Lots of problems - regsitered last year for this offer - expected it to be shipped for the launch date, but hey no show...

Have been checking on and off have been told 4 to 6 weeks evently after they replied by email.

Occasionally when I have checked it has said my order isn't in the system.

This inspires confidence...

Me two been waiting now for 3 weeks since i applied.

my status has shown COA and POP Validated but nothing else.

Wish i did not bother buying a new laptop because it is an headache waiting now.

Also i get the same sometimes that it says my order isn't in the system.

Contacted them 3 days on i get the following:

Thank you for contacting the Upgrade Redemption Center for Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007.

Your email has been received, and will usually be processed within 1 business day.

The following is provided for your information:

To place an order, obtain manufacturer-specific pricing, or see if you are qualified to purchase an upgrade, please visit https://upgradeweb.moduslink.com/vista/default.aspx.

If you have attempted to place an order and experienced any difficulty, our response will help you to continue the order.

FAQ:

COA Problems:
The Upgrade Redemption Center has been made aware of an issue affecting Certificate Of Authenticity or (COA) numbers used when placing orders via the Upgrade web site. We are now informed that this issue has been resolved.

Due to a high volume of contacts, we have been unable to respond timely to some of you who contacted the Upgrade Redemption Center, and we apologize for the delay.

The root cause of the COA issue for a majority of customers is a “locking” mechanism designed to restrict duplicate use of COAs and is intended to protect COA owners. In effect, if a customer’s order session timed out or a customer navigated away from the web site, the COA would be locked and require a reset by the Upgrade Redemption Center. Your COA will be reset within 24 hours of it being locked. If your email relates to this issue, please allow 3 hours to pass and then return to the web and place your order.

My COA had been locked. What i want to know is how do i go about resetting it and starting over. How do i contact the "Upgrade Redemption Center" to reset my COA?

Hi,

As in the automated email i received this is part of what it said which is in my above post.

"The root cause of the COA issue for a majority of customers is a “locking” mechanism designed to restrict duplicate use of COAs and is intended to protect COA owners. In effect, if a customer’s order session timed out or a customer navigated away from the web site, the COA would be locked and require a reset by the Upgrade Redemption Center. Your COA will be reset within 24 hours of it being locked. If your email relates to this issue, please allow 3 hours to pass and then return to the web and place your order."

Another words it will unlock in it's own time.

I have been trying for days to get my free Vista upgrade but have been passed or directed to a dozen sites, telephone numbers etc, including a few for techguys, with no success. I thing the whole thing is an absolute shambles

I have had a problem ordering vista upgrade, it will not accept my COA number, and on the one occasion I managed to get passed that, it would not accept my credit card details, been trying now for 5 solid days. I think the customer service is abysmal.

Been trying for several days will not accept my coa number and on the one occasion it did would not accept my credit card details, was told to contact Customer Service, what a joke, when all they do is ignore you I think everyone should get together and go to the press the service is abysmal, dont think I will ever get it, why have a Customer Service Department, when all they do is ignore you.

Dosen't anyone have a working contact number for this "Update redemption center" ? I've been waiting for 2 days now for my COA number to "unlock"

Same story here, i have an acer laptop bought for me for christmas, and this upgrade site won't validate my COA either. Emailed Customer Services, and no reply as yet. It's pathetic, and if I dont get the upgrade i'm entitled to then I wont be buying it from a shop because Microsoft's pricing is appalling.

Just thought I'd update you - found a good link with lots of references to the problems

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=98906&highlight=vista

btw I still have recieved my copy - ordered it Nov 14!

First I kept getting "credit card failed" and so I kept trying until I gave up. I sent an email and got an answer about 24 hours later. Too bad the email was canned and didn't address my specific question. It did make me think to look at my account, and voila! I got charged 4 times!!! So much for the "failure!" So, I went to the site again and tried to see what to do now. I put in my COA and email (don't have an order number because my order supposedly "failed") and was told I don't exist. So, another email, this one just a tad bit nastier.

3 words: Class Action Lawsuit.

Hi,

Anyone in the UK needs to contact Moduslink for any queries on 00800 666 44 666.

There email address is: MSTUPVISTAEMEA@moduslink.com

There Address to send Proof of Purchase (invoice etc) is:

Technical Upgrade Program Vista
P.O. Box 252
7300 AG Apeldoorn
The Netherlands

======================

I redeemed my upgrade for Vista Home Premium a few weeks ago, about 7 days later it said COA/POP Validated. I contacted Moduslink via email to ask when i will get my disc and a few days later they replied saying my "COS IS INVALID" but online it was showing "COA/POP VALIDATED"

REASON: When i made my order and if you are in the UK Moduslink said many peoples Debit Cards are being rejectd by the system and you can only pay by Credit Card.

So i contacted Modulink on 00800 783 6414 (United Kingdom) and they said i will need make a new order as my debit card was declined.

So now i have had Moduslink release my "COA" (Certificate of Authencity) and i made my new order. (I was told i am best off doing a wire transfer so this is what i choose and done)

BUT ....

The Account details the Moduslink site gives you correct but because it is international etc.. UK sortcode is only 6 digits long but on the Moduslink confirmation page it shows 8 digits. So after arond 15 calls i managed to get it sorted.

So anyone who at the time only seen credit card as an option to pay but still gave your debit card details (YOUR ORDER STILL WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH) and your COA/POP show validated but if you think you are in the same boat ring Moduslink as if i did not then i would never have known about this problem as of course online it was showing COA/POP validated which meant my order is great and that just wait for disc to be sent out. Another words you wil not be told there is a problem with your card details as online it all shows ok and even when i phoned moduslink they said it was all ok until i said i had an email to say it was invalid. SO MAKE SURE YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT TO SEE IF IT IS SHOWING ON THERE SIDE AS VALID

Reason i am letting people know this is because i have spent a fortune ringing my bank and hours getting through to moduslink and to think of someone else having to do the same sends shivers down my back as i have never felt so depressed in my life trying to sort a silly problem out.

So anyone in the UK are best off doing it by "Wire Transfer" and validating your COA/POP via email as you can now do that.

=======================

MY NIGHTMARE HAS GOT WORSE:

To send your proof via email;

you need to send an email with your order number to: MSTUPVISTAEMEA@moduslink.com

YOU MUST ALSO .... Scan your invoice,receipt etc ... and save it as PDF (many programs that come with your printer/scanner can do this.

Once it scans and saves it as PDF. attach to an email (Make sure you put your order number in the email)

Best thing is to put your name address etc in email aswell.

and send to the email address i put above.

To do a wire transfer these are the details you need (for uk only)

Account holder: moduslink bv

Account Number - 00062103

SORT-CODE: 405030

Bank Name: ABN-AMRO

Bank Location: lONDON

THE BANK WILL ASK WHAT REFERENCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE TRANSFER SO THEY KNOW WHO THE MONEY IS OFF

YOU MUST TELL THE BANK TO ADD YOUR ORDER NUMBER AS THE REFERENCE NUMBER OTHERWISE MODUSLINK WILL NOT KNOW WHO/WHERE THE MONEY CAME FROM.

As the site is for international users i had to take off 2 numbers (00) from off the sortcode. This is fine as Moduslink told me that for UK.

Why the site does not mind i dont know.

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one having this problem. I'm in the States and tried to submit my Vista Upgrade Certificate a week ago. I got through the entire process successfully except for the end when it was time to pay. The system kept saying my credit card failed so I gave up. Now when I log back into the system to check my order status, it says it has been cancelled. However, my credit card has been charged FOUR TIMES!!! This is utterly inexcusable for a company as big as Microsoft to allow this to happen to so many people. What a joke!!!

I emailed them and they said to call so they could resolve the problem over the phone. So, when I called they said a Supervisor would call me back within 24 hours (this was three days ago and still no call).

Utterly ridiculous!!!

i purchased a evesham pc oct/nov 2006 with free upgrade to vista ordered upgrade last year checked order status order confirmed even gave order number checked after release date order cancelled rang evesham moduslink microsoft just pushed from one to other re-ordered again coa confirmed issued with another order number waiting for dvd to arrive system not working well at all very disappoited

What a total Balls U*
Moduslink are totally out of there depth with this.

you put your order in " after numerous attempts" only to find you have to send all the details off again to some unknown company WHY WHY WHY it is absolutely ridiculous !

I purchased a PC from PC world and part of my perches agreement was that I could upgrade to Vista.
As it has been impossible to register with Moduslink for Vista, I contacted PC world and informed them that they had broken my perches agreement with myself and therefore I wonted a refund or a replacement PC preloded with Vista.

May I suggest other people also do this as it will put pressure on Moduslink and Microsoft.
However I do feel that these company's are deliberately stalling the process so that not many " if any" register before the cut off date in March.

I registered my order 2 weeks ago for my free upgrade. I had to apply online several times before my order was accepted. Status shows as COA accepted but not POP even though I sent the POP immediately and have sent resent a week ago. I have emailed Moduslink twice but get no reply. Judging by the press on this issue Microsoft are aware of this problem and should be able to use their clout to get the problems sorted. This reflects badly on Microsoft but I doubt if they care.

What a frigging Joke.

Been screwed...again !

Ordered, approved, COP Valid then COA failed, order canceled and now TOD 1 to 2 weeks. What? HP said to call Moduslink and not to call them any more. Moduslink non-responsive. I parted out two computers so as to buy a new HP early because I WAS PROMISED BY HP A FREE UPGRADE. Moduslink made no such promise to me, Microsoft made no promise to me. It is the responsibility of the company that made the promise to you. What ever was promised by other companies to the company you purchased your computer from is none of your affair. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMPANY THAT SOLD THE COMPUTER, AS AN INCENTIVE TO BUY EARLY PROMISING THE FREE UPGRADE TO VISTA, TO MAKE GOOD THE PROMISE IN A TIMELY MANNER.

i think this is crap i ordered as soon as i bought at xmas and it was ok then i check and my order is gone so im ringing everyon getting passed round like a bag of chips and then i phone currys and they say you'll have to go in store nd sort the order out or try to get a laptop of the same make with vista premium on so thats hat im doin and then from there if nothing happens the old lawers will have a new case on their hands!

weird i just decided to have one more go and went the modus website throught hp and now my order is ready for shipping at beginning of march with standard delivery hope they send otherwise ill be real pissed!

I am acually kind of "locked", Buying my PC from USA, I didn't get the coupon. Now I am in the UK , and when I try to apply for the upgrade, they can only deliver upgrade in the USA only cz I bought it from there and do not allow it to be delivered at the UK. Now that there's nobody I know in the US who can receive it for me, my redemption has gone useless.

The Moduslink redemption upgrade is a complete shambles. I have tried for almost three weeks for the Vista upgrade and after countless emails and complying with every request that Moduslink have made, I am still in the same situation as I was when I first applied. Emailed Evesham the PC vendor who have not had the decency to reply and even the Moduslink employee who I have spoken to is totally exasperated with the fiasco. It is time Microsoft sorted out this complete shambles. The are treating everyone as criminals and in all honesty I do not expect to ever see the upgrade in my possession.

At PCW we've been following this story with interest since there seems to be a multitude of problems with the upgrades.

We've published Moduslink's response, denying that delays are its fault and offering some insight into the ordering process, here:

http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2007/02/moduslink_respo.html

Moduslink or whoever it is that I'm supposed to be getting my "free" upgrade with 2 new laptops I bought seem to be non-existent. I filled out all the information mumbo, I was given a confirmation number for each order, then was told I needed to fax or email them my proof of purchase. So I did this, waited 2 weeks never heard anything back. So I emailed them and was told they needed my proof of purchase to complete my order. (this was a generic email by the way because everytime I have emailed them no matter what I asked I always got this same reply) I have since faxed my proof of purchase 8 times and it's been 3 months but I still have no product. I've asked for a phone number which they only respond with the same email saying they need me to send in my proof of purchase. What can you do?????

