Independent profile — not affiliated with Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, makes Windows, Microsoft 365, Xbox and other products. This page lists Microsoft's published routes for refunds, cancellations, unrecognized charges and reports of calls using its name, BBB and Trustpilot figures as displayed on October 16, 2026, the 2023 FTC and Justice Department Xbox children's-privacy order, and 693 older consumer posts from this site. Complaints are allegations; the page gives no rating of its own.
Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints
USAComplaints currently maintains 658 historical complaints about Microsoft, published between 1999 and 2015. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.
- Scrabble lost
- Excel doesn't print colour in duplex
- Microsoft office is a piece of garbage!
- Never Never Purchase Office 365 - piece of garbage - Microsoft 365
- Password recovery - Micro Soft windows 8.1
- Charged in erro
- Customer Service and charging for returned equipment
- Microsft cut me from fom my my yahoo conection because i have install many times the Windows XP Profecional Why?
- Item lost after delivery and refused to send another or refund my money - Madden 25 for Xbox 360
- Outrage - Microsoft Surface
- XBOX Live Fraudulent Charges
- Customer support - Microsoft There was not a listing for Microsoft - too many complaints?
- Microsoft account temporary block
- Microsoft
- Not happy: (
- Terrible Microsoft Store Online Shopping Experience - Microsoft Store
- New Logo
- Surface RT is an unusable product - Microsoft Surface
- I'm so pissed
- Microsoft Support
Complaint Themes
Independent Sources
Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.
Contacts
- Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/
- Contact Microsoft Support (sign-in required): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus
- Xbox support contact page: https://support.xbox.com/en-us/contact-us/emerald
- Investigate an unrecognized Microsoft charge: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accounts-billing/how-to-investigate-a-billing-charge-from-microsoft
- Report a support scam: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/reportascam/
- Corporate telephone per Form 10-K cover (not customer support): (425) 882-8080 88 complaints mention this number
Locations
| Type | Address |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | One Microsoft Way Redmond WA 98052-6399 |
Microsoft: refunds, cancellations, unrecognized charges and calls using its name (checked October 16, 2026)
"Microsoft" covers Windows, Microsoft 365 and Office, Xbox, Surface, Bing, Outlook and many other services, so the route depends on what you bought. These are the routes Microsoft publishes itself.
- Contact. Microsoft's Contact page asks you to sign in, offers self-help first, then "live chat with a Microsoft specialist". The page lists no phone number; Xbox has its own contact page at support.xbox.com/en-us/contact-us/emerald, and the page links a "Report a support scam" form.
- Subscription refunds (Microsoft 365 and similar). Microsoft's subscription refund policy says: "In most cases, you may receive a refund within 30 days of your initial purchase or before your first recurring billing date (whichever is sooner)" by cancelling, and a refund of your most recent recurring charge if you cancel within 30 days after payment, a right "limited to one time per Microsoft account, per subscription product". The policy does not apply to prepaid retail subscription codes (those follow the retailer's return policy) or to subscriptions bought through Google Play or the Apple App Store, which are handled by those stores. The page also says: "Not all cancellations result in a refund" and "Eligibility is determined automatically during the cancellation process"; the cancel path is "Services & subscriptions" then "Manage" followed by "Cancel", and access to Microsoft 365 "typically continues until the end of the current billing period if no refund is issued". For Xbox subscriptions the page sends you to a separate Xbox cancellations and refunds page, where Xbox says: "You can cancel an XBOX subscription at any time. Turning off recurring billing will stop future charges" and "not all subscription charges can be refunded".
- Apps and games. Microsoft's refund article says: "Digital goods like apps, games, add-on content, subscriptions, movies, TV shows, and books aren't refundable unless the offer or applicable law states that you're eligible for a refund" and refers to the Microsoft Terms of Sale; under "How to request a refund for Microsoft Store games on a Windows PC" it says: "Go to the Xbox support page to Request a refund for digital games and sign in", adds "it may take 72 hours to process the request", and notes refunds are generally processed within 3–5 business days. Xbox's page for that route says refunds for digital games are "typically issued for requests made within 14 days of the game's purchase date, if you haven’t accumulated a significant amount of play time", that requests can be made within a 90-day period but "not all requests will be accepted", and that "While the refund is processing, you'll no longer be able to access the digital game product."
