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Author Topic: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software  (Read 9887 times)

asbokid

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Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« on: November 16, 2011, 09:37:22 PM »

Dear Dell,
...
I would like a refund for the cost of Microsoft Windows 7 which was preinstalled..

Yours,
« Last Edit: December 21, 2011, 01:30:39 AM by asbokid »
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roseway

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2011, 10:39:18 PM »

Well done that man! ;D
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  Eric

burakkucat

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2011, 01:06:51 AM »

Excellent.  :clap2:

I purchased a brand new Dell Latitude E5500 laptop over 18 months ago and as I detest all that Redmond Company's software, I put the DVD/CDs into a drawer (with the idea of donating them to the Poor of the Parish), formatted the disk and said "Phooey" to M$:-X

I wish we had met two years ago.  :)
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asbokid

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2011, 07:01:56 PM »

Thanks Guys,

There is a lot of interesting legal commentary in French on the website of Poitiers-based lawyer and Linux advocate, Frederic Cuif.

Sadly, my French isn't up to reading the articles in their native tongue.. But the wonders of Google Translate service can still bring Monsieur Cuif's wisdom within reach  :)

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cuifavocats.com%2F

EDIT:

I meant to add that the Dell laptop, an XPS l502x model with a core i7-2630QM is excellent.

The machine flawlessly runs the latest builds of Ubuntu and Debian Linux, and on that basis, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to others.

cheers, a
« Last Edit: November 17, 2011, 08:58:33 PM by asbokid »
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tickmike

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2011, 09:43:48 PM »

Nice one  :).
The only computer I have ever paid money for was my daughters Acer Aspire 5738Z a couple of years ago and I tried to get some money back for the Windows c@@@ but with no luck.
There was only one firm doing 'Bare Bones' laptops but these were a lot dearer  >:D.
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asbokid

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2011, 10:07:02 PM »

The Windows refund of £60 arrived from Dell today :-)
« Last Edit: December 21, 2011, 01:30:15 AM by asbokid »
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tickmike

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2011, 01:36:05 AM »

The Windows refund of £60 arrived from Dell today :-)


Well done, nice one.
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broadstairs

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2012, 06:15:48 PM »

I thought this thread had some references in it to EU law which spelt out how to go about this and who the refund has to be claimed from but I cant find anything now.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Stuart
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asbokid

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2012, 07:26:24 PM »

I thought this thread had some references in it to EU law which spelt out how to go about this and who the refund has to be claimed from but I cant find anything now.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Stuart

Hi. sorry, a party to the emails asked for their comments to be removed.

Those emails referenced:

  • European Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market. (The ‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’).   See [1]
  • French Supreme Court of Cassation, Civil Division 1, Public Bulletin concerning judgment in Appeal No 09-11161, November 15, 2010 [2][3]
  • The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, Statutory Instrument 2008 No. 1277 [4]
  • Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading - OFT Guidance Brief, 2008 [5]

Cheers, a

[1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:149:0022:0039:EN:PDF
[2] http://www.courdecassation.fr/jurisprudence_2/premiere_chambre_civile_568/995_15_18117.html#
[3] http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/telecharger_rtf.do?idTexte=JURITEXT000023113674&origine=juriJudi
[4] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780110811574/pdfs/ukdsi_9780110811574_en.pdf
[5] http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/cpregs/oft1008.pdf
« Last Edit: January 08, 2012, 11:31:17 PM by asbokid »
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Mick

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2012, 08:03:02 PM »

Did Dell seriously refund the cost of the MSWindows OS?!!! 

My understanding is that preinstalled PCs are actually cheaper *because* Microsoft in essence subsidises the OEMs to use their software - and then hopes to make money from their MSOffice products.

When I asked Dell for a bare bones laptop a few years ago they were adamant that I could only buy it from them "at no extra cost" with "MSWindows installed by default".  I argued that the extra cost was already part of the price, which I was seeking to reduce further for an OS I did not need/want.  They wouldn't budge.  :(
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, 06:07:13 AM by Mick »
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Regards,
Mick

asbokid

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2012, 11:47:39 PM »

Did Dell seriously refunded the cost of the MSWindows OS?!!! 

My understanding is that preinstalled PCs are actually cheaper *because* Microsoft in essence subsidises the OEMs to use their software - and then hopes to make money from their MSOffice products.

