Office Home Office invalid Product Key

[Jean]

I've read all the threads and "answers" to this question. JoAnn Paules and
Microsoft "Help(less)" suggest to contact Dell since they pre-installed my
Microsoft Office Home Business Edition. Dell Customer Support said I had to
contact Microsoft who wants me to pay $59 presumably so they can tell me I
have to call Dell. The only 25 digit Product Key I have is for Vista. Has
anyone found their way out of this Pass-the-Buck maze invented by Microsoft?
Jean in NC

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Invented by Microsoft? No, invented by Dell. They preinstalled the
software, they are responsible for all support and provision of product
keys. Microsoft was never a part of this equation.

Having said that, did you check all of the documentation that came with your
computer? Is this a full version or a trial?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.

After furious head scratching, Jean asked:

| I've read all the threads and "answers" to this question. JoAnn
| Paules and Microsoft "Help(less)" suggest to contact Dell since they
| pre-installed my Microsoft Office Home Business Edition. Dell
| Customer Support said I had to contact Microsoft who wants me to pay
| $59 presumably so they can tell me I have to call Dell. The only 25
| digit Product Key I have is for Vista. Has anyone found their way
| out of this Pass-the-Buck maze invented by Microsoft? Jean in NC

 

[Joseph Meehan]

I've read all the threads and "answers" to this question. JoAnn Paules
and
Microsoft "Help(less)" suggest to contact Dell since they pre-installed my
Microsoft Office Home Business Edition. Dell Customer Support said I had
to
contact Microsoft who wants me to pay $59 presumably so they can tell me I
have to call Dell. The only 25 digit Product Key I have is for Vista.
Has
anyone found their way out of this Pass-the-Buck maze invented by
Microsoft?
Jean in NC

Dell may have installed a full version or a trial version. Do you know
which? In any case they likely installed a special version that they get at
a greatly reduced price, but part of that deal is that Dell mush supply
support.

If you have the special OEM version, you need to contact Dell for all
support and any keys needed to use the program.

If you have a trial version, then it is only good during the trial, that
is all Dell gave you and after than you need to buy the product (often at a
reduced price),

Only if Dell included the full retail version can Microsoft provide
support. Frankly I doubt if you got the full retail version.

 

[Beth Melton]

I'd say it's more of a "pass-the-buck maze" created by the OEM. They
purchase Office at a greatly reduced price for resale (OEM version) and part
of the agreement with Microsoft is they are also to support the customers
they sell Office to. Only problem is when you need help they aren't there
and tell you to call Microsoft. They also tell you "Microsoft creates the
rules, not them" which is a total lie. I've read the OEM System Builder
License and it states they are to provide end-user support. Now, I also
think Microsoft needs to share in the blame as well because they provide a
lot of content to OEMs about how to sell Office but very little in regards
to the OEM's obligation to the end-user (as far as I've found the only
mention that they are responsible for end-user support in the License
agreement and it doesn't it exactly spell out all of their obligations to
the end-user) and Microsoft doesn't seem to attempt to enforce the OEM's
responsibility either.

Unfortunately when you buy OEM software you're dealing with a middle man and
you end up getting what you pay for. I'll personally never purchase OEM
software. If you do discover what they installed was actually an OEM trial
version (and I suspect that's the case) I wouldn't purchase it either. The
end result is still an OEM version of Office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton

 

[Joseph Meehan]

They also tell you "Microsoft creates the rules, not them" which is a
total lie.

It is not a lie, but they tend to forget to tell their customer that
they agreed to those rules when they bought that version. I would not be
surprised if the people at the dealer support don't know the deal either.

 

[Beth Melton]

It is not a lie, but they tend to forget to tell their customer that
they agreed to those rules when they bought that version. I would not be
surprised if the people at the dealer support don't know the deal either.

Yeah, that's right. They forget to tell their customers that they weren't
getting their support. <grin>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton