Microsoft and the Red Ring of Death Warranty

My son's XBox 360 now displays Microsoft's infamous Red Ring of Death. It's kaput. Just means we need to send it in. Unfortunately this means will miss the first 2 months of Guitar Hero 4. Kind of a drag, but no biggie.

The standard warranty is 1 year on all Xboxes. That seems fair and reasonable. I check out the manufacture date on this console and it is March, 2006. So the box is out of warranty. But while researching the Red Ring of Death, I come across some interesting news. Back in July of 2007, Microsoft extended all warranties to 3 years due to the high number of defects. Hey, that's good news and props to Microsoft for doing the right thing.

So I head over the XBox 360 support area and begin the process of requesting a repair. First, they make you register for a Windows Live ID. I don't want a Windows Live ID, but I have no choice. I get my ID and register the console and start filling out the form to get the console fixed. I submit everything and it tells me that the console is out of warranty. Hmmm, that's interesting. I guess the automated system doesn't have the updated warranty information.

Next step is to call in to see what is going on. I go through a lot of the same stuff and the guy tells me that the box is out of warranty and I'll have to pay. I ask about the warranty extension and he immediately says something to the effect of "ah yes, that's true. Let me process this for you now."

While I guess its good that I'm getting the repair for free, it seems obvious to me that Microsoft is trying to only give the free repairs to people that know about the warranty extension. If I had not been an informed consumer, they would have happily charged me $94.00 to fix a problem they have pretty much admitted is their fault. That doesn't seem very consumer friendly to me.