- A charge you do not recognize. Microsoft says to open the Manage your payments page of your Microsoft account dashboard and select "Investigate". Its list of possible causes includes a subscription with recurring billing enabled, someone you know buying with your card, a previously declined charge being charged again, a pre-order or split order shipping, and an in-app purchase. Microsoft's article adds: "If you believe someone has acquired your payment info, contact your bank or your payment provider to prevent more charges", and says that if you "only dispute the charges, there's nothing to prevent the fraudulent charges from happening again". For further help it says to select Contact Support.
- Locked-out accounts. Microsoft's account recovery page says: "our support agents are not allowed to send password reset links, or access and change account details", that Microsoft will review your answers and "respond within 24 hours", and that recovery is limited if two-step verification is on and no alternate method is available.
- Skype. Microsoft's Skype page says: "As of May 5th, 2025, Skype is retired" and "Sign in to Microsoft Teams Free on any supported device using your Skype credentials"; it also says "After May 1, 2026, if you have remaining subscriptions which have been cancelled, you are eligible for a refund."
- Calls, pop-ups and e-mails using Microsoft's name. Microsoft's page on tech support scams says: "If you didn't ask us to, we won't call you to offer support", "Microsoft error and warning messages never include phone numbers", and that Microsoft will never ask you to pay for support in cryptocurrency or gift cards. Report at microsoft.com/reportascam. Many of the older posts filed under this name on our site are prize or lottery e-mails and telephone calls that use the Microsoft name; they describe messages and callers, not conduct by Microsoft, and are not linked to this page.
If you are not satisfied: the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) and your state attorney general. Complaints on this page are allegations by the people who filed them.
Who operates Microsoft and what the name covers
Microsoft Corporation is a Washington corporation with its headquarters at One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052-6399; its common stock trades on Nasdaq under MSFT (Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, cover page). The 10-K reports about 223,000 full-time employees as of June 30, 2026 (121,000 in the U.S.) and three reporting segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.
This page covers Microsoft's consumer-facing products and billing as they appear in the complaints filed on this site, including Windows, Office and Microsoft 365, MSN and Hotmail/Outlook e-mail, Bing, Xbox (including Xbox 360 and Xbox Live) and Surface. Activision Blizzard is a separate business from the page's point of view; Microsoft's 8-K states it completed that acquisition on October 13, 2023. Microsoft's release datelined Redmond and Luxembourg, Oct. 13, 2011 says: "Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) has closed its acquisition of Skype Global S.à r.l." Microsoft's Skype page now says "As of May 5th, 2025, Skype is retired". Skype posts dated before that date concern the previous owner and are not linked here.
On the Xbox 360, Microsoft's own July 5, 2007 announcement says consoles showing "three flashing red lights" would be covered by a three-year warranty from date of purchase, with repair or replacement "free of charge, including shipping costs", reimbursement for customers who had previously paid for repairs of that error, and a pre-tax charge of "$1.05 billion to $1.15 billion" for the quarter ended June 30, 2007. Many of the older complaints below concern that hardware failure.
Complaint record: BBB, Trustpilot and the complaints filed on this site
BBB (as displayed on 2026-10-16). The BBB profile for Microsoft, Redmond, WA says "Microsoft is NOT a BBB Accredited Business" and shows an A+ rating; the complaints tab shows 7,064 total complaints in the last 3 years and 2,811 filed in the last 12 months, and the reviews tab shows 1.05 out of 5 stars, average of 323 customer reviews. BBB's raw page data lists a business start of 1981-07-01 and a file opened 1987-11-01. BBB notes that its Customer Reviews are not used in the calculation of the letter grade.
Trustpilot (as displayed on 2026-10-16). The page for www.microsoft.com shows a score of 1.2 from 4,121 reviews, a claimed profile since May 2014, and the notice "No recent history of asking for reviews". Trustpilot also shows the notices "This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative" and "Hasn’t replied to negative reviews", and an AI-generated summary of recent reviews. These sources are shown separately and are not combined with each other or with the posts below.
