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How's Microsoft's Live Search Cashback Doing? Pretty Darn Good Say The Deal Hunters
Update Wednesday 5:45pm - the deal is back - if you want 35% off on eBay, read below.
Back in May, Microsoft launched their "live search cashback" which basically helps you earn rewards (paid via PayPal) for items you buy when you enter the merchant's site via Microsoft. While most believed that it would help Microsoft gain important search market share and also get people to convert from Google to Microsoft for general searching. I believed that while it might help with the market share, the bottom line is that deal hunters would be the only ones to really take advantage of the service and that it would generate more of a financial loss overall.
You see, us deal hunters are a special bunch. We will pick at that chicken bone until there's nothing left, then sell the bone using a discount code. Over the years I've joked with friends about my "deal hunter levels" and have promoted friends to different levels depending on the deals they find. Not all of us can afford to pay market prices.
So what's happened with Live Search Cashback recently? Well, the deal hunters have found a way to get 35% rewards on purchases on eBay. By doing certain searches on the Live Cashback search engine, there are links in the sponsored area for 35% off purchases at eBay. There's even a step-by-step walkthrough of how to get the 35%. It gets even more interesting because now people are setting up auctions for cash, selling for over the face value of the cash, just to get the maximum 35% cashback.
The thread on Fatwallet has nearly 2,000 replies in the last 24 hours and SlickDeals' thread has almost 3,000 replies and 250,000 pageviews.
The net result is I can pretty much guarantee the search numbers for June for Microsoft will be massive. Alone, I've completed over 150 searches over the past 24 hours alone looking for the goodies. Let's see how Microsoft spins this boost in searches when the industry reports surface.
Here's where it gets tricky - many of the forum posts are related to the terms and conditions related to the cashback search. I sure hope that Microsoft makes good on all of these rebates through this eBay deal. Trust me, you don't want to piss off the deal hunters.
got me an xbox yesterday for $250 off - cashback rocks!
You bought an Xbox 360 for $714?
lmao
IT'S A SCAM!!! don't do the cashback, it's just a scam. I bought a wii fit on ebay, payed with paypal, and followed and met all the requirements. I signed up for cash back and started the 60 day wait to get paid. About 3 weeks in, my account with microsoft disappeared. I logged in to my account about 5 times, with no problems, my cash back was there, and linked to my paypal account, everything was golden, but then I tried to log in just 3 days later and my account is gone. Microsoft is telling me it never existed, despite the fact that I've logged in multiple times, the last being last week. Now my cash is gone, and it's to late to return the product (which I only got because of the cash back offer), seems like it's just a scam to get people to spend money during the recession.
I wrote that last comment about it being a scam- i appologize, i don't think it is. Some of their customer service reps are incompetant, but i can't say it's a scam at this point. After talking to a few more reps i found one that fixed my problems.
Indeed this is a scam. In my case I bought a laptop from HP web site and the cash back did not show up in my account and after enquiring they said I will not get as my purchase did not meet their section 17 in the agreement. They gave me a link to check that and it did not show me any agreement. Basically Microsoft made money at my cost and as always it sucks!!!! Big companies like Microsoft get bigger by cheating people and that goes unnoticed as they sell big things
Check
i bought something from eastbay a large order
signed up for cash back
after 60 days i request the Check that will be proceed in 14 days
in the last day the 14 th
they denied the cashback payment because :
We wanted to remind you that Live Search cashback is available to those individuals meeting the requirements as laid out in Section 17 of our Microsoft Service Agreement and our Frequently Asked Questions FAQ. These terms and conditions took effect on the launch of Live Search cashback on May 21, 2008. Any qualifying purchases made before that date may be eligible for cashback under the terms and conditions in effect at that time. In particular, it appears that you have purchased items for resale from Eastbay reference Request ID: PC040******
so any cashback that you see 36% it`s really a scam they will get the money and will find any reason to deny your payment
use FATWALLET.COM
very serious and will be paid
They should just impose a spending limit and/or limit on the number of items purchased. Otherwise, it's just speculative on their part to say "you're going to resele these items." I mean, microsoft should atleast publish the criteria for which they determine if someone is reselling so people dont get beat out of their money.
