Groupon explains their Windows 8 Pro deal mess

Groupon South Africa said that its promotion allowing customers to purchase the new Microsoft Windows 8 Pro software for R599 is a Microsoft approved deal, and that it is for an upgrade rather than a full version of the software.

Groupon South Africa said yesterday that its Windows 8 deal is not an upgrade copy, but a “full package that gets delivered in a box to the customers address”.

The company has now amended the deal, saying that it “requires customers to have a minimum of Windows Vista, XP or Windows 7, in order to make the upgrade”.

One of the gripes from consumers is that they could purchase a Windows 8 Pro upgrade directly from Microsoft for only R299 (or more accurately $40) – around half the price of the Groupon deal.

Groupon South Africa dismissed this concern, saying that the “deal offered by Microsoft, which allows customers to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for R 299, is only for customers who have purchased a laptop with the pre-installed Microsoft software recently”.

However, this claim by Groupon South Africa is false. According to the Microsoft website the upgrade will work for PCs running Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Microsoft South Africa further confirmed that the Windows 8 Pro deal offered on the Microsoft website is exactly the same basic product as the products offered by stores like Groupon South Africa and Incredible Connection – with the exception that the Microsoft deal offers a digital copy of the software with a disk.

Groupon Windows 8 Pro deal description

Good news is that consumers who felt that they have been misled by Groupon South Africa’s Windows 8 deal will be refunded.

“Groupon will reimburse customers who have purchased the deal incorrectly and remains committed to ensuring customer satisfaction with every deal,” the company said.

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