On this site. 693 approved posts are linked to this page: 658 name Microsoft or one of its own products as the subject (Xbox and Xbox 360 or Xbox Live, MSN and Microsoft Online billing descriptors, Hotmail, Windows, Office, Bing, Surface) and 35 name Skype in the period after Microsoft's acquisition of it. They are dated 1999 to 2015, with most from 2002 to 2013, and are consumer allegations. Posts that are prize or lottery e-mails, telephone callers using the name, or about other businesses were not linked, and machine-spun or duplicate posts were removed from the site's record.
Regulator actions: FTC and Justice Department
Xbox Live children's data (COPPA), 2023. A Justice Department release dated June 12, 2023 says the court issued a stipulated order requiring Microsoft to pay $20 million in civil penalties and imposing injunctive relief to settle allegations that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and the COPPA Rule in connection with the Xbox Live service. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges that Microsoft knew certain users were children but continued to collect personal information such as telephone numbers before notifying parents and obtaining consent, and that its notice to parents was incomplete. The release also says the complaint alleges that, when children started but did not complete creating Xbox Live accounts, Microsoft retained their personal information for longer than permitted by the COPPA Rule. The FTC's June 5, 2023 press release says the FTC alleged Microsoft kept children's data, sometimes for years, from 2015 to 2020, and lists proposed order terms including deleting data collected for parental consent within two weeks if consent is not obtained. The release lists a further allegation: that Microsoft retained information of children who did not finish creating accounts for longer than the COPPA Rule permits. These were allegations resolved by the order; this page does not rely on any statement about admission.
Activision Blizzard merger challenge. The FTC's order dated May 22, 2025 (Docket No. 9412) recites that on May 7, 2025 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of the Commission's application for a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition, and that the Commission "determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation", ordering the complaint dismissed. This was a merger challenge, not a consumer-protection case.
The Form 10-K's contingencies note (Note 14) lists one named matter, an Irish Data Protection Commission decision concerning LinkedIn's targeted advertising under the GDPR that LinkedIn has appealed, and says Microsoft is also subject to a variety of other claims and suits in the ordinary course of business. Other government actions were not identified in the sources checked on October 16, 2026; the search was not exhaustive.
Is Microsoft Legitimate?
Microsoft Corporation files annual reports with the SEC as a Nasdaq-listed company, and its Form 10-K gives its headquarters and state of incorporation. BBB lists the business with an A+ rating while stating it is not BBB accredited, and also shows thousands of complaints in the last 3 years; Trustpilot shows a 1.2 score from 4,121 reviews. The FTC and Justice Department resolved the 2023 Xbox children's-privacy allegations with a $20 million civil penalty order. The page gives no rating of its own. Microsoft's own page on tech support scams says: "Microsoft doesn't send unsolicited email messages or make unsolicited phone calls to request personal or financial information, or to provide technical support to fix your computer." Callers and messages that use the Microsoft name are treated on this page as third-party messages.
Court & Public Records
| Case | Authority | Dates | Type | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Microsoft Corp. (Xbox Live; COPPA civil penalty) Docket 2:23-cv-00836 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington | — | Settled | Settled The Justice Department's release dated June 12, 2023 says the stipulated order issued by the court requires Microsoft to pay $20 million in civil penalties and imposes injunctive relief to settle allegations of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and the COPPA Rule in connection with Xbox Live. The complaint alleges Microsoft knew that certain users were children but continued to collect personal information before notifying parents and obtaining consent, that its notice to parents was incomplete, and that in certain instances when children did not complete creating Xbox Live accounts Microsoft retained their personal information longer than the COPPA Rule permits. The FTC's case page (Civil Action Number 2:23-cv-00836, Western District of Washington, status Closed) lists the stipulated order under June 9, 2023, while the Justice Department release dated June 12, 2023 says the order was issued "today"; the dates differ and are given as each source states them. | Source |
| In the Matter of Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (FTC Docket No. 9412) Docket FTC Docket No. 9412 | Federal Trade Commission (administrative proceeding) | — | Dismissed | Dismissed The FTC's order issued May 22, 2025 states that on May 7, 2025 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Northern District of California's denial of the Commission's application for a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition, and that the Commission determined the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation; it ordered the complaint dismissed. | Source |
Related Complaints
Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.