Beware...some people are directing people to sign up under bigcrumbs...which has nothing to do with microsoft or ebay..then a cookie is set on your computer which makes it appear that you are getting some rediculous high cashback 25% or 33%...the scammer gets 2% through bigcrumbs but you will never get anything...you were just tricked into buying something you didnt even want thinking you would get a big cashback.
Scam, I received a email saying that my rebate was denied. They said I diid not meet their section 17 "country of residence" in the agreement. I don't understand. I am a US citizen, I have my US passport. Why did they deny my claim? I've tried to contact the cash team for over one week but no response at all. I've also chatted with their customer respresentative but they asked me to contact the cash team directly. However, it seems like there's nobody working in that "cash team"........Beware..... I won't use microsoft live search anymore.......and I will pass this message to my friends, my family......etc
I bought a crib from CSN Baby.... my first cashback purchase. CashBack showed that I would receive $69.53 back. My account only shows that I will receive $46.35. I have talked to the live chat support numerous times, emailed them all the information that they request (over and over), and they say they can't help me- only "Beverly" can help through email. "Beverly hasn' t answered any of my emails in 3 weeks. I bought the crib based on the cashback. DO NOT TRUST the amount of cashback that they say you'll get!!!!
IT IS A SCAM!!!!!! I bought a fence July 20 using live search-it brought me to ebay-I purchased the fence for $1795 after setting up live cash back acct and at the end of the ebay transaction and using paypal it said I earned $250 cashback rewards. Well it still hasn't showed up in my acct. I have weekly emailed cashback and had live chats and they keep blaming ebay-I have kept all emails and copied all live chats including live chats with ebay (whom by the way are blaming microsoft) to prove this is all a scam if they have to pay bigger bucks out. On July 21 I bought haircombs and received $3.50 cashback which showed in my acct right away has now passed the 60 day deadline and is in my ebay acct but you can not spend it unless you a $5 balance-It is going to expire and they actually paid me nothing-I think I need a public investigation of this program
Wow. Glad I didn't take all the time you have in what sounds like an intentional run around
untill you give up scheme.
Wow. Glad I didn't take all the time you have in what sounds like an intentional run around
untill you give up scheme.
I am speaking with an attorney to organize a class action lawsuite against Microsoft. He feels that there is ample proof of organized fraudulent activiity. I, of course, was also a victim of Live Cashback fraud - only I intend to fight back. This type of behavior is at the very least dishonest and wrong, and if perpetrated long enough and with notorious disregard, it borders as fraudulent illegal activity.
I am on board with you and I still have all of my emails-including the live chat with ebay saying I earned $250 cashback reward from my July 20th purcahse of the fence for $1795.
Today is 10/8/08-over 2 1/2 months since my purchase and microsoft still hasn't credited
my acct-they are still working on it per latest email from them----what a crock
I too am a victim of cashback fraud. I have several items that qualify for cashback. Even in my E-bay Messages it says "You have Cashback" click on the link to get your cash back. I can't believe that a big corporation like Microsoft is screwing with people. I would love to join the class action lawsuit!!
It appears that Paypal is deciding who gets the cashback and who don't. My father purchased one of those $500 gift cards for $580 and the paypal police sent him an email stating he will NOT get the cashbck because this is called a sham. That you can NOT purchase something for the purpose of getting a rebate? WHAT? That is what rebates are for. Many thousands of auctions were bought and sold to get the "rebate". Ebay and paypal made a killing on each transaction, and now are saying they are not eligible for cashback from MS live? If I deceide to buy something for more than it is worth, that is my choice! That is free enterprise. I would guss thousands of people are being screwed out of money big time. The seller who has to pay huge final value fees, then paypal reverses the payments back to the buyers and the seller is screwed even more. Many bidders are filing disputes with paypal after getting the email from paypal stating they will NOT get the cashback. The email comes from Paypal, NOT MS live. So is it a scam? Certainly, only ebay and paypal come out with the big bucks.....AGAIN.
I am not a powerseller and started selling GC just like the thousands of others. I was legit, I bought them and sold them, and have proof of every sale. Paypal and ebay suspended my accounts, is holding my money (for suspicious activity) for 6 months. Now bidders are getting the email from payapl and are all filing disputes for the ENTIRE amount.
