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Dell Order Issues
Dell order issues are by no means a new phenomenon. Hobbyists looking to routinely consume their Amex Business Platinum Dell credits deal with a plethora of problems. I’ve experienced the following: Dell cancels orders or seemingly abandons open ones, Dell blames packages not arriving on FedEx Ground, Dell flags my account on items bought for myself, Dell fails to communicate order updates (read: cancellations), etc. Many of you have experienced similar or additional issues. I was recently on the receiving end of a concerning new Dell problem which I hope you can avoid. Here’s what happened and how I dealt with it.
Order Attempt #1
After receiving a fresh Amex Business Platinum card thanks to a no lifetime language welcome offer, I attempted to purchase Xbox e-gift cards. Time’s ticking on this credit, and I wanted to easily, fully consume it ASAP. Not surprisingly, Dell cancelled the order soon after I placed it. As in the past, I wasn’t notified via email or text of the cancellation. I had to manually log in to obtain order status.
A Frustrating Phone Call
I then called Dell at 866-383-4713 to clear my account. A Dell chat rep had previously provided me this number, and calling unlocked my account in the past. Not this time.
Upon calling, the Dell rep advised that I had placed six orders in the past six months. He then stated I had reached my order limit, and all orders would continue to be cancelled. I asked the rep if this was due to any particular item purchase volume (Xbox gift cards) or a more general rule. He stated the type of previously-purchased items didn’t matter – it just had to do with hitting the overall limit of six orders in the past six months. He would not describe the specifics of Dell’s policy. My following questions went unanswered:
- What period did the “six months” he cited cover? Is this a rolling six months or a fixed period?
- When will I be able to place successful orders?
- Why does Dell enforce such a stringent policy?
He instructed me to contact Dell’s “Customer Care Team” at a different number for more answers. I found the implication that my current rep could NOT provide “customer care” quite comical. I thanked him for his time and hung up. HUCA did not work – my next two calls went to the same rep! And there’s no way I was going to bother with the alleged “Customer Care Team.”
Order Attempt #2
As I mentioned above, the phone rep advised the cancellation and limits aren’t related to any specific item, such as Xbox gift cards. Nonetheless, I attempted another order – for merch this time around. As always, I was able to initially place the order without any issues. A few minutes later, I checked the order status in my online account, and it had been cancelled, of course. I wasn’t masochistic enough to contact Dell on this one.
Order Attempt #3
I generally focus all orders on one Dell account, as I like to accumulate all Dell Rewards in the same account for subsequent use. Since the clock was ticking on this credit timeframe, I bit the bullet on that and flanked to a different Dell account. I ordered Xbox gift cards on this second account, and Dell confirmed the order a few minutes after I made it. I considered this a minor success at the time but didn’t call it a win yet. As I’ve learned, Dell can employ Murphy’s Law at any point they choose.
I placed the order on 23 December, and I subsequently checked the order status on a daily basis. For the next four days, my order was stuck in “Confirmed” status. I began having doubts. Finally, later on 27 December, I checked and noticed the “Available” status. I downloaded and recorded the Xbox gift card keys before anything else could go wrong.
Taking a Step Back
With this apparent six orders per six months policy, Dell is essentially penalizing their more loyal customers. It’s enough to make this consumer’s head hurt – why is a company in business if they don’t want to make a sale? If anything, this policy should make consumers run the other way. But, of course, the Amex/Dell credit partnership has some of us locked in. Many want to optimally leverage their Amex Business Platinum account(s), and consuming the Dell credit is a necessary evil. It’s truly concerning what a displeasure doing business with Dell has become.
Based on this experience, I’m tweaking my Amex Business Platinum Dell credit strategy a bit. Here’s my plan moving forward:
- Condense orders into a few large ones during each six month $200 credit cycle.
- Don’t procrastinate on orders in the hopes of achieving higher portal payouts. Dell recently devalued their portal payouts (going from a broad rate to an “up to” rate for certain items) brings another reason not to put off orders.
- Use a different Dell account if/when necessary.
Dell Order Issues – Conclusion
Listening to someone talk about their Dell drama is about as fun for me as when my neighbor talks about his fantasy football team. Congrats if you made it this far. It’s remarkable how Dell keeps getting worse. Regardless, I encourage you to learn from my experience, and be open to pointers from others along the way. How have your Dell ordering experiences been lately?
