Dell forces customers to lie

Well, you know, no-one ever actually *reads* those Terms and Conditions blurbs that come with every bit of computer-related software/hardware you see, but you'd at least think a big company like Dell would at least play along with the charade of 'I Have Read and Agree...' by allowing users to actually do so before using their systems.

Before using your computer, read all of the software license agreements that came with each program that you ordered. There may be several agreements to examine.

Problem is, of course, the Terms and Conditions for all this software are on the system itself, so you need to agree to the terms before having read them. (I do love a good Catch 22).

One (might say pedantic) customer decided he wasn't going to lie to get into his new system, and rang Dell to see what could be done about getting his new machine up and running legally. They didn't have a clue, and the whole thing spiralled into a classic case of help-centre forwarding mayhem, where most of the people he talked to didn't even seem to understand the problem. He did get all sorts of crazy suggestions as to how to resolve the problem - 'just say you agree,' said one of the more senior managers he talked to, 'I do it all the time.' - but the best of which was a suggestion he go to a public internet PC and look up all the relevant software T&Cs online. Even this wouldn't have worked though, for, when the buyer asked just what software was loaded onto the machine, they couldn't tell him.

The person in question eventually gave up the ghost and returned the machine for a full refund. Good on 'em for sticking to his guns I suppose, and hopefully it'll wake Dell up to their slightly crazy process for getting one of their new machines up and running. Ah, the madness.

[via j-walk]
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