Dell XP License Refunds?

[lost eden]

(Wasn't sure which was the best forum for this, it doesn't really seem to fit any of them, but mods feel free to move this if you think it better suited elsewhere).

Does anybody have any experience with purchasing a computer from Dell, then getting a refund for the value of the Windows license by choosing not to accept the license agreement (& subsequently installing Linux/Mac OS X, or your own copy of Windows or whatnot)? There are a smattering of stories across the web, but no de facto opinions or experience on the matter.

I'm thinking of buying a refurbished Mini 9 from the Dell outlet store. These come in at £152.83 before VAT & delivery, which works out to ~£175, for the 8GB SSD model with Windows XP Home, so a refund of the license even if it's only £15-20 would be a substantial difference to the overall price & would make it that much more inticing.

One thing I'm worried about is the fact that it's refurbished might cause headaches, especially if the license is transferred from the previous owner to the new, instead of a new license being issued to the machine upon being refurbished.

Any info anybody? Any contact details for particular people/departments at Dell to speak to?

EDIT: just discovered that delivery for outlet systems is ~£19, which puts a refurb Dell Mini 9 at the same price as a Mini 10 with free delivery :/

[GoNz0]

a refurb would have an activated OS so i guess they would tell you no.

and afaik they offer linux now so its a point of sale option to stop people doing that.

[Yosh]

One thing I'm worried about is the fact that it's refurbished might cause headaches, especially if the license is transferred from the previous owner to the new, instead of a new license being issued to the machine upon being refurbished.

Shouldn't be any problems, you buy the machine it gets shipped to you. The only issue i forsee is if the licence has been activated 10 times or w/e the limit is, but then its just a case of phoning them instead of activating it over the internet.

[Workaholic]

I do remember reading up on an example of this.
A quick google search shows the following wiki entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_refund

And more importantly:

In 2006 a British man purchased a Dell Inspiron 640m laptop bundled with Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 preinstalled, but did not accept Microsoft's End User License Agreement (EULA). Within one week of requesting a refund from Dell, the customer received a "goodwill" refund of GBP £47 (£55.23 including tax) from Dell for a "no Windows" option, as the copy of the system was an "unused product" according to the software license agreement. Dell had not asked for the installation medium to be returned and commented that although it doesn't have a Windows refund program, giving a refund in an individual case isn't forbidden either.[13][14]

Of course that £47 + VAt etc is for the full copy of windows xp, NOT the LOW COST edition supplied with netbooks.

P.S. the quotes from the above wiki