Microsoft sells scratch off cards that contain codes you can use with XBOX live. Trouble is, if you get overzealous and scratch off the code along with the scratch-off stuff—you’re out of luck.
Microsoft will not tell you the code and they won’t send you a new card. We assume that this is to prevent people from calling in and lying about not being able to read their cards, getting the codes, and then selling the unscratched cards to various chumps.
Still, it doesn’t help reader Matt, who really can’t read his code:
My name is Matthew [redacted] and my family (registered to my younger brother) is the happy owner of an xbox 360 purchased in the summer of 2007.
I have already sent in my xbox for service on two separate occasions (red ring once, discs not reading another time) and have had a wireless controller replaced… My family has owned an xbox for around 7 months and for 2.5 of those months it has been either inoperable or in transit. Despite the hassles I am quite pleased with owning an xbox because of the quality titles. Aside from a couple of hiccups involving creative navigating of the customer service representatives and multiple delays in receiving the shipping box for a return; my overall opinion on the customer service has been helpful, pleasant and ultimately have helped me solve my issues each time.
On my second servicing of my xbox, I had an active xbox live gold subscription card and was obviously not able to suspend service so I was given the standard one month card. I waited until Christmas break to utilize this card. When scratching off the card with my fingernail (a lowly level of 3 on the Mohs hardness scale) I managed to scratch over scratch 4 of the characters. Searching the internet I found multiple people with similar problems and was sure support could help me out. All I wanted was to have them help me complete the code.
There is a separate serial # on the card to identify it I presume. Perhaps they have records of the codes according to serial #. After about an hour hold, I spoke to one rep for a half hour, was told it was another departments problem and to refuse being transferred back here if that department said it was the previously departments problem (I was told this multiple times for reiteration). I waited on hold for another hour explained my plight and did the back and forth about 45 minutes and again was tried transfer me but I did my job and held strong. At this point I felt like I was making progress. Finally, I was transferred reluctantly to a third dept. but was told not to worry, they can resolve this almost instantly. Another hour hold and 45 minutes of back and forth with another attempt to transfer me back to both of the previous two departments. I explained I had already been there and that it should not be my job to coordinate between different departments. After several more minutes of hold I was then greeted with an abrupt, there is nothing we can do for you, sorry we do not have access to the codes and will not issue a replacement card.
I would not be so bitter if I had purchased this card from the store because I would have attempted to return it. But this was card issued as an apology for a faulty product and compensation for the hassle. To have the apology not work and then refuse to correct the problem is insulting. Not only that, if the answer was so simple I wish I would have been told up front that it is a policy not to issue new cards or give out codes because I wasted about 4 hours on the phone trying to get my halo 3 on.
I write to you as a final attempt at finding credibility in Microsoft’s customer service. I hope I can in the end be happy with the service I received.
Matt
Matt sent us an update:
Just a quick followup on the scratched xbox live gamercard. Microsoft contacted me last week on their own accord. This was not expected, but I was pretty excited because I thought I was getting action due to the email I sent them. Unfortunately they only called to tell me again they would NOT be replacing the card. All I could think in my head was, gee thanks for rubbing it in. I was then asked by the representative if there was more he could do to help me? Baffled, I said nope and hung up the phone.
Hey, Matt. All is not lost: Our good friend Phil the Philmguy did the same thing this weekend. He actually sat around trying different combinations until he figured it out: “That happened to me this weekend. i had to guess on seven of the letter/numbers in different combinations. Took me three hours, but I won.”
Buyer beware.
Xbox live card refund? [Metafilter]
Xbox 360 Live 1 Month Gold Card [Amazon]
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Ive had the same problem, I got home with my new gold membership card ready to play with my friends, looked around for something to scratch it with and there were these scissors right next to me. That didn’t turn out so well, over half of the numbers were illegible by the time I realized that I was scratching them off. After several calls to the store and to Microsoft, I discovered I needed to go back to the store, spend more money, waste more time, just to connect my xbox to my Internet to play with my friends.
Same crap happens to me with the last few cards I had. (When CC had their amazing buy 2 XBL accessories get $20 bucks off = Buy 1 get 1 free deal) The same thing rub to had and it scratches OFF the printed text. I am no stranger to the 3 hrs to get that shit resolved. Stay on the phoen and they will help you out. Just hang in there, and or just purchase them with a debit card; is my best advice.
@cleverlymadeup: Dude, Your comparison is vastly flawed: taking a hammer to an ipod? Come on its not like we are taking high grade sand paper to scratch this off, it is a coin or a finger nail. For years scratch off games have been able to have been scratched off and the numbers are still there why can’t we get the same level of scratch-ability?
