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Microsoft faces class action suit over XBL charge photo

A Georgia man is filing a suit against Microsoft after receiving unwanted Xbox Live charges, Information Week reports. Francisco Garcia claims that The 'Soft sold its subscription to a minor when the boy stole his debit card to nab a $49.99 year's subscription. The worst of it came a year later, when MS automatically renewed the subscription, overdrawing the troubled father.

Garcia was hit with a $35 bank charge thanks to Microsoft's shenanigans, something the company didn't cover when it returned his Xbox Live charge. For "fraudulently [inducing] a contractual relationship for Xbox Live services," Garcia now intends to take his would-be gaming provider to court.

Francisco states that it was against Georgia law for Microsoft to allow his son, Silvario, to buy a subscription, and that not obtaining written permission to renew Xbox Live "flouted consumer regulations." Furthermore, he'll be petitioning to open the case up so others in Georgia may jump on the gravy train.

Microsoft wants the case dismissed and says it can prove Silvario lied about his age to make the payments, which is fair enough. If Francisco wants to sue someone, it should be the inventor of the debit card. Seriously though, Microsoft, what's thirty five bucks to you guys? Just pay the man his damn charge.


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39 comments | showing # 1 to 39

BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 11/14/2007 10:04
if rolling over your XBL subscription gives you an overdraft on your bank account, you have more to worry about than microsoft's billing policy
Kennigit's Avatar
Kennigit at 11/14/2007 10:08
My thoughts exactly. I don't think it means anything in court but no overdraft protection - 35$? :S troubling.
Keef's Avatar
Keef at 11/14/2007 10:09
its going to cost the guy alot more in court charges than its worth.... plus.... hes an idiot lmfao
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 11/14/2007 10:09
Oh, I'm all over this if this goes national. I hate that if you EVER use any credit card on XBL, it's automatically used to renew your subscription without even asking you.

When I first had XBL with my original Xbox, you HAD to have a credit card to get XBL, and I was PISSED when it autorenewed a year later after I stopped using XBL at the time.

MS does a terrible job of notifying you that you're up for autorenewal when you submit your CC to them for anything.

I better go double check my account settings. My subscription isn't due to turn over until Feb, but it never hurts to check early.
zaqu's Avatar
zaqu at 11/14/2007 10:11
M$ wants your money not your love
Sphinx 13's Avatar
Sphinx 13 at 11/14/2007 10:12
Future headline: "Fransisco Garcia Loses"
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 11/14/2007 10:13
Also, they only give you 60 days to get that money refunded, period, so if you forget or don't notice it for two months, you're hosed.
Corncobtacular's Avatar
Corncobtacular at 11/14/2007 10:19
i'd be assuming that he would be asking for MS to repay his legal costs as well. it'd be reasonable to get your legal fees paid by MS if the court finds they broke Georgia law
Leathersoup's Avatar
Leathersoup at 11/14/2007 10:19
Alternative Future Headline: Francisco Garcia Missing
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 11/14/2007 10:21
Right, forgot, the only way to disable automatic renewal on your account is to call MS. So, since this guy didn't even know his kid was signed up for Xbox Live, how in the hell could he know to do this?

I'll be calling at lunch.
SLiFE's Avatar
SLiFE at 11/14/2007 10:21
Oh Georgia, you never cease to produce idiots who amuse me.
MechaMonkey's Avatar
MechaMonkey at 11/14/2007 10:21
They can obviously toss him the $35, but that opens the doors up to everyone who wants to bitch about their kids jacking their credit cards and a plethora of folks who will say it happened and are just out for a quick buck. One $35 settlement isn't a big deal, but hundreds? Thousands? It adds up.
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 11/14/2007 10:21
Missing, presumed fragged.
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 11/14/2007 10:27
Jim Sterling wins again today. Go Jim Sterling.
JJBro1's Avatar
JJBro1 at 11/14/2007 10:32
WOOT go Francisco! If he wins maybe M$ will stop charging for live, then i'll buy a 360!
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 11/14/2007 10:35
lol Georgia
Patriot SE's Avatar
Patriot SE at 11/14/2007 10:40
Microsoft needs to fight this just on the principal of the matter. People need to be responsible for what their kids do, not some large corporation which provides a baby sitting service for parents who dont even have 50 dollars in their checking account.
Vader582's Avatar
Vader582 at 11/14/2007 10:43
Alternative Alternative Future Headline: Georgia Sold to Microsoft
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 11/14/2007 10:49
@JJBro

It never ceases to amaze me the asinine reasons people come up with to "boycott" a product. I'd gladly pay for my XBL, I like being able to filter out idiots, video support, the dedicated constant hosting (some of us might want to play Madden '06, you know...), and a host of other features.

