Updated: 9/18/2008 I got it back! A 120GB hard drive showed up today via Purolator.
Here’s my sob story. It’s decidedly a “first world problem.”
Update: 09/11/2008 4:30pm Call #2 to Xbox support yielded the same result as call #1. Someone stating that they were as high up as I could go and that they couldn’t do anything. Wonderful.
About a month ago my Xbox 360 died. It got the famed “Red Ring of Death” and therefore was eligible for replacement/repair through Xbox support. The support person I talked to on the phone gave me instructions for sending it back which included not sending in the controllers, cables/etc. At no point did I hear/understand the support person (for whom english was definitely not their native tongue) to say anything about not sending the 120GB hard drive along – though as I said, I couldn’t understand everything they were saying.
You can probably guess where this is headed and I’ll spare you the details but suffice to say I was sent back a Xbox 360 (replacement, not repaired) without the 120GB hard drive attached and upon phoning back to Xbox support today was told that because the people who receive the Xbox’s said there was no hard drive attached, they wouldn’t be sending me my or any other hard drive. I escalated up the chain (actually only 1 level/person up) until they said that there was nowhere else to go and that they couldn’t help me. They were sorry, but I wouldn’t be getting any hard drive out of them. My word against theirs. My word loses because I have nothing to push them with. I’m the lying customer trying to sneak away with a free hard drive.
The hard drive on a Xbox360 is where any saved information is kept, including your account info, games, movie rentals/purchases, demos, etc. A Xbox360 is basically an expensive DVD player without it.
A 120GB hard drive for a Xbox360 sells for $160+tax here in town. For $160+tax Microsoft/Xbox support decide it would be better to label one of their customers a liar and turn said customer off of their products and any revenue ahead of them through movies rented, games purchased, etc.
Somewhere in here there’s some irony about the fact that I finally supported and enjoyed a Microsoft product, even promoted it to friends, only to have it come back and bite me. Luckily, someone else has decided to pick up the gaming ball and run with it.
I should be clear – this isn’t a cause you need to take up or fight with me on. (Update: I decided to make it a bit of a cause you can support – if you’re on Digg anyway) It’s just a suggestion for you as a consumer as to where you should throw your monetary support. I’ll keep calling until I can get some resolution. I sent an email to the only public xbox related figure I know in hopes of some support, but I’m not holding my breath. Life will certainly go on.
Know anyone who wants a $400 DVD player? 
8 Comments
Man, this kind of stuff burns my butt! Keep fighting for that hard drive and I hope you get one in the end. Let me know if there is ever a happy ending to this story.
@matthew: It doesn’t look good so far. Their support line basically says there’s nothing they can do. I asked them if they could even authorize a hard drive to be sent out if they really wanted to and they said they couldn’t. They wouldn’t pass me on to anyone “higher up” because they don’t take phone calls?!?!
And of course they weren’t able to tell me where they are located either. I’m sure it’s just an outsourced phone support place that has no authority to actually do anything. Grrr!
i sent my xbox in like 2 weeks ago WITH the hard drive because noone told me i wasnt supposed to send it in. they told me not to send controllers and everything else but said nothing about the hard drive. ( i didnt even know where the hard drive was and had NO idea that i could actaully take it off) when i got it back today ( a new xbox, the old one could not be fixed apparently) there was not hard drive with it. so i called up 1-800-4my-xbox and the guy on the phone put me on hold, talked to somone else and then told me that he had contacted the ppl that recieved my xbox (with the hard drive) and comfirmed that they had recieved it and should have shipped it back immediatly, but they hadnt. he then told me that his “supervisor” would be calling me within 24-48 hrs with ” a tracking number ” and information on my hard drive… i was so excited to finally have my xbox back only to find it without a hard drive (useless).
GODDAMN MICROSOFT!
wish me luck.
I bookmarked your blog, thanks for sharing this very interesting post
Same problem with me…i sent in my 360 for a repair 2 weeks ago with my HDD (only 20GB though). I called and they seemed they need a supervisor to contact the service ctr to advise them (shouldnt this be done automatically when received?). Anyhow Im hoping that they will track it and mail it back to me!
Also to note..the new xbox 360 that was sent to me guess what didnt work…i mailed it back in the box it came in the next day..sigh
@mike: They’re apparently supposed to take a picture of the contents of the box when they receive it at the repair depot so that they know if there was a hard drive or not in the box. They told me their ‘picture’ of my xbox showed there was no hard drive, but then they still sent me back my hard drive. So who knows… you just gotta keep at them I guess.
I sent my xbox 360 in for repair. I recieved a different unit than mine with no harddrive. I have phone at least 10 times only to be told they did not recieve a hard drive and they could not help me. I was even called a liar and a differnt time I was hung up on. I do not understand why they will not help me out. They say a supervior will phone in 24-48 hours and no one has ever phoned. Does any one know how to talk to some one higher in the chain of comand.
Please help if you can.
@Doug: Hopefully something turns up for you. Like I said in my case, all of a sudden it showed up. And also, the phone call from a supervisor happened but the supervisor had no idea that my hard drive had turned up. Sounds like the head isn’t always talking to the feet at Xbox support. All the best in your fight!
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[...] that felt good to get off my chest. Now I think I’ll go relax and play a little Xbox. Oh Frak! Tagged as church, Design, frustration, letting go, site + Categorized as Nerds/Design, [...]
[...] what showed up today out of nowhere. A Purolator delivery with a 120GB hard drive. How bizarre. Glad to know I wasn’t crazy in pursuing this but it would’ve been nice if someone, somewhere at Xbox support had noted that they got my [...]
[...] Phew… that felt good to get off my chest. Now I think I’ll go relax and play a little Xbox. Oh $#@!Frak!#@! [...]
[...] what showed up today out of nowhere. A Purolator delivery with a 120GB hard drive. How bizarre. Glad to know I wasn’t crazy in pursuing this but it would’ve been nice if someone, somewhere at Xbox support had noted that they got my [...]