Hello kbert,
It could be that you were scammed or it could simple be a programmatic problem with Windows that can be fixed. But to be able to answer any questions about your Windows, we will need to see a Diagnostic Report.
to generate a Diagnostic Report, download and run the Genuine Diagnostics tool (MGADiag.exe) at this link
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=52012 . Click "Continue", click the "Copy" button then “Paste” the report into a reply message in this thread.
Darin MS