[SP3] Advance Exchange Problem?

[emmagency]

Hello all,

Got my surface device earlier this month but was unsatisfied due to some issues I thought was as a result of a defective graphic card.

Anyway, after a long chat MS decided to setup an exchange and I chose the advance exchange option which would require a hold on my account for the price of the device (which was ?849 as I got it on a black Friday deal). So I received the new device (which turned out to have the same issue with the one I was returning, so I have to live with that anyway as it is minor), put the old one back in the box and handed it to UPS two days later. The following week, MS removed the hold on my account and I had my money available for use. Done deal right? But hang in there..

Just yesterday I was going to buy tickets for Winter Wonderland circus show and my card was declined. I checked my bank account online and my heart skipped. ?5 was my available balance! I quickly checked the account statement and just down there, MS literally cleared my account last week (as I had ?1105 in it) by taking ?1,100. I quickly called them on phone and they claimed the device had a cracked screen. Which sounded like Chinese to me because I was still recovering from the shock I had when i checked my balance before I reviewed the account statement and I have absolutely no idea about why the screen should be cracked. I sent in a fully functional device without any damage.

I received feedback from the person investigating the issue yesterday and he said this:

Even though I was unable to reach you over the phone today, I want you to know that I have already started working on your resolution. What I am currently working on is I have reviewed the pictures of the packaging and how the device arrived at our service center. After reviewing the photos I have concluded that the packaging arrived to the service center intact without damage. Therefore the damage to the Surface would not have happened in transit and is comparable to one that has been dropped on its corner.

Yea... He did say 'Pictures' not the real package itself. This guy is in the US and package was sent to Germany.

I've sent him two mails today and still no reply and also, he still cannot explain to me why I was charged ?251 more than the price of the device itself. My best guess is someone definitely did drop the device on their end and doesn't want to come forward or so. Now, I'm a little terrified about this because if they don't find a reason as to why there was a cracked screen from their end, they'll definitely stand on their ground that I caused the damage.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I do believe MS did breach a law here or something which is debiting my account without my consent. I believe I had to give them consent to use my registered bank account on my MS account because it was with my consent they placed a hold of ?849 during the initial exchange setup so, after removing the hold I don't see what right MS had to go ahead and debit my account again without my consent.

Oh well! I'm just waiting for them to finish their investigation as it is very likely I'll be spending my Christmas with only 5 quids in my account (for an international student far away from home living in London) I'm still panicking right now trying to keep calm.

Can anyone give ideas of what I can do just in case they come with a conclusion that I sent in a damaged device because I'm NOT going to pay for someone else's carelessness or mistake.

Thanks (and sorry for the long post)

 

[stephen_az]

Hello all,

Got my surface device earlier this month but was unsatisfied due to some issues I thought was as a result of a defective graphic card.

Anyway, after a long chat MS decided to setup an exchange and I chose the advance exchange option which would require a hold on my account for the price of the device (which was ?849 as I got it on a black Friday deal). So I received the new device (which turned out to have the same issue with the one I was returning, so I have to live with that anyway as it is minor), put the old one back in the box and handed it to UPS two days later. The following week, MS removed the hold on my account and I had my money available for use. Done deal right? But hang in there..

Just yesterday I was going to buy tickets for Winter Wonderland circus show and my card was declined. I checked my bank account online and my heart skipped. ?5 was my available balance! I quickly checked the account statement and just down there, MS literally cleared my account last week (as I had ?1105 in it) by taking ?1,100. I quickly called them on phone and they claimed the device had a cracked screen. Which sounded like Chinese to me because I was still recovering from the shock I had when i checked my balance before I reviewed the account statement and I have absolutely no idea about why the screen should be cracked. I sent in a fully functional device without any damage.

I received feedback from the person investigating the issue yesterday and he said this:

Even though I was unable to reach you over the phone today, I want you to know that I have already started working on your resolution. What I am currently working on is I have reviewed the pictures of the packaging and how the device arrived at our service center. After reviewing the photos I have concluded that the packaging arrived to the service center intact without damage. Therefore the damage to the Surface would not have happened in transit and is comparable to one that has been dropped on its corner.

Yea... He did say 'Pictures' not the real package itself. This guy is in the US and package was sent to Germany.

I've sent him two mails today and still no reply and also, he still cannot explain to me why I was charged ?251 more than the price of the device itself. My best guess is someone definitely did drop the device on their end and doesn't want to come forward or so. Now, I'm a little terrified about this because if they don't find a reason as to why there was a cracked screen from their end, they'll definitely stand on their ground that I caused the damage.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I do believe MS did breach a law here or something which is debiting my account without my consent. I believe I had to give them consent to use my registered bank account on my MS account because it was with my consent they placed a hold of ?849 during the initial exchange setup so, after removing the hold I don't see what right MS had to go ahead and debit my account again without my consent.