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[…] Milestomemories and teetertotterboy on r/churning each heard from Dell reps that client accounts have a restrict of 6 orders per 6 months. It’s not clear if that 6 months is rolling and unclear whether or not it counts cancelled orders. In accordance with the studies, the restrict is unrelated to XBOX reward card orders and could be the identical for any merchandise ordered. […]
Ran into same and had to create a separate account to get the Xbox gift card.
Dell customer service is worst out there. Last year spent 40+ hours dealing with them as my laptop was defective(did not return it for amex credit) Three month back and forth and finally returned it.
XBOX cards, are they useful to non gamers in any way? Thanks Benji in advance for your response
Sam,
They’re redeemable through the Microsoft Store for all sorts of stuff. Check out some options in this article.
Although I have close to $900 in my Microsoft account (working toward a surface with 4, now 3, biz plats), Xbox GCs have sometimes been a PITA$$$, so I changed to Arcade1 products in Dec. Great kids Christmas gifts and I am buying myself a tabletop Ms Pacman game with my 3 Biz Plats in January (I’m that old). From Dell website, search Arcade1. Posts and ships instantly. Got 2 Pacman kids and 1 Pay Patrol.
Pat,
Mark loves them too!
Dell.com is a horrible website. I order external hard drives that I use for work. Always more $ than competitors. I never wait till the last minute given how often there are long shipping delays
I’m shocked Dell is still in business. Limiting a customer to 6 purchases in 6 months, that’s a head scratcher. Then again, customer service across most corporations has become a dumpster fire. Unless you’re a high roller, you’re S.O.L. I love the amex biz plat card and the dell credit seemingly makes it a no brainer. But my brain hurts from dealing with Dell.
I intend to cancel some of my platinum cards in 2023. Can I still use the credits for the cards I am going to cancel in 2023? I don’t want them trying to claw these credits back.
The customer care team told me not to order more than one Xbox card in each order and I have had success doing one card per order. I guess this increases my volume of orders but I think the six per six months thing is made up. My guess is the Xbox card customers like us are not profitable and so they don’t like people who only order cards. I think the cards are intended for people who order the Xbox consoles also.
Dell just stopped selling xbox live gc on their website, so congrats on those that got orders thru.
Anyone have ideas on how to use up my biz plat credit ASAP?
Wouldn’t be surprised to see it back sometime in Jan (they pulled it a few months back for a few days too).
one can hope, though too bad it wont help me with my $200 credit for this year. that is unless of course, people have ideas on how to use it.
anyone?
Slaven,
Follow the link in the second sentence of the article for some ideas.
Totally understand everyone’s frustration with Amex Dell credits. I can provide a positive data point today though, on my Dell personal account that I’ve ordered a few Xbox GCs for but never sent anything to buying groups. Had an order with digital software and physical items that silently canceled last night. Called the Dell verification team at 866-383-4713, waited an hour, placed a new order with the same items and after about 10 minutes, the digital software items were delivered to my locker and the physical items are confirmed with an estimated ship date of today (items had the “order by 2p CT” and get them in 2 days).
This is one thing I’m dreading in 2023 to do this all over again next month…
Larry,
Thanks for sharing your DP!
In my experience, Dell has been very slow to cough up points to shopping portals. I purchased a monitor for business use. Nothing odd. The shopping portal initiated an inquiry. Dell was not responsive. Shopping portal had to escalate the inquiry. Finally, after about two months, the points showed up.
Lee,
Which portals have you used? I’ve primarily used Rakuten and have had close to zero issues with Dell orders tracking.
AA
Well; I have the platinum card and have placed two orders in the past month, totaling a little less than $200. The first shipped quickly; the second also shipped quickly and is due tomorrow, according to FedEx. For what it’s worth, I already had an account with Dell, having bought three computers in recent years.
Steve,
Glad it’s smooth sailing for you!
The Amex Platinum credit is beginning to look suspect for me. I placed orders totalling $209 on Black Friday for headphones and a bluetooth speaker. None of the items have shipped yet almost 1 month later??If these magically ship in early January, I will know that I have been scammed.