Catastrophegirl bought a computer from Dell during a promotion for 12 months of interest-free financing. Like a good little consumer, she had every intention of paying off the balance long before twelve months were up. Which is good, because when she checked her statement, she happened to notice that the deal suddenly became six months of no-interest financing. What happened to catastrophegirl’s deal, for which she still had the original receipt? Dell basically shrugged and extended the deal to 12 months. Even if this is an error, will it trap other consumers?

Here’s yet another reason to double check all your statements carefully and keep all of your receipts.

I made a purchase from Dell for a new desktop computer recently. An Inspiron 620 with a no interest for 12 months promotion. My first statement was finally available and I took a good look at it, because like a good little Consumerist, I trust no one. And noticed that my promotion was suddenly SIX months interest free.

Went back to my original receipt and confirmed the deal I got. Then picked up the phone.

The representative from Dell wasn’t able to explain the change other than that they currently only offer 12 month financing on purchases over $1099.00. That’s not what they offered when I made my purchase however, so my purchase agreement should be on the original terms. She did change it to 12 months, but she was completely unable to even address why there was a difference.

It doesn’t actually matter since I plan to pay it off before either date. But you can be sure I will be scrutinizing all future statements from them as well.

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