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Amazon UK Refunds Windows License Fee, With Little Hassle

Posted by timothy on from the obey-lord-good-idea dept.

christian.einfeldt writes "Alan Lord, a FOSS computer consultant based in the UK, has announced that Amazon UK honored his request for a refund of the Microsoft license fee portion of the cost of a new Asus netbook PC that came with Microsoft Windows XP. Lord details the steps that he took to obtain a refund of 40.00 GBP for the cost of the EULA, complete with links to click to request a refund. Lord's refund comes 10 years after the initial flurry of activity surrounding EULA discounts, started by a blog post by Australian computer consultant Geoffrey Bennett which appeared on Slashdot on 18 January 1999. That Slashdot story led to mainstream press coverage, such as stories in CNN, the New York Times Online, and the San Francisco Chronicle, to name just a few. The issue quieted down for a few years, but has started to gain some momentum again in recent years, with judges in France, Italy, and Israel awarding refunds. But if Lord's experience is any indication, getting a refund through Amazon might be as easy as filling out a few forms, at least in the UK, without any need to go to court."

12 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. US? by Niris · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So this should work in the US, too? I'm looking to buy a new laptop sooner or later, but I sure as hell won't be using Windows. A refund would be prettty awesome.

    1. Re:US? by poetmatt · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The thing is, I imagine the license fee is quite variable. I've heard 40$ us, 80$ us, and other numbers, not to mention based on the version of windows that happens to be included (you'd not expect the same for ultimate vs home edition).

      Anyone else care to correct me or provide more info (I'm sure people are more familiar with this than I am)

    2. Re:US? by jedidiah · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If the feds were doing their job originally this argument would be moot.

      They chose not to so now we all get to live with the fallout and Microsoft
      gets to benefit from it's prior bad behavior with no real consequences.

      Although this is ultimately a hardware vendor problem. They continue to sell
      a product that has a built in consumer return clause. This issue would become
      entirely moot if hardware vendors just honored their legal responsibilities in
      good faith.

      The "let the monopolist do whatever they want" approach cuts both ways.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    3. Re:US? by Fross · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The issue is the OEMs being strongarmed into forcing it into builds whether people want it or not. Imagine whenever you bought a car, from any manufacturer, you got beaded seat covers in them. And you hate beaded seat covers. And you still had to pay for them, even if you threw them away immediately. You tried to get them to sell you the car without beaded seat covers to save $40, and they refused, because if they didn't, the beaded seat cover manufacturers would stop licensing them to sell them, then they couldn't sell cars to the other people who DID want beaded seat covers.

      Sounds a bit ridiculous that way, huh? Despite the fact 95% of people dislike beaded seat covers I'm sure :)

    4. Re:US? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sarcasm noted. Dell doesn't have any No-OS computers readily available for sale, thank you very much. All of their pages advertise Microsoft operating systems. If I DIG, if I PERSIST, I can get past all of that, in the business area. Dell knows that there is a market for Linux, and they know that there is a market for No-OS machines. Why are those market areas buried deep?

      http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=no+os&cat=all&ref=ac

      The second part of your post is entirely off target. I did stipulate "reputable dealer". If no one in my county ever heard of a dealer, how can I establish their reputation? Word of mouth, almost everywhere that people are evolved enough to speak, says that Dell makes good machines, with good warranties, and that most people are happy with them. Joe Buzzard's Custom Computers on Highway 69 South? I haven't heard anything good or bad about him, because no one knows him, hence, he has no reputation.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    5. Re:US? by rockout · · Score: 3, Interesting

      and at least 10 different local companies (who also sell built to spec PCs, sans OS if I want).

      Not exactly. I'm casual friends with a guy who co-owns one of those local shops. They do sell built-to-spec PCs. They're basically forced to sign a contract with MS that states that if they sell PCs with Windows on them, than EVERY pc they sell will have Windows on it. In other words, they're not allowed to sell PCs with no OS or with only Linux pre-installed. Micrsoft says "You wanna sell PCs with no OS? No problem. But you won't be getting OEM copies of Windows from us. Good luck."

