Quite off topic but still very annoying...

About 2 years ago I signed up for XBOX-Live, because I was playing with the XBOX console and it's "security". Because I don't want to have my own credit card, I used the one of my father to pay for the account. But the account itself was registered on my person. One year later I forgot to cancel the account in time, because the XBOX in question was quite unfit to be used as XBOX-Live device. Somehow Microsoft managed to debit my father again, although the credit card used in the initial signup was no longer valid and meanwhile replaced by a new one.

Today I though to myself: "Hey don't forget to cancel the registration again" and so I called the XBOX Live support. The first try was already very funny, because the operator was saying his name and when I started talking he suddenly said: "Hello, are you there? I cannot hear you. If you can hear me, then there is something wrong. Please call again."

So I called again and mysteriously the phone menu had changed. Now I had to press a bunch of buttons to navigate through the menu, ending up with an operator that most probably was from the netherlands. He looked up my account by the phone number I told him and I had to verify my identity by telling him, name and address.

Unfortunately the funny part ended here, because he refused to cancel my account, because I am not the owner of the credit card, that was used to pay. Unfortunately I did not have the number memorized in head, so I could not convince him to cancel my account by just giving him the last 4 digits. According to him credit card verification is needed for some time now, because people canceled accounts for fun. I actually wonder why this is the problem of the paying customer.

Whatever this phone call was a waste of time. I additionally wrote a support request to the XBOX Live email support to get a postal address to sent my cancelation and complaints to, but of course there is no answer yet. The funny thing is: I bet when I call the support again with the new CC# of my father they will refuse the cancelation again, because it isn't the credit card used in the signup.

I will keep you updated...