how to complain

[brightncheerful]

I'm good at complaining. I don't mean I complain about anything but about something. Here's the tale.

Last December, I finally got around to changing my computer. I'd been putting it off for a couple of years because several apps (software) that I use every day I knew would not be compatible with the latest operating system and would cost a lot to upgrade. Anyhow, it had to be done because it was fast becoming necessary. It was not as straightforward as it was made out to be. For a start, I had put a lot of folders and files in Dropbox and transferring without taking them out meant Dropbox came with and messed up. I won't bore you with why and how I had to resolve that because that's not what I had to complain about because that was my mistake.

What this is about is wanting to buy the latest version of one of the apps. I contacted the company's support to find out whether I could update from version 15 and was told yes, so I bought only to find that when I came to it, the latest version couldn't. So I contacted support again and was apologised to and told that it could only be done from version 16. So before I bought that, I asked about the full price when I'd already bought the latest version and was told I only had to pay the difference and that before I did, I could download a trial version of the latest release to find out whether I liked it. So I did. I discovered the trial version (which is actually the full version, free of charge) was limited to 45 days so I used it every day until just a few days remaining, which was when the fun started.

Thinking it was time to buy it, I followed the link to a special page for buying the difference. I completed the order form for the download, entered my credit card details, clicked order, and waited. And waited. And waited. After a few minutes, I concluded something was wrong. So I think it must be my browser. I refreshed and started again. But still nothing. So I quit, restarted and contacted support. I waited until after the musical accompaniment had repeated a few times. I was told sorry but I could leave a message for a callback, or I could try again the next day. I did both. No one called me back. And next day support was busy all day.

Time was running out, and with the Easter weekend approaching, my business would grind to a halt if I didn't have this app. I contacted another company that sells this app, explained the predicament, and agreed to buy both versions again despite the extra cost. The only problem was that I couldn't pay using a credit card; I could only pay by bank transfer, which, if I paid that day, would be processed the next day.

When it came to paying that day, it was after hours. As you know, banks nowadays verify the recipient's bank account is genuine, so to my surprise, my bank was concerned that the recipient's account couldn't be verified. I hesitated but decided to chance it. As I leaned over the phone, my sleeve accidentally brushed against my smartphone screen. It ended the attempt, whereupon my bank prevented the transaction, so I took that as a sign of something amiss.

Then I had an idea. Which was to contact the chief executive of the app company and complain. Who is he? Finding out is easier nowadays, thanks to the www. His bio says he is on Linkedin. I'm on Linkedin - free of charge. From time to time, I write something others on LinkedIn might find interesting, and sometimes, according to Linkedin, I succeed in attracting the highest number of views that week. So I decided to write about this company and how I was finding it impossible to buy and just as impossible to contact support. Then I tried to message the CEO only to come up with the brick wall of having to pass a verification of my identity test. I was tired, and skim-read how to pass the test; next day, I realised I had swapped the photo of me that I had used when I first registered on LinkedIn for a photo of me, age about 12. However, I passed the test because I messaged the CEO, and he replied to say he's expedited internally.

The next morning, in my inbox, was an email from support with some questions for me to answer so support could investigate. I did; next, someone from support contacted me and spent the next hour or so step by step trying to get the order process to work, and for him, it didn't work. So we repeat the attempt, trying to do so using my phone. That doesn't work, either. By then I'd thought of another idea so I suggest that, not expecting the company to agfree. Surprisingly, it was - which was for the company to send me a link to download the app and for me to pay for it after I'd loaded and installed it and ensured it would work.

So now I am waiting to pay. Travelling along a motorway this morning in the driving rain, I received a call from the person in support, during which I said I'd installed it and all was working. When I asked when someone would call me about payment, he said he didn't know, perhaps next week sometime. I am thinking that perhaps they're not going to ask me to pay. But I don't know. If they don't, then I'll tell you. Even if they do my circumventing the system by complaining to the top worked.

[Rhyd6]

You sound just like my OH and the saga of the electric side mirrors on his Volvo. He didn't give up either and got them replaced free of charge - must be a man thing, I'd have given up ages ago.
Fingers crossed it all works out OK

R6