Another reason why not to subscribe to TSR.
What happens when a very loyal sub paying customer has so many errors downloading, it is impossible for them to receive the downloads they have PAID for? Any legitimate business would issue a refund, but we are talking about TSR, who replies “According to our terms and conditions we will not give you a refund”
The submitter of the following screencaps says:
“First of all, I have to admit that I used to be a TSR fangirl. So much so I had paid for two years in advance (yeah, I know now, stupid! Go ahead and hit me with a baseball bat). However, their support has gotten terrible, the egos too big, it had been hard to download anything, and now it’s even worse with their new version. (and this site has gotten me even more against them).
However, even because of this site, I was going to continue downloading what I could, but since the new version I can download only a couple of things before I get a processing error and that takes several minutes to complete. I can then download a few more things, and I get another processing error. It’s just not worth it.
With 8 months left in my sub, I ask for a refund (I know, again STUPID!). I tried not to include this site in my replies, but a little something came out in my last reply. I was seething mad at the time.”
So after being informed of the exact nature of the problem, TSR neither fix it nor give a refund or even a partial refund, instead they state that as the victim still has ‘access’ to all the downloads in the subscriber archives, according to their Terms and Conditions they will not give a refund. So according to them you now have to pay to LOOK at their downloads? Last time I checked viewing was free. They twist their own T&C like they do the EULA.
At the time of this article, the submitter still has not received a refund.
DO NOT GET CONNED, THINK BEFORE YOU SUBSCRIBE!
Many thanks to the submitter for sharing her experience with us.
This was painful to read because I felt really bad for the subscriber. They have access to achieves? What does that even mean?
Comment by Paleoanth — March 8, 2009 @ 23:07
If this person paid with a CC, they should inform the CC company of what happened to them and that TSR won’t issue a refund. A lot of CC companies aren’t fond of places that take credit cards, but won’t offer decent service. I recently got a refund on a three year subscription to an entirely different service. They refunded all three years, so the first year I used it, it was free.
It can’t hurt to try.
Comment by Wicked — March 8, 2009 @ 23:10
I meant archives!
Comment by Paleoanth — March 8, 2009 @ 23:19
I was gonna say the same thing as Wicked. And if they used Paypal, can’t they file a complaint with PayPal.
Comment by KrystalBall — March 9, 2009 @ 00:56
Definitely. Or you can always try getting your refund through paypal directly, if you used them. And it seems like every time I turn around I develop a deeper loathing for TSR, something that I didn’t think was possible, and something that I wish wasn’t happening. I hate being so angry.
Comment by Soggy Fox — March 9, 2009 @ 03:50
Thomas’ nicey-nice persona makes me want to hurl. “Oh yeah, all we care about is improving the site so it’ll work better for you! Wait, you don’t like being ripped off and would like your hard earned money back? FUCK NO!”
Comment by Arr! — March 9, 2009 @ 05:29
This is disgusting, but I can’t say I’m surprised. TSR has repeatedly shown themselves to be focused solely on money, to the point where they will gladly screw over anybody. The irony, of course, is that they are illegally selling content and usurp EA’s own EULA with their own “Terms and Conditions”.
Comment by Sigmund — March 9, 2009 @ 07:10
It hurts when you see an innocent person getting ravaged by TSR-with the fact that the damned file they’re trying to download is probably in the booty for free.
Is there no end to the greed that TSR has? Most reputable business do have return/refund policy, and follow it to the letter.
Yes, this means TSR is not a reputable business-but we know that, don’t we?
Comment by Mary — March 9, 2009 @ 08:36
I honestly wonder if they’re afraid to give out refunds, for fear of it setting off an avalanche of refund requests. A post like this is going to deter a lot of people from going through the hassle, since it’s obvious that it can’t be done they’ll decide they’re better off using up their remaining time and not buying anymore, but if they start giving the refunds, more people will ask. And then they will risk financial trouble, depending on just how many people are starting to become aware of what really goes on there.
Comment by TrinityTurtle — March 9, 2009 @ 10:30
In some cases you can get a refund by going directly to your bank. I don’t know about you but I can ‘question’ an item on my statement and tell my bank that a refund was agreed on but not refunded and they get me my money back. Worked when I had a dispute with BT. You would need the exact date of the payment though and if you don’t have online banking this might be harder to sort out. But worth a try.
Comment by Elphaba — March 9, 2009 @ 17:33
Words can’t describe how horrible TSR’s business practices are. The person was having trouble downloading and getting the site to work, and all Thoma$$ had to say was: “But we’re building an uber-cool site for you! WTF, man?” Even worse, Jan’s response was so cold and mechanical that even an android has more emotion.
