Editing Dell (section)

==Criticism==
{{See also|Lawsuits involving Dell Inc.}}

In the 1990s, Dell switched from using primarily [[ATX]] [[motherboard]]s and [[Computer power supply|PSU]] to using boards and power supplies with mechanically identical but differently wired connectors. This meant customers wishing to upgrade their hardware would have to replace parts with scarce Dell-compatible parts instead of commonly available parts. While motherboard power connections reverted to the industry standard in 2003, Dell remains secretive about their motherboard pin-outs for peripherals (such as MMC readers and power on/off switches and LEDs).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053 |title=Dell proprietary (non-standard) ATX design &#124; Dell proprietary (non-standard) ATX design |publisher=InformIT |access-date=November 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>Mueller, Scott (2002). ''Upgrading and Repairing PCs'', 13ed, Indianapolis: Que Publications, {{ISBN|0-7897-2542-8}}, and subsequent editions</ref>

In 2005, complaints about Dell more than doubled to 1,533, after earnings grew 52% that year.<ref>{{cite web|title = It's Dell vs. the Dell Way|url = http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060223_710372.htm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060225065449/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060223_710372.htm|url-status = dead|archive-date = February 25, 2006|work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|access-date=October 30, 2012}}</ref>

In 2006, Dell acknowledged that it had problems with customer service. Issues included call transfers<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110417230232/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2006/tc20060612_046085.htm Dell Spiffs Up Its Service]. ''Business Week''. June 13, 2006</ref>
of more than 45% of calls and long wait times. Dell's [[blog]] detailed the response: "We're spending more than a $100&nbsp;million—and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears of talented people—to fix this."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704114048/http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/07/13/433.aspx No Magic Wands For Customer Service], The Official Dell blog. July 13, 2006</ref> Later in the year, the company increased its spending on customer service to $150&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/09/18/8386121/index.htm|publisher=CNN|date=September 18, 2006|access-date=May 1, 2010|title=Dell in the penalty box|first1=David|last1=Kirkpatrick}}</ref> Since 2018, Dell has seen significant increase in consumer satisfaction. Moreover, their customer service has been praised for its prompt and accurate answers to most questions, especially those directed to their social media support.<ref>[https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/dell-tech-support Dell Customer Service Rating 2018: Undercover Tech Support Review]. ''Laptop Mag''. April 24, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebook-Service-and-Support-Satisfaction-Survey-Who-has-the-best-laptop-service.299092.0.html Notebook Service and Support Satisfaction Survey – Who has the best laptop service? – NotebookCheck.net Reviews]. ''Notebookcheck''. April 15, 2018.</ref>

On August 17, 2007, Dell Inc. announced that after an internal investigation into its accounting practices it would restate and reduce earnings from 2003 through to the first quarter of 2007 by a total amount of between $50&nbsp;million and $150&nbsp;million, or 2 cents to 7 cents per share.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/aug/17/technology.news Dell pares past profits because of "massaging"]. The Guardian. August 17, 2007.</ref> The investigation, begun in November 2006, resulted from concerns raised by the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] over some documents and information that Dell Inc. had submitted.<ref>{{cite news|first=Damon|last=Darlin|title=Dell Accounting Inquiry Made Formal by S.E.C|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/technology/16Dell.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 16, 2006|access-date=August 19, 2007}}</ref> It was alleged that Dell had not disclosed large exclusivity payments received from [[Intel]] for agreeing not to buy processors from rival manufacturer [[AMD]]. In 2010 Dell finally paid $100&nbsp;million ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=100000000|start_year=2010|r=-5|fmt=eq}}) to settle the SEC's charges of fraud. Michael Dell and other executives also paid penalties and suffered other sanctions, without admitting or denying the charges.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kevin |last=Reed |title=Dell pays $100m penalty to settle accounting fraud charges |url=http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2266948/dell-pays-100m-penalty-settle |work=Accountancy Age |date=July 23, 2010 |access-date=July 23, 2010 |archive-date=July 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725104512/http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2266948/dell-pays-100m-penalty-settle |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In July 2009, Dell apologized after drawing the ire of the Taiwanese Consumer Protection Commission for twice refusing to honor a flood of orders against unusually low prices offered on its Taiwanese website. In the first instance, Dell offered a 19" LCD panel for $15. In the second instance, Dell offered its Latitude E4300 notebook at NT$18,558 (US$580), 70% lower than the usual price of NT$60,900 (US$1900). Concerning the E4300, rather than honor the discount taking a significant loss, the firm withdrew orders and offered a voucher of up to NT$20,000 (US$625) a customer in compensation. The consumer rights authorities in Taiwan fined Dell NT$1&nbsp;million (US$31250) for customer rights infringements. Many consumers sued the firm for unfair compensation. A court in southern Taiwan 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.<ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2010/06/07/2003474881 Dell loses Taiwan consumer lawsuit: report], June 7, 2010. Visited: October 28, 2012.</ref> The court said the event could hardly be regarded as mistakes, as the prestigious firm said the company mispriced its products twice on its Taiwanese website within 3 weeks.<ref>Taiwanese lawsuit: [http://jirs.judicial.gov.tw/FJUD/PrintFJUD03_0.aspx?jrecno=98%2c%e8%a8%b4%2c1009%2c20100531%2c2&v_court=TND+%e8%87%ba%e7%81%a3%e8%87%ba%e5%8d%97%e5%9c%b0%e6%96%b9%e6%b3%95%e9%99%a2&v_sys=V&jyear=98&jcase=%e8%a8%b4&jno=1009&jdate=990531&jcheck=2 full-text verdict]. Retrieved October 28, 2012</ref>

After Michael Dell made a $24.4 billion buyout bid in August 2013 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=24400000000|start_year=2013|r=-7|fmt=eq}}), activist shareholder [[Carl Icahn]] sued the company and its board in an attempt to derail the bid and promote his own forthcoming offer.<ref>{{cite news| title=Icahn sues Dell in latest attempt to foil buyout |author1=Poornima Gupta |author2=Edwin Chan | work=Reuters| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dell-icahn-idUSBRE97012520130802| date=August 1, 2013}}</ref>

In 2020, the [[Australian Strategic Policy Institute]] accused at least 82 major brands, including Dell, of being connected to forced [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] labor in [[Xinjiang]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale |title=Uyghurs for Sale |publisher=[[Australian Strategic Policy Institute]] |first1=Vicky Xiuzhong |last1=Xu |first2=Danielle |last2=Cave |first3=James |last3=Leibold |first4=Kelsey |last4=Munro |first5=Nathan |last5=Ruser |date=March 1, 2020 |access-date=March 17, 2022 |archive-date=August 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824215335/https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale |url-status=dead }}</ref>