I'm not even sure how this works legally (isn't this the kind of crap that the DOJ was after MS about in the first place??????)
Reported by Robert X Cringley for Infoworld:
Two weeks ago reports emerged that Microsoft and Best Buy are
being accused of a scam in which customers wind up getting
charged -- unknowingly -- for MSN service. Well, one of my
moles is victim of that scam and testified to me about
problems the companies caused him. He bought a camera -- a
camera -- at Best Buy for one of his staffers last year using
a corporate American Express card and got more than he
bargained before, as in an MSN account. To have the charges
removed, my mole had to sit and sit on the phone with MSN
-----------
AOL and CompUSA are practicing similar tactics. One of my
spies rushed in a pinch to buy an exec a PDA at CompUSA,
learned of the arrangement between it and AOL, and spoke with
a manager to get a special code to cancel AOL. Alas, a direct
call to AOL was required. "According to the salesman, an AOL
account is established upon purchase of non-CPU devices as
well, such as cameras and scanners," my mole murmured.
"A RONSTER!"
Reported by Robert X Cringley for Infoworld:
Two weeks ago reports emerged that Microsoft and Best Buy are
being accused of a scam in which customers wind up getting
charged -- unknowingly -- for MSN service. Well, one of my
moles is victim of that scam and testified to me about
problems the companies caused him. He bought a camera -- a
camera -- at Best Buy for one of his staffers last year using
a corporate American Express card and got more than he
bargained before, as in an MSN account. To have the charges
removed, my mole had to sit and sit on the phone with MSN
-----------
AOL and CompUSA are practicing similar tactics. One of my
spies rushed in a pinch to buy an exec a PDA at CompUSA,
learned of the arrangement between it and AOL, and spoke with
a manager to get a special code to cancel AOL. Alas, a direct
call to AOL was required. "According to the salesman, an AOL
account is established upon purchase of non-CPU devices as
well, such as cameras and scanners," my mole murmured.
"A RONSTER!"
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