Seriously?! I’m STILL Dealing With This?

Okay, I’m extra cranky today. But I think I have a pretty decent excuse.

A while back I talked about how my Amazon account got hacked. I still don’t know if that came first or if the email I used that was tied to that account got hacked first, but both were apparently targeted.

I was able to fix the Amazon one with somewhat minor headaches. The email one? I’m STILL dealing with the fallout of that one.

For the most part, it wasn’t a huge deal. I had a couple of hiccups in getting accounts changed that used that email, but they mostly worked out well. The one that didn’t? My Dell account.

It really shouldn’t be an issue. Just set up a new account the next time I need to get a computer, right? Well, that is exactly what I did when I got my current laptop.

The problem comes in with the fact that I had purchased my Microsoft subscriptions through Dell. Because it is a subscription, it is automatically renewed, so I keep getting charged even though I can’t access that account. Even though the credit card number associated with that account is no longer valid, the credit card company still pays it because the old card is still tied to our new card number.

I have tried each time this charge has come up to contact Dell so I can either change the information on my account so I can access it, or cancel the subscription through them so I can manage it through Microsoft. I’ve spent hours on the phone with them, but they refuse to do anything because? The warranty for my computer is expired.

Oh, they’d be more than willing to help me out if I paid hundreds of dollars for an extended warranty on a computer I no longer use. Even though the issue isn’t with the computer, but with the online account.

Let that sink in. They won’t provide any support because of an expired warranty on a computer without me renewing that warranty even though the problem is not about the computer, but with accessing their website.

The first time I called them and tried to get this resolved? 2018. I’m still dealing with it.

The last time I called Dell (last year), the conversation admittedly got a little heated because I’d already attempted to jump through all the hoops the previous year to even get connected to the correct department or person that MIGHT be able to help me, to no avail. The person I’d managed to get last time was being incredibly rude and condescending because this wasn’t a current computer (again, NOT a computer issue!!) He eventually hung up on me. And no, I managed to hold off from cussing the guy out, so I was shocked when I suddenly got dead air.

I thought we might have gotten a work around when our credit card company said last year when the charge came through again that they would not process another payment for the subscription unless we explicitly stated we wanted them to. The plan was to just let it not process, let that subscription expire and I could buy a new one through Microsoft (because guess what? I can’t buy a second one as long as the first is active).

We got notified from the credit card company today that we have a pending transaction for this subscription. They are processing another payment. Even though they said they wouldn’t.

I’ve now called the credit card company and we’ve set up a stop payment on all further transactions for this, but for the current charge, I have to wait for it to officially post and then file a dispute.

Did you know that pretty much the ONLY type of help you can get from Dell is for warranty support on a physical product? Feel free to go poke around their website and see what I mean. If you want to do any kind of an online chat for a problem? You have to log into your account. Which I cannot do. See how that might be an issue?

I attempted another call to Dell today, but couldn’t even get a voice prompt that came even close to what kind of help I needed and it refused to direct me to a single agent without choosing one of those completely unrelated prompts. I eventually hung up. I did manage to dig up an email address for some form of customer service, so I’ve attempted that route, but I’m not holding out a lot of hope.

It is quite possible that I’m going to have to break down and set up a new Microsoft account just so I can establish a new subscription. Do you have any idea how much of a nightmare that is going to be? There are so many things on a computer now that is directly tied to your Microsoft account if you have the right programs. There are already enough burps and glitches with Microsoft, I dread the complications I’m going to run into or what I might loose with that significant of a change. And attempting to get any kind of help or support from Microsoft is about a convoluted and non-existent as Dell’s support is.

Even that option is only going to happen if I can manage to get to the point where I’m no longer paying for the first one.

It is times like these that I absolutely abhor technology. The support for almost all of it is absolute crap.