My 360 problems are *solved*

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My 360 problems are *solved*

Postby Socco » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:07 pm

If you have too much time to read me rant, continue. This story may be riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, as well as this sentence; deal with it.

Notes: BBB= Better Business Bureau, a consumer advocacy group that most corporations take seriously.
Max= Annoying as hell virtual agent at Xbox support.
11/02/06 Xbox begins freezing about after one hour of gameplay. Call MS. Repair order setup. Told I have to ship it. Get upset, told "tough". Total time on phone: 1:30min
11/03/06 Call Xbox and try to reason. Told, "tough" with shipping (by a supervisor too). Told to give it a week to clear up, which it seemingly does. Time on phone: 1:45 Total time on phone: 3:15
11/03/06 Decide to complaint to the BBB. Complaint sent.
11/05/06 Told complaint was going to be routed next day.
11/15/06 Decide to purchase extended warranty. Heckled about open repair order. Time on phone: 2:00 Total time: 5:15
11/24/06 I get the 3 red lights. Try EVERYTHING. Call MS, told warranty expired, then they see extended warranty. Argue about shipping under extended warranty, told shipping was my job. Time: 3:00 Total: 8:15
11/25/06 Call, armed with the extended warranty terms. Legal jabber makes shortest Xbox call I have ever had. Told that I will be "overnighted" a coffin. Time: 0:10 Total 8:25
11/28/06 Call to find out status to be told that nimrod screwed it up. Arrange for a new order. Time: 0:20. Total: 8:35
11/30/06 Get a letter from the BBB; my complaint has been forwarded and I should get a reply "within 30 days"
12/1/06 Call to find out where "overnight" box is. Told it was 3 dayed but arriving today. Get coffin (empty) and label is also 3 day. Time 0:20 Total 8:45. Call UPS to arrange pickup and get into a 5 minutedebate that "the original biller will not pay the pickup costs". Call MS to discuss it with a clueless rep..Time 1:25. Total: 10:10.
12/2/06 Dropped off at the UPS Store; told truck will come saturday.
12/3/06 Truck never showed up; should show up within a week...
12/03/06: Call Xbox. Try to call. 15 minutes until Max decides to see if there is someone who can help. "Longer than normal wait times" message. 1 hour of advertising accessories I already own, hang up. Call Xbox again. Begin cursing at Max. Max gets me connected to an American within ten seconds. Give name and reference. Told that "Microsoft never overnights". Told that repair time was usually "one day" and that there was "no way" to get the replacement shipped back overnight. Said that I would recieve a "new" console if unrepairable or time constraints; when pressed on the matter, he admitted that I would most likely recieve a "reconditioned unit" but that "the failure rate is less than 1% for reconditioned units". Time 1:20 minutes. Total: 11:30


Let's do some cost comparison, shall we?
Estimated cost for a new unit: $323.30
Shipping: $10 here, $15 back.
Total: $348.30

Now, for my situation...
Cost to send me a box: $10
Cost to send box back: $15
11.5 hours X $20 hour for American reps (whom I was recieved by every time): $230
Repair cost: We'll say $80, given the cost of a repair is $140. Plus the cost of refurbish the old console.
Cost to send replacement Xbox back: $15
Total Cost: $350, IF the replacement functions. Given the 6,000 complaints in one thread about defective refurbs, it would cost at least $100 more (conservative estimate) for another defective unit.

I asked MS for this:
A) Compensation for lost time on Xbox Live. Given that I haven't been able to play it for a month, this is reasonable. I'm not asking for a refund, or more time; just the time I have lost.
B) A new unit. My unit overheated, so it likely damaged other components, which would lead to an unreliable "repaired" unit. Given the reconditioned horrors, and the fact that 360s are prone to overheating, a refurbished console is also unsatisfactory. I want a brand new console (no accessories or anything).
C) Overnight shipping, which I was originally promised. If I have a problem, I need to be able to ship it back.

I am extremely upset as the owner of a 42" DLP i purchased to play this console, as well as $1500 in Genuine Xbox games and accessories, plus the cost of XBL.

Anyone else believe that this is really ridiculous?
Last edited by Socco on Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby TheLoneTerran » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:31 pm

This makes me worry. I bought a refurbished 360 just a couple of weeks ago. The only problem I have had was with the game itself. But I am worried about overheating so until I get the fan unit to keep the circuts cool, I limit myself to about an hour of gaming. (Which is handy right now due to final examinations and research paper deadlines closing in). But I noticed when moving my unit the other day that something was rattling. And to avoid the hell you just went through, I'm considering taking it in and asking for a replacement or offering to purchase a new console, subtracting the price from my refurbished console. Ideas?

