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The $1,632 copy of Vista: Microsoft screws a customer over

May 26, 2008 in News comments 23

Microsoft has charged a guy named Bill(ironic?) $1,632 to upgrade his Windows Vista Ultimate license. He kept trying to enter his payment details via Windows Live Marketplace, but he kept getting error reports. He did this 6 times at $233.15 each time. Finally, the 7th time worked, but it actually was what he didn't want. Oh well, they'll just refund him, right? Nope. He contacted Microsoft and they told him it'll be resolved. Sweet, let's wait for the bank to update. Nothing happened. He contacted Microsoft again and they said that the problem would be "escalated". Would it? No. Over time, they reduced a couple here, a few here, but in the end(and currently) he's still out a rough $500.

I called Microsoft again and was told my issue would be "escalated". Ok I thought. No problem they recognize the problem and are working to address it and get this taken care of. WRONG. They did in fact remove a couple of the charges (4 of them) but what about the other 3???? I contacted Microsoft Windows Live Marketplace and stated it has been about 2 weeks and I have still seen no change in my bank account. I then told them I would now like to get a refund as well for the one copy I did actually receive. That return was processed in the same phone call the way I would expect the others to be credited back to my bank account. WRONG again. So by this time I have spent almost all month without any money and being late on all of my bills and now, almost a month later, am STILL waiting on Microsoft to refund the other 2 charges that were posted to my account at $233.15. This is almost $500.00 and for someone who gets paid monthly is completely unacceptable. I have been calling Microsoft now for 2 weeks straight and all the Microsoft Windows Live Marketplace keeps telling me is "I am sorry sir your issue has been escalated to our product delevopment team and you should get a call back today or tomorrow." WRONG yet again.... Everytime I call its the same story "... it has been escalated sir sorry" "we will call you tomorrow" ..... No call.
Synergized via consumerist.com »
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Most recently commented on by on May 28, 2008

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  • 1
    Chais May 27, 08


    Linux. Your bank account's best friend.
    • -1
      StarJet May 27, 08
      Linux sure is your bank account's best friend.
      But a PC gamer always needs Windows.
      So, ZOMGPIRATEDCOPYOFVISTAFTW!!!!11!1!!!one1!!
  • 5
    chautemoc May 27, 08
    Pirated copy of xp? Yes please.
  • 0
    Distortion May 27, 08
    Oh Microsoft. Does your greed know no bounds?
    • 2
      Armed Rebel May 27, 08
      Yeah, I'm sure a multi-billion dollar company REALLY needs that extra couple hundred dollars.
  • 4
    Chais May 27, 08
    Also, is it just me or is it ironic that "Jack Thompson" is a related article when someone's being "screwed over?"
    • 2
      Synergized May 27, 08
      It caught my attention too, but I figured it's because of the words 'copy of' something. Then again, GameGrep could be smart enough to match 'screwed over' and 'Jack Thompson' together.

      Anyways, Microsoft seems to be a bitch to this guy, not doing shit about it and when it comes down to it, it sounds like they don't really care. Shame on you, Mircosoft.
      • 0
        Chais May 27, 08
        Microsoft is big business. They could care less about how they make their money as long as they make their money.

        However, if this guy went to court, he could be the one making money off of Microsoft.
        • 2
          Synergized May 27, 08
          True, but if Microsoft doesn't respect their customers, then they should start.

          Customers are truly what runs everyone's business. If no one buys your products, you're screwed.
        • 2
          Chais May 27, 08
          Microsoft's been screwed since Vista came out then.
  • -1
    orez May 27, 08
    Story = why to downgrade to XP
    • 2
      Chais May 27, 08
      You still have to pay for that too unless you happen to find somewhere where Microsoft hasn't had it taken down and get it illegally. You never know, though. They might charge you eight times for XP since it's better!
  • 0
    Final Blade May 27, 08


    Judgment day has come people, Vista rules the world...
  • 4
    Donnelly May 27, 08
    He should've checked his online banking (or telephone banking) before trying another 4 *bleep*ing stupid times.
    • 0
      Chais May 27, 08
      It doesn't always post right away even with online banking. I know there have been times where it's taken up to a day for even a pre-authorization to post on my account, so there's no way to know if he'd already checked or not because it may not have posted.
      • 1
        Moonrise May 28, 08
        You have a pretty shitty bank if you don't get online transactions almost immediately after they go through. It really is common sense to not keep going back and buying some shit over and over again if there's an error in the processing page. Hell, most browsers even tell you that you're probably going to enter something twice if you go back.

        Regarding XP and Vista; I've never seen so many people make uninformed comments about an operating system in my life. All this shit about XP > Vista is only true for older computers. If you're using a computer that comes with Vista pre-installed, then you have to be a total idiot to downgrade to XP if you think it will run faster and more efficiently. The issues with Vista are almost always compatibility issues with drivers, which is why you don't upgrade to a new OS with outdated hardware. On that same token, new hardware is made with drivers specifically for Vista, so trying to downgrade to XP is only going to give you headaches in the long run.
        • 1
          Chais May 28, 08
          quote
          If you're using a computer that comes with Vista pre-installed, then you have to be a total idiot to downgrade to XP if you think it will run faster and more efficiently.
          I downgraded to XP after buying a Vista laptop and it ran much faster because my computer barely met the minimum requirements for Vista. You're making a sweeping generalization here, and while in most cases it may be true, there are still cases where your statement can easily be shot out of the water (read: Compaq computers).
        • 0
          Moonrise May 29, 08
          Please, that's hardly the case anymore. Maybe when Vista was first announced it was a problem, but it's hardly the issue it used to be. The issue with the Compaq computers was that they used parts that weren't originally designed for Vista and as a result the drivers were done in a shitty manner and made the computers run slower.

          Yes, there's an issue with processing speed, but that's not an issue with Vista at all and more a problem with someone having a crap computer. Vista runs more efficiently than XP, which makes it better for new computers that were designed for it.
  • 2
    BANDITO ATTACK May 27, 08
    just download it like the rest of the world.
    i wish i had 1600 bucks to toss out on an operating system.
  • 0
    Sonic Flash May 27, 08
    XP; the OS for SF:
    > Does not require a Mac
    > More gamer friendly than Linux
    > More stable and compatible than Vista

    Hold onto your XP CDs, folks.
  • -3
    bk man May 27, 08
    Wow... I dont have Vista, and I am really happy I think that it actually makes your computer slower.
    • 1
      Chais May 27, 08
      It depends on your hardware. Some people don't notice a speed difference when (stupidly) upgrading from XP while others have a considerable slowdown because of their computer's hardware.
  • -3
    Benedict May 28, 08

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