Does Microsoft ever test the emails they send? I got an email this morning about the automatic renewal for Microsoft Live OneCare. I purchased this subscription for my father last year. I appreciate the proactive reminder notice as I had forgotten about this. Since my father passed away, I decided not to renew the subscription. The only thing that would have made this experience enjoyable was if the last screen read “April Fools”. It didn’t.

The email was like many renewal notices. It was clear and provided instructions on what to do if you wish to cancel the subscription.

I clicked the link to go to the Billing page. As with many pages of this nature, I needed to log in. I didn’t mind this part although I had to look up my password.

From here, I figured it would be a slam-dunk since I was at the page mentioned in the email.

As instructed, I clicked the link for the service.

I clicked Cancel my service and a new browser window opened. It provided a list of other services I didn’t use. At this point, I’m mildly annoyed. Microsoft should know I want to cancel the Windows Live OneCare. All the same, I clicked the proper link.

Now, here’s the kicker. After logging in and clicking through these extra screens, I’m told to call to cancel my subscription.

At this point, I’m speechless. It seems to me it would be a tad more efficient to put the phone number in the original email. I won't go into the problems I encountered navigating the phone tree. I hung up after 4 minutes of silence.