Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-05-11)

Email: [email protected]

Please include your name, phone number and address.

Contact us so we can investigate your case

15

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

Has a company impressed you with its

customer service? Please let us know:

[email protected]

Contact

EDF

-^ Live chat^ http://www.snipca.com/
-^ Phone 0333 200 5100

CASE CLOSED

Is Microsoft

deliberately

slowing my PC?

CASE ONGOING

Issue 631 • 11 – 24 May 2022

If you ever have a

live text chat with a

customer assistant,

make sure you take a

screenshot of any information

regarding money you’re owed. I did this in

March when talking to an assistant at EDF,

which took over my account from Utility

Point when it went bust last autumn. The

person in the chat told me that the money I

was owed would arrive within two weeks. I

took a grab as evidence.

Four weeks later, with no

money forthcoming, I contacted

EDF’s live chat again and spoke

to a very helpful assistant called

Diane. I uploaded a screenshot of my

previous chat, which she said was useful

because it proved what EDF had promised

me. She apologised and said she’d try to

speed up my refund.

My screenshot helped EDF speed up refund

tools or slowing down computers. It’s

also true that Microsoft’s commercial

strategy now is to focus on Windows 11 at

the expense of its predecessor. But

neither of these facts mean it’s

intentionally slowing down computers in

a devious attempt to coerce users to

upgrade. Such action would be a disaster

for Microsoft. Authorities would be quick

Q

My Windows 10 PC is much

slower after the recent update. Is

Microsoft doing this on purpose

to entice us to upgrade to Windows 11? If

so, do I have any legal rights?

Jeremy Bambrough

A

It’s true that some Windows

updates can have negative side

effects, such as breaking certain

to investigate them as being potentially

anti-competitive and unfair.

What’s more, Windows users would be

able to make claims under the Consumer

Rights Act, which states that if software

damages a device, the developer or seller

of the program is liable for the customer’s

losses, even if the software was free.

However, Microsoft is certainly guilty of

using some dubious tactics to encourage

people to use its own tools, rather than

those of its rivals. Most recently, Microsoft

made it hard to switch from Edge as

Windows 11’s default browser, though it

has since relaxed this restriction (see

Issue 629, page 6).

Why is there no money on my cashback card?

Q

I pay Utility Warehouse (https://

uw.co.uk) monthly for a

cashback card, which helps me

pay my utility bills. However, a number

of times the money has failed to appear

on my card. As it’s no longer in my bank,

I can’t access it to pay bills. I get the

money back eventually, but it can take up

to five working days. Who’s responsible

for this - my bank or Utility Warehouse?

Judy Springer

A

We think Utility Warehouse is to

blame because it hasn’t been

able to provide the service -

topping up to use the cashback card -

that Judy is paying for. That she gets her

money back eventually is of little help if

she can’t access the funds when needed.

Judy told us that Utility Warehouse

blames her bank, saying it needs to

update its details. But her bank says

there’s no problem, and that Utility

Warehouse has been authorised to claim

the money. It added that the money

would only reappear in her account if

Utility Warehouse hadn’t claimed it or

had rejected it.

This is clearly a mess, and Judy

shouldn’t be left in limbo. We’ve

asked the Financial Ombudsman

Service (FOS) for its thoughts

on who may be liable, and we’ll

let you know what it says. In the

meantime, Judy can file a formal

complaint with the FOS (www.snipca.

com/41680) about the service

provided by both Utility Warehouse

and her bank.

My money reached my account two days

later. Even if that wasn’t a result of Diane’s

intervention, she deserves praise for offering

good advice, and sympathising with me.

Terry Shepherd