Tag: Bad Companies

Making fun of your users

So, I use Twitter daily and am very thankful that Twitter has been a boon to some companies in terms of customer service. However, I’ve had my first sour experience. To give you some background, I purchased Acronis Disk Director back in 2007 and it worked fine on my Vista system. The last update to Disk Director (when I last checked) was in 2007 so when I saw that an update to Disk Director had occurred in September 2009, I got excited and assumed (wrongly as it turns out) that it would be compatible with Windows 7.

Turns out that was not the case so I thought I’d be helpful in tweeting to @acronis that Acronis Disk Director 10 would not install on Windows 7 x64 systems on the 28th of October and whomever was manning that account responded that they would look into the matter. Well, on the 2nd I got this reply:

please, read system requirements carefully http://bit.ly/4gHY1g

My first instinct was that I had just been b****slapped and I wanted to appeal to the baser side of me by starting a flame war. However, I restrained myself and simply chided @acronis.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/janetalkstech/status/5363954559″]

What’s the point of this post? I’m sorely disappointed that the ‘official’ twitter channel of Acronis would treat me that way. If we were buddies, I’d accept that as friendly ribbing. Acronis might’ve well said “f*** off” with that response. It’s not a biggie and I felt insulted. I *hope* that wasn’t the intention and even if it may not have been the intention, I felt insulted. Whaddaya gonna do? *shrug* I like to treat people fairly no matter their station in life. @acronis apparently felt I was a dumb user and felt the need to talk down to me.

In non-aggravating news, I’ve *finally* gotten around to editing photographs I took of Lauren and Chris’s wedding in Madison, GA. As you will see, I think I did justice to the ceremony. Enjoy the photographs in large glory here!

The Anatomy of a Check-cashing Scam

So, my father-in-law called me the other day and let me know he had received a check for ~ $3800 and his instructions were to deposit the amount the check was written for, pocket a paltry $200 and wire back the rest. Where have we heard this before?

I had never received one of those before so I asked him to read the letter out to me. To a naive & trusting (read: MUMU) person, the letter sounds professional. However, I could pick up on several red flags in reading the letter. I asked him to scan the letter to me when he did and I’ve embedded the letter on Slideshare for your viewing pleasure.
A check-cashing scam letter

The Ovi Store is a hot mess, part three

So, I’m sure you all were on pins and  needles in wanting to find out the end of my Ovi Store issues. Well, to cut a long story short, here’s what happened:

  1. I opened up a dispute with my bank even though I purchased the item using my VISA Debit card. I stress the VISA Debit card part because there is a little bit of a misconception that if you purchase items on the internet without a credit card, you may be SOL (s**t-out-of-luck) with regards to challenging suspicious charges, etc. In my case, I was able to successfully dispute the Ovi Store transaction. My bank’s policy was to place the funds in my account pending their investigation. In less than a week, they concluded their investigation and MY bank ended up refunding my account.
  2. The Ovi Store representatives NEVER called me back even after a supervisor “personally” assured me that my case would receive immediate attention. This issue really bothers me even though I’ve gotten my money back. How can you run a business in this fashion??
  3. For those seeking redress and need their money back from the money-grubbing hands of the Ovi Store, log into your bank’s website and check out the customer service section.
  4. For Wachovia, the link is: https://www.wachovia.com/customerforms. I simply sent a secure message via the website about the issue. In fact, they recommend you call to inquire or dispute a transaction. However, you also have the option of sending in a paper form as well. In any case, I’d recommend using a credit card for online purchases anyway over using a debit card that has your actual money in it.

I think I’m about done talking about the Ovi Store. In a nutshell, before you think about buying an app from the Ovi Store, visit Google, Bing or Ask! and search for the application you want. The odds are strongly in favor of that app being available on the developer(s)’s website or on Handango, Handmark, Penreader, etc. You get the picture. Cheers and I welcome any comments. 🙂