[Emergency] £1,600 taken by Dell without my authorization

I purchased an Alienware M18x R2 from the Dell outlet website on 28/12/12. However, it was put on hold and I later found out it was because my bank wouldn't release the money for this transaction. The order was then later cancelled by Dell because they couldn't receive the money. The status on the website even said "Cancelled". It was left at that.

Almost 2 weeks later, I received an email from Dell saying my order has been updated and it gave me a link to check the progress. A new order had been made. Not by me, but by Dell and it was now in the "In production" stage. I thought it was strange since I hadn't made a new order and assumed it must have been a glitch in their system.

A few days later (a couple of days ago) I got an email from a Dell rep informing me that there was indeed a glitch in their system. Good to know, hopefully they had sorted it out. Turned out I was wrong and it was in the shipping stage.

Today I went to purchase some food and couldn't because my card was declined. I then check my statements on-line through my phone to see Dell had made an unauthorized charge of £1,599.99 on my account. The cost of the computer I was originally going to purchase, but decided against it as I thought my money would be better spent on something else. They didn't inform me of this new order that they had placed. Nor did they inform they'll be charging my account. All this done without my knowledge.

This whole thing has now caused me to go WELL into my overdraft and into a load of debt. I'm worried that the interest will increase it even more!

I have phoned up my bank, and they said I will need to contact Dell for them to rectify this, and if they fail to, to then make a debit card dispute. I have tried phoning up Dell, however it is outside working hours at the moment.

I want to know where I stand legally, and how exactly I should approach Dell about this.

Note:The computer should be arriving tomorrow too!

 

You should have the ability to return the computer anyway. If they don't accept cash returns (although they should), just talk to a manager and explain to him that it's either the return of an unopened product, but due to the trouble they caused it could be a lawsuit.
That's your problem fixed.

 

Not much aside wait till opening hours tomorrow in all honesty .. Does sound fishy at best on there part though as they will have needed the CV2 code from the debit card wich means some one wrote it down possibly ,
Refund the machine and elevate it ,

 

A refund upon return isn't acceptable in my eyes.

I am going to be hungry until this is sorted out due to me not being able to afford any food - I'm not even exaggerating there. It was also embarrassing having made a special journey to get food, scanning it all through and then being told my card was declined. Not the best day ever! On top of that there are the charges for being overdrawn too.

What Dell has done, I am pretty sure, is illegal.

Oh, and the irony in there "Dell Secure Shopping Guarantee"
Dell Secure Shopping Guarantee | Dell UK

 

No offence here but if the order of laptop has you starving, you've got other issues that need to be addressed asap.

Did you ever call the bank and ask them to let the transaction pass through? Dell will do a hold request to verify funds and then charge when it ships.

Dell a FAQ on their website that explains how the order/payment processing Works. Dell does not charge until machine ships....explaining why you got charged when you did. a 2 week turn a round time for oders is pretty common.

Dell - Why is it taking so long to process my payment?

Tomorrow, call up Dell and explain to them what happened, they will resolve the issue for you. Next you call your credit card company and politely ask them to remove the overdraft charges. They should do this for you without question.