HP customer scores refund for unwanted Vista

July 21, 2008 |

HP customer scores refund for unwanted Vista

By John Lister

HP customer scores refund for unwanted Vista A blogger who bought an HP computer claims he persuaded the firm to give him a $200 rebate after opting to not use the pre-installed copy of Vista.

The writer, who uses the name uncle_benji, reports buying the laptop for $599.99 from Best Buy. Upon switching it on, he noticed a clause in the End User Licence Agreement stating “If you do not accept [the terms], do not use the software. Instead contact the manufacturer or installer to determine their return policy for a refund or credit.”

At this point he decided he’d use Linux on the machine and see if he could get some cash back from HP for the unused Vista.

At first HP argued that the operating system was ‘bundled’ and his only option was to return the entire laptop to Best Buy under the store’s 14 day return policy.

After a second call and speaking to three different people, a supervisor explained to ‘Benji’ that using any system other than Vista would likely cause technical difficulties on an HP laptop, that there were no HP drivers for Linux, and that the company wouldn’t be able to offer support on any other system.

‘Benji’ wasn’t deterred: another call and three staff members later, HP’s argument had shifted to whom the phrase “manufacturer or installer” referred to, with HP claiming it was Microsoft’s responsibility.

The saga than switched to e-mail, at which point ‘Benji’ pointed out that Microsoft has a stated policy refusing to give refunds for operating systems, so any rebate was down to HP. The hardware firm finally agreed to give him $200 and, after another three weeks of e-mails chasing it up, he received a check.

The writer’s site appears to be something of a mystery. At the moment it consists solely of one blog post and various as-yet empty pages. However, the Gmail screenshots and scan of the check look legitimate enough, and it would certainly be a curious hoax.

While it doesn’t set any legal precedent (having not gone to court), the case does show that persistence can pay off if you really don’t want to run Vista. And while the process required a lot of patience (it took almost two months in total), $200 certainly isn’t a bad payoff for spending two hours on the phone and firing off a few e-mails.