I would love to join the class action suit! Please provide info on how to join.
I completely agree that the Microsoft cashback thing is a scam! I made a purchase in June 2008 during the Microsoft 25% cashback promotion. Three weeks after I clicked the "pay me" button (when I'm supposed to receive my cashback money), on Sept 23, I got an email from cashteam@microsoft.com saying that there's a violation:
We regret to inform you that Microsoft is unable to pay the cashback savings you requested due to a violation of the terms of service of eBay or PayPal. If you have any additional questions, please contact PayPal directly, 1-888-221-1161.
I called Paypal and spent over 3 hours with their customer service people, because they didn't know about the cashback thing and I had to show them the policies on the web. Anyway, they were unable to find any violation of my transaction so they kicked me back to Microsoft.
From 9/23 till today (10/20), I have sent cashteam@microsoft.com more than 10 emails, but I never received a single reply! I also used the chat function at live.com and chatted with more than 15 agents. Every time I was promised to get a response from cash team in 48 hours, but after so many promised it still never happened..
Conclusion: isn't this a scam?!
What keeps two or more people from just scamming the system and not even selling anything. Say someone lists a $1000 camera. That would likely generate $200 in cashback. Then the buyer sends payment to his friend, via paypal. His friend pays the ebay and paypal fees ($80 or so). The friend then returns the money, outside of PayPal and they both pocket the $120 difference. No merchandise even has to be for sale, shipped or even exist.
Why isn't that possible?
For instance I just sold a lens for $850. The buyer said he got if for $550, with his $200 cashback and a discount offered by ebay (about $300 discount). My fees were less than $70. Were he and I in on scamming ebay, I could have just returned his money, outside of paypal, and not even shipped the item. That would have been a $230 net profit with nothing changing hands, except microsoft and ebay money.
Do livesearch offer cashback for the UK? If not will they be introducing it if any know? Thanks.
i get an error i'm not eligible for live.com rebate because i have to use my paypal account to make a payment. i do use my paypal accont with a credit card set up. i get 25% cashback amount bottom of ebay review page.
called paypal. they are incompetent morons!!! i was 30+ min on the phone with customer service. this idiot could barely speak english and had the worst case of ADD. i couldn't take it anymore and hung up.
save every page (google chrome or firefox, IE 7 doesn't allow me to save pages), backup files, take snapshots, if ebay or ms or paypal, either of those scammers refuse to pay they should be sued until they have no money left in the banks!!!
Hey! Thanks for all who posted with their experiences about the Cash-back program with Micro$od ,eBay and PayPal. As always it sounded to good to be true. I didn't take part and now it looks like they have removed it altogether. I just wanted to send out a thanks for all the people who took the time to warn others. Greatly appreciated! Thank you very much!....
25% is back. if doesn't load, refresh or delete cookies and try again.
No matter what the percentage, has ANYONE actually received cash in their paypal account? This was launched when? This article appeared in June, well past the 60 days it takes to get the cash. I've searched the internet and can find NO ONE actually getting the cash.
I have used my cashback 3 times. I received the cash back (109.80) via my PayPal account.
All you have to do is read the rules
1. use live search
2. Pay for something in LESS than an hour after you click that link
3. YOU MUST USE PAYPAL
I did take 2 days to show up in my live account after I made my last purchase.
I HAVE THE CASH AND HAVE SPENT IT ALREADY!!
A class action lawsuit??
GOOD GOD PEOPLE..........LIVE DONT HAVE TO DO CASHBACK AT ALL AND YOU WANT TO SUE THEM???????? IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD SOMETHING AT FULL PRICE......THEN DON'T BUY IT!!!!!!!!
I made my purchase in June but never received the cash back. It's a scam so be careful!
So why is this still alive? Who is benefitting from the scam? Why hasn't it been shut down? It's false claims and making people buy, buy, buy. Someone is getting paid to advertise and lure people in. Who should we contact for internet fraud?
