Thursday, October 21, 2010

And the icing on the cake.....

I open up my Microsoft Word program to write a letter and a sign appears advising that my copy may not be genuine and to "click here". I do so and it routes me to the MS website. Long story shortened.....I contact tech support for some help. They are very prompt at replying. I have to send them my numbers off of the software I have, and he'll get back with me.

I bought that software and installed it about a year ago. I thought I had bought it from a reputable place. When I received it I was even more convinced that I had bought the authentic product; it had all the necessary paperwork and certificate of authenticity as well as a product key. I've been happily using it all this time, blissfully unaware.

I have a counterfeit copy and I'm LIVID. I bought this through eBay. I have no receipts to speak of. Its been long enough I can no longer find the transaction on eBay. I can find where my Paypal account paid them, but I can't find the actual transaction that states what the product was. MS claims they will replace the software if they are convinced I innocently bought it and its a convincing copy (doesn't look like someone whipped it up in 5 minutes). Oh....its that all right. Its an excellent copy....someone took some pains to make sure this looked authentic.

Just one more thing to think about. I will give them what I have and hope for the best. I'm not going to be optimistic. However I do have one major bitch. WHY did they wait so long to let me know it was counterfeit. If it was closer to the purchase date, this thief could have been caught....the listing was up on eBay for a while. They tell you things to look for that would alert you that it was counterfeit...like the hologram being pasted on instead of part of the disc. Well, how in the world are you supposed to view that before you buy it....you absolutely cannot....not even in a store where you personally go. You cannot open the package unless you purchase it. Once again.....bend over.....the consumer gets screwed. And in the meantime, my OFFICE software only functions with the bare bones features, which is not acceptable for what I do with it. Open Office is looking better all the time.

10 comments:

Debbie said...

I agree. Why didn't this show up sooner? I hope you didn't pay too much for it. I've got to check out Open Office. I haven't heard of it.

Hope the day gets better!

glnroz said...

I suspect that some of these "udates" cripple the programs that are already on your computer. I have about 10 or more updates a week from Microsoft. Werre the programs that "goofed" up in the beginning. Where is my Big Chief tablet?? oh,, ya'll are too young to remember those,, lol

lucylocket said...

I use Open Office. No complaints yet.

Forsythia said...

I would be livid too.

ethelmaepotter! said...

Isn't that just maddening??!! And you HAVE to have this stuff. Like Charlie Brown would say, "AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!"

I'd love to hear your horror stories of the post office - when I post my story, you'll have to tell one of your own. Basically, I'm part of their new "National Reassessment Program," which is just a fancy name to cover up the real one: "The We're-Broke-And-Need-To-Get-Rid-Of-100,000-Employees-And-We're-Not-About-To-Offer-Any-Cash-Incentive-So-We're-Just-Gonna-Make-Them-Miserable-Enough-That-They'll-Quit Program."
The targeted employees in this phase are those who have on-the-job injuries,(that includes me) so we've been "re-evaluated" and placed in jobs "better suited for us." Now tell me, how does it better suit me, with torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders, to lift and carry packages from Point A to Point B for 8 hours a day? All 8 of us injured employees in my building who were sent to this new job are in our 50's, have multiple injuries, both on and off the job, other medical issues as well, and are doing a job that 30-YEAR-OLDS struggle with!

Okay, I'm starting to write my entire post here, so I'll quit before I get completely fired up.

Good luck, honey!

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Wow, you are having quite a rotten string of luck! I hadn't heard of Open Office, but I hate Word for so many reasons that I think OO might be worth trying!

Peruby said...

I was going to suggest Open Office, but you mentioned it there right at the end... works wonderfully.

Sorry about your hard luck experience. I don't know that I would ever buy software on e-Bay, but I for sure won't, now.

Linda Medrano said...

I'm pretty careful about buying some things on EBAY and I think software is probably on my list of what not to buy. That said, I hope you get this replaced by MS. Shoot they can afford it Val!

Anonymous said...

I know that anything I buy on ebay is risky, but so far I haven't had a problem. That's bad luck. I have Open Office (I bought it on ebay several years ago, btw) but haven't used it much.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I hope Microsoft comes through for you..if not you are stuck I guess..aren't the sellers on ebay rated?
I have not heard of Open Office:)