Several months ago, I signed up for Windows Live Hotmail for wireless broadband. I paid an annual fee of around $30.00 for use of their services.
Late last week, I received a message that they had cancelled my account because I had "viloated their TOS" or "Terms of Service, " which I had not, and denied any wrongdoing.
I sent them an e-mail protesting their decision. It took 5 days to receive a reply from them. Meanwhile, I had to reconfigure my computer with another ISP, to maintain contact with my credit card company and and to be able to pay my bills online. Considering the many hours it took to uninstall MSN software, do a disk cleanup and defrag; in order to properly download my new software, and to stay connected to my important contacts, I asked for a refund, which they denied. Today, I received a determination from MSN that I indeed had NOT violated any of their "TOS." Their response is copied & pasted below:
From: Gerry (last name & email address removed)
Subject: RE: SRX1087258887ID - Windows Live Hotmail Plus
To: "Microsoft Customer Support"
Date: Friday, December 12, 2:26 PM
That's all fine and dandy, Arthur; but do you realize how much trouble you have put me through as a result of your mistake? I removed all the MSN software from my computer; I needed to have a way to stay in contact with various credit card companies & banks, so I had to download a different ISP's software, pay them a fee like I've paid you for Windows Live Hotmail; lost a week's usage of your e-mail service, and that doesn't include all the time I had to spend doing disk cleanups after the uninstall, defrag, and re-set all my settings. Just try to put yourself in my shoes. Do you really think I should take a chance on putting up with your crap all over again? I think I'd be better off by letting the whole world know what a ripoff MSN/Windows Live is, and continue with my current ISP.
& On Fri, 12/12/08, Microsoft Customer Support wrote:
From: Microsoft Customer Support
Subject: RE: SRX1087258887ID - Windows Live Hotmail Plus
To: (Myself at my Yahoo address)
Date: Friday, December 12, 9:01 AM
Hello Gerald,
Thank you for writing to Windows Live Hotmail Customer Support. This is Arthur and I gather that you have been denied access to your Hotmail.com account. I understand your concern about this matter and the need for this issue to be addressed immediately. We are currently reviewing all Hotmail accounts for any violation of our account policies.
We have checked your Hotmail.com account and have confirmed that it did not violate any of our Terms of Use (TOU).
We have reopened your account and you should now be able to access it. Please try to log in and let us know if the problem persists. There are a few valuable steps you can take to make sure your account never gets identified with a violation of our TOU:
1. Keep your contact lists up-to-date, and make sure everyone who receives mail from you wants mail from you. We respond to excessive complaints from other users that you are sending them junk or unwanted mail.
2. Make sure you have current addresses for your friends, relatives and customers. We measure the amount of mail you send which cannot be delivered.
3. If you send large quantities of bulk mail, include a way for users to "opt out" or notify you that they no longer wish to receive those messages.
4. If you are a commercial sender, you may want to review the content on our Postmaster site (http://postmaster. MSN.com) and sign up for programs that assist commercial senders.
We appreciate your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available. Thank you for using Windows Live Hotmail.
Sincerely,
Arthur O. Windows Live Hotmail Customer Support
I'd highly recommend that ANYONE considering subscribing to Windows Live Hotmail look for another provider, as their Customer Support is practically non-existent. According to THEIR OWN RULES, I should have received a reply from them within 24 hours, NOT 5 DAYS LATER
Gerry
Keenesburg, Colorado
U.S.A.
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