Officially done with Xbox Live.

[Mar451]

Recently I moved to a new state, a few days ago my flatmates went back to my home state to get the rest of our stuff we could not get in the move. When they came back we had a lot of furniture, so during the move we had to disconnect the internet several times to move around the storage boxes and furniture and the like.

We celebrate the night with a little SSBB and then a little while later me and my friend played some Gears. A day later I check my checking account and see a grand total of $240 missing from my account. I check the statement and apparently my Live subscription was cancelled and reinstated several times. Upon calling Microsoft for answers, after about an hour we discover that because we disconnected the internet Live read it as me cancelling my subscription and that "I" should have told them when I was going to disconnect. As if it were my fault.

Has this happened to anyone else? Am I out of line to say this is absolute shit? We got our money back yes, but we still did not get our subscription reinstated. I am no console fanboy but this is truly the final straw. I will be sticking to PC and PS3 for my online pay for now on. Xbox Live has always been a shitty, unmoderated, overpriced, mediocre service and I refuse to pay for this shit anymore.

And to all those console fanboys who completely miss the point of this thread who say, "Well, I have a job, so $60 a year is no big deal to me." That might be true, but when you are getting better service from something that is free, rather than something you pay for, something is seriously wrong.

 

[ScoopMeister]

I still think you get a better service from Xbox Live

 

[Fanta Grape]

That's bloody horrendous. You've gotta fight this one. I have no idea how something like that could be considered acceptable.

 

[Verlander]

That sounds harsh, but I don't uise the service, so it hasn't happened to me. I hate it when companies lie, and pile a shit load of charges on you.

My phone contract stated that internet usage would always cap at £1.20 regardless of download quantity, because of the deal I had on it. I used the GPS for 3 days (which shouldn't even use the internet), and they charged my £93. When I called up to complain, they said the only way I could get a refund was if they hadn't informed me of the prices, which they hadn't. They then said "sorry, we don't record all of our phone conversations" (the phone was upgraded during a telelphone call), and I've never got my money back.

 

[Mar451]

Ouch, that sucks, I have luckily never had that problem for my phone service. However after 3 red rings, constant preteens bitching in my headset and now this, I have no reason to get on Xbox live. If I were you I'd switch providers if they are gonna pull that shit.

 

[Funky Flump]

Yeah, We had to switch Xbox's because the disc tray broke and re-set up the internet, charged us 2 Years worth of LIVE its BS im on PC now only play Xbox on free version because its in the games room, I go play PS3 or PC if I want on-line play

 

[Mar451]

Yeah, We had to switch Xbox's because the disc tray broke and re-set up the internet, charged us 2 Years worth of LIVE its BS im on PC now only play Xbox on free version because its in the games room, I go play PS3 or PC if I want on-line play

Wow, I must say fuck that. I cannot blame you at all for switching, especially now after my ordeal.

 

[Pistachio101]

Yes that does suck. However I'm sure that kind of thing also happens on PSN. You seem to be condemning xbox live completely on personal experience rather than looking at a large sample of events. I personally prefer xbox live over psn but I'm sure an expereince such as yours would easily sway me.

P.S I thought when microsoft usually fuck up they usually give you 12 months free gold service.

 

[Mar451]

I asked them the same thing, and the nice lady replied. "Well, we wouldn't wanna overrepay you."

I am certain these things have happened on all subscription based systems, however, between Steam, PSN, and Live, Live has the worst interface and is the only one you are required to pay for. Hence my rage.

 

[Euhan01]

Sounds live a very bad experiance, normally Xbox Live is pretty good from customer service/just service point of view.

 

[Obito]

I'm in the process of cancelling my automatic subscription at the moment and the fact I have to phone them up is so annoying I might explode. All I want to do is stop the automatic repayments I have to call them up its a joke! I mean all I want to do is cancel it its pretty simple really, in WOW you can do this sort of thing in a second, but no Microsoft has to be pedantic about it.

OT: Sorry for the rant but I'm fuming right now. Yeah it sounds about right to me. I mean you should totally have to tell Microsoft if you're going to disconnect your internet (insert sarcasm). Its amazing what they try to get away with, anything to make a quick buck.

 

[Inferno_622]

I'm in the process of cancelling my automatic subscription at the moment and the fact I have to phone them up is so annoying I might explode. All I want to do is stop the automatic repayments I have to call them up its a joke! I mean all I want to do is cancel it its pretty simple really, in WOW you can do this sort of thing in a second, but no Microsoft has to be pedantic about it.

OT: Sorry for the rant but I'm fuming right now. Yeah it sounds about right to me. I mean you should totally have to tell Microsoft if you're going to disconnect your internet (insert sarcasm). Its amazing what they try to get away with, anything to make a quick buck.

I had to do this once recently near Christmas time. I live in the UK and the bloke that picked up was from Ireland, so he was perfectly understandable. It was very non-fuss so even though I was as fuming as you probably are now, I was quite relieved in the end.

I think it is ridiculous that you have to call them up though. I checked on their website and they do have a hyperlink that will allow you to cancel online, but the bloody link is broken and it doesn't get you anywhere. At least the call is free and from my brief experience, no fuss.

Just remember to ask the bloke/lady to remove all of your debit/credit card details they have - if you ask they have to do this legally.

Also, to avoid this in the future buy pre-paid cards from stores like GAME. You pay the same (if not cheaper) and there is no automatic renewal.

 

[tharglet]

I used the GPS for 3 days

Um, depends on what you mean by "using the GPS". If you're using preloaded software with no kind of subscription (e.g. tomtom) there shouldn't be any internet usage. If you're using something that streams the maps off the internet (e.g. google maps) that's where the internet usage comes in ¬¬.

If you weren't, something else on your phone was nomming the 'nets. The GPS data itself comes from satellites (and base stations in certain countries).

 

[tharglet]

Eh? Is the subscription tied to an internet connection, and not an account? That's a confusing and stupid system. Not got any form of xbox myself, so never really looked into MS's subscription model.

If I couldn't use Steam or my various MMOs from varying locations (sometimes I game on the move) I'd be pretty peeved ><.

 

[acer840]

I'm not sure with this. I live in Australia, and when I moved from Brisbane to Cairns, I just packed my stuff up, cancelled my internet, moved to Cairns and when I got a new internet connection set up, I just plugged in my Xbox and I still had my Gold Status. They charge me on a yearly basis and I never had this problem, never told Microsoft I moved. Is their connection different in the States?

 

[MercurySteam]

This is why I'm not stupid enough to activate auto-renew. At least you got most of your money back.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

Don't be done with it because of one bad (albeit really bad) experience. You got your money back. Just take off the auto-renew feature and don't put your credit card number in the system. That's what I'd do.

 

[Legendsmith]

I've used Xbox live. I've used steam. I've read a little about PSN and listened to a multi hour detabte on Xbox Live vs PSN.
I've also seen many threads on different forums about the atrocious Microsoft customer support.

My conclusion, like Mar415's is that Xbox live really isn't worth the money.