Company Relationships
- Affiliated with: Activision Blizzard, Inc.
- Affiliated with: Skype
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a refund on a Microsoft 365 or other Microsoft subscription?
Microsoft's subscription refund policy says "In most cases, you may receive a refund within 30 days of your initial purchase or before your first recurring billing date (whichever is sooner)" by cancelling in the steps on that page, and a refund of the most recent recurring charge if you cancel within 30 days after payment, limited to one time per Microsoft account, per subscription product. Subscriptions bought through Google Play or the Apple App Store are refunded by those stores.
Can I get a refund for a Microsoft Store app or game?
Microsoft's refund article says digital goods "aren't refundable unless the offer or applicable law states that you're eligible for a refund" and refers to the Microsoft Terms of Sale. For Microsoft Store games, including games on a Windows PC, the article says to "Go to the Xbox support page to Request a refund for digital games and sign in", and that "it may take 72 hours to process the request". The Xbox page says refunds for digital games are "typically issued for requests made within 14 days of the game's purchase date, if you haven’t accumulated a significant amount of play time", and that "not all requests will be accepted".
What should I do about a Microsoft charge I do not recognize?
Microsoft says to go to the Manage your payments page of your Microsoft account dashboard and select "Investigate". Its article lists possible causes: recurring billing on a subscription, a family member using your card, a previously declined charge being charged again, a pre-order or split order shipping, or an in-app purchase. The article also says: "If you believe someone has acquired your payment info, contact your bank or your payment provider to prevent more charges." For further help it says to select Contact Support.
A caller or pop-up says it is Microsoft support. Is it?
Microsoft's page on tech support scams says: "If you didn't ask us to, we won't call you to offer support" and "Microsoft error and warning messages never include phone numbers". It also says Microsoft will never ask for payment in cryptocurrency or gift cards. Microsoft asks that these be reported at microsoft.com/reportascam. On account lockouts, its account recovery page says: "our support agents are not allowed to send password reset links, or access and change account details".
How do I cancel an Xbox subscription or get a refund on a digital game?
Xbox's page says: "You can cancel an XBOX subscription at any time. Turning off recurring billing will stop future charges for a subscription" and "You might be eligible to cancel immediately with a refund. However, not all subscription charges can be refunded." For digital games it says refunds are "typically issued for requests made within 14 days of the game's purchase date, if you haven’t accumulated a significant amount of play time", that "All refund request decisions are final", and that a denied request can be appealed by replying to the decision e-mail.
What did Microsoft say about the Xbox 360 three flashing red lights failure?
In a July 5, 2007 announcement Microsoft said consoles with a general hardware failure shown by "three flashing red lights" would be covered by a three-year warranty from date of purchase, repaired or replaced "free of charge, including shipping costs", with reimbursement for customers who had previously paid for repair of that error, and a pre-tax charge of "$1.05 billion to $1.15 billion" for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.
What was the 2023 FTC and Justice Department Xbox settlement about?
A Justice Department release dated June 12, 2023 says a stipulated order requires Microsoft to pay $20 million in civil penalties and imposes injunctive relief to settle allegations that it violated COPPA in connection with Xbox Live: that it collected personal information from users it knew were children before notifying parents and obtaining consent, and gave incomplete notice to parents.
Is Microsoft BBB accredited, and what does BBB show?
As displayed on 2026-10-16, the BBB profile for Microsoft, Redmond, WA states "Microsoft is NOT a BBB Accredited Business", shows an A+ rating, 7,064 complaints in the last 3 years, 2,811 in the last 12 months, and a 1.05 out of 5 average of 323 customer reviews. BBB says customer reviews are not used in the letter grade.
Why do older Skype complaints appear on this page?
Skype posts dated on or after October 13, 2011 are listed here as brand mentions because Microsoft's own release of that date says it "has closed its acquisition of Skype Global S.à r.l." Earlier Skype posts concern the previous owner and are not linked. Microsoft's Skype page says "As of May 5th, 2025, Skype is retired" and "Sign in to Microsoft Teams Free on any supported device using your Skype credentials"; it also says "After May 1, 2026, if you have remaining subscriptions which have been cancelled, you are eligible for a refund."