Microsoft Forks Out US$10,000 To Reluctant Windows 10 Upgrader

Microsoft has been rubbing a lot of people the wrong way with its aggressive push for Windows 7 and 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10. So far, the company has employed some dodgy tactics to trick users into upgrading and now they’re paying for their transgression; literally. In the US, Microsoft has to cough up $10,000 after the company was sued by a small business owner over a Windows 10 upgrade that she didn’t authorise on her PC. Here are the details.

Teri Goldstein took Microsoft to court after her PC downloaded Windows 10 and automatically tried to install the new operating system, allegedly without her consent. The upgrade failed and her PC stopped working properly. She claimed the unauthorised Windows 10 upgrade adversely impacted her travel agency business that she runs out of California.

According to The Seattle Times, the first to report the story, Goldstein reached out to Microsoft to fix the issue but Microsoft was unable to help so she took the company to court, seeking compensation for lost wages and cost of a new computer. She won and Microsoft has given up appealing the decision.

Microsoft provided a statement to ZDNet‘s long-time Microsoft reporter Jo Foley regarding the court case:

“The company dropped its appeal to avoid the expense of further litigation.”

It’s unclear whether the success of Goldstein’s case will give way to further lawsuits from disgruntled Windows 10 users who were tricked into upgrading.

Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users end on July 29. If you’re adamant that you want to stay on your current operating system, hit the link to learn how you can block the Windows 10 upgrade.

If you’ve already upgraded but yearn for your old operating system, you can use the tools listed in our previous article to bring back some of the features you miss.

[Via The Seattle Times/ZDNet]


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