Microsoft DID screw me over on Live (02-07-07)

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A bit of a long story, but here goes... thanks to all who are interested enough to read it all.
Basically, in December I knew I had to renew my subscripition because the expiration was in December 2006. I bought a 12+1 card and tried applying it on the 20th on my friend's 360 (I go there to play Gears of War with him and the such) and we kept getting a generic error message. My friend kept the card and said he'd call the 1-800 number and have it applied for me.

My friend did that, and the agent told him the card was applied (all but the free month, which apparently would show up in December of 2007) It seemed to be true since we checked my account status on the 360 and it showed that I had until December 2007. My friend then threw away the 12+1 card when it seemed as though it was applied. At around this time, I also changed my debit card number, which was from my old bank, to my current debit number.

Fast forward to the 22nd of January and I see that I'm charged automatically 49.99 for a year of Live. I call the 1-800 number and it turns out the original reason I couldn't apply the the 12+1 card was because my account was in bad standing because of the outdated debit card. I told them what the agent told my friend in December-- that the card was applied. They checked in my account and even saw a notation supporting this, saying something along the lines that I was having issues with my 12+1 card and that it was able to be applied over the phone. They said the only thing they could do is cancel the 49.99 charge and refund me (which has yet to shown up, apparently it takes up to 30 days depending on your bank) but they couldn't do anything about the 12+1 card. I would have to call corporate.

I called a number in Redmond which is apparently the corporate switchboard last week. I told them my situation and they said it would be forwarded to another department, which would call me back in four business days. I waited until this Tuesday, which was the fourth business day and called them back because no one from Microsoft ever called me. They said the only thing they could do is "Re-escalate" the request for them to call me again and that I'd have to wait another four days. I called Shenanigans on that and asked for the number of the department that was supposed to call me. The agent I spoke to didn't have it. I checked with her manager and I was told the same thing. I would have to wait until they could call me.

I guess the worse thing about this other than possibly losing out on 40 dollars is the fact that no one apologized to me. Miniscule I know, but instead of "I'm sorry" I would hear "Yes, you were told the card was applied when it really wasn't. That was incorrect information." "Yes, it has been four business days and no one from Microsoft has called you back." It's a frustrating situation.
Has anyone here gone through the same thing? Does anyone know a better way for me to get this resolved?
 
As far as they know, you could just be one of the likely dozens of scammers they get calling in trying to weasel free service out of them.

That and I doubt many people there have authority to blindly issue a refund (or an apology) for something that, from their perspective, was never purchased.
 
Unfortunate but these are the problems you run into when you're dealing with a huge company like Microsoft. I don't think you should get hung up over an apology. Unless your talking to the original representative that gave you the bad information about your 12 month card, the apology will be meaningless. These situations are very frustrating and you feel powerless to do anything... Good luck getting your money or card back...
 
I guess the moral of the story is to keep all your cards you purchased so that you have all the codes available to u in case u need them again in the future.
 
Probably unrelated, but I applied a 12+1 code to extend my membership through march 2008. Despite this, I got an email yesterday warning me that my membership would end soon. The account status info on xbox.com still says March 2008 though, so I'm assuming I'm okay.
 
This pretty much happened to me awhile back. But in the end, they shut down my account making it so it could never go online ever again!

Best part is, my 360 died a few months later, so they sent me a new one...bad part is, i bought all my arcade games on my old account, and couldnt re-download them! So i've been waiting for call after long and boring call from microsoft every week getting them all back one after anouther.

Best thing to do is just say screw you microsoft and make a new account, like i had to :`(
 
[quote name='felixlighter']Unfortunate but these are the problems you run into when you're dealing with a huge company like Microsoft. I don't think you should get hung up over an apology. Unless your talking to the original representative that gave you the bad information about your 12 month card, the apology will be meaningless. These situations are very frustrating and you feel powerless to do anything... Good luck getting your money or card back...[/quote]

qft


good luck on getting anything back
 
[quote name='Zing']As far as they know, you could just be one of the likely dozens of scammers they get calling in trying to weasel free service out of them.

