Been Cheated By...

Xbox… err…Microsoft

Well, we all know what happens to XBOXs, they overheat. Microsoft knows this so well that they sent out a letter almost a year ago stating that if you get the 3 red lights on the front of your xbox that they will repair it, so long as you paid for the maintenance contract (within 60 days of purchasing).

Luckily, I did pay for the maintenance warranty because, while i like the XBOX, I don’t trust Microsoft.  Here’s the problem and the reason why I am posting about it here:

It is going to take 3-5 business days to get the mailing box so I can send it to Microsoft.  Then, once i send it, it will be 3-4 weeks before i hear anything back about the status of my XBOX 360.  At which time, they are either going to gut and replace parts, or they are going to send me a new one.

Honestly, I think they should just send me a new one.  Here’s why.

If they just sent me a new one, they could send it out as soon as they get mine, which would not take 3 weeks, it would take 1 (maybe 1.5) at the most.  They could refurbish and resell the one I sent them, which doesn’t cost them anything since they are already making money on the machines.

Also, as a courtesy, they are giving me 1 free month of xbox live. While I see this as a necessary “gift” because their engineering blunder is the reason that I am not able to use the service that I have paid for, for at least a month, I think that they should give me 6 months or a year for free. The reason? It costs $50 for a year of XBOX Live.  That is $4.60 per month. So for the inconvenience of having to send away the one toy I actually play with, and for not being able to use the service I already paid for, they are giving me a whopping $4.60.  WOO HOO, relief!

No, I’m not grateful. I’m pissed off.

I just want my 360 to work. If I had the money and I could get the damned thing to turn on without the lights, I would just take it up to GameStop, trade it in and get the Elite XBOX 360 for the difference.  I have wanted one for a while, because they had two years of mechanical and engineering problems to work out, so they should all be pretty much taken care of by now. Plus it’s black, and we all know that would look pretty sweet.

Well, I guess I will just have to go back to watching TV, movies, and sleeping. Hopefully my friends on XBOX Live don’t all kick me off their friend’s list because “They never see me online anymore”.