Who's benefit from it? Ebay and Paypal and possibly Microsoft as well! It's a conspiracy. They made you spend money such that ebay can charge listing fees and closing fees, and then Paypal can charge transaction fees. The 25%-35% rebate entice people to buy expensive items, so it's a hefty income for ebay and paypal!
Has anyone received the cashback? I saw several auctions overcharging on gift cards and frankly if someone is advertising a gift card for $580 and selling it at that price because of the Cash back offer, then eBay, Paypal and Microsoft should cancel the cash back.
Sorry all for the opinion, Not! That is called fraud. Its like using a different name to collect a rebate that is one per customer or faking a receipt. Advertising an item way over cost just to get a rebate is scamming...so if your rebates were denied. Good for microsoft and paypal for picking out the scammers.
Its people like this who ruin these programs for everyone else.
I just do not know what to do. I was not able to receive a rebate for purchase made in July ($120). I am really frustrated with microsoft custom support. It is the worst in world. After initial respond to investigate I did not hear form them in three weeks. Where can I complain else? Microsoft should set a hot line to speak with live representative like ebay has. Indeed I won't use live search and this fraudulent cashback program.
If it is scam why we can not get them in the court. I would really support any class action against microsoft. Just let me know.
Has anybody succeeded in getting cash back after resolving a problem?
I'm starting to think it IS a scam. My timeline:
Early July: Bought the item on eBay.
September 4th: Money is finally available for payment so I click "Pay Me." Apparently it'll take up to14 days from now to process into Paypal. OK, fine.
October 2nd: The payment is still not processed (still says on my cashback page that it'll be paid in 14 days), so I go to live chat with "Scott," who seems apologetic and helpful: "I'm not even going to slow down, but go on and escalate this immediately to our research team to have them investigate for you. You should have had the cashback by now," he says. He says the research team will be communicating with me privately via email and asks for a minimum of 72 hours' time, but says "Luckily, they're handling matters like these fairly quickly at present." I believed him. HAHAHAHAHA!!! Bitter laughter.
October 5th: I notice an e-mail from the Live Search Cashback team dated Sept. 24th in my inbox that got jumbled up with all the junk mail. Apparently I had been DENIED cashback and that "Currently, this program is limited to the United States and our research indicates that you do not reside in the United States." The following section was highlighted in yellow, indicating I did not meet requirements: "Are a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and at least 18 years of age." Um, what?! I have been a U.S. citizen since birth; I am definitely over 18; I just graduated from a U.S. college and have a house in the U.S. I've been traveling since graduating, but does that negate my CITIZENSHIP? Who, I would like to know, is doing their research? I'm kind of creeped out, to be honest. Have they been following me onto planes and then taking their info from there?
I send an e-mail AND open up a live chat, where "Jennifer" tells me that there's essentially nothing she can do: "Unfortunately, we cannot see any emails sent to you by the cashteam. So, I am sorry to say, you will have to wait for someone to contact you from there. If you have not heard from them in a week, please contact us again."
October 9th: Still nothing. It hasn't been a week yet, but somehow I am losing trust in Microsoft's promises to get back to me, so decide to send another e-mail. (All these e-mails are essentially reiterations of the first, with an introductory note quickly explaining and saying I sent this on such and such date.) In addition to the usual automated blather, I get an extra reply from "Andy" at Live Search cashback customer support (which was probably automated too, come to think of it): "Thank you for contacting Live Search cashback Customer Support. I apologize for the long response time you are experiencing. We are currently still working on this issue and we will contact you as soon as more information is available. Have a nice day!"
November 3rd: Still nothing. It's been almost a month since Lil' Andy's promise. I sent four e-mails to various departments today (of increasingly hysterical nature - I'm not proud of them, but hey, calm rationality didn't work) but have little to no expectation of ever hearing from them.
The cashback is still in my account, and STILL shows up as having 14 days to go. Hahahaha!! (This is not laughter of actual amusement, but rather the crazed cackling of the now insane.) What can we do about this? BBB? Where can we take this? I mean, I guess I'm relatively lucky in that I'm not waiting on hundreds of cashback, but even the small amount I'm waiting for ($50ish) would come in pretty handy right now, and it's JUST. TAKING. SO. DAMN. LONG. I'm almost tempted to just give up, but c'mon, Microsoft, this is just terrible business. And, yes, reeks of a scam.
it turn out ebay is responsible for selecting people who receive coupon codes (10, 15, 20%, etc). these can be combined with live.com scam cash back offer... but not many get these coupons. sellers intentionally raised prices above retail because of these deals and some buyers won't get their cashback. ebay paypal ms will find every little reason in fine print that will disqualify most buyers from getting cashback.
