eCost refusal to refund defective software
To: eCost.com
I'd like to bring
to your attention a problem I encountered recently with the service at
Ecost.Com. Frankly, I'm surprised because I've been very happy with my business
dealings with eCost in the past.
Order XXXXXX includes Adobe Photoshop 6.0 upgrade, Illustrator 9.0 Upgrade,
Acrobat 5.0 Upgrade.
We had no problem with the Acrobat 5.0 upgrade.
My main problem is: Adobe Illustrator Upgrade.
I have Illustrator 8.0 installed. This was obtained as part of buying a used laptop. At installation the software
does not detect Illustrator 8.0 (error 669948) and suggest that we contact
Adobe. We have the original CD along product serial number. Unfortunately, when
we called the Adobe customer service (Case xxxxxx), they claimed that the
Illustrator is still under another name (I guess the owner of the laptop that we bought). We would need an
ownership transferred. I have never heard of something like that! We do not
know how to reach this person.
Therefore, I want to return the Illustrator 9 upgrade box. As we had
all the required Software, you should
understand that the box was opened and
the problem detected and unresolved during installation. I will deal
with Adobe separately on this issue.
Second Issue: Photoshop 6.0 Upgrade
We did not manage to install on the intended windows 95 machine. When
installing on this machine, we get an error message: OS not supported by this
installation. If you use NT, you need to install service pack 4. The
installation will terminate. As a test, I tried to install on my Win2000 laptop
and succeeded. Unfortunately this does not help as this laptop is not the
intended user of this software!
The box and the details on you site indicate support for win 9.x Do you have another package that support Win
9.x (win 95)?
The answer from eCost was (Linda Potter):
Thank you for your recent purchase. Unfortunately we do not take back software.
I was also referred
to Adobe to solve my problem while Adobe clearly stated that they would not
credit me and that I should deal with eCost. Clearly in cases of such blame
exchange, the vendor is my only contractual contact. Therefore I do consider
that you are responsible for this issue. Needless to say, I was quite upset as
a result of this.
I am also appalled that you are not offering basic customer services that would
be available at any local merchant. This does not correspond to the image that
you try to give.
It should be clear that return policies are not applicable on defective
product!
Here's what I'd like to see happen: I do want get credit back or applied to
replace the order by an Illustrator 9.0 full edition, as there is an immediate
need for this software.
As this was rejected, I do want credit for the purchase and/or an return
authorization number. In the meanwhile, I am registering this as a complaint
for delivery of a defective product (as the software does not install despite
satisfying the requirements) with the appropriate agencies and disputing your
bill for the amount of $133.99.
For your information, I use Ecost.Com all the time. I rely on it for a variety
of reasons.
Because of this, I will avoid clicking through to Ecost.Com at all costs in the
future, and I definitely will urge others to avoid it at all costs.
I am really surprised that you decide that customer satisfaction is such an
unimportant aspect and that you are willing to endure the additional cost of
losing a good repeat customer in this case, where I actually offered to
exchange the product against a full version and pay the difference.
I hope you are willing to address my concerns. Thank you for taking the time to
read this, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
CC:
Better Business Bureau
XXX Mastercard
Adobe
S.
Additional Information:
Follow-up on this issue: eCost answer.
See also: see also the planetfeedback complaint at http://www.planetfeedback.com/sharedLetters/viewLetter/0,2936,100352-53-0-0-20-0-fb_date-desc-67962-0,00.html
Related eCost reports can be found at:
http://www.inquiry.com/pubs/infoworld/vol22/issue29/O13-29.asp
http://www.planetfeedback.com/sharedLettersList/0,2941,100352-53-0-0-20-0-fb_date-desc,00.html
FINAL OUTCOME:
The matter was successfully disputed through the credit card company (Continental Chase MasterCard). Credit was provided by the credit card Company. Thank you. A clear sign that such approached must be denounced and pursued to obtain satisfaction.
Note:
This information is posted in order to warn consumers of the business practices of eCost. It does not serve any other purpose. As indicated above, we have been very happy with eCost’s services until recently. It is appalling that a business would decide treat so a good repeat customer.
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