The racketeering case against Best Buy and Microsoft has taken an ugly turn. An attorney for Best Buy has admitted to altering emails that were to be used as evidence in the case. If you’re new to this class action lawsuit, Microsoft is accused of paying Best Buy to collect and use customer’s credit card information without their permission, signing them up for “free trials” of MSN that they didn’t want and or weren’t aware existed. When the free trial period was up, MSN began to bill them without their knowledge or consent. A former Best Buy employee wrote in to confess to pulling this sort of scheme on customers, if you’re looking for more detail on how it all worked.
microsoft
Contact Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
By 6.5.07
It’s not a direct line, but you’ll get to the admin secretary closest to Steve Ballmer. If you have a longstanding Microsoft issue that multiple trips to the MS customer service line haven’t solved, try pitching her your problems.
How Many Hours On The Phone Does It Take For Microsoft To Fix A Simple Problem?
By 5.30.07
Meet Tim. Tim has a simple request. He’d like to run Windows XP on his new laptop and Windows Vista on his old laptop. This requires him to switch the operating systems. Sounds easy. It’s not. Tim writes:
So, I’m running XP on the new laptop and Home Premium on the old laptop. I have the Dell OEM Home Premium disk and the Windows Anytime Upgrade disk with a CD key.
RESOLVED: Best Buy Either Voided Your XBOX Warranty Or Sold You A Used Unit
By 5.17.07
I never really pressed into trying to get them to track whether they had already taken that particular box as a return, etc. When I finally returned it, I was just so tired of the whole thing that I walked right out the door without trying to follow up on what really happened.
If you recall, Dan bought his XBOX in March, while the warranty had been activated in November, making it a possibility that the unit was used and sold as new.
Best Of Xbox
By 5.16.07
“”I don’t care if you bought your console yesterday, we still show your warranty is expired.””
Microsoft Won't Take Your Credit Card Off Your Ex-Boyfriend's XBOX Live Account
By 5.16.07
However much you like your man now, don’t let him sign up for XBOX Live using your credit card. Why not? Because after you’ve broken up, Microsoft won’t take your credit card number off of his account. Instead, they’ll tell you to change your credit card number or submit it to you credit card company as fraud. Also, they will be sarcastic to you on the phone. Weird, huh?
Xbox360 Tells Customer "I Am Laughing At You" And Hangs Up
By 5.11.07
Is Xbox360 like the most fault-prone device in the history of video gaming or what? As if in a deliberate attempt to add injury to insult to injury, Microsoft provided only a 90-day warranty, AND staffed their call centers with a goodly numbers of jerks. To wit, this recent conversation Richard had when trying to get his Xbox360 fixed under warranty repair:
Are You Still Stuck In Vista Upgrade Hell?
By 5.11.07
If you bought a laptop at the end of last year, you probably qualified for a free Vista upgrade. We did and although it took 6 weeks to get the disc in the mail from our laptop manufacturer, we didn’t run into too many hassles. No so for a lot of people, according to PC World:
“I was told it would be an easy process,” says William Bond, of Tampa, Florida. But, he says, the process has been anything but simple. Bond purchased a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion desktop in November at Circuit City and is still waiting for his Vista upgrade disc from ModusLink, the company handling the program for HP.
Best Buy Employee Confesses To Scams Similar To Ones Outlined In Racketeering Lawsuit
By 5.9.07
We thought the scam mentioned in the racketeering lawsuit sounded familiar—it was. A Best Buy employee emailed us on April 4, 2007 to confess to the type of behavior mentioned in the lawsuit.
Best Buy, Microsoft Accused Of Racketeering
By 5.9.07
When you think RICO you think Al Capone, or maybe Tony Soprano if you watch too much HBO. You don’t really think of Best Buy and Microsoft, do you? James Odom does. He’s the original plaintiff in a now 4 year old class action lawsuit that just won’t go away for Best Buy and Microsoft, one that now includes racketeering charges.
Closing Tweeter Store Has "A Bunch Of Zunes"
By 5.8.07
If you’re in the market for a Zune, you might want to check your local (closing) Tweeter store because they are experiencing a glut according to Reader Andrew, who sent in this photo.
Best Buy Either Voided Your XBOX Warranty Or Sold You A Used Unit
By 4.25.07
UPDATE: Dan gets sweet sweet resolution.
Dell Reintroduces Windows XP
By 4.21.07
After hearing from over 10,000 users wary of Windows Vista, Dell has decided to once again sell computers loaded with Windows XP. Most computer makers stopped offering XP after Vista’s launch, even though many users, especially small businesses, are wary of the newfangled operating system. Dell did not consider these concerns reasonable at first.
But on Dell’s IdeaStorm Web site, where visitors can post suggestions for the company and vote on the ones they think are important, a plea titled “Don’t eliminate XP just yet” racked up more than 10,700 votes.
The consumer outcry has restored XP as an option to four Inspiron laptop models and two Dimension desktop models. Dell will only make Windows XP available to U.S. customers. Sorry foreigners, you are stuck with Vista. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Iowa Microsoft Users Can Get Some Class Action Settlement Cash
By 4.20.07
Under the settlement, individuals and businesses that purchased certain Microsoft software between May 18, 1994 and June 30, 2006 are eligible for benefits, as well as Iowa state and local governments that purchased software between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2006. The OSes included in the settlement range from MS-DOS all the way up through Windows NT and Windows XP, and the other applications include Word, Except, and various versions of Office.
Microsoft Joins Apple In Offering DRM-Free Music
By 4.8.07
Following Apple’s lead, Microsoft has announced that the Zune Marketplace will offer DRM-free downloads from EMI’s catalogue. Microsoft also claims to be discussing similar arrangements with other music labels.
“The EMI announcement on Monday was not exclusive to Apple,” said Katy Asher, a Microsoft spokeswoman on the Zune team, in an e-mail to the IDG News Service today. She said Microsoft has been talking with EMI and other record labels “for some time now” about offering unprotected music on its Zune players in an effort to meet the needs of its customers.
Microsoft has kept mum on the specifics. We don’t yet how the price or quality of Microsoft’s music will stack up against Apple’s offering, nor do we know when the DRM-free music will be made available on the Zune Marketplace. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Microsoft Tells You To Call Dell For Windows Customer Service, Hangs Up
By 4.4.07
Recently we posted a Dell tech support chat in which the Dell rep cut the call short by blaming windows for a (probable) hardware issue, claiming a Windows Vista Upgrade was “third party software.” Oddly, it seems that Microsoft likes to pull the same trick on Dell owners.
Improved Xbox Warranty Is Victory For Gamer's Bizzare Project
By 4.4.07
Conor’s plan to return his broken Xbox in a 40ft shipping container is over, thanks to Microsoft’s improved Xbox warranty, which now says:
Dell: Windows Vista Is Third-Party Software
By 3.28.07
03/27/2007 01:18:23PM Agent: “Did you purchase your copy of windows from Dell?”
