"This Is Not An Invoice"

My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS NOT
AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the Acknowledgement,
which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice Number"
doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which strikes
me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an Invoice?
Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you get your
Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

you can print an invoice from your order history if you log on to dell.com
and look under your order history. if you placed the parts order on the
phone they may have created a new account number for you which you would
have to add to your on line profile before the order (and invoice) will
appear in your order history.

"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

Well your invoice of proof of purchase could be a cancelled check or you
credit card bill.
I think that would suffice if you had to take Dell to court.
"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

Oh, I'm not worried about the legalities. I just find it funny that nothing
is an invoice.

Ted Zieglar

"BigJIm" wrote in message
...
Well your invoice of proof of purchase could be a cancelled check or you
credit card bill.
I think that would suffice if you had to take Dell to court.
"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the
same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in
thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can
save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar


tis a VAT shift and lets them juggle the sales figures. They should eventual
release a FULL invoice. Perhaps also to suit certain sales quarters.

An invoice is a vendor generated list of goods or services, showing prices,
terms, quantities, shipping charges, and other particulars sent to a
purchaser in request for payment (aka Bill).



Can we assume, since the system or parts are paid with another means, an
invoice is not required?



"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
Oh, I'm not worried about the legalities. I just find it funny that
nothing
is an invoice.

Ted Zieglar

"BigJIm" wrote in message
...
Well your invoice of proof of purchase could be a cancelled check or you
credit card bill.
I think that would suffice if you had to take Dell to court.
"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for
some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the
same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS
IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in
thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site,
you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can
save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

I don't know if there is a legal or otherwise authoritative definition of
"invoice", but at least one of the documents I got from Dell satisfies the
generally understood meaning of the word. Nonetheless, Dell insists that
it's 'not an invoice'. Even when the document refers to itself as an invoice
and has "Invoice Number" printed in the upper right corner, don't you
believe it, because that same piece of paper has THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE
stamped on it in thick grey letters that I can easily read without my
glasses.

I also have nothing from Dell that proves I paid for the part, like a
receipt. I only know I paid because my credit card got charged.

Ted Zieglar

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
An invoice is a vendor generated list of goods or services, showing
prices,
terms, quantities, shipping charges, and other particulars sent to a
purchaser in request for payment (aka Bill).



Can we assume, since the system or parts are paid with another means, an
invoice is not required?



"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
Oh, I'm not worried about the legalities. I just find it funny that
nothing
is an invoice.

Ted Zieglar

"BigJIm" wrote in message
...
Well your invoice of proof of purchase could be a cancelled check or
you
credit card bill.
I think that would suffice if you had to take Dell to court.
"Ted Zieglar" wrote in message
...
My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for
some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the
same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots
of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS
IS
NOT AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the
Acknowledgement, which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of
This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in
thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number" doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation,
an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice? Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site,
you
get your Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can
save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar

Ted Zieglar wrote:
I don't know if there is a legal or otherwise authoritative definition of
"invoice"

There is. It is the same as the commonly but incorrectly used word
"bill". Dell is telling you that all those papers with monetary amounts
on them are NOT requests for payment.

I also have nothing from Dell that proves I paid for the part, like a
receipt. I only know I paid because my credit card got charged.

No, you have even better proof - the part. Dell would not have shipped
it to you if you had not paid for it.

Oh, I'm not worried about the legalities. I just find it funny that nothing is an invoice.

There is an old business scam where companies mail documents that look a
lot like an invoice to other companies -- that then carelessly pay them.
Years ago it was disreputable facsimile supply companies and Telex
"directories" that did this. If a company is going to mail a document
that looks anything like an invoice, it is very responsible of them to
mark it prominently as NOT a request for payment.

Doug

"Ted Zieglar" wrote:

I don't know if there is a legal or otherwise authoritative definition of
"invoice", but at least one of the documents I got from Dell satisfies the
generally understood meaning of the word. Nonetheless, Dell insists that
it's 'not an invoice'. Even when the document refers to itself as an invoice
and has "Invoice Number" printed in the upper right corner, don't you
believe it, because that same piece of paper has THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE
stamped on it in thick grey letters that I can easily read without my
glasses.

I also have nothing from Dell that proves I paid for the part, like a
receipt. I only know I paid because my credit card got charged.

Here is a definition from one of my accounting references:

"Invoice - A document showing the details of a sale or purchase
transaction."

Depending on the applicable laws/business practices in a given
jurisdiction, an invoice may or may not constitute a bill/demand
for payment. I suspect, in this case, Dell is trying to tell
you, with all that THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE stuff, is that you are
not to consider it a boll/demand for payment, since the payment
transaction has already been processed under your previously
agreed upon arrangements when you placed your order, i.e., when
the computer was shipped. It is merely a record of the
transaction, showing among other things date/method of shipment,
for your files on this purchase order.

It does, however, provide the details of what that $nnnn.nn on
your credit card statement bought. Just in case you might have
been wondering. ;-
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]

"This is the way things are done all across the USA every day."

I buy lots of stuff on the internet, and I always get an invoice. Dell has
an invoice for me somewhere. I know this, because I have an invoice number.
They're just hiding it from me. Maybe someone scribbled something
embarassing on it.

Ted Zieglar

"Jim Higgins" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 5 Apr 2005 00:39:32 -0400, in
, "Ted Zieglar"
wrote:

My recent purchase of a replacement power supply from Dell made for some
amusing paperwork.

Apparently, Dell is dead-set against giving you an invoice. I had the
same
situation when I purchased my last computer from Dell. You get lots of
paperwork, but no invoice. I got an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement
and ultimately, a Packing Slip. Each one of these documents had "THIS IS
NOT
AN INVOICE" stamped on it. Particularly amusing was the Acknowledgement,
which had this line prominently printed in blue:

"Please Review Important Terms & Conditions On the Reverse Side Of This
Invoice"

Oops! Looks like somebody goofed, since just below this sentence, in
thick
gray letters, was "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE". And what's that "Invoice
Number"
doing in the upper right corner?

If you ask for an invoice, you're told to go to the web site, which
strikes
me as peculiar: if Dell will send me an Order Confirmation, an
Acknowledgement and a Packing Slip, surely they could spring for an
Invoice?
Anyway, if you look up your invoice number on the web site, you get your
Acknowledgement...which says "THIS IS NOT AN INVOICE".

Do you suppose Dell thinks that by not invoicing its customers it can
save
on taxes?

Ted Zieglar


Not at all. Dell is simply very rigorously observing good
commercial practice.

An invoice is a request for payment that includes an itemized
list of goods or services being billed.

If you pay by check or credit card at the time of the order, you
don't get an invoice.

This is the way things are done all across the USA every day.
Dell just seems a bit more diligent in marking paperwork with
"This is not an invoice." They're probably trying to avoid
double payments from careless accounting departments so they
don't have to issue refunds.