I cancelled and order from Dell, and they're sending it to me anyway.

[Sparrow]

Erm, well, how about keeping it?

Sorry, am I being backward or something? Maybe it's just an English thing to keep all free things, ever.

 

[Captain Bobbossa]

why do you need to ask? just keep it. its your lucky day.

 

[JTLW]

While you might be legally justified in keeping it, I'd leave it in the box, call Dell and say, "Yo, uh, you sent me a computer that I cancelled the order for... you wanna come pick this up? I'm not paying for the shipping, since you guys messed up."

Record it for posterity, maybe send an e-mail and save a copy of their reply, make sure you cover your butt.

If they want it back, they can get a courier to pick it up, if they don't want it back, woohoo for you.

 

[Otterpoet]

Contact them immediately. They'll soon realize that the unit has been shipped and take the money back again. If you're fast enough, you may even be able to have FedEx just return it to Dell; so that you avoid the hassle of returning it yourself (and taking on the liability that it gets broken in transit).

Trust me, they will figure it out.

 

[TheXRatedDodo]

Considering the prior post covering the law that says the guy basically got a free computer, I'd say the best course of action is to get a lawyer to double check it, and then apart from the fee for the lawyer, you've just got a free computer.
Anything else is idiocy.

 

[PhantomCritic]

Keep it as a lesson to them to deliver goddamn packages faster.
Just send it back, they're gonna figure it out eventually.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

http://consumerist.com/2009/02/dsws-dirty-trick-backfires-now-customer-has-free-shoes.html

Here it is, the FTC's unordered merchandise rule:

Unordered Merchandise

Whether or not the Rule is involved, in any approval or other sale you must obtain the customer's prior express agreement to receive the merchandise. Otherwise the merchandise may be treated as unordered merchandise. It is unlawful to:

1. Send any merchandise by any means without the express request of the recipient (unless the merchandise is clearly identified as a gift, free sample, or the like); or,

2. Try to obtain payment for or the return of the unordered merchandise.

Merchants who ship unordered merchandise with knowledge that it is unlawful to do so can be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Moreover, customers who receive unordered merchandise are legally entitled to treat the merchandise as a gift. Using the U.S. mails to ship unordered merchandise also violates the Postal laws.

This isn't exactly the same situation. This is in regard to a vendor who sends something completely unsolicited and then tries to collect payment. The law above would apply if Dell just sent you a computer without you ever even going to their site/calling them; and then they tried to bill you for it.

This was an ordered product. It could have been the right hand of billing and the left hand of shipping weren't talking (cost of outsourcing to multiple countries, folks). So, the above law might apply, but it isn't the situation it was intended for.

I'm not a lawyer though, you should seek professional consultation if you wish to pursue that avenue.

OT: I'd call Dell if I were you.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

It's not your responsability, and you definitely shouldn't be considering spending your own money sending it back.

 

[7moreDead_v1legacy]

It's a dell destroy it and do the world a favour ^^

It has a decent graphics card in it, and 7 gigs of RAM.... should those too be destroyed?

They have been tainted...Unfortunately.

 

[Matt_LRR]

http://consumerist.com/2009/02/dsws-dirty-trick-backfires-now-customer-has-free-shoes.html

Here it is, the FTC's unordered merchandise rule:

Unordered Merchandise

Whether or not the Rule is involved, in any approval or other sale you must obtain the customer's prior express agreement to receive the merchandise. Otherwise the merchandise may be treated as unordered merchandise. It is unlawful to:

1. Send any merchandise by any means without the express request of the recipient (unless the merchandise is clearly identified as a gift, free sample, or the like); or,

2. Try to obtain payment for or the return of the unordered merchandise.

Merchants who ship unordered merchandise with knowledge that it is unlawful to do so can be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Moreover, customers who receive unordered merchandise are legally entitled to treat the merchandise as a gift. Using the U.S. mails to ship unordered merchandise also violates the Postal laws.

This isn't exactly the same situation. This is in regard to a vendor who sends something completely unsolicited and then tries to collect payment. The law above would apply if Dell just sent you a computer without you ever even going to their site/calling them; and then they tried to bill you for it.

This was an ordered product. It could have been the right hand of billing and the left hand of shipping weren't talking (cost of outsourcing to multiple countries, folks). So, the above law might apply, but it isn't the situation it was intended for.

I'm not a lawyer though, you should seek professional consultation if you wish to pursue that avenue.

OT: I'd call Dell if I were you.

The rule still applies. He has cancelled his order, they have refunded his money, they are aware that he no longer wishes to receive the product. If they still send it, then they are sending it unsolicited and without permission. The cancellation of the order implies revocation of permission to charge for this merchandise.

I wouldn't take my word for it, but I'm pretty certain the rule would generalize to this situation.

-m

 

[Amund]

Well, according to the information I gathered from this website, I have a plan.

I'll wait and see if the computer actually arrives. I'll do this because according to gbemery Fed Ex can take a while to update their shipping status. If it does arrive I'll tell call and tell Dell about their screw up and tell them if they want it back, they're going to have to pay to have it shipped again. If Dell refuses to pay for shipping, I'm going to find a Lawyer and ask them what I should do, if I actually feel like paying someone, otherwise I'm keeping the damn thing.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I was seriously lost here.

Also special thanks to Matt_LRR, that law could be very useful.

 

[mihajelko]

Well if the funds have been returned a week ago and they're only just sending it now then they clearly want you to have it.

Yeah I would probably think that way too ... then again its to good to be true, just in case let them know ... better safe than sorry.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Snip

Snip

The rule still applies. He has cancelled his order, they have refunded his money, they are aware that he no longer wishes to receive the product. If they still send it, then they are sending it unsolicited and without permission. The cancellation of the order implies revocation of permission to charge for this merchandise.

I wouldn't take my word for it, but I'm pretty certain the rule would generalize to this situation.

-m

Checked out the FTC site for consumers:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro15.shtm

Q. What should I do if the unordered merchandise I received was the result of an honest shipping error?

A. Write the seller and offer to return the merchandise, provided the seller pays for postage and handling. Give the seller a specific and reasonable amount of time (say 30 days) to pick up the merchandise or arrange to have it returned at no expense to you. Tell the seller that you reserve the right to keep the merchandise or dispose of it after the specified time has passed.

So, it looks like it applies as an honest shipping error (unless they try to bill you again, then it gets fun); but you do have to notify them and they can't charge you to ship it back.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Nice, good call on double-checking that for me.

-m

 

[Crossborder]

I'd keep it. It's their mistake. Keep the box just to be sure.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

This happened to me too. I got sent a PC and I decided I didn't want it. They gave an immediate refund and I arranged a pickup date. They didn't come on that day so I arranged another. They didn't come again so I arranged another. Guess what happened? So I stopped bothering. 6 months later I sent them an e-mail asking them when they were going to pick it up and they told me I could keep it. I have a copy of the e-mail they sent for verification, but that was over 2 years ago so I doubt they are going to change their minds.

 

[IHaveNoCoolness]

Don't listen to all the people here that are telling you to keep it. That's a mistake and they will find their mistake when they process the paperwork. If you keep that computer, you will end up paying for it. Send it back.

Not to mention the morality of the issue. They refunded your money, so if you keep the product you are stealing. If you're fine with stealing, that's your business, but you should at least be aware that you are stealing.