That and I doubt many people there have authority to blindly issue a refund (or an apology) for something that, from their perspective, was never purchased.[/QUOTE]
They admitted guilt. They said I was told something wrong and that I should get compensation, but they (1-800) number couldn't do anything for me. I'd have to call corporate to get a resolution. Which I was fine with.
However, time has elasped with no call from Microsoft and seemingly no way to gurantee the right department will call me so I can even try to get a resolution.
[quote name='fizzle']i would email majorneslon.GL man sorry to hear.[/QUOTE]
Really? I've heard of Major Nelson, but I can't place the person.
 
[quote name='Zing']As far as they know, you could just be one of the likely dozens of scammers they get calling in trying to weasel free service out of them.

That and I doubt many people there have authority to blindly issue a refund (or an apology) for something that, from their perspective, was never purchased.[/QUOTE]

Sorries and apologies are cheap and he should have heard them every single step of the way, even it is insincere. It might not mean much in the greater scheme of things, but it can definitely effect the customer's goodwill towards the corporation. This is customer service 101 , the fact that you didn't hear any at all is unacceptable.
 
[quote name='vinhjdao']Sorries and apologies are cheap and he should have heard them every single step of the way, even it is insincere. It might not mean much in the greater scheme of things, but it can definitely effect the customer's goodwill towards the corporation. This is customer service 101 , the fact that you didn't hear any at all is unacceptable.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, this isn't something that's going to affect my view of Microsoft greatly (them ignoring me seemingly and not responding to my query and then possibly losing money will) but I work in a call center and you're right. You apologize on the behalf of the corporation when necessary, even if you don't really mean it. It's more perplexing than anything that I haven't heard an apology. It just seems like odd call center etiquete to me.
 
[quote name='vinhjdao']Sorries and apologies are cheap and he should have heard them every single step of the way, even it is insincere. It might not mean much in the greater scheme of things, but it can definitely effect the customer's goodwill towards the corporation. This is customer service 101 , the fact that you didn't hear any at all is unacceptable.[/quote]

On one hand, I agree -- you need to make the customer aware that you are there to help them. However, I work technical support (for a financial services company).. and an appology is an admission of wrongdoing to many people, one lots of people may try to abuse in a lawsuit of some sort. If that person said 'i'm sorry for the inconveniance', that person can take it as an admission of guilt even though it's just a consolance for the problem existing, regardless of if it is the company's fault or not.

In a lot of cases, blindly throwing around apologies is unwise. That person doesn't know if you're being honest or not, as lots of people likely try to scam free months/points/etc. From a support perspective, i feel for both sides. I don't think it is fair to demand an apology for something that, from the perspective of MS, may not be their fault.
 
[quote name='BattleChicken']On one hand, I agree -- you need to make the customer aware that you are there to help them. However, I work technical support (for a financial services company).. and an appology is an admission of wrongdoing to many people, one lots of people may try to abuse in a lawsuit of some sort.[/QUOTE]

That's crap. It looks like they admitted to being guilty of misinformation already (and the OP's #11 post seems to reinforce this), so they should have at least apologized.
 
That sucks, sorry to hear it!
One thing though...next time, if it is your problem and your money don't let a friend deal with it too. I am sure your friend did not make things worse but in the eyes of MS, hearing two stories could make the situation look more like bs or even a scam. I know you applied the points on his 360, but it still sounds fishy even though I'm sure it's not.
 
I have had a similar experience with receiving the wrong info from a rep, though not with microsoft.

I don't recall how MS does things, but the whole "call will be recorded" messege ended up helping me. Ask them to bring up the logs of the call(if you have the date you made it) and they "should" have it.

If/When you get it fixed, definately remove all credit card info from your account. Cards are generally cheaper anyway thanks to CAG, and that way all they can do is drop you to silver without randomly charging you.
 
