Back when the XBox first came out, we bought one for Christmas, and I signed up for an XBox Live account soon after.
It was for my kid, so I really wasn't paying much attention when I listed birthday, and all the other personal information. What a pain. After that, every time I tried to edit the account, it would insist that I go through and confirm about 20 details in my account, including the credit card number I used. Well, I don't know which credit card I used, and I can't find the bills for that month. Pardon me while I wait a year to see which credit card the renewal shows up on...
So when I tried to cancel the account, I anticipated an unpleasant experience. Once again, the online service wouldn't authorize me as the account holder unless I answered every detail precisely correct (I set the account up four years ago). If you get something wrong, it doesn't let you know which of the details is wrong. Augh!
So I call the toll-free number, talk to the computer for a while, answering various questions, and finally I get through to a person. A person who wants to assure me how easy it is to transfer the account to an XBox 360 (that's assuming I could get it to believe I'm the account holder). I'm informed the account already automatically renewed itself, so I'm the proud owner of another year of Xbox Live!
I explain I don't want to transfer the account, I want to cancel. I have to explain that a couple of times, but finally the guy on the other end agrees to cancel the account. And, surprise, he was able to get me a refund, that will be credited to my card. Which is great, because it means I don't have to write a whiney post about how ripped off I feel.
It's all good for Microsoft. Son Number One already received a subscription card for a year of Xbox Live on the Xbox 360, so it's not like they aren't making money from us.
What Does this Say about my Confidence in Customer Service?
So why do I feel it's noteworthy that a large company with millions of customers behaved decently, and refunded money for a subscription renewal I didn't want?
That says something about my low expectations. It would not have surprised me at all if they had tried to make me eat the renewal fee, since I'd carelessly failed to notify them by the appropriate date, blah, blah, blah.
I've had almost universally positive experiences with customer service lately, yet I still get a sinking feeling every time I have to deal with someone. They almost always make a half-hearted attempt to brush me off, in case I'm a pushover, or I really want to be convinced not to pursue the issue. Otherwise, I always get the refund, or the exchange, or whatever I'm asking for.
Maybe I need to anticipate a positive experience. Nah, then you can guarantee I'll end up in small claims court fighting for my money...
Tags: customer service, retail, expectations, employees, microsoft, xbox, refunds
Good to hear you got your money back. Why are you getting ride of your Xbox Live?
Posted by: Duane Brown | January 25, 2007 at 07:40 AM
I had trouble managing the original Xbox Live account (because the verification process is pretty nitpicky), so we ended up with another account, and I just didn't get around to cancelling the original account until this week.
Posted by: Eric Eggertson | January 25, 2007 at 09:32 AM
That's good to hear. Personally, I've had nothing but positive experiences with Xbox customer service, so I'm glad to hear I'm not a fluke. :)
Posted by: Eric Tatro | January 25, 2007 at 10:25 PM
Wow, do any of you want to call the customer service for me? lol I've been calling them for about the past 3-4 months now and they still haven't fixed my account for me. Don't know what happened but apparently my xbox live is set up to be used on a 360 but I only have the original. Now because of that I can't receive any messages unless it's sent to me through the 360 dashboard (and even then I can only check it on the website), I can't receive in game messages, I can't access account management to change any info and the worst one yet, I went out and bought a headset and I can't use voice either. And the icing on the cake, the headset was a final sale (all the stores around here stopped selling original xbox stuff so it was on clearance). And I definitly understand what you mean when they try to brush you off. I've had them say the'll call me back in a week, 2 weeks later they never did, so I called them back and they said they forwarded the problem to Microsoft and it was out of the xbox customer service's hands, that they put in a request for an update on what's going on and would call me back within 24 hours..that was about 3 weeks ago and I'm still waiting. Originally one of them even had the audacity to tell me to go out and buy a new subscription card. There was no way in hell I was going out and blowing another 60-70$ on a new subscription when at the time I still had 11 months on my current one (especially since I lost my job and can't really afford it either). After I refused to do that they told me to go out and buy a 360 so my account could work properly. Now if I wasn't willing to spend money on a new subscription what makes them think I have the money to spend 500$ on a 360? And at this rate my subscription is going to expire before they do anything about it. Ughh, am I the fluke that gets horrible customer service every time? I seriously think I've been through every xbox customer service employee they have (including supervisors). :(
Posted by: xjenjenx | March 16, 2007 at 01:08 PM
While I'm happy to hear that you had a positive experience, I can tell you that I'm typing this while on hold with Microsoft, attempting to cancel my Xbox Live account. I've been on hold for 47 MINUTES. And if you bother to Google for "cancel xbox live", you'll find that my experience is not uncommon.