If you don't want any of that, fine, don't pay for it, but the 360 has many other positive merits that warrant purchase and being a moron because "it's not free for me!" is really lame.
Silverback 55's Avatar
Silverback 55 at 11/14/2007 10:54
Jim,

Even if they offered his money back, he would no doubt say that the lawsuit isn't about the money. He would go on about standing up for the little guy against a big corporation. MS needs to fight this. Everything that happens in this country is about the get rich quick scheme and I'm sick of it.
DarkTravesty's Avatar
DarkTravesty at 11/14/2007 11:05
easy fix get a damn debit card. Hell it working for me. when ever i need a renewal i go to my bank get a gift/debt card load it with the price of an xbl sub and since the card expires in a year no weird charges since the card expires my sub goes back to silver problem solved.
JJ Rage's Avatar
JJ Rage at 11/14/2007 11:06
At what point is it Microsoft's fault that this guy is a bad parent?

Even if he didn't know the kid stole the card, the initial charge would've shown up on his bank statement. And like someone else already mentioned, if a %50 charge puts you in the negative, perhaps an asinine lawsuit is the least of your worries.
Upgrayedd's Avatar
Upgrayedd at 11/14/2007 11:09
Yeah, I hate the automatic renewal set up MS has going.

I'll almost surely throw down another $50 next year, but I should at least have to choice without having to go through customer support and cancel everything.
Joe Burling's Avatar
Joe Burling at 11/14/2007 11:09
I don't mind paying for Live but only because of how robust it is and how much it offers.

As for this man, he doesn't stand a chance. Good luck, Garcia. LMAO
nicojay's Avatar
nicojay at 11/14/2007 11:13
Microsoft needs to fight this just on principal. As future overlords of earth they can not appear to be soft.
Cynical Gamer's Avatar
Cynical Gamer at 11/14/2007 11:19
hey douchebag, you let your sun steal your credit card. get a life.
nademagnet's Avatar
nademagnet at 11/14/2007 11:22
^^^ lol, Quaid! QUUUAAAAIIIDDDD!!!!
vexed alex's Avatar
vexed alex at 11/14/2007 11:28
@ dvddesign

Thats the way a lot of subscription services function. Well, pretty much all of them.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 11/14/2007 11:36
with todays Gas prices... it must have cost him 35$ to just go to the court house...

so that means hes over 70$ in overdraft.
TheStripe's Avatar
TheStripe at 11/14/2007 12:17
Wow, only in America can you sue a corporation because someone else committed credit card fra- er, "identity theft." What a fucking load. And what an idiot, why go after struggling microsoft? They're not in the poor house, but they're not exactly making billions; Vista is a failure, the 360 still costs them millions in production and replacements, not to mention the millions they're undoubtedly spending to secure exclusives to put the knife in the PS3. They should find some dumb reason sue Apple instead, they're actually making money, and will undoubtedly settle out of court.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 11/14/2007 12:52
Does that guy really need the $35 that badly?
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 11/14/2007 13:07
MS did nothing wrong. This douche should've been paying closer attention to his son's activities. It's the son's fault. It's not like it's hard to sign up for XBL. And it's a subscription service - of course it fucking renewed automatically. It's supposed to.

Also, XBL always emails me with any account-related information. For example, I just got my notice that XBL is going to automatically renew in a month. This guy is an idiot.
JamesSorensen's Avatar
JamesSorensen at 11/14/2007 13:28
I love how people own game system yet don't have $50 in the bank... not to mention he is supposed to be supporting a family without $50 in teh bank haha
JavTheGreat's Avatar
JavTheGreat at 11/14/2007 13:44
Meanwhile his run is allowed to roam free and commit all the identity theft he wants.
JavTheGreat's Avatar
JavTheGreat at 11/14/2007 13:48
*son
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 11/14/2007 14:07
I say don't pay him. Yeah, Microsoft has a ton of money, but that doesn't mean every asshat with a douchebag kid gets a piece of it. Next time, maybe he should try not letting his kid steal his credit card.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 11/14/2007 15:11
This suit should be thrown out. (A) The guy should have been a smarter human being: he may not have been able to prevent his son from jacking his credit card, but any moron would’ve noticed a $49.99 (+ tax? I don’t know how LIVE works) charge on his monthly statement. (B) As far as I know — and as vexed alex said — most subscriptions automatically renew themselves unless you explicitly cancel them before the renewal date or ask them not to renew it automatically. And I’m pretty sure they have to notify you of this, even if it’s in the TOS agreement that no one ever reads. I don’t see how MS did anything wrong, and what’s more, the kid would’ve had to lie about his age (or his name — by using his dad’s card) to pay for the subscription. Case dismissed.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 11/14/2007 17:45
Wait... okay, let me get this straight. This guy's son steals his credit card and then committed fraud by lying about his age and identity when he used it to buy an Xbox Live account.

And this guy is blaming Microsoft for this and wants them to pay him back? Microsoft doesn't owe this guy shit over what they've already paid him. I would take every cent of those extra charges out of the kid's hide.
cjpkiller's Avatar
cjpkiller at 12/30/2007 22:16
microsoft is evil.
also people suck at their jobs.
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