Oh well! I'm just waiting for them to finish their investigation as it is very likely I'll be spending my Christmas with only 5 quids in my account (for an international student far away from home living in London) I'm still panicking right now trying to keep calm.

Can anyone give ideas of what I can do just in case they come with a conclusion that I sent in a damaged device because I'm NOT going to pay for someone else's carelessness or mistake.

Thanks (and sorry for the long post)

I would suggest talking to support again but immediately insisting it be escalated to a supervisor. Don't waste time on the techs. You will eventually get tossed back to one but you want that to happen after it is escalated and techs know they are on the clock so to speak. I would also suggest checking their disclaimers regarding returns since you can't be held responsible for damage after receipt. The fact they released the hold suggests someone did check it in at the tech center. I know from personal annoying experience they do not release such holds until the box is opened and serial number is verified. BTW, the reason I know this is they shipped me a defective SP3 a couple weeks ago to replace a defective SP3 but would not replace the replacement until the first was checked in at the facility in Texas. Yes, I know that was a very redundant sentence but it does convey how annoying it became. It took five days after FedEx verified delivery before they checked the contents of the package into their system. I had more than one conversation about the subject with Surface Support. In my case though, since I escalated it, the hold was magically lifted by the tech center so the replacement could ship. At least the second replacement does work - it arrived Friday.

The only front on which I think you may be mistaken is whether they broke any laws since you authorized the credit card for the advanced exchange. At least in the US, it would have not been outside of accepted practice. Of course, the UK may be different. It never hurts though to point out, specifically to a supervisor, that they received the package and accepted it and then changed you after releasing the hold. One other point of reference, not that it matters, is the amount you were charged has no connection to what you paid. Having gone this route twice, the hold is for their cost of a replacement not retail pricing. In the US, the hold for a 256GB I5 is a bit under $1000, rather than the $1299 in store purchase price.

 

[emmagency]

First off, thanks a lot for taking the time to respond to this and sharing your experience. To be honest, this did give me a really good laugh they shipped me a defective SP3 a couple weeks ago to replace a defective SP3

My SP3 is the 256GB HDD, i5, 8GB RAM model.

Talking about the price here's how it played out.
Price for the device when I bought it: ?849
Amount put on hold from my account when the exchange was initiated: ?849 (Which was later released upon receipt of the device)
Amount deducted from my account days later: ?1100
Current price for my SP3 model on the Microsoft store website: ?999

Is there anything I'm missing here or I probably didn't quite understand what you were trying to explain about the amount thing. I'm even thinking it's very likely they would have deducted way more than that if I had more cash in my account as it seems pretty clear they rounded it up to the nearest round figure.

When I had a chat with the support team and gave them the case ID, they said it has already been escalated and I just have to wait for a reply.

I'm just so frustrated with this whole situation.

 

[stephen_az]

FWIW, this seems seriously out of order (to put it mildly). By any accepted standard with them in he US, including statements from support people themselves, the hold should be for the max replacement value. Perhaps it is different in other countries but typically warranties and related rules are more favorable outside the US. It is one of the reasons products are often cheaper in the US - that and tariff laws.

With respect to being escalated, in my experience, unless they connected you to a supervisor they didn't really escalate. Just my opinion but I think they are just putting you off. Hopefully I am wrong. For reference, after things getting drug out for several days, in my most recent communication I started the conversation by stating I wanted to be immediately connected to a supervisor. After the tech asked for me to fill in the blanks, I politely instructed him to read the notes attached to the service number and then connect me to a supervisor. He then did so, connected me, and then after a conversation with that person (and additional hold) found myself with a very helpful tech who expedited the replacement via overnight shipping. Perhaps he would have done it anyway but I am a bit skeptical.

Sadly prior to this mess my interactions with support were always exceptional. In fact, even the first replacement was smooth and easy. Things fell apart when I had to call back and point out that, not only had they sent me a defective replacement, but one with precisely the same problem. If I had not gone the advanced replacement route, I probably would have thought they simply sent me back my defective device in a new box. BTW, it was also not a minor problem. In fact, when I wiped the defective replacement for shipment it crashed in the middle of the reset.

Good luck with getting your problem resolved. On my end, I will not be happy until they receive the second one back and release the hold. I will also instruct the credit card company to block all changes as soon as the hold lifts. Admittedly though it was still the only route to go since I can't just ship out my supposed desktop/laptop/tablet replacement and wait seven to ten days for a replacement. Hopefully these are isolated incidents but it doesn't make it easier for those of us with problems.

 

[emmagency]

Hi there, thought I'd give you an update on the situation, after going back and forth with them, I received this some minutes ago:

I apologize for my late response I was looking in to all possible resolutions to your issue. After speaking with my service center i have decided to make a onetime exception and have the charge refunded to your account. I have reached out to our billing team to process the refund. This process can take 2-5 business days and as soon as they have processed the refund I will let you know.

Thank you,
Anthony
Surface CARE Team

I ain't replying them until I get my money back because I have loads of unsatisfactory and disappointing comments to pour out.