Australian Series X Owners Seeking Warranty Console Replacement Beware!

TL;DR - Heads up to anyone trying to get a warranty replacement on their Series X console: Microsoft will potentially ship you a refurbished and cosmetically damaged item as a replacement without telling you that it is refurbished! Be aware of your rights as an Australian consumer!

As many users of the console have been reporting - my launch Series X had intermittent network connectivity issues both wired and wireless. After much troubleshooting and contact with support, I was offered a replacement console.

My first replacement was organised on December 5, 2020 and I was shipped a console with cosmetic damage on the back face. Understandably I was upset as my launch console was in perfect condition, and a warranty replacement infers receiving said replacement at the same level of quality. After talking to support again, it was suggested that this damage might have occurred in shipping (it was never stated my replacement was a refurb/b-stock) and received many apologies and I agreed to try another replacement.





Despite the scratches being small and on the back, for the money I paid I expected to receive a console in perfect new condition.

Unfortunately, my second replacement (organised on January 15, 2021), arrived in even worse condition with much more visible dark and white scratches on the front face of the console. The white scratching could not be removed, even after trying several cleaning agents.





At this point I was very upset, and after contacting support yet again and after numerous I was assured that a third replacement would be to the condition I requested. Support even said they themselves wouldn’t accept consoles with the slightest cosmetic damage as a replacement after buying a brand new console in perfect condition at launch.

However, to my disappointment, but not my surprise, the third replacement ordered on January 22, 2021 was also damaged. I even filmed the unboxing in anticipation of a broken promise from Microsoft.





At this point, I called Consumer Affairs Victoria about this reoccurring issue/nightmare, who advised me that I absolutely had every right to be upset and demand either a replacement console in perfect condition or a full refund. As I was advised, in Australian Consumer Law there is a responsibility for businesses to provide products of an acceptable quality and there was a clear breach of said quality standards here.

At the advice of Consumer Affairs, I lodged an official letter of complaint outlining this whole story and requesting a replacement of acceptable quality and compensation for the subscription time lost on my All Access deal subscription.

I followed up on this with support in a phone call where Microsoft finally decided to come clean with the replacements:

Microsoft use refurbished units as part of their warranty replacement program and consider them a new item.

To which I said I would not accept a replacement unless it was a brand new, NON refurbished item. The support representative advised me they would refer this to their internal team who I would hear back from within 2 days.

So it seems extremely likely that all the replacements I received were refurbs (they all also had signs of handling, those greasy finger streaks and such), and I was never asked if I would be ok with receiving these inferior items in exchange for my brand new Series X, which is very much on the dodgy side of Australian Consumer Law.

Another call with Consumer Affairs Victoria confirmed that this was a dodgy practice, especially since it took so long for Microsoft to come clean on the refurbished units. As the fellow on the phone advised me: you wouldn’t expect to walk into a shop and buy an item at the full RRP if was a refurbished unit, and it’s the same with warranty replacements. Therefore, he advised me to not accept a replacement if it was not a brand new item, otherwise he thought I should be entitled to receive a partial refund for a refurbished item. He also said to ‘absolutely hit them up for the lost subscription time’.

So I called customer support again (I was told I would receive a follow up call within 2 days of my last call which never happened) and the support representative gave all the usual apologies and assured me she would get back to me the next day with an update on a possible resolution. Eventually I got my request for a suitable warranty replacement through, and this had to go to an internal team to be considered, as though it would be a special favour, when getting a new console as a warranty replacement should be the standard expectation.

Fast forward to February and I still had no response from customer support or the escalations team regarding whether my completely reasonable request would be granted.

At this point, I contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria again to ask them to advocate for me to Microsoft, and they agreed I had a case and so assigned a case manager to communicate to Microsoft on my behalf. My case manager was also frustrated at Microsoft’s vague responses and extreme reply times. But eventually my request was granted.

So finally, on the 4th of March, 2021, I received the replacement console I was initially expecting, free from cosmetic damage. I also was given credit on my account to reimburse me for all the subscription time missed on my All Access plan due to all these months of mucking around.

So, if you’re an Australian consumer, and you are seeking a warranty replacement, there's a chance Microsoft will send you a refurbished console in place of your new one.

I’m writing this so you can be aware of your rights in this situation, and to be clear:

You are within your rights to expect that your warranty replacement console be new, and not refurbished with signs of wear and tear. It is consumer law that warranty replacements have to be of a certain standard of quality, and specifically be free from damage.

I suggest you get in writing that your replacement will be new and free from damage. It could take a little longer to organise, but it beats having to go through the months long cycle of replacements and correspondence with your consumer affairs regulator to get what should be shipped to you in the first place.

By the way, the initial network issues are still not fixed, despite the amounts of complaints:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...essageId=f5fa2aab-211c-449d-8b2f-d5e26866bac6

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...essageId=d0115181-41ed-4327-bcca-2d50f907aa98

Sorry for the long read/rant, I just hope this will help anyone else who is looking at warranty replacements avoid disappointment.

:)