I had a problem with Microsoft with my first xbox. I bought some booster packs for project gotham racing 2 but then my xbox broke so I sent it in for repairs. When I got it back the harddrive was erased. I couldn't redownload it because I changed my live account. I called them a couple times to try and get my content back without having to pay for it. However, it was a nightmare trying to get someone to help me.

So I got frustrated and wrote the better business bureau an email explaining the situation. Microsoft is a member of the better business bureau so they do a good job of trying to resolve any problems reported. I got a phone call the next day from someone at Microsoft and he said I could redownload the stuff for free and he would wait with me on the phone while I did it to make sure it worked properly. I was very impressed with how they handled the situation.

You might want to try doing that. In your letter just explain what happened and how you want them to resolve it and I bet they will make an effort to fix the problem. Good luck.
 
[quote name='Surferflames'] If/When you get it fixed, definately remove all credit card info from your account. Cards are generally cheaper anyway thanks to CAG, and that way all they can do is drop you to silver without randomly charging you.[/quote]

Seconded. A friend of mine's Xbox 1 blew up and he couldn't afford another one due to his divorce putting a serious dent in his finances. A few months goes by, and MS automatically charged another year of Live to his debit card- putting him in overdraft with his bank and causing a huge mess. He hadn't played on Live in months- and hadn't checked the junk hotmail account he used to sign up for Live so he hadn't realized they were about to do it. He totally forgot all about it.

He tried getting it refunded from MS and his account canceled, but they didn't care.

After hearing that, I immediately removed all credit card info from my account and use pre-paid cards. Screw somebody being able to charge me without my knowing about it...

Besides, as the guy I quoted said- you can get 12 month cards way cheaper thanks to sales and what not.
 
I'v been screwed by the live crew many times

1st time: Signed up for phantasy stay online and later canceled(I get a confimation #), 3 months go by and the account I had the live account tied to was at $1 (I had switched banks) Well MS didn't cancel the PSO account and kept charging me the monthly fee and the bank added overdraw fee after overdraw fee. I got the 3 monthly fees back but they weren't responsible for overdraft fees. I tell them about the cancellation confirmations # and they see it but there was a glitch in the system which caused it NOT to get canceled. :roll:

2nd time: Had a 12 month live pack purchased in November well the following year they decide to renew a week earlier then what I had, essentialy ripping me off a week. ( what ever I let it slide)

3rd time: Again, November and again they steal another week! I call abd talk to someone and ask when was the last time I was charged, the say "Nov 21" I say well it's Nov 8th, why am I being charged?" MS rep " I have no idea"

4th time: I bought a account for my Creditcardless cousin, He had the GT: shinku but latter wanted Shinku with the capital S. So I call and explain the situation and the guy says "No problem, Next time you log on it will prompt you to reenter your Gamertag" Well that wasn't the case, This ended up making the gamertag Shinku or shinku unavailable indefinitely, so my cousin had to change his name entirely. The next MS rep said "Sorry we didn't think that would happen, but the names are too close so the computer denies the request"

Who ever MS outsources the Live call center too should have their building burned down. The only worse call center I have talked to is HP
 
Thanks for the responses guys-- I appreciate them.
I had an idea with the BBB-- to threaten them on the phone with it if I didn't get called by Monday because I found Microsoft's member page on the BBB site. But you can write them a letter? I should do that.
And I've done nothing but prepaid cards, but it won't let me add a card in unless I have a card on file? Heck, I don't think my account will function at all without a valid card (my account was locked out until I updated my new bank card, actually)
And Vortega, that sounds absolutely terrible.
 
[quote name='BasketCase1080']u sure it wasnt ur friend that did?[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure. I sat there and entered the code myself. I also seen my account credited with the service after my friend made the call to get the card applied. The only thing I didn't witness was the call he made to the agent trying to get the card credited.
 
That sucks, hope it works out.

