The Taipei City Government yesterday fined computer giant Dell NT$1 million (US$30,000) for failing to protect consumer rights.
The fine came after the US firm mislabeled items on its Web site at steeply discounted prices and then refused to honor sales.
That violated Article 58 of the Consumer Protection Act (消費保護法) Yeh Chin-yuan (葉慶元), commissioner of Taipei City’s Law and Regulation Commission, said yesterday at Taipei City Hall, urging the company to offer a better compensation plan.
“The NT$1 million fine is not much when compared with the total loss to consumers, which was about NT$80 million. We will keep fining Dell if it fails to show sincerity and Dell should not take our determination lightly,” Yeh said.
Taipei City Consumer Protection Ombudsman Chen Po-ching (陳柏菁) said the commission had suggested Dell give consumers a 15 percent to 25 percent discount on the mislabeled products, but the company had refused.
Dell fueled consumer anger on June 25 when it refused to honor purchases after more than 26,000 people bought a 19-inch LCD monitor incorrectly priced online at NT$500.
A second blunder occurred on July 5 when Dell’s online store listed a Dell Latitude E4300 laptop at NT$18,558, a huge saving on the usual price of NT$69,000.
Dell issued a NT$1,000 discount coupon to customers who placed orders for the monitors, and gave a NT$20,000 voucher to those who bought the laptop.
Chen said 1,400 consumers have filed complaints with the ombudsman’s office since the first incident and he urged Dell to take responsibility for its mistakes and offer a better compensation plan.
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS