Fed up, he tried giving Microsoft another address (his friend's), but still no box has arrived. He just wants his XBOX 360 repaired before the warranty is up.
Dustin wrote to us on Jan 10:
Hello, I'm writing you in hopes that something can get done about this issue. I bought an xbox 360 around September of 07 and lately its been freezing up. So I called Xbox up to get a repair. On December 27 the repair was placed and two weeks later I never got my box. So I called up Xbox to find out why my box isn't here after a few CSR I was told that they would not ship to a military address.We passed along some advice on escalating complaints and heard no more from Dustin until the following email arrived today:I talked to a few supervisors and was told that military bases would not allow Xbox's to be shipped. I called UPS as thats what Xbox uses to ship out everything and they said there was no such rule and that empty boxes get brought into the base all the time. A CSR said I would get a call back on Saturday so maybe that will solve my issue. I just really want to get my Xbox repaired and not have to go through all these hopes and loops just for them to fix my stuff.
-Dustin
Dear Consumerist,Well, Dustin. It seems to us that Microsoft isn't living up to their manufacturer's warranty. If you purchased the XBOX with a credit or debit card, call them first. Find out if they offer extended warranty coverage or a purchase protection plan. Explain that Microsoft is essentially denying you the ability to use the manufacturer's warranty because you live on a military base.
A few months ago I sent an email about Xbox not being able to setup a repair for an unknown reason. You sent me suggestions on how to contact the higher ups, and within a few days I was contacted by Becky from the Xbox Escalation team. She has very kind and sorry about this issue Months passed by and still no word on why my address was not working with their system. Around March I got tired and just gave them a friends address. She put in the repair and everything seemed to work. Here I am 2-3 weeks later and still no box and the tracking number they provided is not valid. I don't know why my address isn't working or why my box isn't getting here but all I'm trying to do is get my Xbox fixed before my warranty is up. Any suggestions on what to do next?Thanks
Consumerist Reader,
Dustin
If your credit card can't help you out, you might want to try small claims court. File a case against Microsoft for breach of warranty. This is a "worse case" scenario, however, because filing a small claims case (while cheap) isn't free.
For more information about small claims court and how to prepare your case, click here.
If you're still willing to beg Microsoft for a shipping box, you should try launching an EECB on them. For more information about how to learn to launch your own EECB, click here.
We've been hearing a lot of similar complaints, Dustin, so you're not alone out there. In fact, it might be a good time for people who are having this issue to start complaining formally to their state's attorney general. To find your state's attorney general, click here.
(Photo:dirtyblueshirt)
]]>Brandon Price
]]>UPS doesn't ship to APOs it's on their website:
[www.ups.com]
item 4 at the end of the second paragraph.
try a real address or have a friend/family member do it.
* Always include the receiver´s ZIP Code with the complete address. For international shipments, include a contact name, telephone number, and postal code.
* Make every effort to obtain a street address. If you do use a P.O. Box address, the recipient´s telephone number must be included on the label. A package addressed to a P.O. Box may experience delays and will not be covered by any UPS Service Guarantee. An Address Correction charge also will apply. Army Post Office (APO) and Fleet Post Office (FPO) addresses are not accepted by UPS."
MS isn't lying he should send his xbox home and then get it RMA'd or get MS an actual address for teh base to ship via UPS.
the man is station in South Dakota...For gods sake give him an xbox!!!!!!
]]>Yes, I asked for a hand out, but damnit, it was for freedom and bored soldiers. Why microsoft? Why?
]]>@ dustincimino
Are you AE or AP? If you're AP, it might work if the CSR puts in APO as your city name and CA as the state instead of AP. Not sure what the corresponding state is for AE. I think it might be NY. As as last resort, go to www.apobox.com. They assign you a state side address and when it's recieved at that address they forward it to yours. They charge you shipping to send it to your APO address plus a small fee. Good luck man.
]]>Complete BS. The CSR was either lazy or ignorant. I live on a military base in Japan and I got my shipping box from Microsoft 3 weeks after I called customer service, complete with UPS labels. The only problem I encountered was when I shipped the XBOX back. Since we don't have UPS over here, I had to come out of pocket. I got my XBOX 3 weeks later only to have it RROD on me again.
]]>they shipped a box to me and i live on a military base.
]]>I'd place the 360 somewhere between 3DO and Virtual Boy.
]]>Microsoft: Most. Unpatriotic. Company. Ever.
]]>@adamsummers: I'm calling shenanigans. You would have had to replace the BIOS battery in that time at least once. That said, both of my Saturns both work great once I replaced the batteries :)
]]>My Xbox didn't get the "red ring of death" but it did keep overheating. And I knew about the problem so one night when I felt like it I called Xbox CS let them know my problem. The guy said they'd send a box so I could get it fixed. Box arrived in 3 days. Sent it in, it came back in 3 weeks, running smooth quiet, and cool.
Nice, no hassle. Felt what it was like not to have an Xbox around for awhile which wasn't bad.
I didn't have any problems what-so-ever.
Thumbs up to my customer service experience with Microsoft. By the way, my Xbox360 wasn't even in warrenty anymore.
]]>@zeekle: True, but my 12 year old Saturn still flawlessly plays all of my games. I doubt my 360 will have that kind of lifespan.
]]>The biggest problem with these things is if one breaks it goes into the "refurb recycle" and you can never get out of that without just breaking down and buying a new one.
I think thats why some people have not had any issues and others have had 5-10 replacements.
Good luck on getting it to them and back.
]]>@SomeoneGNU: dude UPS/DHL/FEDEX are basically at every overseas base we have. it maybe be one dude in a shack but they're there. usually you have to have the package sent to the actual bizness address then you have to walk your happy ass over thru the blazing heat from the sun to pick your shit up.
]]>Even if there is some reason it can't get shipped to military bases, is MS just saying "Sorry, if you are in the military, the warranty is invalid!"
]]>hey Dustin did you get it from AAFES? if you did get it from the BX and maybe used your STAR card you could do that angle.
]]>Unless I'm mistaken aren't there shipping limitations to shipping to APO/FPOs? (I'm assuming this is an APO)
Quoting from here(google'd "shipping to apo")
[www.oconus.com]
All packages must be sent via the U.S. Postal System. The post office also requires companies or individuals to hand deliver packages being sent to APO/FPO addresses. (This is one reason why many merchants won't ship to APO/FPO addresses.)
]]>Why does Microsoft hate freedom?
]]>