have got more back from them. Oh well.

i am in ny also. NY is always excluded from everything.

does getting turned down by their financing agent due to lack of any credit history (as opposed to bad history) count as a financing problem?

@majortom1029: I HATE NEW YORK!!

I've been an Apple Guy since 2002. Haven't even looked at a Dell catalogue since, much less bought one.

@dallasmay: Plus, I'm from Texas. So....

I've a IT guy who runs a few companies during the week, and all are Dell shops. I've had nothing but very good experiences with them and their hardware has been very good and reliable for me. I know a lot of other folks are happy with their Dell machines as well. Not saying the company can't screw up or make a mistake, but I and my users are happy customers.

@Wild Monkey: Not likely-most class actions result in the class getting less than they lost.

...this is why these kinds of legal judgements don't actually ever mean anything. Virtually none of the eligible people are ever going to take notice of it, and virtually none of them are going to bother to do the paperwork to make a claim.

If the US is serious about making companies liable for their misdeeds, make *them* go back through their records and automatically send out a payment to everyone who is elegible. Then you'll actually make them pay out the $1.5M. As it stands, the legal decision is effectively not going to have any impact on Dell and/or it's practices.

@jessi5000:
I own a couple of Dell laptops circa 2002 and have never needed to deal with Dell for repairs. Also have a few Dell LCD screens; one died, but it lived a long life.

So yeah, I've never had a problem with Dell.

@Shane Elliott: i don't believe so. the "financing problem" refers to a bait & switch performed by dell financial services. they would offer you a promo (like 12 mos. no interest) tied to their charge acct. & approve you for a credit line, but not disclose that you were denied the promo & that the interest rate was ~23-29%.

i would've applied, but my "financing problems" stem from before 2005, so i don't fit into this class action. :(

at least something is being done. DFS was pulling some shady tricks back in the day. i was one of the people that applied for a no interest promo, was told that i was approved with a credit line of $2000, but not told that i didn't meet their criteria for the promo.

it wasn't until my first bill came laden with ~$50 worth of finance charges & the subsequent rounds of phone calls with customer service that i discovered their scheme. all in all, i reckon it cost me ~$200 in interest charges before i paid it off.

1.5 million / 42 = Not only the lawyers are winners this time around. Talk about making out like a a bandit.

@YouDidWhatNow?: Agreed.

Most people do not have the paperwork lying around to substantiate the claim, and by now, have discovered that most of the award goes to the lawyers anyway.

If you can find the paperwork and do file, you usually wind up with a check for less than $10.00, or, worse yet, a coupon that obligates you to buy more product from the same company that screwed you in the first place.

Meanwhile, the legal eagles make sure they get their haul in cash money.

The current system is seriously broken, and in need of deep reform. Call me when somebody fixes it.

@silver-bolt: The 1.5 million is a reserve and not a fixed pot windfall to be split proportionally among the claimants. It is only to make claimants whole - you have to detail your losses.

Example 1: If they promised you a $50 rebate and you never got it then you can claim the $50.

Example 2: If Dell could/would not fix your PC then you can claim the repair cost you incurred at a 3rd party repair shop.

[myfloridalegal.com]

@verucalise:

I went to the "Office of Attorney General"'s website and did a quick search. Apparently NY did go to court with Dell back in Dec.2008. Like many NYers' here, I've also had problems with Dell(significant ones). Anyway, it looks like we're late to the bandwagon so to speak.

[www.oag.state.ny.us]

If you do however want to further your cause or complaint, you can still enlist NY Attorney General's help via a form(which I assume leads to additional red tape).

Overall, I'm a bit peeved that these class action & statewide lawsuits don't get much attention and therefore leaving the consumer once again in the dark when it comes to fixes/resolutions/sums of money.

I've had Dell send me 3 shipments back & forth for just one single laptop that was caused a known video card issue.

My parents are in the market for a new laptop and keep leaning towards a Dell. I keep alternating between headbanging and saying "no!"

@I_am_Awesome: Same here, except I have a 2004 laptop that's still going strong and had one Dell LCD die on me after 6 years of use. I think their build quality is great, as long as you're not buying the super-cheap PC of the week.

Get in on that list people! $0.64 of that settlement can be yours!

@silver-bolt: Lawyers' fees in class actions have to be approved by the judge. It's usually based on time, difficulty of the subject matter, and the size of the class.

I'm pretty sure that in order to actually be eligible for this, I'd actually have to own a Dell. Shoot.

*Paints "Dell" on the side of his Compaq*

There we go. Cash, please!

Anyone know where the find the California form? The CA AG site's search is useless.

@smartwatermelon: NM, found it: [www.ag.ca.gov]

@dallasmay: Apple has its problems as well. As an owner of a G3 iMac, a G4 eMac, an Intel MacMini, and a first-gen iPod Nano I'm all too familiar with their issues.

I stick with Mac's because I love the look of the computers, their OS is great, and they're totally cool when it comes to (most) issues, but to say they're even slightly better than any other computer maker in terms of customer service or product quality is a false statement.

Dude! Don't buy a Dell! Don't do it! Buy a Mac instead! Dude! Don't do it!

