Vista Free Upgrade Experiences

[robh]

received mine today.

[JonathanR]

Here's my story of the elusive Windows Vista upgrade (which I still have not managed to acquire).

In December 2006 I purchased a laptop computer advertised as having a free upgrade to Windows Vista. In January I submitted all the required information on the Moduslink upgrade website. On February 2, I received notification that all my information was validated and that my upgrade would ship in 4-6 weeks. A couple of months later I contacted Moduslink to check on the status of the upgrade and was told it had been manufactured and was awaiting shipment. I waited a few more weeks and on May 6 I checked the status on the Moduslink website and found that my order status had changed to "Order is cancelled." I contacted Moduslink, Microsoft, and Lenovo without getting any real assistance at all.


Here is a summary of the email exchanges with Moduslink.

February 2 - from Moduslink: Your validation is now complete and we will be processing your order. You should receive an email confirmation when your order is shipped.

April 18 - from me to Moduslink: It has been almost 12 weeks since my Windows Vista upgrade had been fully validated (COA and POP validated). When is the order going to ship?

April 18 - reply from Moduslink: Shipping timelines vary by manufacturer. You should receive your Microsoft Windows Vista or Microsoft Office Vista software within 4-6 weeks.

April 19 - followup from me to Moduslink: I have checked the status on the website and it shows the order status as "Order received" but gives no indication of when it will ship. Since it has been approximately 12 weeks since I completed my order I think it is reasonable to want to know the status of the upgrade which was supposed to ship in 4-6 weeks.

April 19 - reply from Moduslink: "Order received" means that your order has been manufactured for your computer and is waiting to be shipped.

May 6 - from me to Moduslink: I checked the status of my Windows Vista upgrade today and saw that my order status had changed to "Order is cancelled." I did not cancel the order. Please correct the problem.

May 7 - reply from Moduslink: Per your direction, your order has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvience this may cause you. If you still wish to receive a Vista upgrade product, please place a new order.


After failing to get any help from Moduslink, I emailed Microsoft customer service. Here is the reply from Microsoft:

I understand from your message that your order for Windows Vista Business upgrade has been cancelled which you made through Modus link. I know how frustrating it must be though it was advertised as having a free upgrade to Windows Vista Business.

I understand that you have purchased Think pad Tablet PC from Lenovo and advertised as having a free upgrade to Windows Vista Business. As a product or software is preinstalled or distributed with your computer, your primary source for support is the computer manufacturer who provided your Microsoft software. You may contact your OEM for any warranty or no-charge support.

Please note that part of the OEM and Microsoft agreement is to allow Original Equipment Manufacturer’s to provide support for products they have installed on a particular computer. This agreement was made only because OEMs often modify and pre-install Microsoft software on their computers to ensure compatibility and to take full advantage of your computer’s hardware. This means the OEM has the expertise on how your Microsoft software works on your particular computer.

I would like you to know the offer for Windows Vista Business free upgrade has expired.

I hope your issue is resolved at the earliest and appreciate your patience in this regard.

Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.


So, I emailed Lenovo. Their response is below:

Thank you for contacting Lenovo. Your email has been forwarded to my attention for assistance.

We apologize for any frustration or inconvenience that you may have experienced as a result of your attempt to upgrade to the Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System. The upgrade offer was made from Microsoft through all major computer manufacturers. Microsoft has contracted the third party vendor Moduslink to handle the Vista upgrade and act as your agent.

Unfortunately Lenovo is not able to force Moduslink to act on requests from our customers. As Moduslink is a contracted agent of Microsoft, we suggest that you contact Microsoft directly to inform them of the difficulties you are experiencing in obtaining the Microsoft Operating System .

We recognize that this may appear as an attitude of indifference or lack of caring. However, in this matter we do believe the best course of action is to contact Microsoft directly.

[insomniac59]

Finally.....I resubmitted my cancelled order on May 4th...today the dvd arrived. I finally get to play with Vista.

