What is this?

[jaosnk]

Hi,

I just purchased a program labelled as Opal Office and after I paid for it and downloaded it I had Open Office version 2.3.1 on my desktop.

This web site here...

Code: Select all

http://www.officebestdeal.com/?gclid=CMeVl7_m-pECFQhaMAodIFjOow

Is selling Open Office for $11.95 and it's not even the latest version.

Are they allowed to do this, and call it Opal Office?

Yours,

Jason

Edit: Let's not give them a free, working link--ok? They may be legal, but we don't have to help them.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Nothing illegal in what they are doing. See this earlier thread.

There's a search box, top right. Please search before posting, but I guess if you had searched Google for "Opal Office" before purchase, you would have found out that it is just OpenOffice by another name. This is the first link on the results page for "Opal Office."

Please read the forum Survival Guide too. It will save you a lot of time.

[Villeroy]

"Clever business men" doing "perfectly legal" things.

[jaosnk]

I only landed on that page because the download link on this site is a dead link.

They're not clever at all, they're just conning poeple out of money selling something that you can get free.

How could I possibly search Google for Opal Office when I've never heard of it?

If I buy a program called Opal Office and end up with Open Office then they should be able to be sued over the Trades Description Act.

If you buy pay for a Ferrari and end up with a ford, does that make them clever businessmen? No, they're con artists.

[jaosnk]

I've requested a refund. Lets see what they do about that.

If I don't get a refund I'll be posting on http://www.ripoffreport.com/ and see how they like that. I'll also reporty them to Google seeing as they're using Google software to take their credit card payments.

They can't even be bothered to sell the latest version with all the money they're getting. They must be earning a lot because their adwords ad is on the first page.

[huw]

I only landed on that page because the download link on this site is a dead link.

Which download link on this site? The main one, at the bottom left of every page, is working fine for me.

How could I possibly search Google for Opal Office when I've never heard of it?

What did you think you were buying when you clicked on their download link & filled in the purchase details?

They can't even be bothered to sell the latest version with all the money they're getting.

2.3.1 is the latest release. There are newer releases, but they are beta i.e. not necessarily stable, and not recommended for pruduction use.

I am not condoning their business model, and I do hope you get your money back.

[jaosnk]

I had the same trouble as the person in this link...

http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/ ... f=5&t=3299

Which someone clarrified, there was something wrong with the site.



What did I think I was buying?

I thought I was buying a program called Opal Office which I never got. I got a program called Open Office which is a free program which they're selling for under a different name.




Had the Program been correctly named as Open Office I would have known that it was a free program, and then I wouldn't have payed for it.

They're deliberately changed the name so you think you're getting something else.

[jaosnk]

They replied to a mesage I sent witin an hour when I asked why they're charging $11.95 for a free program. They said they spend 90% of their profits on advertising, and they donate 5% to Open Office.

That leaves them 5% which is hard to believe.

I asked for a refund, and they haven't replied to that yet so I just sent one via Google Checkout so we'll see how that one does.

Hopefully this will work, and you can put this thread in your survival guide.

[Dave]

Mea culpa! I've lost thousands for similar reason. Gee whiz. Guess what? There are some nasty people out there. I think you may have learned a lesson that will save you much more in the future ...Be careful out there, and do your research. Never buy a Rolex from a street vendor or a used-car dealer.

David.

[jaosnk]

They say my refund will be processed in 15 days.

Can't see why it's going to take that long. They took my money in 15 seconds.

[EdH]

They say my refund will be processed in 15 days.

Can't see why it's going to take that long. They took my money in 15 seconds.

Just make sure they do it. They may be hoping that you forget about it over time. In the meantime:

It's not just companies with websites, there are a lot of them on Ebay too.

[jaosnk]

I got my refund.

I had to contact Google checkout to get it though, and then it was issued instantly.

Jason