Complaining that it is too hard to get a refund for unwanted preinstalled copies of Windows, an Italian consumer group, Associazion per i diritti degli utenti e consumatori (ADUC), has filed a suit against Microsoft. The suit acknowledges that hardware manufacturers share some part of the blame, but claims that the primary problem is Microsoft.
This is not the first time ADUC has taken to the courts over Windows preinstalls. In 2007, the group successfully sued HP after it failed to abide by the terms of the Microsoft End User License Agreement, which explicitly permits a user to refuse to accept the terms and receive a full refund.
The group claims that although the terms of the EULA are clear enough and include a provision for the refund, actually obtaining one is harder than it should be: PC manufacturers are failing to abide by their contractual obligation. These failures are claimed to be a result of Microsoft using its market position to unlawfully promote its products, to the detriment of users.
ADUC is calling on Italian computer buyers who have bought computers with unwanted and unused Microsoft software to join the suit, arguing that said users should be entitled to a refund.
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