BTW this leads into a question I was thinking about. Just got the email saying my live will be renewed in March. I think I'm going to get the Live Vision Gold Pack. Once I apply that 12 month card, it renews me without charging my card in March, correct?
 
[quote name='Stingermck']That sucks, hope it works out.

BTW this leads into a question I was thinking about. Just got the email saying my live will be renewed in March. I think I'm going to get the Live Vision Gold Pack. Once I apply that 12 month card, it renews me without charging my card in March, correct?[/QUOTE]
Should from my understanding. You should call customer service and cancel automatic billing.
 
you're screwed...at least from my point of view.

remember when i had an account for live on the original box. well, come the day of cancellation i call in and find out i was charged for a whole other year (i was going to cancel to switch to a new gamertag). refused to refund me my money, but happily cancelled my account after they added another year to it. she suggested i pay $10 to change my gamertag, but what good would that do? you can't perform that on the original xbox. so i just hung up, called the credit card company and did an immediate chargeback. i don't play that shit. my bank of america visa is awesome at keeping me happy.

this is why i hate to pay for online gaming. especially since they don't even provide servers.
 
[quote name='Cloudy Wolf'] she suggested i pay $10 to change my gamertag, but what good would that do? you can't perform that on the original xbox. so i just hung up.[/QUOTE]

Yes, you can have your gamertag changed on a original xbox. That was one of my problems that they Screwed me over with a mis-capitalization and then forced my cousin to change the gamertag entirely.
 
[quote name='Michaellvortega']I'v been screwed by the live crew many times

1st time: Signed up for phantasy stay online and later canceled(I get a confimation #), 3 months go by and the account I had the live account tied to was at $1 (I had switched banks) Well MS didn't cancel the PSO account and kept charging me the monthly fee and the bank added overdraw fee after overdraw fee. I got the 3 monthly fees back but they weren't responsible for overdraft fees. I tell them about the cancellation confirmations # and they see it but there was a glitch in the system which caused it NOT to get canceled. :roll:

2nd time: Had a 12 month live pack purchased in November well the following year they decide to renew a week earlier then what I had, essentialy ripping me off a week. ( what ever I let it slide)

3rd time: Again, November and again they steal another week! I call abd talk to someone and ask when was the last time I was charged, the say "Nov 21" I say well it's Nov 8th, why am I being charged?" MS rep " I have no idea"

4th time: I bought a account for my Creditcardless cousin, He had the GT: shinku but latter wanted Shinku with the capital S. So I call and explain the situation and the guy says "No problem, Next time you log on it will prompt you to reenter your Gamertag" Well that wasn't the case, This ended up making the gamertag Shinku or shinku unavailable indefinitely, so my cousin had to change his name entirely. The next MS rep said "Sorry we didn't think that would happen, but the names are too close so the computer denies the request"

Who ever MS outsources the Live call center too should have their building burned down. The only worse call center I have talked to is HP[/quote]

For future reference, just delete the gamertag and recover it, when doing the recover, type it how you would liek it and it will show up taht way.
 
[quote name='help1']For future reference, just delete the gamertag and recover it, when doing the recover, type it how you would liek it and it will show up taht way.[/quote]
can't do that on the original xbox. don't have a 360 yet
 
I would keep bugging them. I'd also suggest to save your cards like someone else said here. You never know if you'll need them again. I actually have a couple of MP Point cards I used in case something happens.
 
Fourth day and no response. Now I have to call again.
Friday night, I filed a report with the BBB.com, but haven't received an email from them lately. How long does it take usually?
 
Follow up for anyone who cares-- I called a third time and this time was given the email of the vice president of customer service for Microsoft. Fired off an email and yesterday got a call-- saying nothing can be done for me since there's no record of the card. The man seemed unwilling to look at my account and see the notation supporting I was told that my card was applied or to obtain the recording of the call that supports this.
So other than a followup to the BBB and vice president, I don't think there's anything left for me to do. Sucks.
 
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