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Kevin writes:


I just wanted to drop you a line about my recent experience with Microsoft's horrible customer service for their 360 consoles. First a bit of background for folks not familiar with the 360's problems and it's DRM system.

It's well known that Microsoft's 360 console has an unusually high failure rate resulting in many users suffering what has been coined the 'Red Ring of Death' and being forced to send in the console on warranty. While Microsoft has extended the warranty on these systems for 3-years against this problem they are refusing to fully repair the devices. While they are happy to replace the device if you are an Xbox Live Marketplace user your box will not be fully functional on return. If you have purchased any content through their Xbox Live service which sells full games, movies, tv shows and add-on content for various titles you will find that it no longer works properly on your replacement console.

When you purchase content on Xbox Live it's linked to two things. The Xbox Live ID of the original purchaser of the content and a secret 'code' of some sort inside the Xbox 360 itself. You can use your content on any Xbox 360 anytime your are signed into Live using the original purchaser's Xbox Live account. You can also use the content offline or with any profile signed into the 360 the content was originally purchased on. This is particularly good for families who have multiple gamers with separate profiles. Any content purchased on the system is available to everyone who signs into the box online or offline. Well, that is until your box red rings.

In October of 2007 my 360 experienced a hardware failure and the red ring of death. I sent it in for replacement and after waiting over a month I was shipped a new replacement console. This new replacement console has a different serial number and as a result all of my downloaded content only works now when the purchasing profile is signed into Xbox live. Additional profiles on the system can no longer access the content. I can no longer access the content when I'm not signed into Xbox Live. So any internet issues with my system or Xbox Live (which experienced serious problems for most of last month) means I can no longer use the items I have purchased. As far as I'm concerned since the functionality I had before is now crippled my console has not been repaired.

I immediately contacted Microsoft when I noticed this a day or two after I received my system back in November of 2007. They had me try a few things in the system blade and redownload one of my items. This did nothing to resolve then issue. At that time they put me through over an hour of providing them with serial numbers, reference numbers, UPS tracking numbers and all sorts of other information while they located the information about my repair. Somehow they had apparently lost it. After this frustrating episode was over they escalated me to a supervisor. He informed me this had to be reviewed and that someone would call me back in the next two weeks.

Two weeks go by, I call back. I first get a Xbox Live rep who doesn't know what to do with my reference number from my previous call and makes me go through the whole process again of giving serial numbers and items from the previous ticket. I get escalated to a supervisor who thankfully can use my original reference number. He tells me he has nothing new to tell me and that I should expect a call back in the next two weeks.

This cycle repeats two more times until I get fed up with constantly being told 'two more weeks!' and I email a different contact address in Microsoft. This seems to get things moving since I'm contacted very quickly by a representative who only calls himself 'Frank' from "Microsoft Xbox Escalations" he assures me that he is going to follow the issue to resolution. But he has nothing to tell me at this time but promises to give me weekly updates until the issue is resolved. It is now the 2nd week of January.

The next week he calls up asking me to give him the serial number for the console so he can pass it along to whoever is working on the issue. He says he doesn't have anything new but hopes this will help. The next week he calls up to report that he has nothing new to tell me yet. Still no ETA. This continues weekly until February 7th.

Yesterday, February 7th, Frank calls to tell me he will no longer be working on my case because there is nothing he can do. I ask if he is passing me onto someone else who will handle it and he says he is not. I ask if there is anyone I can call for status updates on my issue and he says there is not. I ask him when I can expect it to be resolved and he says I quote: "hopefully sometime in 2008." I ask to speak to a supervisor and he refuses assuring me there is nothing that can be done. Apparently my issue is being handled by the "Live Team" but whoever this team is they do not talk to any department outside their own, they do not give ETAs. Essentially I'm being told that since my console suffered a widespread hardware failure, was serviced by Microsoft under warranty, that now I'm supposed to wait for a call back from Microsoft some day in the next year or more for the system to be fully functional again. Furthermore I have nobody I can contact or speak to regarding the status of my problem.

Let this be a warning to anyone considering making purchases on Xbox Live. Microsoft does not stand behind their product in regards to this service and failures of their own systems. They are happy to take your money and give you the run around until you simply give up and go away. This is honestly the worst customer service experience I have ever had with any company.

http://consumerist.com/377074/red-light-of...death-sufferers

Ben and Company,
I have been reading The Consumerist everyday for the last year, it's the first site I visit every morning. Thank you all for a great service. This is the first time I have written in with a tip/complaint.

Microsoft recently extended all warranties to 3 years for all Xbox 360's dealing with the "Red Ring of Death". What you have to read in the fine print though, is that the extended warranty only covers the very specific "3 red lights". No more, no less.

Three days ago my Xbox took a turn for the worst while playing a game of Team Fortress 2. During the match my screen started rapidly flashing green and vertical lines appeared. I figured it was just a glitch so I shutdown the Xbox and restarted, I still had the problem. I tried several different games (Oblivion, Orange Box, Rock Band, GoW, Condemned 2) and every single one of them has lines in the screen. I tried 2 separate LCD TVs and 2 separate video cables. All had the same result, lines in the game-play.. Here are some screenshots.

