p2pnet.net news:- The three comments below are first up in a ConsumerAffairs.com post simply entitled Xbox.

Jeff of Vestal, NY (01/31/07) – Our new XBox 360 that we’ve had about 3 months won’t work. It flashes 3 red lights on the front. My son never kept the receipt so I think we are stuck. I think a recall is in order.

John of Crossville TN (01/28/07) – I’m on my 2nd 360 console, it just broke! I paid $400 for this thing and it constantly crashes and locks up… the first time this happened MS wanted 200 dollars to repair it. I lucked out and got it exchanged at my local K-Mart (great company!). This time, I’m going to have to send to the factory for repairs. My problem is, I’ve had two of these $400 game consoles, and both have been faulty!!! Why are they allowed to sell these products if they will not work? Something needs to be done about this problem, and MS should not be allowed to make money on repair fees for products that they have sold that were faulty to start with.

Damian of New York, NY (01/25/07) – I bought a xbox 360 for the holidays, here I am one month and 3 days out and it’s worthless.

Nor are they alone. In PC World, “My friend Diana is pretty much the customer Microsoft’s Xbox 360 team should spend nights dreaming about,” says Tom Mainelli, going on:

A fan of the original Xbox, she owns dozens of games for that console. She preordered the Xbox 360, but was among those who had to wait due to initial shortages in November 2005. When she got her hands on a unit in January 2006 she immediately bought additional controllers – for a total of four – because she enjoys having people over to play on her big-screen television. She’s pretty much a living advertisement for the console, and a damn nice person to boot.

She’s also extremely patient. So when her Xbox stopped working the first time–she experienced the dreaded “red ring of death” (when the normally green lights around the power button turn red) – she calmly called customer support. They diagnosed the problem as a dead hard drive and quickly shipped out a refurbished hard drive, and she sent in the bad one. She was slightly irritated at being stuck with a refurbished drive, but overall the experience was a good one, and she went back to merrily gaming.

That lasted for about two months, and then in August she ran into the same issue with her hardware. This time, Microsoft diagnosed the problem as a faulty console. Again, customer service was on the ball: They quickly shipped a replacement system, with instructions to return the faulty one in the same box. Soon she resumed her Xbox 360 love affair.

But in November she experienced the same hardware problem for a third time. An old hand at customer service, she assumed she’d be gaming again in a week or two. This time, however, Microsoft said she would have to ship them her unit, which they would repair and ship back. Undaunted, she shipped the console to Microsoft on November 21, 2006

Diana’s saga continues through until this year when Mainelli took up his friend’s case.

“On January 31, 2007, I contacted Microsoft’s public relations firm and asked for help in resolving Diana’s Xbox issue,” he writes. “I also asked them to set up an interview with Microsoft, as I had a long list of questions regarding Xbox 360 hardware problems and customer support issues. To Microsoft’s credit, they immediately dealt with Diana’s problem (she received a brand new console on February 2, 2007).”

Might that have been because Bill and the Boyz were now dealing with a member of the mainstream computing media rather than a mere user, do you think?

But they wouldn’t talk to him one-on-one about the XBox troubles, instead funnelling their responses through the PR company.

Included in the responses was, “We encourage customers to work with our customer service representatives to resolve their issues. If they are not satisfied, they should escalate their issue within the call center and work directly with them to determine the best course of action needed to resolve the matter.”

As PC World observes, however, “Unfortunately, Microsoft’s answers don’t offer much real-world help for frustrated customers. And one question Microsoft specifically didn’t answer: What percentage of Xbox 360s experience hardware problems? In the past the company has said that the number is 3 to 5 percent, but reports have pointed to the possibility of much higher failure rates.”

“A few weeks ago I called MS Support and they filled out a ticket for a 4th 360 repair,” says Devts Waver on XBox Forums. “With this being my 4th repair I included a note in the box that read ‘This is my 4th 360 repair. I would like to request a new one be sent to me’.” The post goes on:

I received the console yesterday, but only to find it was a 2005 model! I plugged it in and after a couple hours there started to be slight skipping (as in you are moving your character, game freezes and a few seconds later you are further down the map). I have tested this with several games and I have the same problem. I also hear a soft grinding noise whenever I enter a CD into the console, something I haven’t heard on my other consoles.

I called MS support again and was told a repair was needed. Needless to say, I am 100% unhappy with my purchase of the 360. I feels like I have been without it more then with. I want a Xbox Support Representative on this forum to please tell me how to:

- Get a brand new 360 console.
- Get 3 months of lost pre-paid Live due to repairs added to my account.
- Get free shipping on my console return.

If this cannot be done, I have no choice but to go to the BBB and small claims court. I will be taking a trip to Oregon to see some friends and family in the near future, and a slight drive out of the way is well worth it to me.

Of course court is my last resort. I would much rather this be handled quickly and swiftly. Please respond back with your assistance, but also realize if nothing happens this is going to court.

XBox Forums has a lot more posts in the same vein.

Meanwhile, over in the UK, the BBC’s Watchdog reports:

“The Xbox 360 was a global phenomenon when it was launched in the UK in December 2005. The world’s richest man and Microsoft boss Bill Gates called it the Ferrari of home entertainment. But we’ve had nearly 250 complaints from people who think it’s more of a clapped-out old banger.

“Worse still, you’ve been telling us that some of the problems with your faulty Xbox 360 consoles occur when the one-year warranty has run out. That means you have to fork out to get it fixed.”

GamesIndustry.biz says in an official statement, Bill and the Boyz claim the “vast majority” of Xbox 360 owners have had an “outstanding experience” with the console.

The stry continues, “But the platform holder went on to concede: ‘That being said, we have received a few isolated reports of consoles not working as expected. It’s important to note that there is no systemic issue with Xbox 360 – each incident is unique and these customer inquiries are being handled on a case-by-case basis’.

“Microsoft has not revealed details of how many Xbox 360 units have been found faulty, but did state that the return rate is “significantly lower” than the CE industry average of between 3 and 5 per cent.”

But, “Customer satisfaction is our highest priority, and we do everything we can to take care of gamers who may be having problems with their consoles,” Microsoft said.

Stay tuned

. Slashdot it!

Also See:
ConsumerAffairs.com – XBox, 2007
PC World – Chronicles of an Xbox 360 Support Odyssey, February 13, 2006
XBox Forums – Repair Center – MS Rep. please read, February 13, 2006
BBC – Xbox 360, February 13, 2006
GamesIndustry.biz – Microsoft responds to Watchdog, February 14, 2006

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 7:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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