#ASUS tries to fool me about #windowsrefund #microsoft #tax strong in Portugal…

Remember when I though it was fishy that I should start the computer in order to get my wife’s laptop reimbursed on the Windows we unwillingly were forced to pay?

So ASUS insists on this unbelievable process of activating the Windows license, and when I ask for a policy document or confirmation you know what happened? The same guy confirmed his own words to me… feels like a trust me on a movie, and we always know where those famous last words lead, ie, the other party being sorry they gave trust.

Since I’m not willing to go around in a back and forth for much longer, I just demanded proof of the policy, pulling a screen shot from the Windows license where it’s explicitly said that if I don’t agree I can’t use the computer, it’s in Portuguese in the screen shot below, but it roughly translates to…

If The Customer doesn’t accept and doesn’t fulfill these terms, he won’t be able to use the software nor it’s features

IMG_20140712_155238I gave them until July 15th at 00:00 to comply, under penalty of, for all due effects, ASUS agreeing that I don’t use nor plan to use Microsoft Windows and that it will process my due reimbursement.

Finding out how to get a #windowsrefund for an #Asus laptop in #Portugal

So I’m finding out how to get a Windows refund (also known as the Microsoft Tax) for an Asus laptop in Portugal, not because it’s fun, but because we don’t want no Microsoft in our home.

We’re a Free Software home! We want our hardware Microsoft free, here, see?

I already got my Windows refund for my Samsung NP900X3C, but a couple of weeks ago my significant other’s laptop broke and we’ve been keeping an eye out for one that would be good enough, cheap enough, and so we found this Asus NoteBook F200. It’s not a power horse, but she has significantly lower spec needs, nor demands hardly as much as I do from these wee beasties.

These laptop in particular cost exactly 349 €. I got 46.03 € out of Windows 7 Home Professional on the Samsung so I expect to get quite a bit more than that for Windows 8.1. It’s only been about 6 months so it’s reasonable to expect a decent refund.

But consider this: if I got exactly the same value back, it would mean the Microsoft Tax costs 11% of the laptop. Yes, you heard me well, it would be almost exactly as expensive as a netbook while being much more powerful. Interesting… felling robbed yet?

Fortunately she’s not as geek as I am so although she’s anxious to start using it, she’s patient enough to get the Windows refund. She knows it’s possible, she witnessed it first hand in her own household, so of course she wants it too 🙂 and that gives me some leeway in the time it could take following all the cautiousness of the first steps:

  1. Buy laptop but don’t open it
  2. Call support, they’ll send me their requirements
  3. Find out that even though they spelled out my email perfectly, they misspelled it when they pressed send. hmms….
  4. Call support again, next morning, complain about 3, got fishy instructions by voice, demanded the email and finally got it.

So the email goes like this:

Dear customer.

Case number: #########

Please, reply to this email attaching a copy of the purchase receipt, copy of the first page of the warranty certificate, where there is the serial number and, as explained on the phone, after activating Windows, a screenshot of the system properties where one can verify its license number.

As soon as we receive it, we’ll begin the refund process for the value of Windows.

We’ll be waiting.

Attentiously,

ASUS Iberia.

Erms… activating it??? I did ask for clarification on the phone, because that used to be a big no-no previously, but he reassured me it’s different with Windows 8.

Well, now I have it in writing… so I’ll be letting you know.

Yes! I’ve got my 46.03 € of #Windows #Refund and so can you, at least with #Samsung

If you’ve been following me on this blog or other social networks you know I bought a Samsung NP900X3C. It’s a very nice laptop but I’m forced for some obscure cof OEM cof reason to buy a Microsoft WIndows 7 Home Premium OEM license.

Receipt and refund in cash

When I bought it at Media Markt I immediately mentioned I wanted to get a refund on the Windows that was installed. Media Markt said I’d have to go to Samsung or Microsoft, that they wouldn’t do that. Please remember this part…

Since It was the exhibition model they had there, I had no chance to explicitly reject the Windows license, so I went ahead and installed my favorite GNU/Linux distribution for personal use, Fedora, at release 20.

While it installed, I opened a case with Samsung by “email” and they replied to me soon enough by real email.