I then went to turn the Xbox on the following morning and received a flashing red light and an error code on the screen. I looked up the error code online and found this: E74: There is high chance it's a scaler chip problem (the "ANA" or "HANA" chip near the AV cable connection) it can also be caused by a faulty AV cable so check that first. In some cases it is a problem with the GPU

I believe the problem only occurs in areas of the screen that are being rendered 3D by the on-board video. Its pretty obvious that the video and/or motherboard are malfunctioning in some form. If you have a look at the screenshots you will see that all 2D graphics (in-game HUD, dashboard) are all fine, only 3D rendered graphics have the issue.

I called Tech support and they said the new 3 year warranty will not cover this issue. I thought this was pretty outrageous. The Tech said I would have to pay to have the unit shipped and pay to have it fixed. This is obviously a defect in the Xbox. This is my second box (First one RRoD) and has been working with no issues for just over a year.

So now my wallet in $107.00 lighter, and I will be without my console for a month. I have been nothing but an Xbox 360 fan and evangelist. I was the cornerstone for 5 of my friends purchasing the console, and now I have been let down. They took care of my first console with defects but refuse to take responsibility for an obvious manufacturers defect on my latest box.

I think that when its working the Xbox 360 is a great product, anyone trying to decide which console they should buy should take Service and Support in to consideration. My experience has let me down.

PS3 only has a one year warranty and it's void if your system is too "dusty". Mind you the 360 has a one year full warranty as well, but 3 years if you red ring.

Both my 1 year warranties ended, but I still have the 3 year warranty until December of this year for 360. The last system I got was made in 2007 and has the newer heat sink, so I hope it'll last.

P.S. I hope both systems work till I'm sick of the them

PS3 only has a one year warranty and it's void if your system is too "dusty". Mind you the 360 has a one year full warranty as well, but 3 years if you red ring.

PS3 only has a one year warranty and it's void if your system is too "dusty". Mind you the 360 has a one year full warranty as well, but 3 years if you red ring.

Both my 1 year warranties ended, but I still have the 3 year warranty until December of this year for 360. The last system I got was made in 2007 and has the newer heat sink, so I hope it'll last.

P.S. I hope both systems work till I'm sick of the them

You have a link to that story?

there was a story about a guy calling sony because his system got covered in dust so easily, but i never heard anything in sony's warranty about it.

Why do people keep buying a box if they keep hearing these stories? It is their own fault for being ignorant to obvous facts.
Surely, MS is not treating their buyers properly, but people will still buy the console, so they don't care. If people would stop buying it, these complaints would stop coming.

But yeah, best console ever.

On the system? Not in the system? Dust happen to be a problem with the PS2. Dust getting on the system wasn't the problem, it became a problem when dust got into the system and stop the system from working properly. It happened on a number of occasions for myself.

Well the first 360 I got (back in 2005) was unplayable out of the box due to freezing and a faulty DVD drive. I shipped it out to them and I had a new one in 5 days. It had also scratched the hell out of my Perfect Dark Zero copy, and they replaced it free of charge as well. My second unit was from that same batch , and lasted until last year. I sent it in and got a new one that was made in 2007 (no HDMI port however). I hope this one lasts since my 3 year red ring warranty only lasts till the end of the year. So far I have wasted more time on it than with PS3 and Wii combined. It really sucks when it breaks.

here you go Eva..

http://consumerist.com/consumer/polls/is-t...anty-322858.php

this is a case where Sony said no they would not work on this PS3 because the dust presented a health risk to their technician.

http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/PS3/Warranties

this next link is the actual sony warranty which states nothing about Dust, but from the one story ive read, the sony rep told the customer excessive dust fell under the "acts of god, customer abuse" section

Did you have to pay for shipping and handling?

Their reasoning for not fixing the system is just a excuse not to fix the system for free. Sony customer service place blame on the owner, then place blame on the retailer that sold the system to the owner.In short, for their time, they want to be paid to repair a system that shouldn't have issues with dust to begin with. It should be known that system will sit idle for a period of time and would collect dust.

I don't see how this story BS, which I believe a member brought up. Only part of the story that's questionable is how the PS3 became fill with that much dust.

When did dust become an act of god? Or, customer abuse? I wasn't aware I had to put my system away if it's going to sit idle. It's like unplugging your DVD player, if you're not going to use it. I don't do that, do you? It's absurd to assume a person should be required to put their system away if it's not being used. The PS3 shouldn't deal with issues with dust, it should have made the assumption that it's entertainment product that will sit idle, like a DVD player, and collect dust. I thought Sony learned their lesson when PS2 had similar issues regarding dust.

http://consumerist.com/381798/microsoft-ke...wanting-it-back

Microsoft hasn't returned Tiffany's XBox 360 for four months because they think she is a thief, even though she has her original receipt and a credit card statement proving that she is the console's rightful owner. Microsoft repaired the XBox back in January and tried to return it via FedEx, but a shipping snafu landed the box back at Microsoft's service center. Tiffany has called repeatedly. She even sent a letter to Microsoft's legal department, after sending her receipt and statement, asking how else she could prove ownership. That was 22 days ago. She has yet to receive a response.