It is not scam. You have to read the rule thoroughly. If you feel doubtful, spend time to chat with them before placing order. Mainly,
1. no multiple accounts, especially Ebay, Paypal accounts. The number of transaction is limited (12 currently) for each. If you use more than one account to exceed the limitation, all cashback in all acounts will be gone (they consider your cheated). You can ask your family member to open Ebay and Paypal account under their name and their credit card to help you buy more.
2. Dont try to apply discount or coupon. No bargain the shipping fee. Dont deal with sellers to get a partial refund. You wont get cashback. This described in section 17 clearly.
3. Keep your cashback record clean. If you cancel or return your order, let them know by email or chat. They keep that in record and you have their trust.
1. I only have one account where I made my ebay purchase, but I have two paypal accounts -- one for personal use and one for business use. I created both accounts more than 6 years ago and monthly transaction with both are just 1 or 2. I never exceeded the account limitation.
2. I didn't use any discount or coupon when I made my cashback purchase.
3. I have all records with me and have sent cashteam all emails I received from ebay and paypal -- but it's just a black hole and nobody from cash team ever responded despite of more than 10 email requests. Even the manager Ron E. in cashback customer service has emailed cashteam 4-5 times but didn't get any response. If he can't get any response, how is it possible for me to any response?
Speaking about trust, how can I have any on Microsoft? I've wasted so much time (more than 2 months) emailing and chatting with them, yet I still haven't received my money, not even an estimate.
I have purchased many items online. So far Live.com has paid me about $350... My total earnings have been right at $1500. My issue is that one cashback amount I requested was $840... I have YET to receive it and it has now been 3 1/2 weeks since I requested them to send it to my bank account. Its still showing as processing. I have been told by 2 reps that my account issue is escalated and they will send it soon... Still nothing. Is it a scam? I dont think it is since I have received $350 so far in my bank account, but there are definitely tweaks that need to be worked
The person stating they HAVE received cashback, was it shopping on ebay? Also, everything I read said there was a limit of $200 cash back per purchase. You are the first I've read anywhere that has actually received cashback, but I'm curious if ANY of it was from purchases made on ebay.
I used it 3 times and have gotten back 109.80.
I HAVE RECEIVED THE CASH!!! I had it delivered to my PayPal account.
ALL 3 purchases were made on EBAY.
I did have an issue with the biggest one, it would never show up in my cashback account, I got the email eBay sent to my eBay in box that said I had cashback coming. It never showed up in my cashback account.......however, after emails to LIVE ...... I looked closely at the item page and it showed up as payment was being processed.....I wrote LIVE and sure as the world, that was the hold up. Eventually they got it figured out and my money did get sent to my cashback account.
To those of you thinking of a class action lawsuit I say...........read the rules.
Yup. SCAM!!! I went through the entire deal - they said I was going to get it...then mysteriously said what I bought was a "SHAM" and took back over $280 worth of cashback that I was due. Total rip off. MICROSOFT AND EBAY have put a NEGATIVE image (AGAIN) in my head. I'll stick to Google...and maybe switch to a Mac. I'm tired of their dishonesty....
How can we get cashback money? It's been two months and I have talked to several agents but they just kept asking me to wait patiently. There are only two ways to contact cashback support: email and live chat. I have tried both but neither worked. The wait time for chat is over an hour, and then the agents just tell you that they are doing their best and you have to wait longer time... Email does the same thing.
Can we file a formal complaint to Microsoft or some authority?
@Zhao - Yup...same problem here...this is ridiculous and has class action lawsuit written all over it...for ebay and microsoft. Ridiculous....
How do we file class action lawsuit against Microsoft & Ebay? At first I thought I was the only one with bad luck, but after talking to the agents they said there had been a lot of problems. In fact, the long wait time for live chat is already an indication of problem.