Microsoft is obviously using this tactic to discourage people from canceling their subscription. It's bad enough that they only alert you of their automatic renewal (ie, charging your credit card) by email ...
Posted by: Dave | August 13, 2007 at 09:15 AM
We cancelled an account at the beginning of the year on an original Xbox, and now the kids want to get back on. Walmart told us the 12 month Gold subscription card would work, but they were wrong. Any ideas on where to find one that will work? Even a month would do!
Posted by: Belinda | September 21, 2007 at 11:11 PM
Microsoft automatically charged my old credit card $57 for an XBOX live account I haven’t used in over a year. I protested through the credit card company but MSFT’s lawyers prevailed. I somehow got all the way to XBOX billing management on the phone and they refused to refund me even though I don’t use the service because it was past 60 days, even though I had protested the charge via my credit card company immediately. If you sing up for XBOX live, be prepared to get automatically billed annually for the rest of your life. Worst customer service ever.
Posted by: Microsoft Sucks | March 05, 2008 at 09:11 AM
Same for me. Do not give microsoft a credit card under any circumstances. They will charge it unexpectdely. And if you cancel your credit card, which is what I did, they will keep charging your 'live' account even if it's 'suspended'. So if you want to renew service, they backfill the charges without your authorization. And now their 'system is down' so I can't cancel. I give up trying to get my money back. I'll settle for just canceling, but I can't even do that. Avoid Microsoft -- thieves.
Posted by: Microsoft Sucks II | March 06, 2008 at 03:06 PM
Sorry to hear about all your problems. I must be one of Microsofts rare commodities, a satisfied customer.... so far!
Posted by: Barry Bond | August 12, 2008 at 01:47 PM
i forgot my email address for my xbox live account and i cant remember it because ive made alot of emails accounts, can somebody tell me what can i do?
Posted by: help!! | October 20, 2008 at 01:47 PM
I phoned there support line to cancel my subscription and got told that I can't because I don't know the email address that I used.
I said I know everything else that is needed like "gamer tag, secret answer, credit card number, phone number etc" but they still said "we cannot do anything without an email".
The guy on the phone ended up getting his supervisor and he came back and said i need to go to the xbox live website and go to "Help Central" and then click on "FAQ" and click on the first option in the drop down list.
I cannot find any help central, I tried the "Support" link but that only gave me a bunch of useless FAQs and links. I also tried the 360 Intereactive Agent which was also useless.
I don't understand why they need an email when I got far more important and valuable information to give
Posted by: Ryan | December 04, 2008 at 10:54 AM
I found the link but it was absoloutely useless
Posted by: Ryan | December 15, 2008 at 07:17 AM
Microsoft does some crazy things. My nephew just bought a 360 Elite in January and it already got RROD! If they can't fix an overheating problem 4 years after the bloody console has been out will they ever?
Posted by: Brandon | March 16, 2009 at 07:59 PM
What is the difference between a XBox Live Gold Subscription and Microsoft Points?
I'm looking to get a XBox 360 Elite this December and I need to know which one is better: a 12 Month XBox Live Gold Subscription or a card for 4000 Microsoft Points. They both cost $49.99 at GameStop and I want to know which one will get me the most value. Thanks!
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