A group of Taiwanese consumers have won a lawsuit forcing US computer giant Dell to honor bargains the firm says it offered in error on the Internet, it was reported yesterday.
A court in southern Taiwan last week ordered the firm to deliver 18 laptops and 76 flat-panel monitors to 31 consumers for NT$490,000 (US$15,120), less than a third of the normal price, the Chinese-language Apple Daily said.
Dell will be allowed to appeal the decision — its first setback after victories in seven identical cases, the report said.
The company advertised the unusually low prices on its Web site in June and July last year, prompting bargain-hunters to place as many as 200,000 orders for the monitors.
In the July incident, the company’s Latitude E4300 notebook, which usually sells for NT$60,900, appeared online at NT$18,558, the daily said.
Dell has apologized in a statement on its Taiwanese Web site and offered a voucher of up to NT$20,000 per customer in compensation.
However, the gesture has failed to appease consumers angered by the company withdrawing the offer.
The consumer rights authorities in Taipei have fined Dell NT$1 million for customer rights infringements.
The company could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday.
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