Microsoft UK Slammed By BBC Consumer Show

By Adam Hartley

Consumers’ ally, BBC TV’s Watchdog finally got round to doing a report on the ongoing problems with faulty Xbox 360s (known as ‘the red ring of death’^†) last night. The program claims to have received over 250 complaints about Xbox 360s breaking down outside of the 12-month warranty period.

Aside from the faults, which have been ongoing for some time now, the program concentrated on Microsoft UK’s policy on returns. Whereas Microsoft in the US has pledged to replace all Xbox 360 consoles manufactured before January 2006 regardless of how long they have been owned, the company’s UK division is still asking customers to pay for faulty machines to be repaired if they are over a year old (the units, of course, not the customers).

Microsoft UK has responded this morning with a lengthy comment, which we are reprinting in full at the end of this story. Its first paragraph, however, is telling:



To say that each incident is unique strikes SPOnG as mighty suspect - at best it looks like classic double-speak with "case-by-case" basis actually meaning, "There is no way that we're going to set a precedent!". At worst it suggest that the 360 is so riddled with faults that neither consumers nor Microsoft itself can replicate any single error.

During the program a number of gamers told presenter and champion of the right to buy stuff that doesn’t break, Nicky Campbell, about their consoles failing them - outside of Microsoft’s 12-month warranty period.

A statement from Watchdog’s producers claims that, “The Xbox 360 was a global phenomenon when it was launched in the UK in December 2005. The world's richest man and Microsoft boss Bill Gates called it the Ferrari of home entertainment. But we've had nearly 250 complaints from people who think it's more of a clapped-out old banger.

“Worse still, you've been telling us that some of the problems with your faulty Xbox 360 consoles occur when the one-year warranty has run out. That means you have to fork out to get it fixed.

“Alex Ainsow had no problems for a year. But, just after the warranty ran out, his Xbox 360 wouldn't stop crashing. He had to pay £85 for the repair. His second Xbox 360 lasted three days before it got the 'three red lights' – a hardware failure known in the gaming community as the 'ring of death'. Once you see them, the box can't be fixed.”

If you or anybody else you know have had or are having problems with the 360 red ring of death then please let us know in the forum below. SPOnG is (obviously) on the side of gamers and consumers’ rights and we are more than happy to assist anybody with a genuine case who has been short-changed by any company.

Full Microsoft Statement




^{† “The Red Ring of Death” is a generic name given to range of faults and issues with the 360. It refers to the circular indicator light, which is made of four individual segments, on the front of the unit. In normal operation, this appears green. However, when things go wrong, each or all segments glow red. A different issue results in a different segment going blood coloured.}