[dsigma6]

After failing to get any help from Moduslink, I emailed Microsoft customer service.


So, I emailed Lenovo.

Dang companies with the runaround. That's complete garbage. You should send each email of being shrugged off to the opposite vendor, maybe they'll give you some sympathy.

[whizkid]

You bought from Lenovo. They are the second party. They made the promise for a free upgrade. You should only have to deal with them.

Escalate. Politely. Send a note to consumerist.com and read their information on how to effectively get your complaint addressed.

You made a purchase with a promise, and that promise was not kept, and it will be easy for them to fix it, once they understand their mistake.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[pdudas]

I ordered the Vista upgrade on 25th of Marz.
On this friday (18th of May) I got an SMS that Moduslink charged my CC account with the shipping costs.

I checked the Moduslink web page and: ORDER IS APPROVED.

What is the next step?
It was almost two months to process my order?
When will they ship the DVD?

[Ianski]

Still waiting. My order had a status of "Order Received" last time I was able to access Moduslink's website (which no longer seems to work). I wrote to them last week and got this reply back:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your interest in the Upgrade Redemption Program.

'Order Received' indicates your order has been received by the shipping department. You should receive an email confirmation when it is shipped.

Please note that shipping times vary by manufacturer. Orders are processed in the order they were received according to product availability and per your manufacturer’s instructions.

We apologize for any inconvenience a delay in delivery may have caused.
---

What a frustrating process. I can see why people are driven to seeking non-legitimate copies of software.

Ianski

[Ianski]

I finally managed to contact Moduslink by telephone 1-800-817-5602 (hours: 9a-7p EST M-F). You have to listen to all the dialogs and eventually choose the "8" option 'You were instructed to call us'. Spoke with customer support rep Adam, gave him my order number and he told me the system had auto-cancelled it because the credit card expiry date was 2007/03... he then took my new credit card information, gave me a new order number and told me to expect my copy within 3 - 4 weeks. He said I am already confirmed (proof of purchase was submitted way back when) and don't need to re-confirm that part.

The website does not show the cancelled status due to a glitch in their ordering program.

[Ianski]

I phoned Moduslink again this morning as I haven't seen any charges applied to the new credit card number I gave them last week. Although their office is supposed to be open on Friday, I got a recording stating that the office was closed. The "8" option was not available this time. I've sent them another e-mail asking for an update on my new order number (the upgrade web site won't give me any information on the new order number).

Arrggh. Trying to get this "free upgrade" has already consumed at least $60 worth of my time, even at my modest salary. Not impressed.

[Ianski]

Further to this - I got an e-mail response from Moduslink confirming that my order is in the queue and should be shipped out in the next 3 - 4 weeks...

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "vapourware". I don't even want to upgrade to Vista at this time, just want the darn disk for future-proofing's sake.

[Ianski]

Moduslink billed my credit card the day before yesterday. No new e-mails, but hopefully being billed, also means that the product is being shipped. About bloody time!!!

Jun. 19, 2007
USD27.04@1.098698MS VISTA 8009999999 UT
29.71

I see they've now posted a note on Moduslink's site that says:

Please Note: The ordering period for the Upgrade Program has ended as of March 31, 2007. We will continue to ship product for valid orders that were submitted before the ordering deadline. You are welcome to check the status of your order by clicking on the “Check existing order” button. For questions about orders, please email MSTUPVISTANA@moduslink.com.

These upgrade programs applied to qualified PCs purchased during the eligibility period from October 26, 2006 through March 15, 2007. The redemption period for orders ended on March 31, 2007. All proof of purchases for previously submitted orders must be mailed with a post mark no later than May 31, 2007.

[pdudas]

I got the DVD today.

I ordered it on 25th of Marz...
It was 3 months....( the ship was a month)...

[Ianski]

Got the Vista disc today... finally! Unbelievable.