From what I read in the above comments, this whole situation seems to be a sham. Is there really a FREE UPGRADE? Is Microsoft so 'broke' that they won't fulfill their obligations to their consumers? I would like an honest and direct answer to this situation. I can't even get into the site you quoted me to place my FREE order, so how in the world can I get an order number? I would like to get what I've been promised. You said you already received my proof of purchase. What's the problem?????

Is Microsoft going bust!!!! with all the upgrades they promised, it must run into many millions of dollars from all around the world. in fact In my estimate it would be in the Regen of approximately 2.2 billion dollars this is calculated on the estimated number of PC sold around the world in the past 11 months before vista was launched.

And Moduslink I suspect are deliberately stalling the upgrade process.

Like Matt, cant get into site either, no end of phone calls, i thought it was me? Im quite a novice at using a computer, less than a year, and after reading all the above comments you have really helped me more than all the hrs trying to get my FREE upgrade info, with no joy. I think there will be alot of people that are going to miss out on this so called FREE upgrade.Im starting to think, like so many of these FREE offers, if something seems to good to be true, then usually it is. Hope not in this case? You have all given me confidence to carry on as i thought it was my lack of experience with computer skills, Good Luck to you all.

f
upgrade

Robert H you are 100% right
the company that sold you your computer is 100% responsible for any compensation for the non appearance of your Vista upgrade. I have taken legal advice, and have been told that the company you purchased the computer from is responsible. they will then have to take legal steps to recover any compensation paid from Microsoft.

So take your PC back to your supplier and just say you have broken your purchase agreement with me " what are you going to do about it! legally they are obliged to ether refund your money or give you a Vista upgrade themselves.

What a joke trying to get this upgrade is such a hassle. I think Bill Gates should handle this himself what a disgrace this is to Microsoft and for all those who work there.

On speaking to Microsoft UK
yesterday and reading between the lines of what they said too me.

Moduslink have been given an ultimatum! sort this mess out in the next four weeks or they will en cure penalty payments for breach of contract.

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!!

I have been trying to get my free Vista upgrade but now I've got a letter that says "Order not found" and told me to go their web site and get a order number. However I couldn't found the web site. And there isn't any phone number to contact with them. I thing the whole thing is an absolute shambles

Hi All

Well I wrote to wave 105 a UK radio station regarding the fiasco with Vista.

They broadcast it and also spoke to Moduslink, and PC World. As they said on the air the procedure for registering for Vista is totally unacceptable.

They spoke to the trading standards in London who categorically said that what ever company you purchased your PC from is solely responsible under the trading standards law for applying and getting your Vista upgrade.

Therefore contact the retailer that sold you your PC and put the ball in their court and they must apply for your Vista upgrade, If this is not forth coming the COMPANY MUST UP GRADE YOU TOO VISTA THEMSELVES.

I hope this sorts the problem out for all of you in the UK.

I finally submitted my vista upgrade order on 19th December after trying for a month. I got an email with an order confirmation on that date. I chose to submit payment by wire transfer as I could not get my credit card accepted.

I emailed them my upgrade form and proof or purchase on December 20th and made the payment on January 2nd. I after recieving no confirmation from moduslink of the reciept of payment and POP I emailed them on January 8th asking them to confirm I got this email back on Jan 15th

Thank you for contacting the Upgrade Redemption Support Center.

We would like to inform you that due to the great amount of Proof of Purchases we have received, we will first send a confirmation email after we have shipped your order.

For any inconvenience this may cause we apologize.

Order says COA vaildated.

I'm in the US what phone number are you calling to actually get to a live rep at moduslink?

On an email I got from moduslink it listed all the numbers to contact them on the one for US and Canada was 800-817-5602.

Not sure how many people in the US have posted here, but I honestly feel that we should all just band together and form a Class Action lawsuit.

You know, after all the crap I've gone through, I think I'm just going to send it snail mail. On the upside, I'm not the only person having the problem, but on the down side, this seems like a mass conspiracy to frustrate users to the point of just giving up on their "free" copy of Vista. I hate Microsoft and Moduslink, and everyone involved in this scam. You can believe that my snail-mail will be certified. What a mess!

I agree with the person who said we need to band together and file a class action lawsuit. This is ridiculous. This is what I have been through tryng to get my "free" upgrade:

I bought my new Gateway laptop from Home Shopping Network and I was promised that the computer was supposed to come with a free upgrade to Windows Vista when it was released in early February. I was told to go to a website to do the express upgrade and then I would be sent the disk when it was available. I went to the website in early January and tried to upgrade. Several times I tried and everytime I got an error messsage saying that my Certificate of Authenticity (COA) number was invalid. So I called Gateway to ask about how I could upgrade. They told me to try the website again in two weeks. So two weeks later (1/31) I tried again and it still would not work. So again I called Gateway. They told me to call Microsoft. I called Microsoft and they told me I needed to call another number to make sure my software was not pirated. Which of course it wasn't since it came new with the computer. So I called them they verified it was legal and they transferred me to another number at Microsoft. They referred me back to Gateway. I called Gateway again and they told me they would escalate my call. Which apparently means nothing - they said it meant that a Manager would contact Microsoft and work out a solution. I was promised a call back within 2 days. Well, needless to say I did not get a call back. I waited a week and called again and they said they were working on a solution and they would call me back when they found the solution. At this point I decided maybe it was time to contact HSN since they were the ones who sold me this computer and promised that Gateway had great customer service. So I e-mailed HSN and explained the situation. They e-mailed me back but it was apparent that they didn't even read my e-mail. They told me to do exactly what I had already done. I e-mailed them again and again they couldn't help me. So again today I called Ga teway, at this point I was referred to Modus Link which is the company handling the upgrade. I got a very fast response from them telling me to go to the website that I have already tried at least 20 times in the first place. Apparently, this is a common problem becasue when I called Modus Link they had a recording saying that if you were having a problem with the webiste no accepting your COA number to e-mail them with the information. Which I did and thats when they e-mailed me back saying that I needed to go to the website.

Hi Lisa
I'm from the UK but from what I have been told the US trading law is about the same as ours in the UK.

Gatway the company you purchased your computer from should be inputting all your details and registering for Vista for you. they are solely responsible for this as the retailer that sold you your PC, YOU MUST TELL THEM THIS . its the same for any company that sold a PC with the vista upgrade included.

All UK people who are having problems registering for vista, "WHY ARE YOU DOING IT?

See the company you purchased your PC from!

As I have said before as the retailer it is there responsibility to register and get you your Vista upgrade.

I informed PC World of there legal obligation.

PROBLEM SOLVED. they did all the sorting out and registered my PC for Vista.

Don't struggle on let them do it It's there responsibility.

Andy:

Thanks for your info. I have contacted Gateway - no less than 10 times to no avail. But no worries - I am no where near finished with Gateway - LOL!!! Last night I got so fed up with this I decided to contact my local TV Station to see if they can do anything to help.

Above someone said the COA issue was worked out but it has not been - as of yesterday it was still telling me that my COA (which by the way is attached to the botton of my laptop) is invalid.

I think we all need to get this information out there to as many people as we can.

Sorry, can you tell I am fired up about this :-)

Lisa

Hi Lisa

I know the feeling!!!!!!

All I can say is that legally, Microsoft or Moduslink are not legally responsible for updating your computer. Yes I know this sounds strange!

the company's that are legally responsible are the ones that sold you your computer saying that this included a free upgrade to Vista, Though I must say it isn't "FREE" there is a small charge about £16.50 don't know what that is in dollars. Anyway as I have said IT'S THE COMPANY THAT SOLD YOU THE COMPUTER THAT SHOULD BE CHASING MODUSLINK

What is needed is a unified approach by customers to the company's concerned, How this can be done I am working on at the moment.may be Personal Computer world can have a petition page so all the people having problems can sign it and then distribute it to all the relevant company's. We will see if Computer world reads any of this???

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!!!
Why do we have to pay postage for the "FREE" upgrade.
I purchased my Laptop through AcerNotebooks and already paid my postage and packing on top of the laptop price.
Why should I pay postage again on a so called free upgrade which was sold as part of the original aggreement as an incentive to buy early.
This was reinforced as I was told by two sales staff BEFORE making the purchase that the upgrade was "FREE" and when I asked how it was arranged as Vista had not been released they said that on release of Vista I would be upgraded over the web by DOWNLOAD.
This turned out to be total rubbish as most of you know (but I didnt at the time) as it is all done by disc, but when I rang to query I first pretended to be a new enquiring customer and was once agian told that it was free and by download and when put through to a supervisor was once again told it was by download.
Even on Acernotebooks web page it says it is a FREE upgrade ,,no mention of £14 quid of postage & packing.

Ive since spoke to Trading Standards that said this is a "misrepresentation" and a soon as my upgrade is dispatched (as it is only on dispatch of the upgrade that your card is SUPPOSED to be debited) I will then be able to claim misrepresenation to Acer NoteBooks and claim my postage plus any resonable expenses . Look forward to that after having to put up with smug Acernotebooks Supervisor on phone.
As with all these things its the having to follow up with multiple phone calls to get the matters resolved that is such a pain in the butt.

i finally got my upgrade!!!!

I'm having the same problem. I actually had similar issues, but finally got through the website to get past the order stage (if you are having credit card not accepted trouble try EXCLUDING the 3 digit code). I've sent in my paper work 2 weeks ago and still no status update. This is just another case of Microsoft screwing it's customers and not caring because they are the only game in town. If someone would come up with software even half way decent i would buy it. Thanks again Microsoft for being content with lousy products and service.

I submitted my request by E-Mail on January 8th and mailed the invoice copy on January 9th and recieved E-MAIL dated February 4th advising my validation was complete - this date is February 26th and still no sign - I thought we where supposed to get priority???? I have friends who purchased in late January that are away ahead of me when I thought I would be early in the food chain.
Thomas graham

hey just checked moduslink last night and now theyre saying they haven't got any proof of purchase which is not right because i sent it off early january and now theyve sed it wud ship march they suddenly changed mind and sed i need to send proof of purchase, this is total crap and so tomorrow im going to currys and demanding them to sort this played out shit.

I bought my pc from Staples who have been trying to help me get the vista upgrade.i have contacted moduslink and also microsoft.they are both about as much use has a chocolate fireguard.i have been in touch with my local trading standards department who have informed me it is the retailer who is responsible for suppling the upgrade,i shall let you all know if i get it or not.

going in the morning to sort this out at currys hope they dont fob me off or ill go physco on they asses lol, and will defo be chatting to management and not the sales reps who read facts of a sheet and call them selves experts lol will let you homies now how it goes

I sent my order of for the upgrade in the second week of Janurary, only good thing is it moved to COA/POP validated but its been like that for 1 month now. Tried calling but their customer service is pathetic. I want to get in touch with watchdog over how much of a disgrace this is. Why the **** was ModusLink picked to do this, wish i never bought a laptop now.

What a Mess. All the work and 10 Billion note's, invested for Windows vista and no one is anywhere near to seeing their free upgrade -
by March? What has happened to the WOW!
Shame about all us punter's that has bought new PCs/Laptops with the upgrade for Free, thinking the WOW! was in the package??? Dont seem like it! Like so many of you i have, tryed to get in to site, with no joy . Done all the ground work, with E-mails to 'Moduslink' also had a reply, and im back where i started from. Pity they! who! ever? came up with the Supermarket sweep! Buy one and get one Free? Anyone ever watch 'Click' Freeveiw ch 80, Well there is tecno for you, yet we cannot our free Package ???Good Luck!

already contacted watchdog yesterday with all details hoping to hear from them soon, and going to town now to sort vista out with currys if they do nothing my suits will take action lol

I contact moduslink again the other day about the different steps in the order status. Mine is currently COA validated. they replied with this email.

