posted on March 7, 2001 02:51:11 AM
I have purchased both , at a cost of over $200.00, with the promise that all connection up grades were free for life.
Now that the company has been bought out by ebay, and the new products are a monthly fee, free to me for a year if I upgrade before the end of March, they are not working, even with the free upgrades. According to other users, they upgraded to the free for one year, and have no problems.
I think that this is a breach of contract, and anyone that bought the Blackthorne software before the new product was introduced has a right to conect to ebay as long as the company is active. I have had to down load 3 updates in the last week, and none of them have worked, each update corrects the last problem, but creates a new one, I think that they are trying to force us into the new monthly payment plan.
Read the fine print, if you accept the one year free, you lose you rights on the purchase of the original software. Your thought please! Ed
posted on March 7, 2001 05:30:59 AM
I don't like the new fees either, but it is likely their lawyers are already standing on firm ground. Has anyone sued PayPal for "always free"?
This is an industry wide trend. Providing free maintenance and upgrades is great, but doesn't put any money in the developer's hands. The new version has many features I like, but they should have had most of the bugs out before releasing. I'm willing to pay them provided they respond quickly to eBay changes and that the new versions provide me with something of substance.
posted on March 7, 2001 05:51:25 AM
The problem is in the user agreements. If you read all of it (yes, all of it), normally they will contain disclaimers that allow the company to change their program set up in the event of a "change" (ie moving from free-to not free), bind disgruntled parties to binding arbitration, contain clauses that prohibit the users from getting together to form a clas action, etc. Even if the user agreement was a "click around" -- the little box were most of the text is hidden with the accept button beneath -- have been found to be legally binding contracts. Additionally, most jurisdictions including the Fed circut have ruled that the arbitration clauses are binding (cuts down on the backlog of cases already in the system).
Try the BBB or, if you feel fraud was involved, try your State Attorney General's office.
Please note this posting does NOT constitute legal advice. Please consult with a member of the bar in your state/jurisdiction to discuss the full details of your case/complaint.
