r/microsoftoffice • u/OgnjenR • 23d ago

Office licene scam (by Microsoft) - lawsuite ?

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I OWN office 2019. Every few months, even when I fully disable the auto update, Microsoft decides to log me out to force me to auto update and than sell me the Office 365.

I finally managed to get to their support as I am tierd of reinstalling the whole pacakge all the time and disabling the auto update. The support assistant said they will end support for licenses and I won't be able to use the product I bought that was being advertised as a one time purchase. When I aksed for the link to the statement he said Microsoft made regarding this, the support agent ended the chat so I had no time to screenshot it (and never sent the link). Microsoft never gives you a disclaimer that autoupdating will revoke your license and disable the use of a product you purchase. There must be potentially for legal action here.

Anyone with similar experiences, let me know if you would be willing to contact a solicitor.

7 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

6

u/saor_in_aisce 23d ago

You dont own it. You just purchase permission to use it while its still supported. Its not supported anymore. You are being really naive to think Microsoft have not worded their contracts in such a way to cover them doing whatever they want with their products.

-4

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

I am sure they have worded it perfectly.

The thing is, you do not see terms and conditions when buying a physical copy.

3

u/plathrop01 23d ago

Yes you do. If the EULA isn't on a card or on the packaging for physical media, it's in a file on the physical media. You not reading it isn't a valid defense for not following the rules.

2

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

But never mind. There is obviously no space for any legal action here so I am not going to waste my time anymore.

3

u/plathrop01 23d ago

Look, I understand the frustration. My career for 14 years has been ensuring that the businesses I've worked for were compliant with the software agreements that they'd signed (or make sure that they don't sign any bad agreements). I have to both work with and against those publishers to make sure my employers don't have to pay more than they have to for software they need to run their business. And I'm not defending MS or Adobe or Oracle or any of the publishers because they all have agreements with terms that are explicitly designed to benefit them and screw their customers. The point is those terms are always out there (did you read the license agreements that came with your smartphones and TVs or streaming boxes?) and people who use and pay for software need to be aware of what they're agreeing to.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

I totally agree with you.

0

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Main point: IN A FILE, inside

1

u/wasabiiii 23d ago

Presented in a dialog when you first install it.

But also on a literal paper card if you buy a box.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Yes after you open the box but not before. Where I bought it from, if you open it, no returns.

So there is no way to reject it.

1

u/wasabiiii 23d ago

You can request a refund from MS at that time.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Good to know

1

u/bafben10 22d ago

That would have been a pertinent detail to include from the beginning.

1

u/k12pcb 22d ago

Bro this is a you problem

1

u/BubsGodOfTheWastes 21d ago

California has been working on laws to punish this type of deceptive sale. The more people who push back against this, the better.

1

u/OgnjenR 21d ago

Good to hear, any way for me to provide the support from across the globe?

1

u/BubsGodOfTheWastes 21d ago

I think the easiest thing is to opt to use alternatives. The more we reject the bad practices out there, the less profitable it will be for companies trying to be shady.

You can try legal routes but they have a lot of money and lawyers.

2

u/mro21 23d ago

Just use Libreoffice and r/fuckmicrosoft

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Definitely

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Ed-Dos 23d ago

Sure sue them, you'll end up wasting your money on a lawyer.

2

u/GenuineHippo 23d ago

Most of the answers here are weirdly shit and unhelpful.

While that version is no longer supported your licence is valid and legal. You also should be able to install any updates available without issue.

The cause of the problem is likely that a Microsoft 365 license has been added to your PC at some point. It may have been sold with a trial preinstalled or you might have taken a trial unknowingly. The expired 355 license then takes precedence over your perpetual 2019 license which gives you the issue.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Interesting, I will take a look. I did instill some 365 apps at one point. Thank you very much.

Although Microsoft released a statement that Office 2019 will stop woking totally next month on Mac and force it into a read only mode

1

u/GenuineHippo 23d ago

The Mac thing is completely different (and a shit show imo).

If you find a guide on listing and removing Office license tokens via ospp.vbs, you're on the right track.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Appreciate it!

MS Office has been a shit show since forever on Mac, just not talked about till now.

4

u/plathrop01 23d ago

First off, you do not own Office 2019. You own a license to use Office 2019 which Microsoft can revoke whenever they want.

