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How to get a Refund on Your Unwanted Windows
lisah writes "Serge Wroclawski recently contacted Dell to request a refund on the unwanted copy of Windows XP that came pre-installed on his computer. Somewhat surprisingly, Dell complied. Wroclawski admits that the $52.50 refund was more of a victory in principal than anything else, but it was a success nonetheless. Using his tips and techniques readers can try their hand at getting a refund of their own. Wroclawski cautions that you should be prepared for a long haul: the process could take hours." Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.
Their agreement with MS forces them. To get the really good OEM prices, they have to have an OS on every machine they sell. They have been getting around this by loading either Redhat or a version of DOS. The demand has not been very high though.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Can I get a refund on that?
Did it come with an End User Licence Agreement which stated that if you did not agree to the licence you could return it for a refund? If so, then yes - you can return the drive for a refund. If no, then probably not.
With desktops this is a no-brainer...just build your own and don't buy Windows. At the current time however, there really isn't any way to build your own laptop...you have to buy a prebuilt one from a manufacturer, most of which are going to include Windows. TFA was about someone getting a Windows refund for a laptop.
I think we've discussed this before here. It's not the same person, but it's pretty much the same story (the other one involves a laptop from Dell). One difference is that it looks like the other guy got more of a refund ($89).
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I am currently in the process of doing this with Acer in the UK. It has taken about six weeks but I will be getting my refund, about £40. Since all communication with Acer has been done by email I have documented the steps on the Fedora Forums (http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=13 9627).
The good thing about what I have done is that I have made Acer create a brand new policy. If someone buys a computer or laptop from Acer and they do not agree to the Windows EULA they can contact Acer and ask for a refund. They should be sent a form and will be required to despatch their machine to Acer for them to remove it.
Once I officially obtain the refund I will try and ensure that their policy is mentioned on their website.
The parent is right (if stating it poorly). The fact is that MS and the OEMs don't need to make it impossible to get a refund for Windows, just a PitA. I mean, if they can chase you off with 15 minutes from a $10/hour guy and making you do hours of work to prove you erased XP and send the copy back to them, you're not going to bother. 90% of the time, Dell just loses $5 in tech-support pay dealing with your complaint.
I bought my current notebook, an Acer Travelmate 2420, with Windows XP pre-installed...
I really tried to find a notebook with Linux pre-instaled, or at least without Windows. And to my surprise, the cheaper ones are those shipping with Windows!
Mind you that I live at Brazil, and import taxes and such may distort the prices a little... But the shocking truth is, at least here, if you want a notebook without Windows, you have to pay MORE for it.
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Dell already offers machines with Linux or FreeDOS, consumer and business class. Look here to start. The PowerEdge server line also offers Red Hat Enterprise pre-installed. Dell used to offer laptops with Red Hat installed, around 99-01, but there was no customer buy-in, so they stopped offering it.
I admire the author's perseverence and intent, and I did not RTFA but I think he got reamed. Here is what Dell charges for a copy of XP home. A $52 refund? Good try.
Every option that Dell adds costs them money. Right now, every computer Dell makes has a hard drive in it with Windows installed. They're all the same. If they add an option so that you can select 'No Windows', then they need to start keeping track of which computers have windows on them and which don't.
You mean something like this?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
This is 100% verifiably false. Currently, Dell is offering the Precision Workstation 690 with Red Hat WS v4. The base model is 59 dollars cheaper than an identical base model with Windows XPSP2. As for keeping track of which computers have Windows on them and which don't, surely this is easier than keeping track of which computers have had a Windows refund issued? (Here's an idea... just don't put the Windows OEM sticker on the computers that don't have Windows installed.)
Whenever I am pricing a Dell system, I will go in through the various choices of Home, Small Business, Large Business, etc. They run different specials under each system and don't ask for proof that you are a large or small business to let you order from those categories. Every now and then, under one category but not the others, they offer one of their lower end desktop systems (which generally aren't available installed with Red Hat) with FreeDos as an option for the OS, for a savings of about 60US$ less than with XP Home. It's pretty clear Dell sets the retail value of OEM Windows at around 60 dollars.
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go to the dell site. from the notebooks tab choose Open-Source Notebooks. play their silly game a price one out. i picked a latitude 520N Duo with all defaults, it comes to $699. now go through and find the same machine with windows on it. look at a latitude 520 Duo. the same model, same processor, same memory, bigger HD, DVD-ROM instead of CD-ROM, with windows xp sp2. can you guess the price? $699. please explain that to me.
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You need to check out HP... suddenly EVERY SINGLE ONE of their business computers is available as a "Linux" model (actually a freeDOS install) and the amount saved is MUCH more than a measly $52. On a lower priced model, you can save 25% on the cost of the computer:
For example...
HP site: HP Compaq 2000 series (two models):
dx2200 microtower base model, MS-Windows XP Pro $637
dx2200 microtower base model, MS-Windows XP Home $557
dx2200 microtower base model, "Alternate OS" $487
Wow! $150 difference from XP Pro and $70 from XP Home! That is the *FIRST TIME* I have *EVER* seen a true, correct, and reasonable difference in the price. Could HP be doing something neat? I actually checked EVERY LINE of the quote to make sure that wasn't a mistake.
So... in this case, you really can avoid an almost 24% tax!
Certainly that is the only model. NO- they offer "configure Linux PC" on the entire 5000 line (4 more models) and get this- the difference is *$167* this time. And $160 on the entire 7000 line (three more models). In fact, every single small, medium, and large business line and even workstation line is available with "Alternate OS" (even business laptops!). You only lack the choice with their "Home" computers. Good going, HP!
I am not saying that MS-Windows isn't *worth* the $160 to some people. But it is worth $0 to people that want to install something other than MS-Windows or already own an MS-Windows individual or site license.
Now we need HP to do this with their home line too, and hopefully the other vendors will follow.
Arghh this flame war between you two is driving me nuts.
First of all, it's not difficult for Dell to add additional options, because each option is merely an item number that's added to the final invoice.
I.e. does the user want windows? yes, then add item number A for with media, B for without media, if no, then don't add that invoice number.
Same for all the other options
But if you really want to know what's pointless about this discussion, check out any Dell computer who's model number ends in the letter N.
The 'N' stands for NO OS. It ships with a FreeDOS disk which you have to install yourself.
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stick to their business line (optiplex, precision) and none of that crap is preinstalled.