Socco, I can totally understand the shit you've gone through. Although it wasn't with a 360, mine was with a router. I logged in over 10 to 11 hours trying to get someone who understood the problem and someone who SPOKE ENGLISH. I feel your pain.
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Postby BCoop » Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:50 pm

Where is our xbox right now?
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Postby Socco » Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:58 pm

TheLoneTerran wrote:This makes me worry. I bought a refurbished 360 just a couple of weeks ago. The only problem I have had was with the game itself. But I am worried about overheating so until I get the fan unit to keep the circuts cool, I limit myself to about an hour of gaming. (Which is handy right now due to final examinations and research paper deadlines closing in). But I noticed when moving my unit the other day that something was rattling. And to avoid the hell you just went through, I'm considering taking it in and asking for a replacement or offering to purchase a new console, subtracting the price from my refurbished console. Ideas?

Socco, I can totally understand the shit you've gone through. Although it wasn't with a 360, mine was with a router. I logged in over 10 to 11 hours trying to get someone who understood the problem and someone who SPOKE ENGLISH. I feel your pain.


Rattling is most likely the orientation sensor. Why would the 360 have an orientation sensor? So it can tell how to light up the Ring of Light so it lights up correctly

At least I got Americans @ Xbox, some nice, some a few fries short of a happy meal.

Check the build date; if it's before 6/06, then you'd probably want to return it. They didn't change the processor manufacture process, but they did make it significantly cooler, made the fans quieter, and changed the drive from a noisy as hell Hitachi to a quieter Samsung.

Bcoop wrote:Where is our xbox right now?

Never left the UPS store...still there.
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Postby Damaen » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:16 pm

you need to cause some more headaches. call them to chat every few hours. Ask how their lunch was.
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Postby TheLoneTerran » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:42 pm

I looked for it on the console and I can't find the date. I'm just gonna call on Tuesday after my 11am class and ask them if I can just bring it in and pay the diffeference for a new console. I don't want something f-ing up on my brand new system I've been wanting since I heard it was in development.
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Postby Socco » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:44 pm

Damaen wrote:you need to cause some more headaches. call them to chat every few hours. Ask how their lunch was.


ROFL :D But it isn't the reps that make my lives miserable...it's the supervisors, *most* of whom (I got one nice one for my first repair) are extreme dicks. The reps are usually nice but powerless to do anything.

Yeah, at $20 you can be an expensive headache too...

BTW, they added on this virtual agent, "Max", really annoying. It took me 15 minutes to get through and an hour on hold. I hung up and called again...

If you want to get a human, say a few curse words angrily. The magic sentence for me was "F*** you, you dam*ed robot, connect me to an f***ing human.". Max said "let me see if there was someone else who can help you", and I was connected to an American dude in 10 seconds. He KNEW I was pissed off before he picked up the phone, my guess is the phone system either gives him some info or he was having a long day.

I'm going to wait on the BBB response for now, hopefully MS feels generous. Considering I've spent over $1500 on the Xbox 360 + Accessories, and tons more on MS software + original Xbox, they may just want to make me happy. I'm really losing my patience, and I'll find a way to make life hell...call centers may be able to tell where you are calling from even with a caller ID block (since they pay for the call, they have the right) but the trail ends on VOIP, so Skype works wonders :twisted:
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Postby Socco » Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:57 pm

TheLoneTerran wrote:I looked for it on the console and I can't find the date. I'm just gonna call on Tuesday after my 11am class and ask them if I can just bring it in and pay the diffeference for a new console. I don't want something f-ing up on my brand new system I've been wanting since I heard it was in development.


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Above the barcode is a Manufacture date, between the serial number and the model number. I couldn't grab a personal pic because my 360 is in a coffin heading to Texas (well, whenever it starts moving).
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Postby TheLoneTerran » Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:18 pm

Thanks. I thought that was it but I didn't want to be wrong. 4-18-06. Looks like I should take it in and get a new one.
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Postby Socco » Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:56 pm

TheLoneTerran wrote:Thanks. I thought that was it but I didn't want to be wrong. 4-18-06. Looks like I should take it in and get a new one.


Yeah, after 6/06 they changed something.

12/01/2006 Inform Microsoft of Complaint
12/01/2006 Microsoft - Inform Consumer
12/01/2006 Microsoft Complaint Validated by Operator
12/01/2006 Complaint Received by BBB

So I updated the complaint to reflect the new stuff...waiting on it to go through. Let's see if I can get MS to agree to my terms. No email from MS, they must have called and left a message.
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