This is a good way to make money: you promise customers a good rebate to allure them spend money (whereby Ebay profits from listing fee and closing fee, and Paypal profits from transaction fee), and then mark their transaction invalid after 3 months (so that they can no longer return or get refund) and void the rebate. In some other cases like mine here, they just keep customers (foolishly and hopelessly) wait indefinitely long, which is equivalent of no payment.
We must end this wrong-doing!
Not sure on filing a lawsuit against ebay and microcrap. I'm in the same boat in waiting around. ... I had another one that was SUPPOSED to qualify but never even showed up in my cashback account.
I am getting the same run-around from their email reps saying they are trying to find the transaction. They have been for 20 days.....
I've always thought something was fishy with this Microsoft deal. Is it a scam? Is it misguided ploy for Microsoft to gain marketshare? Or did someone goof either at Microsoft or eBay? I want to thank you for bringing up the topic for all to discuss.
Personally, I'm very skeptical about the whole thing because I have a lot of experience buying and selling on eBay (6157+ transactions). You see, eBay is a search engine and not a retailer. eBay does not collect 25-35% from the sellers (they collect much smaller fees for insertion, final value and listing upgrades).
So I want to repeat: eBay IS NOT A RETAILER! They can NOT give away rebates of 25-35% without losing money! On the other hand, if this offer came from Microsoft and Amazon I would think it to be legitmate. Amazon IS a retailer. Amazon buys wholesale and sells their own books, DVDs and other products retail. They also invite other sellers to sell under their platform. When they offer free shipping or a rebate, they are discounting off of the retail price -- they don't offer free shipping or discount off of their seller's wares.
So you see why I'm skeptical about Microsoft's CashBack program?
THERE ARE LEGITIMATE CASH BACK PROGRAMS OUT THERE:
I'm signed up with a back program where you can gain up to 36 percent of the seller's fees in cash back when you shop eBay. Or you can earn 20 percent of the seller's fees, PLUS 4 percent of the seller's fee when your direct referrals shop and their referrals shop and their referrals shop (and so on to five generations). With my program, you earn referral commissions on the eBay seller's fee, which includes the seller's insertion fee, final value fee, and any listing upgrade fees. It's clear. It's free. And it is legitimate loyalty program.
Did Microsoft Goof? Or is Microsoft looking to buy eBay instead of Yahoo?
The fact is, someone is LOSING BIG MONEY on this cash back deal and there must be a reason why. Microsoft has lots of money to burn, but they don't have market share in the search engine world. eBay does have market share, but has been losing ground.
Whatever the case, I think Microsoft made a big mistake. The cash back deal is generating lots of BAD WILL against Microsoft. Any market share they'd received so far will surely be short lived. Your blog describes bargain hunters brilliantly and the fact remains that there is controversy surrounding the cash back system.
Only time will tell if buyers will forgive Microsoft (and eBay for that matter).
Happy shopping,
M.C. Nygard
Former eBay Platinum Powerseller
If you have ever contacted Microsoft cashback, you'll know how many problems they've had with this. Several agents have told me that it took almost two months for themselves to get their own cashback. However, my wait time has been longer than that. In the past 2+ months I have been chatting and emailing different customer service agents, but to no avail. The wait time for chat had increases significantly to over an hour, and now they just removed the chat function from customer support!!
Looks as though it is dead as of November 14, 2008 for any search on Live for Ebay items. I hate when Microsoft tries to take market share from Google, better luck next time.
Yeah, unfortunately this seems to be dead. I was about to start buying parts for my new computer too :P and then boom, no more cashback popups for ebay.. and i just saw one yesterday too....
if anyone gets it to work or finds out whats really on contact me!
myspace.com/hidingfromthegallows
Microsoft's section 17 includes the term "sham". Microsoft live chat has indicated that if you sell an item, such as a gift card, for more than the face value, it is a "sham". Since it's a "Sham", it is ineligible for the cashback program. Lots of sites will selling card, such as an american express card, and charge fee's for charging, mailing, etc. You can not buy it AND get it delivered to your house for face value.