@lordargent: It takes hardly any pressure at all i assure you. Less and an ounce.
Had this exact same thing happen to me, but from a 1 month free card I got in compensation for my 2nd RROD. I didnt even bother to call in and ask for another.
Ive worked for customer support and we didnt have anything to identify the code in our system. The only thing we were trained to do was to tell them to go back to where they got the card from, which wouldnt help in this case, and try and get another one off them. If the retailer thought it was used on the customers account they could phone in and we could say that the customer did not use it on their account but we couldnt prove it wasnt sold to someone then scratched and returned. My opinion was to have the person who sold you the card scratch it off for you in the store when you buy it.
@AnOffDutyNinja: it’s the EXACT same thing, the only difference is the cost of the item in question
why not try looking at what is being said instead of the objects being used, i could do this with $2 scratch lotto cards with the exact same results
so my comparison is very correct and unflawed, you’re just looking at the cost not the actions in question
tho i’d be more than willing to hear your response on how my example is flawed, i will ask you actually provide more than “it is flawed” and “cause i said so” in your proof of the flaws in my example
I’m the original person in question and let me assure you I used nothing more than a FINGERNAIL. Doing a google search will easily show that the flaw is in the card, not in my zealousness to scratch hardly. I don’t think it can be considered my fault a crummy product didn’t work in my favor. The problem became bad enough that they changed the format of the card, but I got an older one. Like everybody else on these forums, we’ve all scratched off tons of crap, from mcdonalds monopoly, various other gift cards to lotto tickets. I don’t think I’m exactly a beginner at this.
I scratched too hard once and ruined the code… Best Buy was kind enough to let me return the card with my receipt.
Hey, Yea I work for them and the only reason we can not is because we don’t have that kind of system to look it up. The other number doesn’t help us any and it is “Microsoft Policy” that we can not reimburse or exchange but to refer you to the retailer. If we gave it to you then Microsoft told us to do nothing and apoligize for it.
I scratched off most of a code from a 1250 points card with a scissors. I was pissed at first that there was nothing anyone could do about it, but in retrospect, it was my fault for using scissors in the first place. However, I’ve noticed that, even when I gently scratch the code off with a coin, I still manage to scratch a little bit of the ink off (though not enough to make the numbers or letters unreadable). I’m sure its just my imagination, but it almost feels like they’ve made the codes even easier to scratch off accidentally.
I’ve always just used the credit card for Live service/points.. never have had a problem doing that. I can see why cards might be a better choice for some people, in that case this article serves as a good warning to be gentle. It surprises me though because I would think that these cards would be made at least as well as lottery scratch off tickets and people go to town on those things.
My brother had done the same thing, scratched off his Xbox Live card too hard (well, more exactly with a knife). So, my mom and him went back to Best Buy, and they replaced it for him; with the cashier scratching it off for him with a penny.
This is not entirely true. I had the same problem but Microsoft helped me no problem. I gave them all the numbers I could see and they filled in the blanks fo rme.
I don’t know if I’d recommend bruteforcing it. If the codes are letters and numbers that’s 1,679,616 possible combinations for four missing numbers, unless you can kinda see what they are. If it’s just numbers it comes down to a more manageable but still insane 10,000.
My advice would be to just write it off. Those numbers are there for security purposes, so I’m not sure what Microsoft could do in these situations without exposing themselves to tons of fraud. And from the rest of the comments it sounds like their trying to stop stuff like this from happening by moving away from the scratch off method.
@cleverlymadeup: It is flawed due to the fact you are saying to take a hammer to the ipod; and presumably whack it to turn it on or switch songs, Am I right? How much force would you use to turn the dial or hold the wheel down to power down, not much I suppose, but you don’t need a hammer to do that. I do not own an ipod, but I am fairly sure in the instruction manual they explain how to use it. Possibly saying; run finger over scroll wheel to switch tracks.
On the back of the card it states: to scratch off to reveal code.
When I scratched off my card I did NOT use a piece of sand paper. I did NOT use a knife, nor an industrial sander. I used a dime, and what I thought seemed to be a reasonable amount of pressure.
When you scratched off that $2 ticket did you use a piece of sand paper to reveal what you had? Come on use some logic here, no you wouldn’t. You would use a coin or your finger nail presumably, with a reasonable amount of force.
I have worked in customer service before but to tell the customer: Sorry, F You go buy more of our stuff. Isn’t good customer service. This can be remedied by several different packaging and manufacturing options. Such as making the like credit cards how they are raised and placing the in a covered envelope. just as an example.
