After 5 years Dell has failed to deliver laptop!

Maybe he could ask for a 1710 as well

What??? That sounds unbelievable! Mind you, by that I don't mean to say that I don't believe you, but that I find it hard to believe that something like that can take so long to resolve... If Dell had no proof of delivery of the machine, then the matter should have been settled right then and there. Yes, that is definitely not only reasonable, but should go without saying. Five years' interest for £1,000 is not a huge amount, but it is too much to simply give away for no good reason. Also, what do they mean by "offer a refund"? They have kept your friend's money for five years, for no good reason. They owe him a lot more than just a "refund". I would have your friend call them, immediately (but politely) ask to talk to a manager, explain the situation to that person, and tell them that he'll sue them for every last penny, including interest if they do not do right by him, and quickly. At least that is what would happen here in the US...

Xps

I would say for your friend's trouble a free Laptop (a nice one) with onsite warranty wouldn't be out of the question. It's not like this sort of thing happens every day.

I agree with Pirx

I don't know why they saw fit to chop 30 pounds off the refund, but the 25% discount is a bit insulting. However, you shouldn't be expecting any more than your money back.

as for your arument of 970 pounds not buying as much laptop as you could 5 years ago: my memory is known to fail me almost constantly, but I do remember Dell laptops from 5 years ago and what you get for $1900 (at current exchange rate) is ALOT better today than what it was in 2002. Case in point. My Inspiron 8200 which was REFURBISHED in 2002 cost me roughly the same as my Latitude D820 (~$1500). Here are the specs on the i8200 as Dell shipped it to me:

Pentium 4m 1.6Ghz
GeForce 2 Go graphics with 32MB
256MB of RAM
24X CD-ROM
UXGA screen
4460mAh battery (only one battery)
40GB 4200 RPM hard drive
1 year warranty
This was a refurbished system

And my D820 as shipped from Dell:

Core Duo 1.83Ghz (alot faster clock for clock than a P4, plus a second core)
512MB of RAM
nVidia Quadro NVS120m with 256MB of dedicated RAM
8X DVDROM
WSXGA+ screen
Internal Wi-Fi
Fingerprint Reader
80GB 5400RPM SATA Hard drive
Internal Bluetooth
3 year warranty
This system was ordered NEW!

So your argument of your dollar not getting you as much laptop today as it could 5 years ago is completely bogus by US standards at the very least.

Your friend should charge them the same financing charges that would apply to a person that used a Dell credit card to purchase the system. Hell even less. Tell them that he's applying a 10% APR to the original charge and a late fee of...well in the us it would be $35 a month I don't know what it is in the UK...per month.

I disagree. They have kept this person's money for five years, they owe him fair interest on that, at the very least. It's as simple as that. I am certain that that is what they would pay, at least after they have been sued for the money here in the US... To the original poster, I know next to nothing about how the legal system works in the UK, but over here you would give them one last call, explain to them what the situation is, and what their options are: Either fair compensation or a law suit. If they go for the latter, you would get yourself a lawyer who would get you your money, plus his compensation (meaning, you don't have to pay him anything), from Dell. Which would run them several times as much...

Yeah, I forgot to mention Plus interest. Still don't know why they knocked 30 pounds off the refund though. It's their fault their ordering system messed up. But then again $1900 US can get you alot more laptop today than it could 5 years ago.

In the US when people leave deposits most state laws require that the consumer earn an intrest on the deposit for example having to leave collateral for cell phone contracts due to low credit. If a customer had to leave say a 250 dollar deposit for 2 years then he/she is entitled to 250 + 1% interest (varies state to state) at the end of 2 years. Not sure how it works in the UK but this would be fair at the very least to get back some kind of interest.

Yes, will they pay it though. I would take what they will give me. One, your friend is a little to blame. How did he pay for the notebook. If he paid by CC, over here across the pond, there are ways to resolve issues. If you pay by CC and the goods are not delivered, are not what was advertised...etc. you call the company first. If they will not do your wishes. Just say fine, call the credit card company you payed with. Tell them it is a "disputed " issue. They will remove the amount from your cc bill till it is resolved to your liking. That means the cc company is the one that hits the merchant over the head till the merchant comes around to your terms. If you payed by other means like a check through the mail, you possibly could get them for mail fraud. The secret with Dell and a lot of other companies that hire the cheapest techs they can find. Is to keep a record of who you talk to, when and what about. Get their name right off the bat, first an last, just don't settle for Bob. This freaks them out totally, they know now they are accountable for whatever they say. No more telling you to reformat your hard drive because your modem does not work,,,just to quickly get you off the phone.

Doesn't Dell usually ONLY charge after a laptop has shipped? If the order was lost and the laptop was never shipped... I'd imagine that Dell didn't charge you for the order yet. I could be wrong...