We have received your order. To further process your order we will need a photocopy or scan of the Proof of Purchase with the order number to be send to us either via mail, fax or email, if you have not yet done so.

You will receive a confirmation, once we have shipped your product.

I have replied telling them I sent them on December 20th and that I have attched new copies, I have also requested a receipt of when the email is read. Hopefully this should make things progress but I will not hold my breath.

just bin to currys they fobbed me off with how its not them and its hp and they sed moduslink is just a server not real company so i reordered and coa validated again just need to send proof of purchase and wire transfer money, does any one know how to wire transfer, do i need to goto the bank and pay before or after i send reciept, wot a mess lol

Wire transfer details for UK customers

To do a wire transfer these are the details you need

Account holder: moduslink bv

Account Number - 00062103

SORT-CODE: 405030

Bank Name: ABN-AMRO

Bank Location: LONDON

Reference for the payment will be your order number so moduslink will know which order the money is for. As for when to send the money, I sent my POP on December 20th (by email) then made the money transfer on January 2nd.

TO ALL UK CUSTOMERS WHO PURCHASED PCs FROM RETAILERS IN THE UK, WHO WERE INFORMED BY THE RETAILER THAT THE PC WOULD BE UPGRADED TO VISTA

Please contact CONSUMERDIRECT.GOV.UK/contact_us "in lower case"

Please be aware that your retailer is responsible for your upgrade to VISTA

All information regarding this issue is urgently needed by Consumerdirect

"Trading Standards"
your assistance will be most welcome

Watchdog are also VERY INTERESTED in the situation with the retailers NOT registering you for Vista

go on to the BBC Watchdog site and have your say!!!
this is a good collective way of putting over your grievances.

I sent in the proof of purchase, but they say they were unable to process it because order not found. I sent in everything and can't get a hold of them.If anybody has the number,please I would love to know it.

i been in touch with watchdog and consumer direct this morning and i went to currys today and the guy said sorry im afraid its nothing to do with us consumer direct "trading standards" is wrong on this so contact hp or modus link and sort it ya self which i felt was very shit i said to the man in shop so you were basically telling me lies when i was buying the laptop, he said no because the promotion wasn't out to do with them. and i am pissed coz i was assured id get vista if i bought earlier and now im having such a hard time about it.

Hi Chris

thought I ought to put this on here just in case people get the wrong impression.

As you now know! trading standards were not wrong!
and we now know that the retailers should be registering for their customers, As we now have the "proof" of this fact.

So please contact your trading standerds office and watchdog

all this mess with vista is actually making me feel unwell because no matter what we say to the retailers we cant just go in and take a copy of vista of shelve and walk out, wich if it isnt sorted soon ima go down and just bug manager till he gives in the tosser.

seriosuly p'ed off - I posted the first entry above...

I have checked on my order still no movement, i phone moduslink

00800 666 444 666

(its a bit arduos - go through as if you have to place an order)

eventually found out that they still have received my redemption form - I sent it in Novemeber...

funny thing is that in december my order said it was approved - now it says COA validated.

I have to fax my order/invocie and explanation to 0031 555433946.

I hope I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT 6 WEEKS! arrrgh

another thread on this if anyone is interested

http://forums.ebuyer.com/showthread.php?p=45513&posted=1

we are not alone.

I though by ordered in Novemeber I would have avoided this fiasco...

I am considering further action

I think people are missing the REAL reason why you not getten your upgrade disks!

If you look on your computer and see a sticker that says VISTA CAPABLE it means the oem manufactures are saying it WILL run vista!

I have been told that once you get your upgrade disk and install it the oem manufactures are responable for support on it!NOT MICROSOFT!(if anyone knows for sure if this is true please post it)It would explain alot about the delays!!!

So you see the manufactures stand to lose a ton of money from people who find out it doesnt run and DEMAND their money back for a product that they were told was COMPELETY capable of running Vista!

They didnt even have the RTM copy of Vista until NOVEMBER so how could they say for sure the drivers on the computers they were selling in OCT and on would run?

They would have told you anything to buy before xmas
so they didnt lose all that money in sales!

I bet the people who get their upgrade disks are the ones who they know for sure there isnt a problem with divers.Why else would Not send out disks on a first come basis.

Just my 2 cents!Im also from the USA

BTW I posted the same info on a dell site and a post saying that it was all manufactures not just dell and guess which post they displyed and which one didnt get posted!

I guess some people dont believe in free speach!!!

I've purchased an OEM copy with hardware - so as an System builder its down to me to support the system as per microsoft terms.

just had email from moduslink saying send pop off through email again and once vista is shipped they will debit me so i think its starting to go, what do your think

I applied for the upgrade sometime in November. No problems ordering until I received an email yesterday saying my order would be shipped within 4 weeks. It contained a link to check the order status so I put the number in and it now says "your order is no longer in our system!" Also, the link they provided to check the order is an HP branded link. I have an ACER! I emailed them and got some stupid generic response about contacting my PC manufacturer??? They are IDIOTS!

I have said this before but it looks like I will have to say it again!

If you are in the UK contact Consumers Direct.
it is clear that the retailers are sherking their responsibility's to register you for Vista, and also sold the PCs to their customers informing them that it was a "FREE upgrade which it isn't" this is contrary to the goods act 1974.

Please contact them it is to your advantage to do so!

Hello again, still not got into site, to give "my long awaiting detail's". Really this has got to a stage, where we are really being taken for a rid,YES! I am fed up with keep going all over the same palavour! and still not anywhere. I phoned "Which Magazine" who i do have their up date's. Said get intouch with Trading standards. so that is my next move, and i no what i will be told, as you all so have already stated, get involoved with the retailer's from who you purchased from? Well what this space! ??? Best of luck to you all. By the way im going to keep Tv on to see if there is anything about this, Shamble's. As one of the none upgrader's yet mentioned, about " What Dog " I shall be watching Honey!

just checking to see if youve received my receipt of purchase for my vista upgrade.however,i have sent it to a p.o. box no. and not to you on confirmation order no. 2809070.Sorry for this mistake,please help.

Hi Shane

Sorry don't understand why you sent proof of purchase here???

1/email a copy of your confirmation of order form from the moduslink site, also include a copy of your receipt that you got when you purchased your computer

2/on the email subject line
you MUST PUT "POP" and your "order number" email it to mstupvistana@moduslink.com

Unfortunately you will not get confirmation that Moduslink have received it !!!!!!! so keep a copy of the email you sent them so you can proof that you did send it to them.

Hope this helps you in this ridiculous situation regarding Vista.

Sorry
on the subject line you must put the following otherwise it will be rejected by Moduslink

UPGRADE REDEMPTION CENTER POP ORDER NUMBER **********

TRADING STANDERDS

REF: FREE UPGRADE

Trading standards have said that the use of the word FREE by the retailers who sold the PCs is a misrepresentation, therefore legal proceedings could and should be taken.

SO PLEASE KEEP ALL YOUR DOCUMENTATION REGARDING PAYMENTS FOR VISTA, and contact firstly consumas direct who will then pass your case to trading standards.

Ref:PC Compatibility for Vista.

If you have concerns that your PC is not compatible with Vista even though the manufacturers have said it is!

on the VISTA site you can download a checkout, that will check your system and tell you if all is OK for Vista

"Also, the link they provided to check the order is an HP branded link."

I received the same e-mail. I own a Sony... Anyway, I just proceeded to the usual place I check the order status (instead of following the link provided in e-mail) and everything works fine.

I was wondering has anyone who bought an OEM copy Windows get their upgrade redemption form accepted by email?

REF: THE RETAILERS

The more people that contact the retailer that sold them the PC with the free upgrade the better it will be "However don't expect them to say sorry we will do something right away as this will not happen as they would be admitting liability!!!!!

It will however put pressure on the retailers to put pressure on Moduslink to sort this complete fiasco out!

REF OEM

Please go to

http:channelregister.co.uk
for info

REF: Retailers

It has come to my notice that the retailers should have been doing the following when marketing PCs

VISTA IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE PC WHEN AVAILABLE.

As we all know this has not been the case.

MR ROBERT EPSTEIN is in charge of all UK marketing of Vista. so if you feel that the company that sold you your PC misrepresented the sale of the PC to you, FREE UPGRADE ?

Please email newswireles.net and they will pass your complaints to Mr Epstein.
I must add that Mr Epstein has criticised companies for their sales and wants to know the scale of the problem, NOW is your chance to let him know!!!

Here's something to think about !!!!

"customers who qualify for an Express Upgrade also qualify for OEM support for Windows Vista, even if their machines came with Windows XP. The last thing a Dell, Gateway, or HP wants to do is start sending out upgrades to customers who might have video cards that do not have particularly stable drivers yet (or sound cards, or RAID controllers, etc.). This could be a support disaster. So the delays appear to be driven, in part, by OEM efforts to essentially whitelist hardware components and configurations, which becomes a matter of testing."

anyone still being asked for POP send and fax and and email, I did both and received a reply today, its said
"Thank you for submitting your Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit CD/DVD OEM. Your validation is now complete and we will be processing your order. You should receive your order within 4-6 weeks and receive email confirmation when your order is shipped. At any time you may also go to https://upgradeweb.moduslink.com/vista/hp or email us at MSTUPVISTAEMEA@moduslink.com to check on your order.
If you do not receive your order within the time frame specified, please notify us prior to May 1, 2007 for English language versions of the product and June 1, 2007, for non-English language versions of the product so that we may investigate and ship your order. After those dates we may not be able to process your request."

I'll wait and see, my status has changed to POP/COA validated.

BTW The link above it wrong its for hp (as I am an OEM customer) - ORDER NOT FOUND - drop the hp on the end of the URL and its OK.

FIASCO!

just thought i would let you know that on my order it says order is approved check back in week for more details, sound lool

filled order form coa confirmed 10thfeb/coa validated12thfeb/sent proof of purchase and cheque £13-83 14thfeb /pop validated 16thfeb/great evevrything going smooth. on moduslink confirmation site pop/coa validated/ e-mailed to see how shipping date would be e-mail took 3weeks to answer said will take 4to6 weeks[ which has been ever validated] NOT MY ERROR in brackets DOES THIS MEAN THEY ARE VALIDATED OR NOT.decided to send all info by fax back to moduslink will wait and see glad I copied all info that I recieved from moduslink
bill

Here's a good read for you!

http://www.ctbarker.info/

Sorry! here's the correct page!

http://www.ctbarker.info/2007/02/moduslink-windows-vista-express-upgrade.html

well my rant was removed musta used a naughty word anyway i started the process in december sent pop on the 4thjan they validated it on the 23rd feb!!!! and today i get an email we have shipped your order on the 7th march and heres the best bit..... you will recieve you order within 3 weeks!!! its being sent from the netherlands not the moon we get things quicker from china on ebay, how can the legitimatly charge £12.90 shipping cost for a cd that takes 3 weeks!! ive paid that for next day before 1am delivery for a box full of LIVE MARINE FISH IN WATER which im sure is alot heavier than a cd!!! lets sue them for trade descriptions!!

On the last comment from ti

WATCH THIS SPACE.

I have said it before but I will say it again.

Contact Consumers Direct.

Also check out the price of the same PC you bought loded with Vista.

I would appreciate your comments!

Update 8/03/07: Microsoft has apologised for the delays customers have been experiencing over this fiasco.

In an interview with PCW Microsoft wouldn't say if Moduslink had done a good or bad job distributing Vista disks.

It is also happy about the fees retailers are charging for the 'free' upgrade.

Read more here:
http://www.pcw.co.uk/2185082

"Microsoft has apologised for the delays customers have been experiencing over this fiasco."

Microsoft could care lees about your problems! They stand to save a ton of money from all the people who gave up on getting the free upgrade!

Its 150.00 us for the upgrade and I heard its even more in the upgrade in the UK and im sure there where MILLIONS of computers sold during the offer! So you see we are talking aLOT of meony here!