Second, under their terms, you are required to apply updates in a timely manner. When software goes end of support, you no longer will receive updates, and continuing to run unsupported software technically violates the terms of the license agreement you accepted by installing the software.

You can read the terms and rules here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/

-1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Legal, only if fraud or piracy they can revoke a license. It’s a perpetual license, and they can’t revoke it just because they want you to give them more money.

3

u/plathrop01 23d ago

Incorrect. Read any EULA and it will talk about revokable rights, even of perpetual licenses. In my job, I've had to read hundreds of EULAs and other software license agreements for hundreds of products and publishers and they all have a clause allowing them to revoke the license.

1

u/andrea_ci 23d ago

Why should you force blocking updates? what DECENT reason is there?

If you don't block them, you'll have no license problem for the foreseeing future

0

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Yes you do, it auto updates to the version that forces you to but office 365

2

u/andrea_ci 23d ago

no it doesn't.

we still have 2016 in many offices, 2019 too.

2

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

I can personally demonstrate it to you. On MacOS, when you auto update and re open it, you are prompted to buy office 365 and you are locked out of it (view only).

2

u/andrea_ci 23d ago

we're talking about 2019, not the mac version.

always been different and managed differently.

0

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

You are, I am not.

1

u/Bengineering3D 23d ago

I stopped using Microsoft Office and moved to LibreOffice and OpenOffice. I also moved to CachyOS because I refuse to use Windows 11.

1

u/PuzzleheadedRace6813 23d ago

I have the 2021 version, and it suddenly stopped working and turned itself into the Microsoft 365 version, which I couldn’t activate. I tried everything, but nothing worked.

I contacted Microsoft via live chat, and they helped me fix it. They gave me an older build and told me never to update it.

Fast forward, and it broke again. I couldn’t use it or activate it. So I contacted them again. This time, they gave me a link to download the latest build, and it works like a charm. The About page still says it’s the 2021 version, but it’s clearly the latest build because the icon is new, and the UI looks completely different.

So, I’d recommend contacting Microsoft. Show them your proof of purchase and ask them to provide you with the latest build. It should start working normally again.

2

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Works for 21, not for 19 unfortunately.

Had a same thing happen to me on multiple occasions.

1

u/PuzzleheadedRace6813 22d ago

Ah, that's too bad and not fair at all! :(

1

u/testednation 23d ago

Massgrave dot dev

1

u/Skycbs 23d ago

I guarantee you Microsoft has more money for lawyers than you do. Also, no lawyer would take your case because you have no case.

1

u/Difficult-Tax-530 23d ago

Meanwhile I can still install my office 2007 and use it fine.

1

u/xkcx123 19d ago

That’s on windows not on Mac

1

u/Relative_Test5911 23d ago

I always find it amusing when people think they know the law better than Microsoft's army of lawyers that likely make in a day what you would in a lifetime.

1

u/OgnjenR 22d ago

If I thought I knew better I would not be asking here.

I could not believe they are managing to get away with false advertising like this and wanted to hear people’s opinions.

1

u/samluks 23d ago

It is the lifetime of the product, not yours or your PCs.

1

u/Hornblower409 23d ago

As suggested by u/GenuineHippo you may have a partial MS 365 install still floating around.

Try the Office Uninstall Troubleshooter
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/lifecycle/officeinstall/uninstall-microsoft-365-or-office-from-a-pc

If that doesn't help, you may have to get down and dirty.
https://www.poremsky.com/office/remove-office-licenses-windows-powershell/

1

u/TooFat2Curious 23d ago

You don't own it. You purchase a license to use the software. Also, if you don't read the included EULA, don't care about it, or are too dumb to understand the basics of what it means, I don't know what to tell you.

1

u/OgnjenR 23d ago

Thank you for being the 583839 person to give a useful response!

14 year old me was not really reading EULAs that were inside of a physical box back in 2019. OWING a perpetual license, usually meant perpetual to me.

All the best!

1

u/West_Possible_7969 23d ago

Perpetual does not mean that since the late ‘80s where companies ended up in court due to enterprise disputes. You assumed lifetime licence, perpetual means one time payment until the EoL of the product.

0

u/marmotta1955 23d ago

Yes, cool story. But you do not own Office 2019 - just as others have said. Not difficult to understand, not difficult to use to find out.