@dallasmay: Same here :)

@parrotuya: Buy a Dull - Confirm or Deny?

DENY!!!

I've been trying to find the Illinois form, and all I can find is the press release from the settlement ([www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov])

Can anyone help me find it?

I'm an IT Manager supporting over 50 Dell workstations, 5 Dell servers and all Dell networking hardware and I've gotta say all equipment has been very reliable, sales has been nothing but helpful and warranty service has always been prompt and courteous whenever I've needed it. Thanks Dell!

@jessi5000:

I did, when I got my Dell laptop there was a minor dent on the screen frame. When I call Dell Canada and said about the dent, without me asking, Dell directly said to keep the laptop while they build a new one. Once I receive the new laptop, I can, if I want, switch the HDD's (they were willing to send a technician to my place at the time I wanted to do this (I have Dell Buisness Latitude E6400 machine)). Shipping was PAID by Dell on both directions. PLUS, they gave me 100$ off to spend on anything I want on Dell.ca and free shipping, without asking.

NOW THAT IS SERVICE!

@parrotuya: Yeah! Buying a Mac lets everyone around you KNOW that you're willing to pay way more than you should for goods. Nothing says "Sucker" like a big shiny macbook pro for surfing the web.

@ajlei: I love Dell XPS M1330! So far in my experience Dell has been more pleasant to deal with then Asus or Apple which were both nightmares.

@KarbonKopy: I am an IT guy also. Their home devision is completely different from their business section.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

@ajlei: depends on which one they buy. The xps brand has its own US tech support. so if they buy dell tell them an xps or tell them pick a dell lattitude (which is business and much better quality and tech support).

@SMSDHubbard: I compltetely agree. A top of the line imac costs $2500. Comes only with a core 2 duo.

I can get a dell studio xps with 24 inch monitor core i7 and 6 gigs ddr3 ram for $1600.

Almost $1000 cheaper for a faster pc. Next higher up apple is a mac pro.

@justjimi: I guess you dont have optiplex gx 620's. Ours have slowly been killing off power supplies, motherboards ,and hdd drives.

Del ltold us right out its a problem with the optiplex gx 620's but a recall notice wasnt sent out so we are stuck calling in one by one when they die.

I have to agree with justjimi I've owned 5 Dells in the last 10 years and have NEVER had a problem with any of them except for a hard drive on one of them fried after a year and they sent someone out and replaced it with a new one all under my warranty. OTOH I had a Sony Vaio and an HP and both gave me nothing but trouble from the day I got them, that is when I switched to Dell and never looked back.

@justjimi: Generally, 10-20% of our workstations from Dell come in DOA or in need of repair. We work off of a contract though.

@jessi5000: I've owned Dell PCs since 2001. From 2001-2004, I had monitor problems and each time, they sent me a new one (I went through 4 monitors). From 2004-2007, that computer had a fan problem and they sent out the part and fixed it within 3 days of my phone call. Currently, I have a refurbished XPS700/720 hybrid that I just renewed the warranty on. While I've had more problems with this PC -I've gone through 2 mobos (not including the one they swapped out with the recall program), 2 sticks of RAM and a power source - they've always treated this PC as if it were brand new and they've promptly fixed it with overnighting parts (that I may or may not have needed) and the Hawaii Dell techs that come over have always been fast and fairly friendly. Occasionally, I get follow-up phone calls and emails from the Indian techs that originally fixed my problems to make sure the problem is fixed.

So yeah, I can say that I've never had a problem with their service.

@dallasmay: And like a typical "Apple guy" you can't wait to let everyone know that you are an "Apple guy", because maybe we'll buy you a latte?

Ok, where the heck is the form? I'm at the right website I searched and found a recursive press-release directing me back to the site I searched at.

[illinoisattorneygeneral.gov]

I'm probably in the class, but since I sold my Dell last year I no longer have the invoice # to prove it! :(

@justjimi: I never had any issues with their service when you had a reliable service plan.

I'm assuming this lawsuit is mostly for those who had regular old warranties.

@Sandeep Paruchuri: I couldn't find the form (I got as far as [www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov]) but the Chicago Tribune says (emphasis mine):

"Illinois consumers can download a claim form from the Attorney General's Web site (www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov) or call the Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-386-5438 for more information."

@majortom1029: My favorite part about Macs has always been advertising. That is some deceptive word-twisting at its finest there. Gems such as one commercial going on about "We're safer because Windows sucks!" then having the next one shout "Now featuring Windows!!!" always made me wonder if people were actually listening to the company. I don't even want to get too in depth about it since it'll just irk me.

Like you and Hubbard said, it's all about cosmetics. I know five years ago especially, most people couldn't tell me what was actually INSIDE their Mac, just that they had one. Of course, this would bring me to why they bought it in the first place then. Top three answers were always security, simplicity, and looks.

Security = lack of market shares.

Simplicity = advertisement strategy.

Looks = shiny red convertable or an old, gray civic, hmm...

Attention: Macintosh realizes you don't know jack about computers as much as Microsoft does! Volvo isn't looking to not screw you just because Chevrolet is. Get with the program here people. Or at least quit being fanatics.