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A Sheffield man has won a refund from Dell for not installing Microsoft's Windows XP on a laptop he bought from the PC giant.
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The total refund was for £55.23, which Mr Mitchell took to be the value of a pre-installed version of Windows XP Home.
Wow... I had no idea that Microsoft charged companies like Dell that much.
To be fair, I don't think this guy actually had a winnable case - he got precisely what he ordered. I am no fan of Microsoft (or Dell either) but I think Dell have tried to be fair-minded here but it may come back to haunt them.
Kaled.
I agree. I think we should have the option to get a refund if we don't agree to MS terms.
How can someone buy a product and then get a refund because he doesn't want something that is apart of the product?
Is it not like buying a cake and getting a refund for the icing from the cake maker? :s
The best way to formalize this would be to state that operating systems must be optional and separately itemized on all bills, and that they must be itemized at a retail value either offered by the same store or local competitors.
Even better would be if, in doing so, retailers were forced to give you a proper installation CD instead of a restore disk.
How can someone buy a product and then get a refund because he doesn't want something that is apart of the product?Is it not like buying a cake and getting a refund for the icing from the cake maker? :s
The difference is that the last time I was at the cake shop I could choose whether I wanted icing on my cake during the ordering process :-)
You know when you order a new computer you get many choices regarding components - 100GB hard drive standard, upgrade to 200GB for an extra $40 - that kind of thing? What we need to see is a simple checkbox:
I don't need a copy of Windows with my PC - so subtract $109 from the cost
I've never seen this offered - have you?
The difference is that the last time I was at the cake shop I could choose whether I wanted icing on my cake during the ordering process :-)
Maybe, but why didn't he just buy a base unit with no OS?
Given Microsoft's track record on bullying, etc., I'm inclined to believe this to be true. Therefore, it is unlikely that the option to buy without Windows is likely to be commonplace anytime soon (unless competition authorities, etc. intervene).
Kaled.
'cos it's a laptop, and Dell don't offer the option of selling a bare laptop with no OS.
They do it, though, on other product ranges - e.g. servers which you can buy without OS if you want.
Not sure if they have changed recently, but in the past, the only time you had the option of NOT getting the windows OS preinstalled was on a server.
Maybe, but why didn't he just buy a base unit with no OS?
I've just visited my local Dell website, and clicked on Desktops > Small Business, then Dimension > Basic Productivity and it seems every single system comes with either Windows XP Home or XP Professional.
During the customisation process you have the choice of XP Home or paying extra for XP Pro.
How about the option of NOT buying Windows? Sorry - this option is not offered.
Sounds like you are forced to buy Windows with your new PC.... Time for people to re-read the Sherman Antitrust Act [en.wikipedia.org]?