And they wonder why people hate microsoft so much!!!

I cannot even get the Moduslink site to take my order. All I get is a message saying "Unable to validate COA". I have e-mailed Moduslink three times, phoned them 4 times (and my retailer has also phoned them); e-mailed Microsoft twice; e-mailed my notebook manufacturer (Acer who don't want to know)and am no nearer even placing an order never mind receiving a Vista disk. It's likely to end in the Small Claims Court at this rate!

I have been trying since 16/1/07 to register & obtain the upgrade and after many many phone calls, letters and e-mails, nearly all of which were ignored. I eventually got confirmation yesterday from Moduslink that I will get the disk hopefully in ANOTHER 4-6 WEEKS and to call them AGAIN if it isn't here by 1/5/07. So I am not holding out much hope quite honestly if what I have experianced so far is anything to go by. To see reply's like, "Due to an unexpected overwhelming demand" etc. Does not cut any ice with me at all...are they in the business or not ?

Hi! Today my status hanged to

Order Status: Order sent to Back office
Shipping Date: TBD. Check back in 2-3 weeks for more information
Carrier: Standard

Someone known what does it mean "Order sent to Back office"? I'm not English.

Thanks for A!

PAW

Im sorry to tell you this but ..

"Order sent to Back office"

means they found something wrong with your order!

CALL THEM and find out what the problem is!!

@mickey

I do nothing and today my order changed again:

Order Status: Order is approved

Steel don't have a date when my order will be send.

I rely don't known what they are doing, why they have so many problems, but only what I know is that I will not sent 3th time my COA/POP to them.

And HP should known that if I don't get my Vista I will never bout anything from them. Should buy a Mac.
Thank you.

hey well my order said order is approved and then got email saying vista had been shipped to me and the money has been debited from my bank account and now i went to order page and its gone back to saying waiting for pop, lol someones goin on orders there and changing status for a laugh it must be, though i do believe vista has started shipping to us now.

This whole thing is seems like a scam in order to keep Microsoft’s PC/laptop sales going prior to Vista’s release. I have tried for weeks to submit my COA, I have sent numerous emails to MODUSLINK with either no reply or the standard “Please try again in a few days time” email. Phones are not answered and we are left cursing the day we decided to purchase our PC/laptops. My next one will be an Apple Mac for sure and I’ll say good riddens to Microsoft.

Another UK person here with big problems.

My case is a bit different - I built a set of PCs for myself and friends/family. I bought the parts and XP back before Christmas.

Signed-up on the website a few days later (it was broken before then), and then posted the vouchers/receipts off to Amsterdam.

Since then, nothing. Moduslink ignore e-mails - I've sent several, the last few including scans of the receipts. Nothing. No reply. No update to my order. Zero.

I've tried phoning Moduslink Europe - but they don't have a help line. Well, they say they do: 00800 666 44 666 - but that number is just an answering machine that tells you to contact your system builder - a fat load of good that does me when I am the system builder - or e-mail moduslink (but I wouldn't be phoning unless I'd already discovered they don't seem to accept e-mails).

So, I've no idea what to do. My friends and family want vista - and I have no idea when I am going to get their Vistas, or indeed whether the order has even been accepted. Thankfully, everyone here is patient - otherwise, I'd be substantially out of pocket if I had to buy new copies of Vista as well.

Indeed, had I known that the updates would not be sent out until late March I wouldn't have signed up. However, the documentation on the original upgrade forms seemed to suggest that you would receive your update within 4-6 weeks of submitting your order, as long as that date was after the release date of vista. I certainly did not read that as saying 4-6 weeks after the release date. Anyway - there's no way they'll be able to fulfill the orders within the 6 week limit now.

shit this is! now my order is back to pop needed and after taking money from my bank account and receiving an email saying your vista has shipped and now they saying that they haven t shipped yet and have not debited my card so i hope this does come and that the person who reply s to my emails nos shit about my order, anyway this is totally rubish

I Had Been Waiting 4 3 weeks for my vista upgrade mail but I got to wait 1 or 2-3 more weeks until it shows up. Is it coming i'm very anxious.

Starting to feel I have been done Still waiting for my upgrade as my Guarentee slowly runs out on my new P.C
I feel like taking PC back to PC World for a refund as they are not keeping there side of the deal there has to be a time limit

Please read the interview with Robert Epstein the person in charge of marketing Vista in the UK.

Find this on Emil Larsen's comments on the 8th March.

I feel it was a very good interview and answered some of the questions we all wanted to ask Microsoft!

It did make it clear that Moduslink and the retailers are the ones that will gain from the payments made from the FREE UPGRADE.

Therefore when your retailer says to you We have nothing to do with the upgrade.

THEY VERY CLEARLY HAVE EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

Microsoft will receive no payments made by yourselves for the upgrade in the form of administration postage etc costs.

The retailers and Moduslink will however I suspect gain a considerable amount.
The other scenario could be that they are concerned that they are likely to lose a considerable amount,and what has been said before on the pcw site that there could be a stalling tactic going on so that lots of people are unable to claim their FREE UPGRADE, may indeed be the case.

Also remember when you purchased your PC you also paid for a now redundant XP system that the retailers and Microsoft would not have been stuck with. therefore you have already paid partly for your Vista upgrade, could it be that the payments you are making top this up so you are in fact paying for your Vista Upgrade. FREE UPGRADE is it????

I will leave that to you to ponder on.

I will be taking legal action on the grounds that FREE UPGRADE is a misrepresentation.

hey andy do you think i should send that currys letter i got from trading standards or wot i really am messed up here lol just like everyone else

Hi Chris

What have you got to lose!

But do stipulate that its the wording FREE UPGRADE that is your main grievance.

Yes I know the retailers have said you have to do all the hard work and try and register for vista, and yes I know they have said it has nothing to do with us, When it clearly has got something to do with them.

But legally from what I can understand it's the wording FREE UPGRADE that can be challenged, and with luck any other issues will come out in the wash so to speak!

PS. When you send the letter address it to the Managing Director of the company "GO to the top" also send it by recorded delivery it's about 60p.

In the letter say what your grievance is and what you expect them to do about it! eg refunds of monies and some form of compensation. an explanation why the retailer didn't register you for Vister.

Also give them a time scale for them to reply to your letter say 14 days.

However don't be too surprised if they don't reply, if this is the case just inform Trading Standards and they will take it from there.

Will Microsoft/Moduslink
extend the deadline for claiming your FREE UPGRADE due to the problems with registration, The cut off date is the 15th March

From what I can understand if you have sent your POP and your confirmation of order of to Moduslink and it is all correct to qualify for your FREE UPGRADE before the cut off date they have to honer this. So keep a copy of the email you sent them with your POP etc as proof that you did send it and that they did get it.

just thought id say money has gone for moduslink from bank and my vista has been shipped so moduslink say so ima just wait now and see what happens, anyone else received email confirming this yet.

Hi John J

Sorry My emails to you keep failing for some reason.
So Moduslink say it will be another 6-12 weeks before your Vista is shipped to you.
Not a lot I can say apart from did you know that Moduslink manufacture the Vista discs, so maybe they are all going on a long holiday as they have been working so hard!

Hi Andy

I have had an email on the 9th March saying vista has been shipped and I should receive in 3 weeks, (I think It must be coming from mars, they say if I have not received by 1st May to contat them, dont think they can count that is more like 2 months not 3 weeks.

Hi

well in a way you are one of the lucky ones. LOL
At least you have some form of delivery date.

Sounds like they are sending it on a slow boat from China, not the Netherlands.

I suspect they are hedging their bets that if they send out emails saying it's coming, it will stop people blocking their phone lines with complaints.

I wouldn't bet on that myself!!!!

Free upgrade? I got a pc from PC World,Its cost me £44.58. PC world said its the admin and shipping costs. Could of gone to Netherlands for that price and picked it up myself. Order confirmed by Email and validated tho i sent it pigeon post (cheque). Wonder if in 5 weeks time ill be pulling my hair out like evryone else. Just spent today setting up a new pc for my disabled brother complete with windows Vista installed. I should of waited 3 more weeks before buying my PC. Would of been easier and the same price lol. Good Luck everyone. Hope you all get sorted soon.

This is just an update. Moduslink have e-mailed, saying they have validated my proof of purchase.

Nice. That's 3 months since I sent it by post. And more than 2 weeks since I last sent a copy of it by e-mail.

No sign of my order shipping though.

Well folks!

I as some of you know I threatened to take PC World to court for the wording FREE UPGRADE as it clearly is a misrepresentation as it is not FREE.

I today received a full refund of payment made to Moduslink from PC World.

Now clearly this is a pay off to stop me taking this any further.

What do you think I should do?

1/ Take the money
2/ Take them to court and if they lose they would have to pay thousands if not millions back to the people that were taken in by the wording FREE UPGRADE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ????

Hi Folks
Well I have actually received my vista upgrade, but wish I had nver seen it, I am having big problems with it, I took my laptop to Currys who very kindly installed it form me, now I want to go back to my old xp, can anyone out there please tell me would I be able to run system recovery and go back to my old way, I am a novice and terrified of doing something wrong please can anyone help me I just want my xp back

Just for info

The Oxford English dictionary states the word
FREE-Without cost or payment

I think that's the definitive answer to the word FREE and can't be disputed legally.

they say that the money will only go from bank account when vista has been shipped so i think they have, so im just waiting now think it will be here dis week.

It's OFFICIAL

There should be NO CHARGE
FOR HANDLING AND SHIPPING.

As FREE must be FREE no charges are allowed to be charged by the retailers.

Confirmed by Trading Standards today.

So contact your Consumers Direct office and they will assist you on how to claim your money back..

HIP HIP HURRAY.

That will teach the retailers in the UK that they can't rip us off.

@ Andy

Could you post a link?

I live in the us but would like to read it

Thank You

REF : EXPRESS UPGRADE TO VISTA

I have Given HP/ModusLink an Ultimatame to Deliver the Vista DISKS or Face Legal Action.

I Have already Obtained the forms to set the wheels in motion against Hewlet Packard in the Small Claims Court.

If you Purchased your Computer because you were told you would get an Express upgrade to Vista and you have Complied with the Procedure set out by your Computer Manufacture.

You Can take Legal Action, as it is now 6 weeks after release of vista.

Grounds for Legal Action.

(1) Miss Sold - Vista O/S

(2) Not Fit For the Purpose intended - Vista O/S

(3) Faulse Advertising

I will Report back when i have had my day in Court against Hewlet Packard U.K

Hi Andrew W

Yes you are 100% correct.

I can't help feeling though that especially on the misrepresentation eg FREE UPGRADE, that the company's concerned MUST have known that this would be challenged, but thought it was worth it as the number of people who will bother to claim their money back will probably be negligible compared with the amount of money they will make!

All I can do is encourage everybody to put a claim in
to Consumers Direct.

As the company's themselves I suspect will not contact all the customers concerned to inform them that they are due a refund.

Mickey 1987

Sorry I can't do a link as it was confirmed verbally but I'm sure it will be plastered all over in a few week.

It is very simple they advertised it as a FREE UPGRADE.

I can only say how the UK law works and the word FREE means legally WITHOUT COST OR PAYMENT.

it doesnt matter if they put in small print some ware saying post and packing shipping payments to be paid.

If they have used the word FREE, legally they can't charge one penny or one cent.

As I said to the Managing Director of PC World if they had said, this PC comes with Vista included in the price " when it is released" legally this would have been OK but to use the word FREE was a misrepresentation and contrary to the sales of goods act in the UK.

Other companies have tried the same thing in the past and have been challenged in the courts and the definition of FREE in the Oxford English Dictionary has been used on every occasion FREE: WITHOUT COST OR PAYMENT therefore a president has been set, so no challenge to this would win.