Samsung said that

  1. I wasn’t to turn the laptop on or accept the license [check, Media Markt did, I didn’t]
  2. that I should take it to the store [Media Markt, which had preemptively rejected any process]
  3. the store would use the official Samsung Service Center [which in Lisboa is just a few doors up in my street] to erase the disk and then
  4. return it to the store in order to fulfill the refund

Well, if steps one and two were broken already and since the store is a few doors upwards, why not just go there directly?

That’s what I did, but I was left hanging without any further details for up to three weeks and I was getting very pissed off. At least give me a piece of paper saying you won’t do it, damn it! 🙂

So I went there today and said I wasn’t going to leave the store without one of three things:

  1. my satisfaction, aka, the Windows Refund, or…
  2. a note explaining why they can’t do it yet, or…
  3. a note explaining why they won’t do it.

Boy, where the poor nice guys at the service center pissed, so there’s this crazy guy trying to get money back from a Windows refund, what a nutty guy, never heard of that before and now I’m stuck here well past closing ours, right? 🙂

Well, after a short talk on the phone with the owner, who was a bit defensive then, and waiting a bit more, I had a second talk with him and he was much, much friendlier now and willing to capture my satisfaction. Nice! I don’t know exactly what happened, but they decided to fast forward the process.

Apparently, Samsung Portugal sent the request to Samsung Korea and never had any reply, so they were going to refund my 46.03 € in advance.

Receipt

Yes!

I still had to explain the guys they had to take out the license from the charger because Samsung would need it to pay them back the money, but finally I could officially get rid of Windows and get back what I had paid for it.

Before: charger WITH Windows licenseAfter: charger WITHOUT Windows license

#MicrosoftTax Refund?? What? We’re not Microsoft!

So I went to the Samsung Service Center downstairs… it’s such a rare event that of course they were very surprised.

Since their boss wasn’t there, they took not of my Samsung contact and case number, photographed the evidences I showed them that the laptop is Windows-free:

  • sudo fdisk -l
  • mount
  • ls each of the filesystems
  • and they also filmed the boot process

Now I’m still waiting for the next steps… sigh

 

Samsung: We’ll refund your #MicrosoftTax

So I asked Samsung what the procedure would be in order to get a Microsoft Tax refund and they replied:

  1. once bought, don’t turn the laptop on
  2. don’t accept the license terms (which is kind of hard to do if you don’t turn it on, but I guess that’s just for the in case you turned it on… situation)
  3. go the nearest Samsung service center (that’s practically just downstairs, for me, yay!)

Since my laptop was the model on show it was a) already turned on and b) I never booted into Windows after bought and c) I completely erased Windows from my SSD.

I guess I’ll get my Microsoft Tax back. Yay! 🙂

Exmo. Sr. Rui Seabra,

Em resposta à sua consulta em que solicita informação sobre o portátil Samsung, agradecemos o email que nos endereçou, que será objecto da nossa melhor atenção. Informamos que é possível obter um reembolso da licença do Windows, desde que assim que adquirir o equipamento não ligue o portátil nem aceite os termos de licença. Por outras palavras, assim que adquire o equipamento deverá ser reencaminhado pela loja para o centro oficial da Samsung ou contactar a mesma para apagar todo o conteúdo do seu equipamento e que lhe seja devolvido o montante da chave OEM, caso contrário, não será possível. A assistência técnica autorizada pela Samsung é:

Assistencia 35, Lda Lisboa
Rua Jorge Barradas, Nº30 C
1500-371 Lisboa
telf: 214107369

Don’t want no Microsoft tax!

So you might know I bough a Samsung NP900X3C. Yes, it came with Windows. No I don’t use it. Yes I want my money back on that item.

I’ve just asked Samsung Portugal what the procedure is.

Boa noite,

Adquiri um portátil NP900X3C e não utilizo Windows. Desejo devolver a licença de Windows que fui forçado a adquirir na compra do portátil em causa, bem como de todos os softwares incluídos no sistema operativo a devolver.

Desde que o arranquei pela primeira vez que corre GNU/Linux, neste momento Fedora e encontro-me muito satisfeito com o suporte, mas não concordo com a licença do Windows nem posso ser, legalmente, forçado a aceitá-la para comprar um portátil.

Como devo proceder?

Obrigado em avanço,
Rui Seabra

Screenshot from 2013-12-15 01:45:13