Dell hates me... or at least my credit

December 31, 2007 06:47 PM

Now that the holidays are over and I've gotten paid for some contract work I did a few months back, I'm seriously thinking about getting a network attached storage device. The roommates and I have been building quite the digital media library, and it's becoming clear that the 250GB HD in my old Linux box is not enough.

There's a nice 2TB Iomega NAS on the Dell site for $900. I was about to order it, except for two things:

  • I don't know what my limit on my debit card is, and
  • My credit is teh suck (well, OK, honestly, it's nonexistent) and Dell doesn't want to give me a Preferred Account.

So I'll have to wait and check with my bank on #1. But for #2... I should just think, "you know, maybe I should have built up my credit in college by getting a credit card." What I really want to do is shake my fist at them and tell them I don't need their credit, that I could buy it outright if I wanted. Or I could if if they took checks or I wasn't afraid of locking out my debit card.

This happened when I thought about buying a handheld a couple of years ago from Dell, and didn't have a credit or debit card. Because Dell doesn't take checks.

This also happened when I went to buy a washer and dryer last year from hh gregg. But they do take checks.

Sigh.

Comments

Limit

Michael Neel • December 31, 2007 08:25 PM
I've only ever had a problem with my Debit card's limit when using it as an ATM card ($300 a day). The only place this poses an issue is Sams, who seem to think by not taking Visa they are awesome. If the limit comes up at a physical checkout I just tell them to run it as credit, not debit, and it goes though fine. Online it's only ever used as a credit (Visa), so it doesn't come up.

If your bank is limiting you even when your card is run as a credit card and you have the cash to cover it - time to get a new bank.

I'm now going to check out this NAS you speak of...

Limit

Dylan Wolf • January 1, 2008 01:06 AM
Actually, the spending limit on debit cards is one of the things they ask on the Dell form. I have no idea what it is, because obviously, that never comes up. But I'm pretty sure I've put several hundred dollars on it at once, so I'm not horribly worried.

It's probably time to get a new bank anyway. The nearest branches for me are in Kingston or Sweetwater, I think. Not a problem since I have online banking and direct deposit.