Also if you go onto the website BEST BUY
you will see an official Microsoft advert for the FREE VISTA EXPRESS UPGRADE.

It clearly states NO SHIPPING FEES for windows Vista.
So I suspect some heads will roll at Microsoft's head office.

@Andy

Great Job!
Nice to see there's still some people who will FIGHT for what they paid for!!!

Too many people just give up!

The fact of the matter is if the public didnt buy those computers and had waited for vista too come out the manufactures and Micorsoft would have lost a ton om money.

They should be thanking us NOT hte other way around!!

It would be interesting to see how many people bother to contact Consumers Direct to put a claim in for a refund and possible compensation, from the retailers.

If you do PLEASE could you leave a YES message on here.

I have been told that all though their has been a huge volume of complaints regarding the FREE VISTA UPGRADE, they suspect that only a minimal amount of people will actually put in a claim.

It's the English apathy syndrome, I was told!

if this is the case this is just what the retailers would have discussed in their damage limitation meetings on whether to advertise the offer as FREE.

SO DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!!!!

If you do put a claim in. please put a YES i have on here, then we will have at least some idea of the numbers.

Thanks Andy

Hi Andy

I would like to put a claim in for Vista, I have received it, but it cost me £16.50, Please can you tell me how I go about it.
Thanks
S.Wilkes

Hi S wilkes

To claim your money back you will need to contact Consumers Direct.

Go to their website and you will see a drop-down list of areas of the UK click on your area eg south west etc

you will then see a page that you will need to fill in regarding what your complaint is.and what company you bought your computer from etc.

there is a box to explain what your complaint is!

you need to say that the retailer sold you a PC and the advertising said FREE UPGRADE to Vista, and this is a MISREPRESENTATION as you had to pay £16.50 for administration and shipping costs.

Consumers Direct will then contact you, usually by phone ask you a few questions just to clarify what you have stated on the website.

they will then ask you to write a letter to the retailer that sold you your PC.and send this to the Managing Director.

in the letter you MUST state the reason for requesting a refund and the reason is the wording FREE UPGRADE, as it is a MISREPRESENTATION as you had to pay £16.50

also state that the word FREE as defined by the oxford English Dictionary and also used by the courts to define the word FREE is WITHOUT COST OR PAYMENTS.

let me know how you get on

Do remember though that this will not be a quick fix, as legal processes never are!
But you will have put in your claim for a refund.

Sorry forgot to mention

On your letter also state that as the retailer you are solely responsible for all advertising in your stores and therefor the use of the word FREE is a misrepresentation and therefore a breach of the sales of goods act.

If you can keep the letter short and to the point with what your grievance is, FREE UPGRADE. and what you expect from them eg a refund of the £16.50

also at the bottom of your letter put.

Trading Standards
Case ref: and the number that Consumers Direct will give you.

If you can find out what the name is of the Managing Director, also it is important that you send the letter by registered post this will cost about 60p
this is your proof that you sent it, and they can't say they didn't get it.

or8 ppl im dead happy vista came dis mornin and got everythin up and running just got to get webcam workin, and now gonna dual boot with xp and all my developer software works os yea its gud stuf lol, hope u all get urs soon

Hi Chris

Glad you got your Vista

I know Five people that have got it and every one of them is having problems with it!

apparently it wont accept that they are the administrator, and wont let them save or change things.

Hope you don't have this problem!

hey andy cheers and is it when these people log off and shutdown are in windows it doesnt apply settings, at first it was not looking so good but once i did all required updates from hp disc and tht it was ok, now im just waiting on my security software, and even connects to my wireless network so im happy lol

oh and andy did u get ur copy yet??

Not yet but I got my money back, so i'm not too bothered.

their vistas keep saying you can't change this and that as you ARE NOT THE ADMINISTRATOR,
two of them took their PC back today and it looks like who ever loaded the PC as they were preloaded. did something? or not,and now you can't change the administrator.

whether this is a problem with Vista I don't know

Exhausted after reading all this,can someone summarise
Is it totally free inc p/p,
should pc world who sold it install it free.
I kept the leaflet with free on it when i purchased the computer.
It appears there are a lot of complaints.
Has anyone had any positive
answers from the companys that can resolve this.
Surely pc world etc should now step in and resolve this in store.

Hi Rocky

You would think so wouldn't you!

All I can say is that Trading Standards confirmed 100% that the retailers that sold PC,S and stated that the Vista upgrade was FREE, contravened the sales of goods act. when they charged for shipping etc.

Now it would appear that it is up to the customers to claim this money back at the moment, through Consumers Direct.

Why the retailers aren't doing it themselves I don't know.

I will contact Consumers Direct today to find out why!

I assume it is a legal requirement that each case must be challenged individually, Eg you are putting a claim in for a refund.

Also I expect it will take some time for Trading Standards to take legal proceedings against these company's.

I put mine in and got the refund after just one letter to the managing Director of PC World. with my case ref number on it from Trading Standards.

So clearly the retailers are aware that they are on a legal mine field at the moment. and if you think how much money they are likely to have to pay out it's not surprising that they are not advertising the fact that they have made a boob.

thanks for all that info. I have six PC's with a "free" upgrade of XP to Vista and Office2003 to Office 2007 - total shipping ~£150.(from D**l) - can anyone clarify - are we claiming a refund on the software already purchased, or pursuing a free DVD of vista / office?

I am aware that time is running out (31st March for mine) to obtain our "free" upgrades through the advertised channels.

Hi it should be the same if it was advertised as FREE, if you have already paid for it you should get your money back,

If you haven't paid yet as your Vista is still being processed by Moduslink, the same applies, as they have your banking details so they will debit your account for the amount stated on your order form.

This is what I did as I still have not had the money debited from my account, but I claimed it back anyway before they did.

I would speak to Consumers Direct and they will tell you what to do.

I must point out that from the first time I spoke to Consumers Direct they categorically stated that the wording Free and then a charge being asked for was a breach of the sales of goods act.

So legally the retailers have no way of getting the law changed or challenging it in court.

So all I can tell you is what Consumers Direct told me, and that is at the moment you have to put a claim in under the sales of goods act for a refund of your money.

About the vista administrator business.

On previous versions of windows - the default setup would be to make all users 'administrator'. This is basically what happened out of the box, and if you just chose the defaults while setting up.

On pretty much every other computer system on the planet, the default would be that users wouldn't be administrators - and would only log-in using the admin password when installing or configuring stuff. This is part of the reason why Windows has been plagued with viruses and spyware far more than any other system. As soon as anyone loads anything, that program has free reign.

In Vista this has changed - the standard is that user passwords are limited and cannot make certain changes or install new programs. Instead, you must log-in using the administrator password. In fact, even using the admin login, you have to frequently retype your password to confirm actions that could potentially compromise the system.

Vista telling the users they 'are not the administrator' is the correct behaviour. The computer retailer should have provided instructions regarding this, including the administrator username and password.

Hi Mark

that is very interesting even more so as PC world took the two PC back and gave them a refund.

saying they were faulty or corrupted.

remember this is PC world we are talking about give "them instructions" LOL

Hi Shane

thanks for the email

Sorry I have only just realised that you did leave a message on here on the 4th March, that I did reply too,

As I said in the email to you "that I hope you get"

from the attachment you sent me you have sent Moduslink your POP with the order number and the DOA written on it did Moduslink accept this?
as several other people have done the same, and it has been refused as the order form with the shipping and billing address and order confirmation, from the Moduslink site, has not been sent to them with the POP.

It maybe a good idea to give Moduslink a call to see if all is OK,

That is if you can get anybody to answer the phone!

Hi Olly

I Don't think I answered your question!

In theory yes you should be able to go to your retailer and collect your FREE Vista.

However until all the legal paraphernalia is sorted out " Which it will be"
You still have to put your claim in to Consumers Direct.

I think I need to make it clear what you are doing when you contact Consumers Direct.

You are letting them know that the retailer has contravened the sales of goods act, this is recorded and passed to trading standards.

You then write a letter to the Managing Director of your retailer stating this fact.

this is how you put your legal claim in for a refund.

It's the same for any product that you purchase from a shop. that is faulty it doesnt do what it was advertised as being able to do, Or the advertising is fraudulent or a misrepresentation'in other words the retailer has broken the purchase agreement with you.

you would ask for a refund, if this is not forth coming, you would contact Consumers Direct, who would confirm /or not. if you have a legal case against the retailer,
With Vista they HAVE CONFIRMED that there is a legal case as the retailer has contravened the sales of goods act.

I asked Moduslink why I am still waiting for my copy of Vista, which I applied for in January. According to their "express upgrade" web site it has already been shipped. I wanted to know what form of transport was being employed by them since my "shipped" order is between 6-8 weeks away.

Their terse reply?

"You should contact your carrier about the express delivery for your express upgrade. And maybe you should've read the terms and conditions a little better. I hope this is an express reply to your email asking about the express delivery for your express upgrade.

Express Regards,
The express Upgrade RedemptionSupport Centre."

Such professional customer service, don't you think?

I think we must have rattled their cage some what!!!!!

They will be even more rattled when they have to pay all the money back.

Mind you I suppose they will then have to take legal action against who ever it was that sanctioned the advertising.

Moduslink seem to be operating like a set of cowboys. Its over 5 weeks since I placed my order and paid for it by credit card also the same day I emailed proof of purchase. It has taken them this five weeks just to validate my proof of purchse and they now say it will be a further 4 to 6 weeks before I recieve my upgrade So ratherer than the 6 weeks as stated on there web pages it will be at least 11 to 13 weeks before I recieve mine but even at that im not holding my breath

Hi Andy, Thanks for your reply dated 22nd March regarding refund, I will now go ahead with your instructions.
Sorry for the dealy been away, only just seen your reply.
Many Thanks
S Wilkes

Hi S Wilkes

If you have any problems with the Consumers Direct website "As some people have" Contact your local office by phone.

Please let me know how you get on.

Contacted consumer direct last week and the london office phoned me back,they said I was the first caller they have had regarding this, and that they can do nothing ,unless I can prove what was advertised when purchased.
I cannot believe this and will phone them again and hopefully speak to someone else.
Will now write to pc world h/q with my ref no.
Thanks for everyones advice especially andy.
Hope it is worth all the hassle, as keep reading negative reports about vista.
People saying wait for the second issue,being new to all this,if I do finally get mine,will it be a simple download to upgrade to the second issue if released,the time this free upgrade is taking the disc may be outdated.My pop has not been accepted yet.
Can you tell if they have received it when sent by e mail.
If there is lots of problems with vista are they things a novice can sort out.
Has any one yet received there copy and been impressed with it.

SORRY.
Just checked POP now authorised and coa,NO shipping date yet.
Proof life still exists on planet moduslink.

That is very interesting Rocky.

I suspect the problem is that Consumers Direct appear not to communicate with other districts.

Are they saying that as you haven't got a copy of the advert personally, they will not follow it up?

This is very strange ?????

I will see if I can send you a copy.

Hi again Rocky

I see from a message you left a few weeks ago that you say you have a copy of a leaflet with the wording free on it! this is all you need, if this is what they are saying too you.

I do find this very strange.

Please note the wording FREE UPGRADE has been removed from all advertising for the Vista express upgrade.

This includes all PC Worlds advertising.

If anyone has a copy of the old advert if possible please could you Email it to me.

Hi andy
Unfortunately mislayed leaflet at present, it is stated on the green folder,anyone purchasing at pc world at the time,buyers receipt would have been put inside, before they collect from security.
There are still a few original reports of ads from
certain mags,from last year found when I searched
"pc world free vista upgrade".
some say free, others p/p charge.
I also have a question and answer sheet from pc world obtained last week, stating free but pay shipping and handling,(only if pc over certain price)
This has DSGi on it so must be from head office.
I can scan this but do not know how to publish it.
Think problem with cons/direct was just the operater,they will help but need more info.

