Amazon pays £40 to netbook owner who didn't want Windows

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 24 Jul 2009 at 08:35

Amazon has reportedly provided a £40 refund to a customer who didn't want Windows on his Asus netbook.

Alan Lord, an open-source software consultant, bought the £374 Asus Seashell 1008HA netbook from Amazon, but given his job title, was obviously none-too-keen on the Windows XP operating system that came pre-installed on the PC.

Upon booting the PC, Lord read carefully through the End User Licence Agreement (EULA), which stated that: "If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, you may not use or copy the SOFTWARE, and you should promptly contact Manufacturer for instructions on return of the unused product(s) for a refund in accordance with Manufacturer's return policies."

Lord got in touch with Amazon's customer support centre, and after a brief exchange of emails and telephone calls, was told he would be refunded £40 for his unwanted copy of XP.

"I can't really praise Amazon enough for that," Lord writes on The Open Sourcerer blog. "It was easy, simple and no fuss. I guess my only concern is that the cost of this refund might not get passed back to Asus."

It's not the first time customers have used the Windows EULA to apply for refunds from PC retailers. But given that the Asus Seashell netbook only cost £374 in the first place, Mr Lord managed to effectively negotiate an 11% discount on the hardware.

His next dilemma? Deciding which version of Linux to install on his PC.