Tiffany writes:

I'm writing to you in hopes (just like Dustin at the military base, but possibly a little more desperate) that some day in the near future I can get my Xbox360 back.

I sent it to Microsoft to fix on January 5, 2008 and shipped it back to me on February 2, 2008; however, FedEx shipped it to my home address and I unfortunately couldn't sign for it because I was stuck at work. I requested that FedEx change the delivery address to my work address, but they said they couldn't without Microsoft's permission. I asked FedEx to hold it at the shipping center but it accidentally got returned to Microsoft's service center.

At that point, Microsoft had done no wrong, but this is where it starts to get frustratingly nightmarish. I contacted Microsoft who assured me that they would send the package back, this time to my work address where the package could be signed for during normal work hours; however, somewhere along the line, Microsoft decided I had stolen the Xbox from the original owner since it was suspicious that I was "opening two repair orders" in such a short time. Countless (I lost track after 10ish) phone calls were made to Microsoft customer support about my case in a fruitless battle to get them to send me my console back, but they kept dancing around the reason(s) they were refusing to send it back to me. Eventually, a customer service representative admitted that all along they were unauthorized and had no means to actually help me, so all the times they claimed a supervisor assigned to my case would contact me about my case were lies. They eventually coughed up an address to the Microsoft Legal Department and said if I sent a letter their way, they would help me out. She hinted that the reason corporate had put a hold on my console may be because they didn't believe I was the original owner, despite the fact that I sent them a copy of my receipt and credit card statement as bona fide proof of purchase.

My coworker had suffered similar bad luck with his console repair and also had to write the legal department several letters before finally receiving his console back, so I felt like I finally had a chance to get my missing console returned to me. I sent a letter to the Microsoft Legal Department and CC'd a copy to the Vice President of Consumer Affairs at Microsoft 22 days ago begging for at least a response to my letter. Thus far, my e-mail inbox has remained vacant and my phone has not rung with news from Microsoft.

At this point, I'm quite at the end of my line and know that contacting customer support would just wring what little humanity I have left out of my soul. I noticed last week you posted about Dustin's grief with Microsoft not sending him a box to ship his Xbox in for repairs and also provided some links to file a small claim and contact my attorney general. I'm wondering if you can assist me further in any way, or know of someone who can since you've mentioned that multitudes of people of submitted similar complaints. Being completely left in the dark as to why they won't send my Xbox back to me after four months is making me more than a little crazy.

Thanks,

Tiffany



Looks like Alberto Gonzalez got a job with Microsoft. Your XBox may be transfered to Gitmo until it provides irrefutable proof of its owner's true identity. Efforts to identify you will result in an extended and unchallengable sentence.

You can try going even higher, straight to the top, and emailing big billg@microsoft.com, but reason apparently has no home at Microsoft.

She hinted that the reason corporate had put a hold on my console may be because they didn't believe I was the original owner, despite the fact that I sent them a copy of my receipt and credit card statement as bona fide proof of purchase.

Now this is an odd case to say the least, but one that is still ridiculous. A member of the XBF forums posted today that he had just received his repaired Xbox 360 in the mail. Now this isn’t too uncommon. As many are aware, the 360 does quite a bit of traveling due to the dreaded “RROD”. But considering it took this particular gamer two years to get his console back, this has to be the worst repair turnaround in console history. Below are the gamer’s comments describing his situation:

“… It was the UPS guy so I thought "there my Halo 3 legendary Edition that won from the Xbox live play and win contest". It wasn't as big as the legendary box so I ask what it was and he said "Its an Xbox 360, well thats what most of these ship from this address". I was saying to myself "I got a new Halo 3 Xbox 360. I opened it up and ended up being my launch Xbox 360 that got RROD 2 years ago. the Manufacturing Date says 11-14-05. This xbox 360 I sent in the mail 2 years ago and I never got it back so while that happened I got a new 360 from best buys and that RRODed April 29, 2008. I got that back a couple weeks ago. Now I have 2 repaired Xbox 360s sitting in my room.

I just remembered I looked at my email last week and saw 3 emails.

-I have sent out a box to you [I dont remember getting a box]
-We have received you xbox 360 and is in repair center
-We have sent out your 360

I was saying to myself M$ must of screwed up with the email so I just forgot about it.
They owe me more than a 1 month subscription of XBL. Maybe $400 or a couple games. “

You can view his entire post and corresponding images [here] .

The XBF Take: First of all, this gamer has some patience to go and buy another console and just forgive MS. But it’s almost too funny that they sent it back two years later with a 1 month gold card like it’s normal. We’ve asked this member to give us a follow up of what happens when they contact MS. For now we’ll file this in the oddest Xbox 360 stories.