[sf-lug] bought used lenovo laptop with windows; never registered; can i request refund?

[Michael Shiloh]

On 12/27/2011 01:52 AM, Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Michael Shiloh (michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com):
>
>> I know it's possible to request a rebate for a never used copy of
>> Windows on a new computer. How does this work with a
>> used/refurbished?
>
> Michael --
>
> I wonder if there's been some news in this that I hadn't heard since
> 2002, but I honestly very, very much doubt there has.  I wonder if you
> wouldn't mind reading the portion of this article that concerns 'Windows
> Refund Day', here, as background:
> http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/26/1040511127721.html  (Skip down
> to 'Let's come to the Windows refund day in February 1999.')
>
> (In short, for reasons I discuss in the interview, sure, you can request
> a refund on a new machine with bundled OEM MS-Windows.  You can't
> usually get it.  For used/refurbished, you're all the more less likely
> to succeed, as it'll be rather too easy to claim that you might not have
> ever used the preload, but the original purchaser probably did -- or
> some similar dodge.)

Thanks for the pointer. Great interview!

I'll go back to getting work done now...