Hi Rocky

It is very clear that Trading Standards have indeed had contact with the retailers as the word FREE has now been removed from the
advertising.
The adverts are exactly the same except it now says Vista express upgrade and they have omitted the FREE

I must say I'm a bit confused as Trading Standards informed me that all was in hand!

If you can keep as much past info as you can find,
There are a lot of sites including PCW that have info and the wording VISTA FREE UPGRADE, so use this if you have any problems again with Consumers Direct.

the info on the Free upgrade only if a PC is over a certain price is VERY INTERESTING.

I would say you have enough proof for Consumers Direct

What I find hard to understand is that when you contact Consumers Direct they pass the info you give them to Trading Standards!

I assume that London has several consumers Direct area offices in London and your area had no record of complaints regarding Vista

anyway give them a call again with any info you have.

I had no problems and they categorically said it was a breach of the sales of goods act.

Please keep me posted

Thanks Andy

The pc world offer, on when I brought in december, was for toshiba laptops.
over £399 free upgrade,no mention of p/p.
Under£399 half price +p/p.
That I remember reading may not be same for others.
sorry to mislead you.

I have had money taken from my account on the 12th of March for shipping but have not received my upgrade. I have spoken with Moduslink on two different occasions and each time they gave me a different story. They also gave me SPRINGs telephone number in the UK (+440845 6080 888), who they say are dealing with the problem! They claim to have nothing to do with the situation?

Hi Nigel

Springs WHO.

Are they a UK delivery company?

Hi Nigel

SPRINGS WHO ?

Are they a UK delivery company?

Hi Rocky

That is very interesting it looks like PC WORLD and other retailers used the FREE upgrade advertisement in some stores for all PCs when they should have been using this advert just for specific models.

sounds to me like they deliberately misled/ missrepresented what the offer was.

I will check this out.

Thanks Andy

Have checked this out and no the Vista Free upgrade was for the majority of makes and models as far as I can find out.

What is interesting though and I have only just noticed it, Is in the letter I received from Mr Keith Jones the Managing Director of PC World.

He confirmed that the Vista upgrade promotion is organised by the hardware manufacturers and the software vendor.

He omitted the word FREE in this letter, he was at this time aware that Trading Standards had taken the case on.

I've been waiting three months, Moduslink have tried to charge me, they've asked for all documentation twice and they haven't responded to any of my correspondence.

I feel a class action case is called for here.

Hi Graham.

yes I agree with you! however the main issue at the moment is that most people are complaining about Moduslink " quite rightly too"

But like all consumer complaints your first port of call should be the company that you purchased your PC from, As the retailer they are the ones that you signed on the dotted line for and payed your money too.

Therefore they are 100% responsible for any breach in your purchase agreement. NOT MODUSLINK

I have done this scenario before but I will do it again.

You bye a PC they say it comes with an Office 2007 disk. you get home only to find that the disc is not with it.

you go back and tell them and they say sorry it's nothing to do with us! you will have to order it on line. WOULD YOU ACCEPT THIS.

Yes Moduslink have made a right mess of the Vista express registration.

However you have no purchase agreement with them. YOU HAVE WITH YOUR RETAILER.

I personally after complaining received a full refund of monies payed for the "FREE" upgrade, I still however have not received my Vista.
I Was informed by trading Standards that if I do not receive it I have grounds to take the retailer not Moduslink to the small claims court for compensation on the grounds of breach of contract.

hi andy sorry have not been in touch i have been in contact with trading standards in belfast they called into pc world store spoke to the manager the trading standards guy asked for an old poster advertisment that they had for frr vista upgrade of course they do not have them now but the funny thin is the manager said there was small print on the bill board concerning price of delivery and time limit which is total lies as i did not see any.so still waiting trading standards are going to get back to me but no looking good as they need to prove this is what pc world where offering.
john

I ordered my 'free' copy of Vista back in December after several failed attempts on the Moduslink site. Finally, I received confirmation from Moduslink that my oder was being processed and I would receive my DVD within 6 weeks. After 6 weeks and no DVD I emailed Moduslink only to be told that my order had been cancelled and they didn't know why and could do nothing to reinstate my order. I was told that I would have to reorder through their website. I promptly did this only to find that I could no longer order the 64 bit version. Not only this but Moduslink are now telling me that I must resend my POP as this is a completely new order. What a farce! I don't expect to ever see my copy of Vista.

Hi John

This is getting ridiculous Trading Standards made it clear to me that it didn't matter if they had put In VERY LARGE LETTERS that a charge was due, if they had used the word FREE that is what it must be.

also what is interesting is that they have now removed the word free from all the adverts, so they are clearly aware of the present issues with the Free upgrade advertisements.

Could you not show Trading Standards some of the issues on here so that they could see the amounts of people involved!

I will try and find an old advert and send it to you.

Thinks are much clearer now!

What should have happened with the advertising for Vista was the following.

the FREE UPGRADE should have just been used for PC over £399

this was not the case with PC World and some other retailers.

they used the FREE UPGRADE advertisements for ALL PC.

therefore not only have they been misrepresenting that the upgrade is free to customers who purchased PC under this price, they have also been charging customers who purchased PC at this price and over.

So clearly every customer has a claim against the retailers for misrepresentation's FREE UPGRADE

Please note the following.

PC purchased over £399 FREE UPGRADE.

If you have been charged and I'm sure you all have! you are entitled to a refund.

PC purchased under £399 and the advertising said FREE UPGRADE, this was a misrepresentation and you should contact Consumers Direct. as it was not free.

Hopefully this is the final explanation of the issue with the FREE VISTA UPGRADE

I will be passing all this information to Trading Standards, and I can know see why they have been confused by what has been going on.

The retailers have been on a good money maker charging people for what should have been a free upgrade for some people.
and misrepresenting what the cost would be to others by using the wording FREE UPGRADE.

IT'S TOTAL DISGRACE!

No wonder Moduslink got overwhelmed by people at least half of them shouldn't have even had to register,as I expect they could have just picked it up from their local store.

If you have been charged and you did pay over £399 and I was one of them!!!!!!

please let me know.

Thanks Andy

DISGRACE:

The whole thing is a disgrace -- not only was Microsoft delayed in getting vista out but then they gave customers in canada barely 2 mons to order the upgrade -- in my case I was waiting to hear from Dell (equally bad with customer service) and then I was told that I missed the deadline.
That included my deadline to updagrade to 2007 office professional.

I paid a lot for the software considering that it was already late Dec and 2003 is an older product. I was told no problem -- upgrade is free and that when vista is out you can order it. Unfortunately I did not realize I only had 2 mons and now no one will help me.

ITS A SCAM SO THAT PEOPLE WOULD MISS THE DEADLINE AND MICROSOFT WOULD MAKE MORE MONEY BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TO NOW PAY FOR THE UPGRADES.
DELL IS PASSING THE BUCK TO MODUSLINK WHO IS PASSING THE BUCK TO MICROSOFT WHO IS PASSING THE BUCK BACK.

Recieved e mail from pc world this week,regarding my £399 toshiba laptop.
IT stated
The vista upgrade is FREE,
shipping charges are CHARGEABLE,
installation is CHARGEABLE.
Confirmed by e mail with pc world logo header.
I paid £16.53,no disc yet.
They gave no details how to claim back the OTHER £13 as the shipping was only £3
This was my case,may not be same for others.

Hi Rocky

Is there any chance that you could email me the letter.

As this would be very useful for several other people in the same position as you.

Thanks Andy

Hi Tony.

I think a lot of the orders that have been spontaneously cancelled are those where the 'bitness' of the upgrade doesn't match that of the original XP.

Due to ineptitude, they allowed people to order 64-bit upgrades for 32-bit XPs and vice-versa. Part of the problem is that vista upgrades cannot be 'clean installed' they can only be installed on top of Windows XP - but you can't install a 64 bit OS on top of a 32 bit one, when upgrading the 'bitness' has to match, otherwise a 'clean install' is needed.

Moduslink have excelled themselves in the handling of this error. Rather than inform customers, or even their staff, it appears they have just been cancelling orders - sometimes without even informing the customer, and its only by serendipity that they notice their order has been cancelled on the website. You then have frustrated customers calling support staff who had no idea of this issue.

This has now been fixed, and you can only order a matching upgrade. However, moduslink's computer system isn't advanced enough to change an order - and so, through no fault of your own, you have to go through the whole process again. Nice.

After my earlier post (above, 27 March) my copy of Vista has finally arrived. They emailed me on 12th to say it had been shipped, took £16.09 off my credit card and the 2 disks arrived in a jiffy bag last Thursday (29th). Incidentally, my "invoice" said the charge for the CDs was £13, so they had added over £3 for p&p - the jiffy bag contained a leaflet, two disks in paper envelopes, and was franked 2nd class post (which can't have cost more than a few pennies). I contacted PC World customer service vua email and was told to call them and they would refund me the £13 (but not postage).

The newspaper advert that prompted me to by my PC before Vista's release simply said "Vista upgrade INCLUDED" (rather then "free"). Nothing about paying anything for it, not even postage.

Oh, and after the long wait, I was keen to install Vista ASAP to see what all the fuss was about. If it's any cosolation to those of you still waiting - you're not missing out on much. Bring back XP, all is forgiven (well, almost all). Vista really doesn't lve up to its promises - but I guess that's a whole different story.

Andy
where do I email it to,as I dont want to jeopardise my claim, till I sort out my refund and get my disc,hopefully installed,free.
Unfortunately STILL trying to find my original "free offer leaflet"

Hi all

Please note.any FREE offer postage and packing shipping can be charged, but not anything else!

Therefore shipping/ postage is about £3.00 anything else that you have been charged should be refunded.

Your first port of call for the refund is contact your retailers head office by email or in person.

Trading Standards have got the ball rolling and refunds should now start coming through.you will however have to claim it back yourself.

"FREE MUST BE FREE", as it has been said before FREE means legally WITHOUT COST OR PAYMENT,

I do not expect a legal challenge from the retailers as they would be aware that this has been challenged in court before and they have lost and have had to pay legal costs and compensation.
therefore it is cheaper for them to settle out of court.

the Vista discs however is a separate issue if you do not receive them you are still legally entitled to take action against the retailers, but I suspect they will move heaven and earth to ensure you do get them now " they should have done this in the beginning.

If it was an email you got just click on my name and you should get a an outlook express email page come up and you can just forward it to me.

if you want your refund just ask for it from your retailers head office.

you should only be charged for the postage they must refund the rest.

Thanks for all your info it has been very useful.

Andy

I'll join the complaints about Modus. 27/2 I sent of my cheque for my upgrade, this deducted from my bank 30/3 and on the same day I got an e-mail saying there was a problem with the cheque despite it being cashed and I should pay in to a different account number. 5/4 I got another e-mail saying they had sent me the wrong account number. I have tried contacting them by e-mail and phone to find out what is happening but no reply, hopefully becasue it is easter

I do not have a complaint about modulus as I could not register for the free upgrade; I purchased a laptop from a UK internet company at christmas and their advert stated that it would come with a free vista upgrade when it became available. Later I was to find out that the manufacturer of the laptop were not including the model of laptop I purchased in the free upgrade program and consequently the Internet company are now just saying "sorry we can not help you".

This is just another supplier who advertised a free upgrade for all of the computers they were selling and not just the computers that were eligible.

I am currently seeking legal advice on misrepresentation by the UK internet company and it may result in having to take out a small claims case in the county court to recover the costs to buy a vista upgrade elsewhere.

Hi Rocky

Thanks for the info!

all I can say Is I sent a letter virtually the same as yours to the Managing Director of PC world and I received a full refund including post and shipping.

I assume you are going through Trading Standards to do this as having their case reference number on the bottom of the letter gives it a lot of clout.

I will not use any of the letter apart from the answer PC World gave you regarding the upgrade is FREE.

