Microsoft Corp will write off untold millions of dollars in unbilled Microsoft Network charges rather than risk alienating subscribers who would otherwise be hit with bills for six months worth of hourly usage all at once, hears our sister publication ClieNT Server News. Microsoft has struggled for months trying to straighten out books that went haywire from overload, partly because of the skyrocketing use of the Microsoft Network for Internet access. Its primary problem was keeping track of hourly usage fees over the free allowance that were incurred in the six months from May to October, fees that for some users could amount to hundreds of dollars. Redmond says it now has the whole mess straightened out now in its internal billing system, with subscriber bills to be brought up to date by February. But Microsoft is afraid, however, that even though the bills are legitimate, customers will scream if they’re billed all at once for all the hours they’ve used. It could lead to mass defections to other Internet service providers, something no online service can afford. The bottom line appears to be that Microsoft is going to write off all of the extra hours and simply send out bills for the minimum monthly fees that it’s owed, telling customers it’s a bonus to pay them back for any inconvenience they were caused by the billing problem.
