Dell in hot water for tricking buyers into thinking overpriced monitors were discounted

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The Australian subsidiary of Dell Technologies misled online shoppers into thinking that adding a monitor to their purchase would get them a discount on the screen, even though this sometimes resulted in customers paying a higher price for the monitor than if they had purchased it on its own. This is according to a statement from the Australian Federal Court on Monday. The deceptive practices happened on Dell's Australian website, but they remind shoppers around the world that a crossed-out line or a sale stamp at an online retailer doesn't always mean you're getting a good deal.

On June 5, the Federal Court found Dell Australia guilty of making "false or misleading statements regarding the price" of monitors that its website encouraged buyers to add to their purchase. The purchases were made from August 2019 to mid-December 2021.

The website displayed the additional price next to a higher price with a crossed out line, suggesting that the monitor was usually sold at the price with the line through it, but that customers would get a discount if they bought it. 'added to their cart when purchasing. (The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, posted a sample screenshot here.) However, the prices crossed out weren't actually representative of what Dell charged for monitors most of the time. before the alleged surrender.

In fact, the allegedly discounted price has sometimes turned out to be a scam, as ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said today:

Shockingly, in some cases consumers paid more for the additional monitor advertised as “discounted” than they would have paid had they purchased it as a standalone product.

The Australian Federal Court also found that Dell's Australian website used misleading language, such as "Includes x% off", "Total savings" plus a dollar amount, "Discounted price" and a dollar amount , and "Get the best price for popular accessories when purchased with this product."

According to the ACCC, buyers spent more than A$2 million ($1.33 million) to purchase an additional 5,300 screens during this period. The Australian Federal Court has ordered Dell Australia to reimburse affected customers in full or in part.

The company should also hire an "independent compliance professional" and contact affected customers.

The Australian Federal Court will comment on additional penalties Dell Australia should face, which could include fines, at a later date.

When it was announced in November that Dell Australia was facing litigation, a Dell Australia spokesperson told The Register that an error in the pricing process was to blame for the false information on the company's website.

Dell told The Register today:

As we acknowledged in November 2022 when the ACCC initiated this proceeding, due to an uncorrected error on our part, our web page misrepresented the level of savings consumers could realize by purchasing a monitor in conjunction with a desktop computer, laptop or notebook. .

Dell is considering refunding customers, "plus interest," Dell's statement to The Register added, and the company is "taking steps to improve our pricing processes to ensure this type of error does not happen again".

Make sure a discount is a real offer

Many other websites promote products as being on sale, even if they were sold for less in the past, and even if, as was the case with Dell Australia, the so-called discount price originally was the MSRP for a short time. ...