Microsoft and GameStop land on Consumer Reports’ Naughty and Nice list

By Stephany Nunneley

Consumer Reports has released its 2011 Naughty and Nice Holiday List, which provides a look into various companies’ return policies and then hands a thumbs up or thumbs down.

According to this year’s report, Microsoft made the Nice List because: “If someone buys and installs software on his or her computer, most retailers won’t give out a refund, no matter how much the customer hates it. Not so with Microsoft. Consumers dissatisfied with a Microsoft software or hardware purchase from any retailer can send it back to the company within 45 days for a refund and reimbursement of shipping costs up to $7.”

However, GameStop made the Naughty List: “A Fortune 500 company with more than 6,500 stores worldwide, this video game software and hardware merchant has a laundry list of conditions governing returns and exchanges. And in the end, GameStop proclaims, ‘We reserve the right to refuse any return.’”

The companies which end up on the list were decided upon by how consumer oriented it leans, but not on “everything else the company does” or how it treats its customers in general.

Other companies which sell gaming related products that ended up on the Nice List were Costco and Amazon.com.

The Naughty List also included Radio Shack, which sells gaming hardware and a few new releases online.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

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