When I asked Dell for a bare bones laptop a few years ago they were adamant that I could only buy it from them "at no extra cost" with "MSWindows installed by default".  I argued that the extra cost was already part of the price, which I was seeking to reduce further for an OS I did not need/want.  They wouldn't budge.  :(

Yes, Dell gave me a refund of £60 (inc VAT) for the unwanted copy of Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Pro operating system that was pre-installed on the hard drive of a new Dell laptop costing ~£600.  In other words, the Windows Tax accounted for 10% of the price of the new laptop. The refund was donated to the Free Software Foundation since they work very hard to expose the unlawful racketeering of the Microsoft Corporation.

There was apparently some other rubbishy Microsoft stuff on the laptop hard drive. A time-limited version of MS Office, if memory serves. But since Windows was never booted, whatever junk was in the Windows partition remained unused and was subsequently erased to make space for Debian Linux.

The British courts should recognise the Lenovo ruling in the French Supreme Court. Even if the French court judgment does not set a precedent in the UK, it nevertheless was based on the 2005 European Directive which applies just as equally in this country.

There are quite a few acrobatic legal arguments over the value of Microsoft Windows. If it's free, then Dell is giving away copies of it?  So we can too?!  Let's be frank, Microsoft Windows isn't worth anything any way!

cheers, a
« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, 03:54:51 PM by asbokid »
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Mick

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2012, 06:07:46 AM »

Thanks for this!  I wish I knew it earlier ...
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Regards,
Mick

broadstairs

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2012, 09:03:04 AM »

Thanks for the update. The reason I asked is that I'm considering a buying a new laptop, however not a Dell, so I'm not sure I'll have the same luck.

Stuart
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exo

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Re: Refund for unwanted pre-loaded Microsoft software
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2012, 09:32:25 PM »

As long as you do not use the installed Windows O/S, then you should be able to get a refund.
All stated in the MS EULA.

http://vista.blorge.com/2009/07/24/amazon-customer-gets-hassle-free-refund-for-unwanted-windows/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_refund


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asbokid

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Go Home Gates!
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2012, 01:49:50 AM »

As long as you do not use the installed Windows O/S, then you should be able to get a refund.
All stated in the MS EULA.

http://vista.blorge.com/2009/07/24/amazon-customer-gets-hassle-free-refund-for-unwanted-windows/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_refund

Some time in 2011, Microsoft slyly re-worded the EULA to try and bar that option of a refund. Closely study the latest EULA and it has been subtly changed.  No matter. Whatever the Microsoft lawyers have scribbled to the contrary in the margins remains irrelevant. The bundling of Windows with new PCs, and the refusal to cough up a refund when requested, remains incompatible with European Directive 2005/29/EC.

The best way to deal with Microsoft is to drag it hissing and screaming before a European Court of Law. It's time the Courts made a European-wide judgment to settle this pathetic state of affairs. Bundling unwanted software with a new PC is a practice that impedes the European free market. The practice violates the consumers' best interest, and runs counter to the intentions of the European Parliament which voted for 2005/29/EC.

Better still would be for the European Commission to really flex its anti-monopoly and anti-racketeering powers. It's time to break up Microsoft, and where better to start than in Europe.

This could be a spectacular re-dux of the Bell System divestiture.  In 1984, AT&T, the incumbent US telco, was broken into seven smaller companies known as the Baby Bells, to curb the telco's abusive monopolistic behaviour.   In comparison to AT&T, Microsoft racketeering behaviour today is several orders of magnitude worse.

Incidentally, Channel 4 News reported that Billy Gates made an "impromptu" visit to a multi-ethnic school in Sarf London.  It was nothing of the sort. It was a heavily pre-arranged photo-op that allowed Gates to strut the media stage like the prize peacock that he is.

The hapless kids in the school were like rabbits caught in the headlight.  While the British TV public was thoroughly spattered in prime-time Corporate Propaganda from the ghastly Head of the Redmond Hydra.  True to form, Baron Billy wasted no time before explaining to the world (once again) what an awesome guy he truly is. And how he's going to wipe out global starvation, find a cure for AIDS and cancer, eradicate malaria and then colonise the moon.    *yawn*

It all begs the question: what was Gates' real reason for soiling our pleasant land with his stinking carcass?

Which rogues in Whitehall, the City and Westminster were behind this trip?  Who were the "very important people" cosying up to the slithery git while he poked his snout into British affairs?  What was the nature of the meetings Gates had with "The Establishment"? Who arranged them? How and where were they conducted? Where are the minutes of all of those meetings?

I smell the Filthy Lucre from whopping Government IT Contracts, signed and sealed in secret between H.M.G. and William Henry "Bill" Gates III.

cheers, a
« Last Edit: January 27, 2012, 06:01:38 AM by asbokid »
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