Microsoft's OneDrive Bait-and-Switch

The big scandal this week: the sudden turnabout regarding Microsoft's "unlimited" OneDrive cloud storage for users of Office 365. The company offered a number of other very generous free cloud storage offers, but it's not going to deliver on any of it starting next year.

The tech community is up in arms because Microsoft suddenly discovered that people actually used the cloud the way Microsoft wanted. After all, in some instances, the Microsoft OneDrive logo had the tag "One place for everything in your life."

Apparently not.

You can read all the kvetching everywhere on the Net. The basic complaints are:

• Microsoft promised more than it could deliver.
• Microsoft cries foul as people abuse "unlimited" storage.
• Microsoft is mean for killing many if its cloud storage tiers.
• Microsoft is "rethinking" its cloud strategy.

Everything I've read seems to ignore the obvious. This is a basic unethical "bait and switch" marketing ploy by Microsoft. The last time I looked it was illegal fraud in almost every state and begs for massive prosecution, as well as individual reparation.

From my perspective, Microsoft has put itself in legal jeopardy.

There is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft did the bait-and-switch as a strategy. That's because, as I've said before, unlimited storage never added up.

I have often complained about the math regarding unlimited storage and Microsoft's potential customer base. There are not enough servers in the world for Microsoft to do what it promised.

That's the "bait" part. Get otherwise adverse people to try its cloud offerings. This was to show people how easy it is to use the OneDrive mechanism. For it is indeed easy to use and seamless. I personally like it. Once a user is hooked, all the promises are pulled. Then reality—also known as pricing—sets in.

The EULA Switcheroo Clause

Microsoft believes that the end-user license agreement (EULA) you agreed to covers the sudden "switch." After the suckers have bought into the product and the promises, especially the "unlimited" storage promise, they pull the rug out.

To be fair, Microsoft will offer a refund of sorts to complainers. But the idea of bait-and-switch is still in play despite any returned money.

Microsoft figures there will be no successful bait-and-switch prosecution and the whole thing will eventually blow over, which it always does with today's beleaguered consumer. Few users or pundits, if any, have even noticed the bait-and-switch aspect of this, which is pathetic in itself.

A number of state attorneys will be looking at this with it in mind. They can ding the company for many millions. It's not clear how jurisdictions internationally will handle this, but you can be sure if this was offered to EU customers, Microsoft will be hung out to dry.

Here is what I am hoping for, though it's a longshot. I hope that somehow Microsoft hangs a defense on the EULA, a bunch of legalese which always tells the buyer that any promises or offerings can be changed at the discretion of the company. In other words, there is no real agreement and the company can do whatever it wants. Too bad if the buyer does not like it. I call it the switcheroo clause.

I am not sure which company first came up with the switcheroo clause, but it is sheer genius. Everyone uses it and the courts have upheld it. If the EULA can be used for what appears to be a bait-and-switch marketing scheme, then it can be used for a Ponzi scheme or out-and-out fraud, too.

I'm been wondering for years why car companies do not have buyers sign a EULA to absolve themselves of problems stemming from product defects. Seymour Rubenstein, the man who first implemented software licensing with personal computer products, once told me that he actually expected to see the idea employed to all purchases of everything. Why not, if the courts uphold the idea?

Therein lies the rub: the courts. If one jurisdiction gets a clue and banishes these onerous licenses once and for all, justice will finally be served. Bogus offerings will end. False promises which are really bait-and-switch scams will be prosecuted as such.

The unlimited storage promise never sounded right. To see Microsoft unapologetically pull its offer in such a cavalier and patronizing manner while blaming the users (who "abused" the offer by actually using what they were promised) is not acceptable.

It all stems from the corruption in the industry provided by today's evolved EULA. It needs to go.