Just for info the name and address of the Managing Director of PC World is

MR KEITH JONES
2 NUNNERY SQUARE
THE PARKWAY
SHEFFIELD
S2 5DD

If you send him a letter send it by registered post it's about 60p, if you don't he will not get it personally and will be answered by a secretary.

in the letter you must say that the wording FREE UPGRADE and then charges being asked for contravenes the sales of goods act.

Once again thanks for the info this will assist numerous other people

Andy

Hi Andy

if you require any assistance "if I can help" please don't hesitate to contact me

Kind Regards
Andy

Please note

we know have confirmation from PC world that the upgrade is FREE the only charge is for shipping.

If you look at your Moduslink order form you will see.

UNIT PRICE £?
SHIPPING £?
TAX £?
TOTAL £?

The only legal charge for an advertised FREE product is postage/shipping.

In most cases the shipping is approximately £3.00 for the Vista.

All other charges are contravening the sales of goods act.
especially the UNIT price, this clearly contravenes the sales of goods act, a charge for a FREE product.

PC World and other retailers very clearly misrepresented the FREE upgrade.
I suspect and in fact it already appears to be happening, is that they are implying that they were not aware that other charges were being charged.

WHO IS KIDDING WHO!!!

Right that is it!
what you do know is up to you.

PS

To all of you who don't think you should pay anything as the adverts stated FREE and there was no small print on it saying you would have to pay anything!

And we all saw them!!!!!

You try finding one they have all disappeared without trace.

I wonder why!!!!!

A big thank you to all the people that gave information regarding the Vista rip off on here and to me personally.

It has been like a giant jigsaw puzzle with bits missing, you have helped find all the bits so we now know what has been going on and what to do about it!

Just give Trading Standards a call tell them it was a FREE upgrade and show them the word UNIT PRICE on your Moduslink order form, and they will be down on your retailer like a ton of bricks.

Thanks Andy

Just in case they have just put shipping and handling charge.

the charges must be broken up.

PRODUCT NAME: WHAT EVER IT IS

QUANTITY: 1

UNIT PRICE: £10.99

TAX PRICE: £1.92

FINAL PRICE:£12.91

UNDERNEATH THIS

SHIPPING £2.71
TAX £2.40

TOTAL £16.10

obviously the charges will be different depending on what product you have.

if they haven't done this Trading Standards will ask them to do it.

also if anyone wants a copy of the order form with the charges laid out as above, Please let me know and I will email one to you.

Apparently
FIRST POP/COA IS APPROVED, your coa/pop both get approved, this checks you qualify for the offer,and your hardware is vista capable.
Dependent on what XP you have determines what vista is reccomended, and affects how you need to install it.
Also determines the price
THEN changes to ORDER IS APPROVED.
After this when you get an AWB number and a carrier, if you google search
"AWB tracking"
you will be able to track your order using your AWB number on the relevant website for your shipping company.
If anyone has an AWB number can they try this and post the result.
r

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the info re 64 bit and 32 bit. The initial error was mine as I thought that having a 64 bit processor meant that my operating system required the 64 bit Vista upgrade. In my frustration at having to go through the entire ordering process again I contacted Mesh, my computer reseller but they informed me that any problems obtaining the Vista upgrade were nothing to do with them and I had to deal directly with Moduslink or Mirosoft. I tried to argue to the contrary but Mesh insist that the offer of the free upgrade did not constitute any kind of contract on their part. I finally managed to contact Moduslink by telephone and am now at the stage where I am waiting for my second copy of POP to reach them by land mail (the original is too faint to scan). I'll let you know if I receive my upgrade but if not then Mesh will certainly not be offering any assistance.

It doesnt surprise me!

Even though you paid your money too them!

And you have your POP from them!

And you purchased it from them because they advertised it as having a free upgrade.

Also that you only have to pay the shipping costs as that is the only thing that can be charged for on a free item.

OK it has taken me months to work out what was going on.

They tried to cover up the extra charges that the sales of goods act stipulates can't be charged for, The item you are getting as it's FREE.

what they have been doing is on your order form they have been putting the shipping price as the only cost,
Yes everybody thought that's a lot for postage and shipping for a small item. but it kept them within the law.

I have found however an order form for Vista that they obviously forgot to change.

As it clearly states UNIT PRICE £10.99 TAX £1.92 SHIPPING £2.71 TAX FOR SHIPPING £2.40

TOTAL £16.10

The wording UNIT PRICE is the price they are charging you for the Vista,

FREE I DON'T THINK SO

The price you should have been charged is £2.71 for the shipping I have left out the £2.40 tax for shipping as god knows what that's for!

Yes it's not a lot of money but that's not the point!!!!

it's very clear that the advertising was a misrepresentation or putting it strongly a Freud

I will of course be sending the proof to Trading Standards.

Maybe were all going to different websites.
My invoice is on the screen each time you check the order.
It clearly shows
unit price £11.36
tax £1.99 (this is for the unit).
FINAL PRICE £13.35

shipping £2.71

shipping tax and duty £2.46
However
(this is NOT added on only 47p is, this is because it already includes the £1.99 unit tax added on previously)

finally
TOTAL PRICE £16.53
----------------------------

If you were told the unit is free
then UNIT PRICE +
UNIT TAX =
FINAL PRICE
this is what we are owed.
£11.36 + £1.99
----------------------------
SHIPPING +
SHIPPING TAX AND DUTY
MINUS UNIT TAX =
This apparently is
NOT refundable

£2.71 + (£2.46 -£1.99)
or £2.71 +47 pence.

Please note
figures may vary for each case!
--------------------------- -

Yes you are right RR

I forgot to mention their would be a variation of costs dependent on what Vista you are having.

and the shipping costs are likely to be different.

However the wording UNIT PRICE is the key and the written proof that there is indeed a fraudulent deception by the companys concerned.

Thank you so much RR for confirming this.

unfortunately all of the peoples invoices that I have spoke to just had the shipping price on it with O in all of the other charges the total charge however came to the same amount or close to it!

I have confirmation from PC world in writing that the only charge for the FREE upgrade is a shipping charge!!!!!

NOT CORRECT AND THEY KNOW IT.

If you take the amount of money customers have been charged and multiply it thousands of times this is a vast amount of money fraudulently gained.

Once again A BIG THANK YOU RR it has taken me months to work out what was going on and then when I thought I had got it, I couldn't get confirmation from other people, as only the shipping cost was on there invoice!

Well Folks it's over too you

Don't try and challenge your retailer on your own get professional help, they know what they are doing.
and it wont cost you anything apart from a phone call.

If you need any info just leave a message on here.

Andy

worn out blinding headache, but now happy.

forgot to mention that the charge will also vary depending on who your computer manufacturer is.

This still doesnt change the fact that you should still only be paying the shipping payment.

And remember legally they can't charge you a penny or a cent more than that!

My Windows Vista arrived on April 7

How to claim your money back.

I have had some emails asking this question.

As it is not a huge amount of money you will have to register a claim to the small claims court.

However if you just write to the managing director of your retailer stating you are going to do this and why!

I think you will find that they will pay up straight away as it will be cheaper for them to do this rather than go to court.

The last thing the retailers want is for the case to get to court as this would set a precedent and would open the flood gates for compensation claims.

So get in there now.

Its just one letter and if you get a case reference number from Trading Standards that you can put on your letter this will give it a lot of clout.

Good luck.

Andy

my vista upgrade arrived after 1 and a half months of stalling, however it was easy to upgrade and vista seems better even tho its not much of a change, gonna try claiming postage fees back now.

Just a reminder,

It's the UNIT PRICE + TAX that you should be claiming back.

The shipping cost is all you should be paying.

please look at RR breakdown of the costs. and what you can claim back, but remember the UNIT cost and tax will not be the same for every one.

if you are lucky your moduslink order on the website will have the unit cost and tax on it.

If not and it just states shipping cost.and then the total you will need to breakdown the cost yourself the shipping is approx £3.00

I bought my HP notebook mid Jan when i was advised it would take 2 - 3 weeks to receive the upgrade to Vista. I submitted everything immediately and modus link advised everything was in place and just a matter of waiting for shipping - that was 7th Feb - today is the 18th April and the status is still the same - HP are not interested - neither are modus link - I will be seeking legal advice shortly

Hi Andrew

contact Consumers Direct.

They will advise you on what action to take.

This usually entails writing a letter to the managing Director of the company you purchased your equipment from, with your Trading Standards reference/case number on it as this gives it some legal clout.

The only problem you might have is that Moduslink and H.P are one and the same.

Ref: Time taken to deliver Vista.

I have been in consultation with Trading Standards regarding this point over the last month.

The main problem appears to be that legally there is no "set time scale " before you can say right your times up ,I'm now going to take legal action.

In theory yes you could after the time scale stipulated on the advertising for Vista 4 to 6 weeks but all the company's would do is offer you your money back, or in Moduslinks case they will say we will cancel your order.

So really this action would be counter productive if you want your Vista.

So I hate to say it but you will just have to Wait.

Ilogged onto Moduslink redemption website at the beginning of March, followed their instructions and paid the handling charges of £14.14 with my switch card so they would allocate a Confirmation of Order Number. On 3rd March I received an e-mail from Moduslink giving me an Order number but also asking me to send them proof of purchase to their address in the Netherlands which I did.On 12th March I received an e-mail from them verifying that they had received my proof of purchase document and my validation was now complete and I should be receiving the Vista Upgrade within 4-6 weeks. On March 30th @ 19.10hrs I received an e-mail from them telling me that they were unable to process my order because they were awaiting payment from my bank?? and could I arrange a bank transfer to their bank in London,with my confirmation order number on the transfer, and if I failed to do this within 10 days my order would be cacelled. I had to wait until Monday to contact my bank to find out if the original transaction had gone through, my bank said that my latest statement was in the post, it arrived on Tues 3rd April, I checked and the payment had not gone through. I e-mailed Moduslink to ask them to verify the amount and confirm my order number before I transfered the funds (no reply)On 4th April I e-mailed them again, and told them I would transfer the funds on Thurs 5th April using the info I had (no reply) I travelled to my bank on Thurs 5th April showed the e-mail I had from Moduslink to the bank assistant, she told me that the sort code was wrong, she went to get advice from a colleage, came back and asked me if Moduslink would accept some other form of payment , perhaps a cheque? as it would cost £23.00 to transfer the £14.14 to the Moduslink account, I did not transfer the £14.14 as I can ill afford the bank charges. I came home and sent Moduslink e-mails asking if I could pay by another means excluding a Bank Transfer (no reply to 3 e-mails not even a Read Receipt, which I requested on two of them). I logged back onto their Windows Vista Redemption website and tried to pay again with my switch card, it would not verify my COA number, I e-mailed them again to tell them that I had again tried to pay on their website but had failed,and asking if they would extend the period of 10 days they had given me before they cancelled my order so as to sort out a method of payment suitable for us both (no reply).I have come to the conclusion that taking the date and time of the last e-mail they sent me, the weekend before Easter week, and not being able to check my bank statement before Tues 3rd April, I had 2-3 days before the deadline of 10 days they gave me was up, it was mission impossible. To this date I have not received any reply from the 13 e-mails I have sent them,and feel that their tactics were deliberately orchestrated to foil my attempt to redeem my Free???Windows Vista Upgrade. After contacting Trading Standards they have told me I have to write a legal letter to the company I bought my Acer laptop from (I e-mailed Acer, they told me it was out of their hands and pointed me in the direction of Microsoft and Moduslink) My son is 15yrs old and is profoundly disabled, he needs 24hr care and I have enough stress in my life without companies like Moduslink making it more stressful, I feel that I will put this down to experience and take 'with a pinch of salt' any promotions that Microsoft, Acer and any other companies that deal with Moduslink have in the future. I hope that Microsoft etc. will realise how much of a public relations disaster this has been.
Regards
J.Payne
J.Payne

If any one purchased a laptop/upmc from Laptops Direct (easy computers) with the offer of a free vista upgrade only to find that the model of laptop/upmc is not covered by the manufacturers vista upgrade policy please send me details of your experience of your dealings with Laptop Direct. Thanks

Andy

Update from 17/04/07.
I sent a letter on the 18/04/07 to the company I bought my daughters laptop from (EasyComputers)as instructed by Trading Standards, requesting them to reply to the letter within 7 days.EasyComputers had the courtesy to ring me today (24/04/07) to find out what my problems had been. They called ModusLink then called me back to give me the ModusLink tel no:-008006664466 and told me that I should be able to pay by giving my bank details over the phone, I got through to ModusLink and once again explained my position, the chap I spoke to ( he said his name was Bob Williams)said that I could not pay over the phone but the info on their computer was that I had received the upgrade, but a mistake had obviously been made,he gave me the right bank sort code number and asked me to make a bank transfer, I refused and told him why, it would cost me £23.00p in bank charges, he then said that I could pay by cheque and gave me the same address in The Netherlands that I sent my proof of purchase to. I am going to post the cheque for £14.14 handling charges to ModusLink tomorrow, I hope that this time they wont let me down. I will inform you to what happens next.
Regards
J.Payne

Hi John P

It's amazing isn't it how letter's to company's when Trading Standards are involved get answered so swiftly.