      I'm just saying, if you're a local shop that plays by Microsoft's rules, it's not as easy as you think to get people PCs with any alternatives. Sure, you could blow off that particular rule, at your own peril.

      --
      I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
  2. More specific how? by omnichad · · Score: 3, Interesting

    US means United States according to the ISO 3166-1 International standard for 2-letter country code abbreviations. Is there some other standard I don't know about? These same codes that are used to define the TLDs of every country that has one... Why am I feeding the trolls?

  3. Re:Why bother? by cyber-vandal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There was a time when Microsoft got paid irrespective of what OS was loaded on the PC. Have a look for "per CPU licensing" on Google. Since the only way to avoid paying Microsoft was not to buy a PC at all that's quite a lot like the road fund licence or television licence in the UK which are both considered to be taxes even though they are not compulsory unless you have a car or a device capable of receiving television signals (I would have just said television but this place is where pedants go to die :P). I doubt that they are allowed to get away with that nowadays but the term Microsoft tax is still a valid albeit historical term.

  4. Re:variable by scubamage · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Really? I remember arguing with dell for close to an hour a few years ago that I didn't want an OS. I told them I wanted a blank hard drive. They told me they couldn't do it. I asked to speak to a manager, and they affirmed the lower person's statement. Maybe this has changed since?

  5. Chat with Newegg Customer Support by Polarism · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Copy Print Exit 4:58:39 PM CustomerChristian Initial Question/Comment: Rebates 4:58:44 PM SystemSystem Jeremy has joined this session! 4:58:44 PM SystemSystem Connected with Jeremy 4:58:44 PM SystemSystem Hello my name is Jeremy. How may I help you today? 4:59:20 PM CustomerChristian Hi there, I was reading an article about how amazon refunded the microsoft OS price for a netbook that was purchased. http://www.theopensourcerer.com/2009/07/21/getting-your-microsoft-tax-refunded-1010-for-amazon-uk/ 4:59:35 PM CustomerChristian I was wondering whether Newegg would do that on a laptop I ordered, because I don't accept the EULA. 5:00:34 PM AgentJeremy We do not offer this return. 5:01:02 PM CustomerChristian Didn't think so. :) Perhaps one day when EULA's are challenged in court we can get this fixed. Until then, viva la microsoft tax eh? ;) 5:01:49 PM AgentJeremy Do you have any other questions, or is there anything else I can assist you with today? 5:01:53 PM CustomerChristian Nope, thanks. Send Session ID: 658231 Question40 Pick one of the following options: OK Cancel Timeout40 Do you wish to continue this chat session? Continue Session End Session

    --
    All your base are belong to Google.
  6. This won't go far by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Amazon is not the company that bought that Windows licensed. That would be Asus. That implies that what really happened here is that Amazon decided to eat the cost to keep a customer happy.

    My guess is that the customer (the company that actually bought the computer--not the guy they gave it to) does a lot of business with them, so they were willing to eat a little on one sale to keep the end user happy, to keep their customer happy.

    I doubt Amazon is willing to in effect buy a Windows license for everyone who wants to buy a netbook from them and use Linux on it, so I don't expect this to go far.

  7. Re:Why bother? by SilverEyes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why should it be any different for operating systems?

    B...b...because it's MICROSOFT!

    :P To people pointing that this is unfair. It is unfair. But sometimes the world just sucks. Companies EVERYWHERE rely on all sorts of shady practices to gain business. I'm not saying it's right.

    It's like trying to vote for an independent third party. You may be very smart and know what policies should be implemented, but other voters aren't as concerned as you are, and they outnumber you. Something like 90 to 8 to 1.

    This is why you need to take them to court to get your refund. Talk to friends to get your refund. Support people who offer computers without Windows installed, and let OEMs know that's why your doing it.

    --
    Interesting.