Suggestion on Ebay auctions. Don't sell just a gift card. Sell the gift card and some other items, like a "rare" pen (you might have a dozen in your deskdraw) that is worth $150. You combine the "rare" pen and giftcard ($500) and sell them together for $579, a savings of $71!!!
Gotta play their game, as they wrote the rules....
Still kinda confused by that last comment there and how that applies to why they stopped doing cashback rewards on ebay...
Looks like you can't use live chat anymore for help, not that any help was offered anyway. All I know is that I want my money back. They don't reply to emails and live chat passes the buck and tells you that someone will be in touch. No one ever is though. I am pi$$ed and I do think a class action suit is in order.
I'm with you there Kristina. If something comes up everyone needs to jump on the band wagon cause They owe me money right now too... It wont clear till jan 2nd but im sure i''ll have some trouble when the time comes. I'm going to continue to try and use the cashback things tho since im already buying stuff anyway, and if for whatever reason i get the money back then hooray, if not... im sure in time there will be somewhere to put my name into the list of people who need to get there payments from MS, the hard way.
I've been having problems getting my money for 4 months. Got the "sham transaction" emails and everything, but I did NOT do anything fraudulent.
Paypal claims ignorance, Microsoft blames Paypal, and no one will help.
I'm doing my best to build documentation against Microsoft, Paypal, and eBay to send to the FTC, NC Attorney General, BBB and anyone else who will listen.
So feel free to send your story, and any documentation to microsoft.live.cashback.scam "at" gmail.com
Righteous, keep at it then, Hopefully I wont get screwed jan 2nd when my cashback should process.
Here is my deal. I set up a Hotmail account. Followed a link for the cashback into eBay and made a purchase. Did everything right. I went into my messages at eBay and clicked on the link that took me to the cashback site to finish registration. I enter all the information and clicked to go to the next page. It came back and said that my street does not exist in my zip code. It is a correct address and I do get my mail here along with the item I purchased from ebay. It is the same address used in my paypal account.
So, then I sent an email to to live search and the only response I got was an automated reply email saying they would get back to me in 24 hours. I never heard from them so I used the live chat. Live chat said they would let the technical people know and I should hear something in a week and that if I don't, I should contact them again. I waited a week and nothing. I tried to get on the live chat again and it is no longer available. So yesterday I sent another email and I got another automated reply stating that I would hear something in 3-4 days.
I don't know of any other way to contact livesearch. They have no phone number or address. I am only out about $16 but it's the point of the matter that has me ticked. I will not use again because I don't want to be jipped out of more money.
I'm building a new computer, I'm out lots of money, BUT i was going to spend the money either way, it would just be nice to get the 600$ back in january :) cause seriously thats like 2 months of my portion of the rent... and I'm a college student.
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Live Search Cashback is a scam. I bought a HP PC and was promised 20% cashback. After 6 weeks, Live Search sent me an e-mail saying that HP informed them that my purchased was returned and hence cancelled my Cashback, however the PC was still sitting in my house. I did not return or exchange anything with PC. In fact I had not even contacted HP since the PC was delivered.
THIS IS A SCAM!!!!
Just got the following email from Microsoft cashback Team (cashteam@microsoft.com):
We regret to inform you that due to violations of Microsoft’s terms of service you are no longer eligible to participate in any Microsoft ecommerce program. Your account(s) will be closed and all purchases and rebates will not be honored.
I don't know which rules I have violated when I made my purchase. This is ridiculous that after 3 months waiting, Microsoft just forfeit the rebate without telling the exact reason. Moreover, all my pending rebates will not be honored. Is it legal for Microsoft to do such things?
Complete scam if I've ever seen one. Just tried my Cashback account and it's gone. Can't log in, just pulls up a blank page. So now what, email support 400 times and waste my time?? Right.
Use Fatwallet or something else. These a-holes are just out to screw everyone. What an idiot I was to think they'd actually come through.
Does anyone actually know anyone that has received their cashback?
There are 2 posts in this blog where they say they actually got the cash.
Recently?
Recently?
Nov 8 and 11 responses above. I have about 2 weeks remaining to see if I get over $300 I should be eligible for and will definitley report back if I get it.
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