Bought 2008 32-bit - do i have any recourse

[burghboy]

After purchasing all of the parts for my new machine (AMD hex-core, 8GB RAM, 2x500GB hdd (RAID 1 boot volume), 2 x 1.5T hdd (raid 1 data volume), I special ordered an OEM copy of Server 2008 from the same company where I bought the parts. I was a little upset when I realized that I could have saved $100 and sales tax ordering from newegg.com. But I was even more upset when I got the disc and it was 32-bit Server 2008 Standard and not the 64-bit R2 Standard I assumed I was buying. I have not opened the software, but the company will not take it back. Am I just SOL or is there a way I can trade that for the software I thgought I was getting. Payment was taken before delivery because it was special order. Is there a number at Microsoft I can call? I have perused their site but found nothing to this point. Thanks for any help!!

[cluberti]

If you ordered it with a credit card, and the advertised product was NOT 32bit Windows Server 2008 (for example, you bought what was advertised as 2008 R2 but got 2008), then call your credit card company and issue a chargeback. Get out your receipt, and any documentation you have to provide to the CC company that the product is not what was advertised/purchased, and you'll find that either you'll get your money back, or the vendor will want to talk when they risk losing the money back to the CC company. If you bought it with cash or a debit card, that's a lot harder to do.

[iamtheky]

There is always WalMart - though i suppose there are some ethical questions.

their criteria for software return consists of requirements you meet.

Computer software: Must be returned unopened.

Edited May 19, 2010 by iamtheky

[jwilcox746]

...If you bought it with cash or a debit card, that's a lot harder to do.

I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in here regarding cluberti's comment regarding purchases with a debit card being harder to dispute than those made with a credit card. In the past that may have been the case. But... The larger card companies; Visa, Mastercard and AMEX, all offer similiar, if not identical, protections for all purchases through their system. So if you used a Debit Card with a Visa logo for example and made the purchase without providing a PIN, you used the Visa system which qualifies you for their contractual protections. If you make a purchase and provide a PIN you're using the ATM system and your transaction falls under different rules/laws. Since you stated that your purchase was online you very likely used one of the major credit providers systems and should benefit from protections provided by it.

Here's a quote from Visa's site regarding Visa Debit card transactions; "Debit cards have the same security protections like as credit cards. Just like credit card cards, debit cards have Zero Liability* fraud protection and dispute resolution options."

You can find the page I took the above quote from here; http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/personal_finance/debit.html

[burghboy]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I used my debit, but I'll have to look at my receipt. I really don't want my money back, just to have what I thought I was buying. I have a wonderful machine waiting for her OS , and a desperate programmer (me) who wants to use his new powerhouse . The retailer sent me to MS System Builder support. they will only help if it volume licensing and told me to go back to the vendor. I've dealt with them a lot in the past and don't wnt to assume that they were deliberately deceptive. It's not like the software was on their shelves - they had to special-order it in. I just can't fathom why they would special order in 32-bit software for a new machine or assume that is what the customer wanted.