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MSN Reviews & Complaints

MSN is a Microsoft brand: the msn.com news portal, the MSN Dial-up internet service (earlier sold as MSN Internet Access, which also offered DSL), and the former MSN Hotmail (now Outlook.com) and MSN TV. MSN subscriptions are billed and cancelled through a Microsoft account, and lost or hacked MSN and Hotmail logins are recovered through Microsoft account support. In 2002 Microsoft agreed with California authorities to refund MSN customers billed after asking to cancel. 54 published complaint reports are linked to this profile.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS54on USAComplaints · none in last 3 yrs · latest 2013
WEBSITEmsn.com
HEADQUARTERSRedmond, WA
PROFILE CHECKED2026-11-02
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗
EDITORIAL

Company Information

Legal name
Microsoft Corporation
Business type
Microsoft's online portal and former internet-access brand (MSN Dial-up, Hotmail, MSN TV)
Website
msn.comSource: MSN website, checked 2026-11-02
Headquarters
Redmond, WASource: Microsoft Services Agreement, notice address, checked 2026-11-02
Owned by
Microsoft CorporationSource: Microsoft Services Agreement, checked 2026-11-02

Operator. MSN is operated by Microsoft Corporation. The Microsoft Services Agreement gives its notice address as Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, U.S.A.

Website. msn.com.

Terms. Microsoft Services Agreement: Section 9 "Payment Terms", Section 11 "Choice of Law and Place to Resolve Disputes" (for U.S. residents, the law of the state where you live), Section 14 "Service-Specific Terms" (14.f "Bing and MSN") and Section 15, binding arbitration and class action waiver for U.S. customers.

Related profile. Microsoft's own profile on this site is at /company/microsoft/.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Trustpilot
1,082 reviews · TrustScore 1.1 / 5
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 54 historical complaints about MSN, published between 2000 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

Show 15 more on this page
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Billing continued after cancellationMSN DSL and dial-up connection problemsHotmail account and email access

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

Had an experience with MSN? Tell other people what happened.

Submit a Complaint
VERIFIED

Contacts

Customer service & general contact

Account & login

Other contacts

VERIFIED

Locations

  • HeadquartersOne Microsoft Way Redmond WA 98052-6399
EDITORIAL

MSN billing, account access and hacked-account help: what to do

Who to deal with. MSN (msn.com) is a Microsoft service, so billing, account and email questions go to Microsoft. Section 14.f of the Microsoft Services Agreement, headed "Bing and MSN", contains the MSN-specific terms.

Stop a charge for MSN Dial-up or another Microsoft subscription. MSN Dial-Up Internet Access is sold in the Microsoft Store as a Microsoft subscription. Microsoft's article "Cancel your Microsoft subscription" gives these steps:

  • Sign in at the Subscriptions page of your Microsoft account with the account used for the purchase ("It's important to use that account.").
  • Find the subscription and select Manage.
  • Select Cancel (some subscriptions show Upgrade or Cancel) and follow the instructions on the page.
  • If the page offers to turn automatic billing back on instead of showing Manage, Microsoft says the subscription "is already set to expire on the date shown", so there is nothing more to cancel.

Services Agreement Section 9.g says: "Cancelling paid Services stops future charges to continue the Service." The same section warns that you may not receive a refund at the time of cancellation and may still owe charges billed before the cancellation date. Section 9.f says that, unless the law or a particular offer provides otherwise, "all purchases are final and non-refundable." Save the cancellation confirmation and the date.

If you were charged after cancelling. Act quickly: Section 9.f says that if you believe Microsoft charged you in error, "you must contact us within 90 days of such charge. No refunds will be given for any charges more than 90 days old." Ask Microsoft in writing for the charge to be reversed, quote the cancellation confirmation, and keep its reply. If you paid by credit card, the Fair Credit Billing Act (15 U.S.C. 1666) lets you dispute a billing error in writing; the card issuer must receive your letter within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the charge, so do not wait until the last days. Send it to the billing-inquiry address on the statement, not the payment address. If that card window has closed, a refund request to Microsoft within its 90 days is still worth making. A debit card or bank account has different rules, so ask the bank how long it allows.

