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Few Takers For Microsoft's Settlement Cash

Posted by timothy on from the there-would-be-these-hoops-see-to-jump-through dept.

Makarand writes "According to this article on SiliconValley.com very few claims have been received to claim money from a Microsoft antitrust settlement in California. Only about 4% of the estimated 14 million eligible California consumers have bothered to file a claim till now. The deadline for filing claims is officially April 28 but is likely to be pushed back into May or June. Either, consumers have found the claims process too confusing, time-consuming and discouraging to keep them from making a claim or they are waiting till the last minute to file(like taxes). According to the settlement one-third of the unclaimed money will be kept by Microsoft and the rest will be given to Californian schools."

8 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. There are three reasons by medication · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First would be ignorance. I would imagine that a majority of the people who qualify for this settlement do not know about it and it's not as if Microsoft is going to go out of its way to inform them.
    Second would be reality. To claim your settlement money you must produce your "Product Key number or Product ID number". Mind you these are your keys/ids from February 18, 1995 thru December 15, 2001. I don't know about you but those keys are long gone for me.
    Third is human behavior. Corporations have known for a very long time that rebates are a fantastic sales tool precisely because many people do not follow through and claim them. I have a strong suspicion that the same principal is at work here - be it laziness or something else.

    --
    "If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit." - Mitch Hedberg
    1. Re:There are three reasons by Smallpond · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also, if you follow the link to webform.microsoftcalsettlement.com, you have to fill out a form to get the claim form. Then wait for the form. Then fill out the claim form and send it in. Then wait for the settlement.

      Note the privacy notice on the webpage. There isn't one. Who are these people? It doesn't say. What are they doing with the information they collect? What are the chances of getting a software audit if you fill out a claim form?

      Tinfoil hats available in aisle 3.

  2. More than that by poptones · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I actually have many of those PID numbers still here on my shelf from when we were filling the office with emachines picked up from officemax. And I filled out the lindows claim form just to check out lindows (couldn't get it installed on ANY of my computers but that's another story) but why would I waste time filling out this "rebate coupon" form? I have to download the damn pdf, print it, spend my time filling it out, stamping it, then waiting for the return of... a discount coupon for more Microsoft crap?

    Yeah... sssuuuuure.... I'm gonna do that right now!

  3. Or maybe... by RupertJ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe people value their time more than vouchers? Seriously, how many mothers and fathers are going to take an hour out of a busy day (that they could be spending with their kids) to fill in paperwork to get some rebate on software if they decide to upgrade their system in the future?

    Fact is most families don't care if their box isn't secure, patched or running the latest media player 9.03848.8464a - They'll use it once or twice a week to mail grandma.

    Sorry Slashdotters, but people who upgrade enough to care about some freebie settlement vouchers ARE that current 14% of settlement takers.

  4. Re:Needed: expanded moderation choices by hraefn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The altruism of the wealthy is rarely more than a tax deduction.

  5. Re:Needed: expanded moderation choices by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've said it before: if I rob a bank, and get away with the largest haul of any bank robbery in history, and rather than keeping all of my ill-gotten gains, I give away some small but meaningful portion of it to charity, and the recipients of my generosity are profoundly grateful for my gift ...

    ... I'm still a bank robber.

    --
    The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  6. Re:Good. by jimicus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft does NOT force anyone's hand to use their software. Even on PCs that come with it, you can get a refund

    You ever tried to do that?

  7. Re:Good. by NineNine · · Score: 5, Insightful

    they don't know that other OSes exist.

    Actually, I'm thinking that they just don't give a rat's ass. Non-geeks that I know couldn't care less about the OS they're running. It just doesn't matter.