Getting to the root of piracy (Office 2007)?

[Stuart]

So a friend just brought me her newly acquired laptop. I backed some stuff up from her desktop a week or two ago, and now she wants me to transfer it to her laptop. However, I have detected an issue ...

She called me while hunting at a second hand computer place for a used laptop. There was a particular latop she was interested in. She couldn't tell me specs, but the salesman told her that it came with Windows AND Office 2007. He told her that Office 2007 alone is R6k, and the machine was going for only R4.5k, so it was a good buy. I told her I'd like to see the specs first, but she went ahead and bought it ... Office 2007 being the big selling point.

Turns out it is a P4, 1GB RAM, Windows XP ... but it'll work for her needs. However ...

Office is certainly installed (and activated) on the machine. Not legally, however, because there is no license sticker included with the machine. I'll obviously tell her to take it back and demand either her money back or an Office 2007 license matching the installed version, but as a matter of interest, is there any way of me figuring out what they've done to install and activate Office? Are they just using a cracked copy, is it some sort of Enterprise version? How can I tell?

And, other than taking it back to the place and politely requesting a valid license, anything else I should do? Is it worth reporting them?

[hamin_aus]

I told her I'd like to see the specs first, but she went ahead and bought it ...

So why are you still trying to help this woman

Turns out it is a P4, 1GB RAM, Windows XP ...

For 4.5K

Are they just using a cracked copy, is it some sort of Enterprise version? How can I tell?

They probably (illegally) used a volume license key. No activation required.

[Stuart]

I told her I'd like to see the specs first, but she went ahead and bought it ...

So why are you still trying to help this woman

What can I say ... I'm a do-gooder.

Turns out it is a P4, 1GB RAM, Windows XP ...

For 4.5K

Correct.

Are they just using a cracked copy, is it some sort of Enterprise version? How can I tell?

They probably (illegally) used a volume license key. No activation required.

So is it worth reporting them? Or just threatening to do so till we get a license or (more likely) money back?

[Monty]

Are they just using a cracked copy, is it some sort of Enterprise version? How can I tell?

They probably (illegally) used a volume license key. No activation required.

So is it worth reporting them? Or just threatening to do so till we get a license or (more likely) money back?

Yes - tell them you want a valid license. And if you get money back, tell her to wait on her next choice until you've checked out the specs first.

[Sojourn]

I just love uninformed consumers asking questions... especially those which then go ahead with their choice disregarding what you told them or even waiting for a reply. At this point I would bid her a nice "have fun", she would be on her own for all I care.

As for the license issue, report the business with the piracy board of SA, cannot recall their official name. Make sure you have the purchase slip and names etc.

[Koko_Lion]

Sounds like the sales rep tried to make the deal sound irresistible by installing a jip copy of Office 07

[lancelot]

Absolutely incredible, you can get completely refurbished Dell's for far less than that, all completely legal, come with the software disc. This lady buys a piece of crap for 4.5k and bleats about the 2007. This was a scam from the start.
I would report the outlet as well the lady for her epic fail.
She will never be able to update windows, a sad thing indeed. I had this with a computer I bought off this site, whether the seller knew this I do not really know or care. When trying to update Media, MS told me it was nor a registered copy, the key was invalid, Widows XP Pro that is. Anyway I upgraded at MS Cape Town and now all is fine. (It had a valid copy of XP Home on it)

[Stuart]

Absolutely incredible, you can get completely refurbished Dell's for far less than that, all completely legal, come with the software disc. This lady buys a piece of **** for 4.5k and bleats about the 2007. This was a scam from the start.
I would report the outlet as well the lady for her epic fail.

To be fair, she knows absolutely NOTHING about computers, so she's pretty easy to scam.

That being said, I did encourage her not to buy anything without running it by me first. Her loss though. I'm sure the machine will perform for what she needs (Excel and Outlook), but if they can't provide us with an Office license I am going to kick up a bit of a stink.

[lancelot]

I would check all the licenses, I mean XP with 1Gb of ram?