The best thing to do is to use a pre-paid credit card for XBL points and subscriptions
@AnOffDutyNinja: ok let’s learn some english here, it’s called subject verb and object
I (the subject of the sentence) scratched (verb) my xbox card (object) too hard (action against object)
then my example
I (the subject of the sentence) hit (verb) my ipod (object) with a hammer (action against the object)
both the same sentence with the words changed, but they both have the same meaning, therefore they two sentences are similar
also in both cases it’s no one’s fault but your own, not microsofts or apple’s, them refunding you for ANYTHING is them being nice and taking pity on your dumb ass
ok say you have a $2 scratch ticket, you win $1000 on the ticket but you’ve scratched off the validation code with your figner or coin, they WON’T give you the $1000 and will tell you tough luck
so thank you for this nice little lesson in english, please learn the language before you try and be smart cause someone will show you how much you have yet to learn about the language
@cleverlymadeup: When you have to attack someone on a totally unrelated subject is when you know you’ve lost the debate.
TRY THIS: instead of scratching the silver stuff off with your fingernail, coin, or other metal object try “lifting” the silver off with a piece of Scotch tape. Simply apply Scotch tape to the silver area, and pull off carefully at an acute angle (don’t pull the tape straight up, but closer to parallel with the surface of the card). This works great on plastic cards, especially if you apply the tape to the silver area and then apply some pressure to make sure the silver adheres to the sticky side of the tape. If these cards are made of cardboard, you may want to cut the tape so it’s just large enough to cover the silver. Otherwise, you may rip off to much material and mess up the numbers anyway. Hope this helps!
@cleverlymadeup: Dude, how many people have to tell you that they used reasonable force to scratch the thing off before you realize it’s a defect? I’ve scratched hundreds of lottery tickets, McDonald’s style Monopoly pieces, gift cards, etc. This cheap cardboard MS Points card is the first I’ve ever had an issue with. You hear the same thing from many other people, and you still think it’s us?
Go out and buy one of these cards, and scratch it off with a penny. Even with knowing the issues this card has (which I didn’t before trying to scratch), you’ll still probably rub off at least a small amount of the code.
If it happens to one person, maybe they’ve screwed it up. Almost half of the comments here are from people it has happened to, and the others are ones who haven’t used this particular style of card from MS. It’s simply defective.
And to relate to your lame iPod correlation, if what I consider reasonable force to click a button (the same force I’d used on other similar products mind you) shatters the thing in my hand, it’s a defect. If I hammer the button down in a drunken stupor, then I’m an idiot. But if hundreds of people are shattering the device in their hands with just the force of their thumb, there’s something wrong.
I may be late on this, but this whole article is completely wrong in some aspects.
I for one, accidentally scratched too hard once and ruined my XBL code. However, I called Microsoft and they instructed me to write the RMA number they gave me on both sides of the card with a Sharpie and bring it back to the store I purchased it from.
Sure enough, I walked out with a new card.
@C4WDeX: Sorry,
I had the same thing happen. I have never had this happen before either. After an hour and a half on the phone all MS told me was y7ou could try to guess different combinations or take it back to the store. No RMA and they told me the serial number on the card did no good. I have a real issue with this because the real product here isn’t some card. The product we are paying for is a 12 month subscription. Of which MS gave me zero service. So if you buy a car and the dealer gives you a one of a kind glass key that is wrapped in are hard to open plastic shell that can only be opened with scissors or a pair of pliers and the key breaks the car is useless and the manufacture has no liability. When someone pays for a service the company has the legal obligation to provide the service for the term it promises. I paid for 12 + 1 month of Gold Live and I call after I can’t read 7 characters on their card and am told sorry. I am sorry for rubbing too hard, but MS definitely has some liability here. For them to have hundreds or thousands of people with this and tell them to go buy another card after hours on the phone sounds like they are dodging their legal obligation to provide the service for the price we paid for that service. From what I can tell there is the blank card and then a wax coating and the letters are printed on that then the silver scratch off is applied on that. Where a lotto ticket has the letters printed on the cardboard. So if you scratch any of the wax away part of the code will be gone too. I went and check some of my other cards from MS and noticed part of those codes had come off with a penny. Yet a=another defective item from MS. Like the racing wheel that smokes and the Halo3 deluxe DVD’s that are scratched out of the metal case.
I had this same problem, I scratched off but 3 numbers and the xbox guy told me to go to the store where I bought it and he would tell the employee the code. I went and he said he wouldn’t give the guy the code. Luckily for me the employee at the video store refunded my card.