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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."

3 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. Why bother? by massysett · · Score: 0, Troll

    What point is it that people hope to make when they do things like this? If you want to support preloaded Linux, why not buy preloaded Linux?

    http://www.zareason.com/shop/home.php

    If you want to get a PC with no OS at all, why not buy a used machine on eBay that has no OS? There are typically dozens listed. I built my own desktop. No OS. You can even buy a new PC with only a barebones OS:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_n_Series

    And the headline says something about a "Microsoft Tax." How ridiculous. Governments levy taxes. Software and hardware vendors that you do not like do not levy taxes, no matter how much you do not like the product. If you do not want Microsoft products, do not buy them.

    --
    Penny - plain text accounting
  2. next step by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 0, Troll

    I wonder if I can buy a Mac from Amazon and get a refund for OS X because I wanted to run Windows on it.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  3. Consumer choice by kervin · · Score: 0, Troll

    So he chose to buy a computer with Windows pre-installed even if there are dozens of places that will happily sell one with another operating system, and then demands a refund.

    Oh, and Microsoft is being unreasonable.

    Interesting logic....