Read the rest of this section

Locked out of an MSN, Hotmail or Outlook account. Microsoft's account recovery form (account.live.com/acsr) says: "If possible, answer these questions from a device and location that you've used before with this account." and "It usually takes us about 24 hours to review the information submitted." It also says: "Note: If you've turned on two-step verification, you can't recover your account this way." Microsoft's article "How to sign in to Hotmail" says that Hotmail is now Outlook.com, that old Hotmail addresses sign in at outlook.com, and that an account not used for more than two years may have been deleted.

If the account was hacked. Microsoft's article "How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account" has three steps under these headings: "Clear your PC of viruses or malware before you change your password"; "Change or reset your password" ("After you run the antivirus app, sign in to your account and change your password."); and "Check your account settings", where it says it has reset some settings and points to connected accounts, forwarding and automatic replies. Check those three places for rules a stranger may have added.

Prize or lottery emails that use the MSN or Microsoft name. A Microsoft security blog post (archived, January 2009) states: "There is no Microsoft lottery." Do not reply or pay a fee. Report the message to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, if you lost money, to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Reach Microsoft. Microsoft's Contact us page asks you to pick the product and account type (for example "Personal & family accounts" and "Get Home support") before it shows the support options. Microsoft's list of customer service numbers gives (800) 642-7676 as a toll-free technical and sales support line for the United States. The Subscriptions page of your Microsoft account (account.microsoft.com/services) shows what you are currently paying for.

If Microsoft does not fix it. Section 15 of the Services Agreement, "Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver", sends U.S. disputes to binding individual arbitration before JAMS and rules out class actions. It starts with a written Notice of Dispute (Section 15.b) mailed to Microsoft Corporation, ATTN: CELA Arbitration, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 (an address for legal notices, not for customer service), and Section 15.c, "Small Claims Court Option", lets you take a qualifying claim to small claims court instead. You can also file a complaint about unauthorized or post-cancellation charges with your state attorney general's consumer protection office and with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

EDITORIAL

MSN complaints on this site

54 published complaint reports are linked to this profile.

The reports describe, in the words of the people who posted them: a dial-up account still billed to a credit card after a cancellation request (2006); a $79.95 MSN charge on a bank account six years after the last use of the service, which a representative said would not be reversed (2007); an MSN DSL line that kept disconnecting every two hours after a switch from Qwest (2002); 52 promised Blockbuster coupons that did not arrive (2001); a Dellnet by MSN bill that the poster said went to an old address and later showed up as a charge-off on a credit report (2002); a Hotmail inbox emptied after 30 days of inactivity and prompts to buy a $19.95 service (2004); an MSN TV receiver whose access number could not be chosen, leading to toll charges (2004); and a Hotmail login lost for a week with no human support to reach (2010). Related complaints, listed separately, concern cell phones bought through MSN Mobile offers from sellers such as InPhonic, with promised rebates that the posters said were rejected or delayed (2006). These are the posters' own accounts; Microsoft has not confirmed them, and no reply from Microsoft has been posted here.

EDITORIAL

California billing settlement over cancelled MSN accounts, 2002

InternetNews reported on March 6, 2002 that the Orange County district attorney's office had sued over MSN customers who were still billed after trying to cancel, and that "Without admitting wrongdoing, Microsoft signed an agreement with the California attorney general's office." The report says some customers had been told they could not cancel because the card number they gave did not match the one in the MSN database, and that investigators found the database had not been updated after banks sent new card numbers. According to the report, MSN agreed to pay the Orange County district attorney's office $100,000 for the cost of the investigation and civil penalties, and "former MSN customers will be refunded for any service charges from the date of their original cancellation request."

EDITORIAL

Best Buy and MSN free-trial class settlement (claims closed 2010)

Top Class Actions reported on July 15, 2010 a proposed class settlement with Microsoft and Best Buy. It covered people who paid Microsoft for a free-trial MSN account set up in their name at a Best Buy store between December 1, 1999 and June 30, 2004, never logged on to it and did not get a full refund. Eligible claimants could recover their unrefunded charges, capped at $75. The fairness hearing was set for September 24, 2010, and claim forms had to be postmarked by September 27, 2010, so the claim period is over.

