Global economic crisis or not, the debut of the 2008 holiday season shopping frenzy was celebrated with a range of discounts attracting an increased number of consumers. Online retail outlets made no exception to this rule, but in some scenarios preparation for a high influx of customers left to be desired.

For the Black Friday weekend, Microsoft partnered with HP in order to offer buyers as much as 40% off their purchases via the Redmond company's Live Search Cashback program. However, Live Search Cashback managed to cash out on the promise to help consumers save big bucks for HP products.

“Save big during the holidays and get cashback. HP and Microsoft have joined to give you the best deals of the season. Use Microsoft's Live Search to score cashback on all your HP purchases this holiday season,” read a message from HP.

According to reports Live Search Cashback was down for a good part of November 28. The glitches managed to successfully come between online shoppers and the promotions advertised by HP and Microsoft.

However, in addition to the infrastructure associated with the discounts not being accessible, Live Search Cashback offered refunds of just 3% to customers who were aiming to no less than 40%, revealed TechFlash. At that point in time, neither Microsoft nor HP commented in any way the problems confronted by consumers attempting to take advantage of the special offerings.

For the users that accessed the HP online store via Live Search CashBack, the computer manufacturer revealed that “you can browse and buy from HPDirect.com as you normally would. You still get the great deals on HP products, plus earn cashback on each purchase. Keep in mind that you won't see your cashback on our site. But don't worry! Live Search is tracking it for you,” HP stated, advising customers to wait for an email from Live Search Cashback, to complete the registration, and claim the cashback.