Microsoft sued for $75 million
Two Canadians file a class action lawsuit against Microsoft seeking $75 million in damages for alleged billing problems with its online service.
The two filed suit in Ontario Court General Division seeking the damages on behalf of the class, if it is indeed established.
MSN's billing problems have been anything but secret. As reported by CNET's NEWS.COM, the company has been plagued with problems with its system. As a result, many members have been back-billed, while others complain they were over-billed. Some have said they had difficulty straightening out the matter with Microsoft.
But Mark Murray, a spokesman for Microsoft, said the damages sought in the lawsuit exceed the scope of the problem.
"It appears that this lawsuit has been filed by two disgruntled customers," he said. "We're very sorry to learn of their concerns and we will work to investigate and resolve their individual complaints, but we do not believe there are any issues here which merit a lawsuit, let alone a $75 million lawsuit.
"MSN has been working very hard to get member billing current," he added. "We recently upgraded the accounts and the billing system with features that make it faster and more accurate."
He also added that MSN has attempted to communicate with its customers about the problems.
MSN's billing problems date back more than a year, when the company back-billed customers for several months of service all at once. The company had the same problem last month.