EDITORIAL

What MSN is and how it has changed

MSN today. MSN is Microsoft's online portal at msn.com, covered by the Microsoft Services Agreement. Older MSN names that appear in complaints include MSN Internet Access (dial-up and DSL service), MSN Hotmail, MSN Mobile and MSN TV.

MSN Dial-up. Microsoft still sells MSN Dial-Up Internet Access in the Microsoft Store as a yearly or monthly subscription, which is billed and cancelled through the buyer's Microsoft account.

Hotmail. Microsoft's support article "How to sign in to Hotmail" says that Hotmail is now Outlook.com; old Hotmail and MSN addresses sign in there with the Microsoft account password.

MSN TV. The Register reported on July 8, 2013 that Microsoft's FAQ said "we have made the difficult decision to end the MSN TV service on September 30th, 2013", and that users could keep their set-top boxes.

MSN Internet service. Complaints on this site from 2002 to 2007 describe MSN internet service that reached the customer through another company, such as Dellnet by MSN, a Qwest DSL migration or a Verizon account, and was then billed by MSN.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Owned byMicrosoft Corporation
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Related Complaints

Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.

EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cancel an MSN Dial-up or other MSN subscription?

MSN Dial-Up Internet Access is sold as a Microsoft Store subscription, so it is cancelled like other Microsoft subscriptions. Sign in to the Subscriptions page (account.microsoft.com/services) with the Microsoft account used for the purchase, find the subscription, select Manage, then Cancel (or Upgrade or Cancel) and follow the prompts, as described in Microsoft's article "Cancel your Microsoft subscription". Services Agreement Section 9.g says cancelling paid services stops future charges.

What can I do if MSN charged me after I cancelled?

Section 9.g of the Services Agreement says cancelling paid services stops future charges. Contact Microsoft within 90 days of the charge, because the Agreement says no refunds are given for charges more than 90 days old; ask in writing for the reversal and keep the cancellation confirmation. If you paid by credit card, you can also dispute the charge as a billing error in writing; under 15 U.S.C. 1666 the card issuer must receive your letter within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the charge. In 2002 Microsoft agreed with California authorities to refund MSN customers billed after a cancellation request, according to InternetNews.

Can I get a refund for MSN charges?

Section 9.f of the Services Agreement says that, unless the law or a particular offer provides otherwise, "all purchases are final and non-refundable." A charge you believe was made in error must be raised with Microsoft within 90 days; the Agreement says no refunds are given for charges more than 90 days old. A proposed class settlement over MSN free-trial accounts opened at Best Buy stores would have repaid unrefunded MSN charges up to $75 per claimant, but its claim deadline was September 27, 2010, according to Top Class Actions.

How do I recover a locked MSN or Hotmail account?

Use Microsoft's account recovery form at account.live.com/acsr. Microsoft says to answer its questions from a device and location you have used before with the account, that review usually takes about 24 hours, and that the form cannot be used if two-step verification is turned on. Old Hotmail addresses now sign in at outlook.com, and Microsoft warns that an account not signed in to for more than two years may have been deleted.

What should I do if my MSN or Hotmail account was hacked?

Microsoft's article lists three steps: scan your PC for viruses or malware first, then change or reset your password, then check your account settings, including connected accounts, forwarding and automatic replies.

Where do I contact MSN customer service?

Microsoft's Contact us page asks you to choose the product and account type, for example "Personal & family accounts", and then offers the support options for that choice. Microsoft's list of customer service numbers gives (800) 642-7676 as a toll-free technical and sales support line in the United States. Lost Hotmail or MSN logins go through the account recovery form at account.live.com/acsr.

Who owns MSN?

MSN is a Microsoft service. The Microsoft Services Agreement covers it, with MSN-specific terms in Section 14.f.

Is an email saying I won an MSN or Microsoft lottery from Microsoft?

A Microsoft security blog post archived from January 2009 states: "There is no Microsoft lottery." The post describes such messages as advance-fee fraud. Do not pay or reply; report the message at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What happened to MSN TV?

The Register reported on July 8, 2013 that Microsoft's FAQ said the company had decided to end the MSN TV service on September 30, 2013, and that users could keep their set-top boxes.