Microsoft X Box live phone support makes 3 and tpg look good
I didn't think it was possible but it turns out there is a company that has even worse phone support than 3 and TPG.
So I went to buy some xbox live points to get the GTA IV expansion tonight. Turns out Microsoft went to charge my credit card a few time to renew my xbox live account, something I hardly use and really couldn't care less about. Any way it failed a few times so Microsoft locked out my credit card.
At this point I would like to declare that I don't have another credit card or a debit card.
So I just spent an hour on the phone talking to three separate reps.
The first thing they told me was that to use my account again to buy points etc I have to pay off the balance of the account renew. I explained I don't want to renew my account, you haven't charged me for it, you blocked me from using the service and downgraded my account to a silver membership so I just asked them to cancel the transaction request and thus return the account balance to zero. Turns out their system can't do that. To cancel my account I have to pay the balance and then get them to refund that payment to my credit card. Not too happy about this and it's a tad inconvenient but what ever get to it.
Next problem. My credit card in their system is blocked, they can't reset it in anyway shape or form. They didn't know this when we started the conversation. We try to re enter credit card details etc at their end, through my xbox and through my online account details. The system won't accept them.
So my credit card is totally locked out. They ask me if I have another credit or debit card that I can use. I tell them I don't. So what do they told me to do next? If you guessed "can you get a friends credit or debit card and use that" you would be correct.
So at this point for me to have an xbox live account with that credit card and gamer tag I have to pay them money, get them to refund money and also get a new credit card to do so.
I'm currently looking around the ACCC site to find out if what they asked me to do was illegal.
Also it turns out their support is run by Samsung Telecommunications support in Austin Texas. I know this cause the hold message told me so. If any of those reps were situated in Austin texas I would be really really really surprised.
So thats been my night so far.
So I went to buy some xbox live points to get the GTA IV expansion tonight. Turns out Microsoft went to charge my credit card a few time to renew my xbox live account, something I hardly use and really couldn't care less about. Any way it failed a few times so Microsoft locked out my credit card.
At this point I would like to declare that I don't have another credit card or a debit card.
So I just spent an hour on the phone talking to three separate reps.
The first thing they told me was that to use my account again to buy points etc I have to pay off the balance of the account renew. I explained I don't want to renew my account, you haven't charged me for it, you blocked me from using the service and downgraded my account to a silver membership so I just asked them to cancel the transaction request and thus return the account balance to zero. Turns out their system can't do that. To cancel my account I have to pay the balance and then get them to refund that payment to my credit card. Not too happy about this and it's a tad inconvenient but what ever get to it.
Next problem. My credit card in their system is blocked, they can't reset it in anyway shape or form. They didn't know this when we started the conversation. We try to re enter credit card details etc at their end, through my xbox and through my online account details. The system won't accept them.
So my credit card is totally locked out. They ask me if I have another credit or debit card that I can use. I tell them I don't. So what do they told me to do next? If you guessed "can you get a friends credit or debit card and use that" you would be correct.
So at this point for me to have an xbox live account with that credit card and gamer tag I have to pay them money, get them to refund money and also get a new credit card to do so.
I'm currently looking around the ACCC site to find out if what they asked me to do was illegal.
Also it turns out their support is run by Samsung Telecommunications support in Austin Texas. I know this cause the hold message told me so. If any of those reps were situated in Austin texas I would be really really really surprised.
So thats been my night so far.