Xbox 360 Class Action Filed Against Microsoft

[Shawn Andrich]

Xbox 360 Class Action Filed Against Microsoft

When users called Microsoft with console failures after downloading the Fall update over Xbox Live, the company charged up to $140 US for repairs. This has resulted in a class action lawsuit filed by Kabateck Brown Kellner.

Filed on November 29th, the class action lawsuit represents users who downloaded the Fall update with disastrous results. Claiming it is unfair for Microsoft to charge users for problems caused by official software updates, the lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages for breach of contract and an additional $5 million due to violation of the Consumer Protection Act and negligence.

"The Microsoft download caused Kevin's Xbox to malfunction, yet Microsoft refused to pay for the cost to repair or replace his console," says Brian Kabateck, partner with Kabateck Brown Kellner. "Basically, Microsoft is trying to turn their screw-up into a profit center," says Kabateck.

Microsoft responded [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/newsroom/view/65998-Microsoft-Addresses-Fall-Xbox-Live-Update-Issues] to the issues in early November, promising to work with users who encountered problems with the update. "We've seen nothing official that indicates that this, in fact, is true," says Kabateck. "And that does nothing for all of those users who have already paid Microsoft to have their boxes fixed."

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[generalissimofurioso [deprecated]]

Somehow I think that if Kevin wins his lawsuit, he's going to mysteriously disappear over the North Atlantic...

 

[heavyfeul]

I am sure the bean counters at Microsoft have already factored in lawsuits like this into their cost of doing business with the 360. They will need some pretty talented lawyers to counter Microsoft's legal team. Good luck dude.

 

[player66 [deprecated]]

I fought with Microsoft Xbox customer support twice to get my original 360 repaired, but luckily my repairs were covered under the "prior to Jan. 1st 2006" recall. My experience with them was horrible, seeing that the first box they sent back to me was my original with no repairs made. I would never pay them for such lousy service.

 

[Virgil]

That's interesting - I've actually had very good experiences with MS's customer support in the past. Certainly a fair portion of that was the pay-per-incident premium support (for work-related problems), but every time I've called them they have resolved whatever problem I was having.

More recently, I had my Xbox360 break down, out of warranty, and they not only ended up refunding the money I paid for the repair, but since the console they sent me was a different one than the one I sent in, they also counted up all the Microsoft Points that I had spent on the console and gave me point cards to match (so I could download my Arcade games again on the new console)

Certainly I would have preferred that the console never break at all, but in the end I can't really complain about the support I received.

On the other hand, as the problem referenced in this news release is caused by an auto-update, they really should be fixing them at no charge.