萬國法律事務所

A group of Taiwanese consumers have won a lawsuit forcing Dell to honor bargains that it offered erroneously via the Internet. The dispute was brought before the Tainan District Court where the Court has ordered Dell to deliver products that were ordered by consumers, including 18 laptops and 76 flat-panel monitors, at a total price of NT$ 490,000. It was reported that the actual market price for these products would be approximately NT$ 1,600,000.

In June and July 2009, Dell offered electronic goods at unusually low prices on its website, which prompted many who saw the offer to place about 200,000 orders in both occasions. Dell later claimed that the prices were mistakenly indicated and refused to deliver the items purchased. Instead, Dell offered vouchers to the consumers as compensation, but, such gesture failed to satisfy the consumers.

In passing this judgment, the Judge commented that, a company at the size of Dell, should not have repeatedly made this mistake, therefore, the Judge was of the opinion that the mistake might have been made purposely and that the attempt to compensate consumers with coupons was merely a marketing gimmick.

Moreover, the Court held that the consumers had purchased the items according to the instructions on the website and had remitted payment for the items to the designated account or by credit cards. As such, the contracts were deem concluded and Dell was required to fulfill its obligations accordingly. Dell may appeal the decision to the High Court.