[Stuart]

I would check all the licenses, I mean XP with 1Gb of ram?

Erm, it has an XP sticker on it. Better just check that the correct version is installed. Either way, I'm going to go see these people this afternoon on my way home.

[Koko_Lion]

Stuart, Is it a business? Would you mind sharing the name?

[Stuart]

The name of the company? Dolphin SA or something like that. In Alberton.

[Koko_Lion]

Dolphin SA? Oh boy those people. Yup, would explain it. They do second hand computers and stuff. I thought they closed down about 3 years ago?

[Stuart]

It's possible that they have closed down but that this news hasn't reached the Alberton branch yet.

They actually have quite a big store here. I've never bought anything from them, but I did wander in there a couple of years ago when I was looking at replacing a laptop myself.

[Stuart]

So I called Dolphin SA and told them the situation. At first they tried to explain that it doesn't need a license sticker because it comes with Office preinstalled. I essentially told them whilst they may have been able to talk around my friend like that, it wouldn't work with me. I told them I either want an Office license or a refund or we can talk to the BSA. They then put me through the the manager.

He claims that he explained to my friend that she needs to purchase her own license. At that point, I really couldn't go any further. I wasn't there at the time, so it's their word against hers. They said I can bring the machine back and they'll gladly remove Office, which of course is not what we want. I told them that Office was the big selling point, so that's not good enough.

Anyway, I told my friend what they said and she'll now call them. I shall report back when I've heard what they say.

[Monty]

Stu, if you end up going to the store, go in like you know nothing and ask for a cheap machine with office and see what they say.

[Koko_Lion]

Good Idea!

[Anakha56]

Also you could use a proggi like rockxp to get the keys on the machine, and do a google search for those serials if they get a positive hit on a suspect site then do a print screen and show them the evidence. Chances are they are not that stupid but then again...

[StarBound]

I say take it back, get the refund and buy something else. Drag her along by the hair if you have to. Even incredible corruption sells some laptops for R4000 and home office 2007 is like R700 isnt it? Almost the safer way to go.

[KALSTER]

Turns out it is a P4, 1GB RAM, Windows XP

This is just shameful enough even without the dodgy Office installation. I hope you find a way to nail these bastardo's to a wall! Install SP3 and see what Genuine Advantage says about office. If it moans, they don't have a leg to stand on and I'll bet they'll do a refund.

[Stuart]

So I went with Jill this morning to Dolphin SA to see what they had to say. She did most of the talking; I just wanted to be sure that they weren't going to talk rubbish to her again. It seems like they worked very hard on their story over the weekend and, although I get the distinct impression that they were lying through their teeth, they produced a semi-credible story. They clearly understand the issue, and have told us that they will sort it out by this afternoon, either by providing her with an Office license or by refunding her if they cannot find a suitable license.

We left the notebook there in case they got the license, because they would then have to remove the existing version and reinstall the correct version of Office. Of course, after we left Jill said to me that she hopes they don't just remove it and claim it was never on there in the first place. This was a scenario that didn't occur to me while I was there, but we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. For now, let's see what happens.

The manager was most apologetic and assured us that "this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to us." Post a trance smiley if you believe him.

[KALSTER]

I hope he knows that his dishonest nonsense is being discussed on a popular computing forum. I am sure nobody that reads this will buy anything from them now.

[Stuart]

I thought of mentioning it, but then I figured that no one who visits PCF is likely to buy anything from Dolphin SA anyway. If they don't immediately sort it out satisfactorily the story will appear on a few more sites too.

[Bladerunner]

While I'm a Pirate myself, I'm not eager to see people get scammed like this. If you want to view some of the keys of the software they installed (Office and Windows, and other Microsoft apps) you can download this application I wrote:



You'll also be able to see if it's an Enterprise edition of Office and what edition of XP.

No spyware, adware, malware or anything else. Comes with a readme too. And only 300kb or so.

[Sojourn]

Bladerunner, nice one.
Can you say reggolyek backwards?