Is it ethical for Pearson to be selling or Microsoft to be promoting the sale of outdated study materials for retired exams?

Microsoft Press / Pearson should clearly indicate in the description of study material for sale that the related exam has been retired!

On 9/16, I received an email from Microsoft Press, "Celebrate Microsoft Ignite: Save 40%" and followed the link to Pearson, and the first item on the page was for the ebook on AZ-103.  Since I had been thinking of taking that test for a while now, I bought the ebook and even bundled it with the MeasureUP practice test since I've had good experiences with the quality of their material in the past.

After completing the purchase, I went to MS Learn to perform my usual prep and immediately realized that, to my surprise, the AZ-103 exam had been RETIRED on 8/31 and has been replaced with AZ-104!

To top it off, MeasureUP already has updated test materials for the new exam... 

I understand that Pearson has every right to sell whatever they want, but the fact that Pearson delivers the test and is, thus, fully aware that AZ-103 is retired, I would have at least expected an alert on the description of the AZ-103 material purchase page to that effect.  ESPECIALLY on the practice test description which has already been replaced by MeasureUP.

But if you look at the description on Pearson's page, everything is in the present tense.  Not very ethical...

"About the Exam

Exam AZ-103 focuses on skills and knowledge needed to..."

"About Microsoft Certification

Passing exam AZ-103 earns your Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate certification"

These statements are no longer valid.  Exam AZ-103 doesn't focus on anything and it's impossible to pass it, since you can no longer take it.

I have requested a refund, but Pearson states no refunds...  regardless of the outcome, this is another addition to a growing list of disappointments.

Hi Dwaine,

Thank you for posting your query.

We are checking with our resources and will get back to you as soon as we have an update.
I will reach out to point of contact regarding this.

Regards,
Somashekhar
Support Period: Monday-Friday

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I'd appreciate that, Somashekhar.

In respect to getting a refund, Pearson has reportedly obliged my request.  However, the MS Press promotion page ontheir site still lists Az-103 as the first list item, and the Az-103 details page still explicitly refers to the test in the present tense.

This is an active promotion.  I received another email from MSpress on 9/24.

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Last updated June 14, 2022 Views 122 Applies to: