There’s good news and there’s bad news if you are one of a growing number of people who got their hands on an Xbox One only to find they have a defective unit. The good news is that Microsoft are offering all people who have to exchange their console a free game as an apology for the inconvenience. The bad news is that you have to give up a lot of money for a while to get the console replaced in a short space of time, or can keep your money and wait a very long time.
In an alarming report received by us, one person in the UK who bought a defective Xbox One informed us of the options presented by Microsoft to replace. They were told that they could pay Microsoft £381 (US$621) and receive a new Xbox One within 2 days, with the fee paid being refunded if Microsoft receives the defective unit back within 14 days. The other option was to wait for a free shipping box to arrive, send the console back and wait for it to be repaired and returned, which would take a minimum of 14 days.
This is quite a catch to the “free game” being offered for the inconvenience caused by Microsoft selling a defective unit to someone. Even if one used a relatively low interest rate for a corporate client like Microsoft, at 5% they would earn £5 (US$8) from your deposit across 14 days; a nice way to off-set the cost of the free game.
With their main rival in the game console market, Sony, accepting they have been seen as anti-consumer in the past and working hard to change that view, Microsoft’s approach is baffling many. Over the years Microsoft have emphasised the user friendly and flexible ways of their approach, going so far as to ditch products, such as the Vista operating system, when they are clearly not what the consumers want. So far the Xbox One has seen Microsoft try to take as much money as they can whilst holding as much control as they can over the consumers. It remains to be seen how successful this approach will be.
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