Complaint Review: XBox Live

My son's xbox live account was hacked - through no fault of his - on 3/23/11.  The first call I made, from the office of my bank manager, was lengthy but understandably so, as we needed to assure that the charges were indeed fraudulent.  With that part of the issue out of the way, I made a second phone call from home - so that both my son and I could be in front of the console to answer any questions - and I was assured that the matter would be investigated in a timely manner, and my son's account restored, with a further month's credit for the inconvenience, within seven to ten days.  This was on also on March 23rd.  I called again on April 10th, not having heard anything from your customer service department nor investigative team; the person I spoke to at that time told me he didn't know how this matter had "slipped through the cracks" and that somebody should have contacted me sooner, but that I would be receiving a call or an e-mail "within 24 to 72 hours".  I generously allowed six days (144 hours; exactly TWICE the maximum timeframe) before calling again this evening.  After navigating your labyrinth of a 'support system', and I use that term loosely, I was able to speak with a "Wesley", who informed me that my son's xbox live account had expired, and not been renewed, in November of 2010.  Patently false; I have the receipt from newegg.com indicating the purchase of a 12-month xbox gold membership card, dated 11/9/10, which was activated approximately three days later.  I told "Wesley" that he should check again, at which time I was put on hold for 40 minutes while he "checked into it".  He then came back on the line to ask if my son had any alternate gamer tag.  No, he does not and never did.  Back on hold for another 20 minutes, and "Wesley" informs me that management told him that it would be ANOTHER seven to ten days before the investigative unit would/could issue a replacement code.  I told "Wesley" that wasn't good enough, and asked to speak to a member of management, specifically, the manager that "Wesley" had conferred with.  I was put on hold AGAIN for ANOTHER 45 minutes (I have the phone record; I'm not exaggerating the time on hold) at which point "Wesley" returned to the call to reiterate that it would be another seven to ten days before the replacement code would be issued, and "management told me to handle the call".  I repeated my initial request to speak with a member of management; "Wesley" denied the request, and restated yet again that the replacement code would be e-mailed in seven to ten days.

This is simply unacceptable.  I am copying this letter to the Better Business Bureau, and any other protective consumer agencies I can get to listen.  It was bad enough that somebody hacked my son's account and rang up $180 in fraudulent charges, which caused some inconvenience financially, but to be told that resolution would occur within a certain time frame - TWICE - and have you not make good on that promise - TWICE - constitutes fraud and deceptive practices.

I am also going to post on every single Xbox forum of my experience over the past month.

It probably won't make a difference to your gigantic profits, but consumers should be informed when a corporation as large as yours engages in fraud.