The hassles I have had in dealing with MSN.com have been too many to describe here, but I'll give a brief overview.
I attempted to sign up for a free month of Microsoft internet service, but after entering my credit card number, I was not given access. I am now being billed $19.95 three times a month. There is nothing I can do, and I can't (and now don't want to) use MSN.com. I've tried it all: dozens of e-mails, phone calls (that amount to nothing more than a holding pattern), even hard-copy letters to their billing department with copies to various vice presidents.
The replies I have received are almost Twilight Zone-ish in the way they seem to give rote answers to problems that don't apply to me. For instance, in one response they actually told me that my credit card info was the cause of the problem and needed to be updated so that they can charge me for internet service. Presumably, three charges a month for no service provided is the result of my credit card, not their incompetence. As my communications with them have gone on through the months, I have gotten angrier and angrier. It's almost like they're trying to provoke me by being deliberately unresponsive, like they want to goad me into saying something inflammatory so that they can justify writing off my complaints as the "rantings of a kook."
Their latest response to my complaints was to tell me that if I can't use their internet service (I found a better alternative long ago), it's my own fault. And if I don't like being charged three times a month, I need to take it up with their "Litigation Department."
If you want to use MSN.com, I advise you to use a credit card with a high debt ceiling, because MSN.com cannot bill you enough to satisfy their thirst for unearned money. Now I know why the Justice Department says Microsoft is a monopoly. If you can treat your customers like this without blinking, you must have them under your thumb.
By the way, I told my credit card company not to pay MSN since I'm getting no service. I'm waiting to see how MSN responds to that. They'll probably sue me for not adequately providing them with a convenient method for stealing from me.
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