We routinely put Windows XP on our better laptops because we feel Windows XP is a superior operating system to Vista. That is an expense and adds to the cost of the computer. It is cheaper to leave Vista on a machine. Vista is NOT an upgraded Operating system. The license/product key was located under the battery in this case. We NEVER sell a computer without proper licensing. In this case we left the Vista product key on the laptop so it cound be reinstalled later if the customer chose to.
As for the refurbished nature of the laptop it was clearly marked on the bottom and if they understood it to be new then we failed to explain it as well as we should. It sounds like it looked good enough to be confused as new so we see where there could be a misunderstanding. In any event we are also very competetive with our price and stand behind the price we sold it for as a very good and fair value for what we sold. These laptops routinely sell for $800 to $1,000 on ebay and none of them come with 2 licenses for Windows. And of course you cannot get in person service and support from the internet which is a central part of our business.
We do charge $110 (2 hours @ $55) to re-install Windows and since this was by the customer's request the charge was valid. However, if someone felt that any charge was not appropriate we would not charge them. In this case there was no complaint or even a question brought to me, the owner, about the licensing or charges. If there was I am sure we could have remedied the situation. I would always prefer someone to come to me directly with any concern about our service or charges. My goal has always been to be fair and honest and to that end I have 20+ years of good business and great family of customers. Unfortunately I am not perfect but will continue to strive be good and fair with all those I do business with both as a customer and as a businessman.