Amazon offers partial refund (without return) to PS3 owner over "Other OS" removal

Online retailing giant Amazon has offered a partial refund to a European PS3 owner over the removal of the "Install Other OS" feature.

Note: Let it also be noted that the firmware update that removed this feature also seems to be bricking some PS3 consoles.

The partial refund was given to NeoGAF Forum moderator Iapetus without the owner having to return the PS3 gaming console.

We are writing to confirm that we have processed your refund in the amount of £84.00 for your Order 666-5327564-4432412.

This refund is for the following item(s):

Item: Sony PlayStation 3 Console (60GB Premium Version) Quantity: 1 ASIN: B0007SV734 Reason for refund: Account adjustment

The following is the breakdown of your refund for this item:

Item Refund: £71.49 Item Tax Refund: £12.51

This refund amounts to around 20% of the cost of the console.

Note: £84 is around $129.

How did this PS3 owner pull this off? Apparently he cited European Directive 1999/44/EC. This piece of legislation states that goods must:

• Comply with the description given by the seller and possess the same qualities and characteristics as other similar goods, and
• Be fit for the purpose which the consumer requires them and which was made known to the seller at the time of purchase

By removing features from the console through a firmware update, Sony has changed the function of the console. If people bought a PS3 in order to be able to install another OS on it, this firmware update makes the console unfit for purpose.

Interesting.

(via Slashdot)