I hope all goes well.

Andy

Just some info:

I have already been informed by some people that PC World have asked them to go down to their local store and pickup their Vista at no charge.

So to those of you that have not contacted Trading Standards " Give them a call"

Andy

Another update: I've just had my order cancelled.

Moduslink had waited so long to process my order that my credit card had expired in the meantime (4 months after I ordered).

They've offered me a 'last chance' period when I can reorder. But to reorder I need the serial number from the upgrade vouchers - the same vouchers that I had sent in the post to moduslink. While I had kept a copy, I think I must have thrown the copies away after my order had been approved.

Without the vouchers I can't reorder. Even phoning moduslink doesn't help. 'Is there a way I can reorder without my vouchers?' 'No' 'Can you tell me the voucher numbers I used for my original order?' 'No' 'What can I do then?' 'You could try asking your software vendor if they have any spare vouchers'

Yeah. Great advice there. Bloody imbeciles.

Vista shipped Apr 18th

Arrived essex May 4th

Appears to have gone to a mailing adress first, run by 'spring'
location Greenford post code UB18 (NEAR UXBRIDGE MIDDLESEX) before being posted from there by Royal mail.

MODUSLINK actually did ship my "express upgrade" -- albeit not until March 29th. Then they STONEWALLED me on providing any shipping/tracking info. Yesterday I learned that they totally screwed up my address, and the package was returned as "undeliverable" a month ago. My requests (via telephone & email) for them to re-send it have run up against the infamous MODUSLINK STONEWALL.

...And of course Gateway and Microsoft deny any responsibility. Let's see if the courts agree.

By the way -- to put Microsoft, et al in perspective -- I ordered i'Life '06 for my Macintosh Powerbook last week from Apple.com. It arrived less than 48 hours later ... Free shipping ... and I got an educational discount.
Mac versus PC? Seems like an no-brainer now.

I DID ALL THEY WANTED FROM 29TH JAN 2007 BUT FROM MODUS LINK JUST CANCELLED USING ME AS A EXCUSE, PC WORLD DONT WANT TO KNOW, HP DONT WANT TO KNOW MICRSOFT DONT WANT TO KNOW LETS UNITE A SUE THE SON OF BITCHES

Update from 24/04/07 J.Payne.

Hi All
At Last!
I have just received my FREE??? Express Upgrade to Windows Vista DVD and Acer Upgrade DVD today! from ModusLink Hungary.
I am debating whether or not to go down the route of putting in a claim for a refund of the £14.14 that I was charged for the FREE??? upgrade that was advertised by Acer. Any comments?

Regards
J.Payne

I have a "friend" that works at Moduslink and he claims many of the issues that they had was with the OEM's and not Microsoft. Many of the OEM's did not even "approve" shipments for "their" customers until March! I would not count out that Moduslink has some fault but in my opinion Microsoft is using them as a 'scape goats and will not blame OEM's for the lack of support and responsibility to provide the consumer with accurate details on how the program worked.Best Buy? They are a joke with their "Rebate" (<-not even accurate its a "Free Upgrade" not a Rebate) forms they handed out to customers here in the states.Many customers were even upset that they had to pay shipping and handling charges for something the retailer told them was suppose to be "free".My "friend" says they did not even tell customers they need to go on Moduslink's website to place the order instead of mailing in their "rebates" telling some customers that they didn't have to do anything, mis-informing the customer so the salesmen gets the sale and using the "Free Vista Upgrade" as a incentive to buy before Vista was released! I think it's a outrage that the upgrade was not sent on time but don't blame the messenger before you look to see who really is behind the pulling the strings on the, what my "friend" calls, "Dude Where's My Vista" conspiracy....my 2 cents....

Wow. My vistas have finally shipped.

I find it rather curious that moduslink are blaming the OEMs for the delay - while it may be the case that the OEMs are partially responsible, I cannot belive that the 'rate-limiting step' is not moduslink.

I, and several of my friends, are amateur system builders - we bought generic MS OEM XP software, which is being upgraded to generic OEM vista. Despite there being no OEM in the loop (the discs we get are the same as those that MS sells), we have faced exactly the same delays.

No one got any discs until April. Some people, like me have ended up waiting even longer due to moduslink's sheer ineptitude (you'd think there'd be some way to change payment options after an order has been delayed 4 months - no. You have to reorder and go straight to the back of the queue).

OK, so moduslink were overworked. However, moduslink specifically advertise themselves as experts in prediciting and managing demand, and sell consultancy and supply services to companies who experience surges in demand for their products. You'd think that a company whose business is managing spikes in demand would have a clue how to manage high demand.

I sent my vista upgrade voucher off with all the necessary paperwork as instructed in January. In April I received a mail from Moduslink saying that my payment had been declined (my credit card number had been changed).

Instead of allowing me to submit my new number which would have been simple and logical, they gave instructions to do a wire transfer (when I enquired at my bank they said it would cost £20 on top of the £10.06 postage... so naturally I declined that method). I tried to do an online transfer but the sort code supplied was non-standard even though they claimed it was a UK branch.

Eventually they replied to my mail with the correct sort-code and I did the transfer. This was deducted from my account in April and a week or so later I got a mail confirming that the payment was accepted and my upgrade DVD was to be shipped "in 5-6 weeks". Then a week later I received another mail saying my order was cancelled due to no payment received!!!!

I replied pointing out the confirmation mail the week before but just got the same bland reply back saying that the order was cancelled, you'll have to do it again.

I didn't mention about the calls to the (misnamed) help-line. I called them when I first got the cancellation mail back in March but they said that those mails had all been sent in error and to ignore them and wait.

Later when I got the contradictory mails and the 'wire transfer' demand, they patronisingly told me that my bank was wrong and a wire transfer was free.

I called them again today and explained that my order was cancelled (for the reasons stated, not my fault and that payment had actually been confirmed) and the guy just laughed at me saying well they "have" to cancel the order in order for it to progress through the system! It's like that fat bank guy on the Nat West advert!!

I told him that I had filled the forms, made the payment and got a confirmation - but the website still shows "order cancelled"... he said just to wait - it was about 8 weeks ago I got the payment confirmation and over 6 months since I first got my upgrade voucher.

Sorry to share my moan but this is one of my worst ever customer-relations experiences. I am at a total loss as to what to do, is there any way I can contact senior staff at Moduslink with any clout to get out of this mess?

Hi Mike,

From my dealings with moduslink which are pretty much as frustrating as yours, I reckon that if the web site says 'order cancelled', then that's what it means - your order is dead.

If you're to have any chance of getting your vistas, you need to phone up and hassle them - don't take no for an answer. In particular, don't let them tell you 'ordering has closed'.

It seems that moduslink's order system is so bad, that nothing can be changed. You can't change payment method, type of delivery, address, etc. Nothing can be changed once the order is submitted. The only thing to do is to cancel the order, and start back from the beginning.

I too had had contradictory e-mails. I've been told similar BS stories on the phone. However, I remained somewhat incredulous of what I was told, especially if it didn't sound right. And, I was proved right, on about the 6th time i called (I decided I'd call the US number, not the UK number) I found someone who knew what they were talking about.

They helped me through reordering - He confirmed, that my original order was cancelled - it was dead and could not be resurrected. He helped me reorder by reactivating my vouchers (yup - these are disabled once you order, and they don't always get reactivated when the order is cancelled). Thankfully everything went through after that.

However, I had to phone internationally, repeatedly, before I eventually found someone who could help. By my experience, I'd guess that probably 8 out of 10 'customer support' staff have absolutely no clue how the system works - and simply lie or make stuff up.

I have filed an action with the consumers affairs division of the attorney generals office for the state of Illinois. I ordered my upgrade Nov 2, 2006. When I went to the Best Buy where I had bought my computer and asked about my upgrade the manager in the Bloomington, Illinois store asked me to leave. I checked and they are a private business and can ask anyone to leave especially if it something promised (as in the "free" Vista upgrade). Does Microsoft really need the money? What about Best Buy? I guess so.

I would be interested in joining a class action suit as this problem (no Vista upgrade when promised)appears to be widespread. Please post any info on such an action.

Please help I have tried dialing 008006664466 to get through to moduslink but the number seems to no longer work (do you think they could no longer cope with the complaints?). They have cancled my order despite having been given account details to try and pay for the Vista upgrade. What do I do next!

Hi Jenny,
I found the 008006664466 number worthless, even when it was staffed. Wrong information from everyone I spoke to. No one had a clue.

In the end, the only luck I had was by calling the US call centre directly:
I used this number:
0018014311504
OK, you pay US call rates - but they're not that expensive, and you've got a better chance of finding someone with a clue (only about 1/2 of staff on this line are morons).
Remember, if one person says 'no', it probably means they don't know - so ring back and speak to someone else.

I bought an Acer laptop 27 Jan 2007 I duly applied to Modus link for the upgrade everything went smoothly up to the point where THEY SAY that they despatched the upgrade on March 20th, now June 17th still waiting, I have rung and rung to be told they would contact BV London and ask for a replacement, but nothing ever comes, I have emailed until I am sick of it and never get a reply, I have emailed Acer no reply, I am now in the process of recovering my £14.14 from my credit card company which they paid to Modus Link BV London on March 20th. I believe this was probably sent out to me but as it was sent normal post and no signature required, well I leave you all to draw your own conclusions, somewhere, someone is in possession of my Vista upgrade but that certainly isn,t me nor is it my problem I just want a replacement.

I have also had problems with Microsoft/Moduslink, I wanted the "cheap" upgrade to Vista Business with the purchase of new Toshiba laptop, would never have bought laptop otherwise. I followed instructions provided by TOSHIBA/MODUSLINK websites.

From what I understand Microsoft has "outsourced" this process to MODUSLINK, I captured new laptop/payment details on website, I received a confirmation of order from MODUSLINK, MODUSLINK confirmation email said it was likely to take some time to be shipped (6+ weeks). Towards end of May I checked the status, order had changed to "cancelled", whereas previously it was "to be shipped". I had received no notification of cancellation.

Ironically my problem is that Moduslink have not deducted payment, due to this I dont have a leg to stand on as there is no payment. I still want the upgrade, both moduslink/microsoft are saying there hands are tied, offer no longer stands, "tough" contact manufacturer (Toshiba). To me they all have a hand in this, it is easy to fob a customer onto someone else.

Contact Citizens Advice Bureau, Watchdog, Which and raise the profile on this shocking treatment, theres a lot of us out there not very happy ....