I’m glad the booty exists for those who want TSR stuff but don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to get it off the site (and not giving money to Thomas the Greedy is always a good thing).
Thanks to the subscriber for sharing the screenshots (and for Coconut for posting them). Submitting them took a lot of guts.
Comment by CoconutFan — March 9, 2009 @ 17:50
@TrinityTurtle
Yes, they should request refunds because then TSR will know how fed up the Community is with them and their shitty business tactics. If more people request refunds, maybe they will actually pony up or realize that their name is mud or go out of business.
Comment by Skoria_Bay — March 9, 2009 @ 21:23
Re above post
Even if people do hesitate to go through the hassle of asking for money back ( impossible task that it is) hopefully this will deter anymore from handing over hard earn cash to an under performing business. Especially as was pointed out the alternative does exist for free!
Comment by Coconut Addict — March 9, 2009 @ 21:52
I feel very sorry for the subscriber too. But it’s interesting in that what Thomas said to me about getting a refund was that if it is a technical issue with the site, then sub days would be refunded, no problems. It seems that this subscriber is having some technical issues, so why not refund them, at least in part? As a gesture of goodwill? You can take up what is called a retail dispute with your bank or credit card company. You will likely be more successful if it was paid by credit card, as sometimes when you use debit cards, they are classed as a cash transaction and aren’t always covered. But companies and banks vary, so give them a call and ask. But, bare in mind that you did authorise these payments to go through, so you may have to expect some red tape from the bank. But it’s worth a shot, right? And be prepared to give it a bit of time to sort it out.
Comment by Pirate Lucy — March 9, 2009 @ 23:51
Thoma$$ is an a$$hole.
Comment by no — March 10, 2009 @ 02:24
I love how Thomas says, “Mind you, we’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the site,” implying that Chrissy is the only one with difficulty downloading. (From what I’ve heard, it’s common.)
It’s Thomas’ particularly graceful way (not) of accusing her of being a liar. She can’t possibly have problems with their magnificent site. *rolls eyes*
Comment by dietofworms — March 10, 2009 @ 03:19
File a dispute with whatever payment method you used.
This is terrible customer service. Could we agree that TSR is worse than, say… Walmart?
Comment by Sinthe — March 10, 2009 @ 11:36
I agree with that (TSR being worse than Walmart). You know a company’s reached an all-time low when it’s worse than Walmart!
Comment by CoconutFan — March 10, 2009 @ 15:47
I have to agree with everyone above – this person needs to file a complaint with whatever payment method they used. That would get the refund and show Thoma$$ that TSR can’t just keep people’s payments at will when providing shoddy service. Banks and Credit Card companies don’t take kindly to that.
Worse than Walmart?? I think that TSR hit that low a long time ago, sadly.
Comment by SpunkySim — March 11, 2009 @ 11:34
I admit that I was once a TSR fangirl myself……especially in the Sims 1 days.Now that I know what I know(thanks to Coconut and PMBD)I am embarrassed that I ever gave those bastards any money.
The poster needs to submit complaints with anyone who will listen,including the credit card company..forget Paypal,they won’t help you……complain,complain and complain again……make yourself a huge pain in the ass….good luck,I really hope you get your refund from those greedy a$$holes.
Comment by Office Rules — March 11, 2009 @ 20:10
First of all I’ve never trusted TSR. From the first days of Sims1. They got to big …to fast. But they were free. After awhile they started with that pay crap. I do not pay or subscribe to a site until I’ve researched and read about it exstensively. I’ve known for a long while that TSR was a rip off. I am/was a member(free). You can tell alot about a site, by how they treat thier free members, and trust me, TSR treats non subscribers like crap. Now I know it’s not just the non subscribers but the subscribers as well. I say we should all leave his site. If he doesn’t have anyone at all coming to his site…he won’t be so freakin high and mighty then…will he?
Comment by Empressuri — March 12, 2009 @ 11:10
to be honest it’s not just because they charge money, it’s the full on cult thing they got going on that creeps me out. if they were just an innocent fansite charging subs to keep going I would understand that, but what I will never understand is the reason for secret boards, non disclosure forms, talking about people in secret and sharing their details thats just urgh, and then there is all the secrecy surrounding nutty atwa, I can’t understand why she’s still involved and never really leaves, they must be scared of what she’d do if they ever told her to fuck off for real.
Comment by Claire — March 18, 2009 @ 00:23
Has anyone reported TSR to the Better Business Bureau? If not, it might behoove us to start a file on them.
Comment by Gargantua — March 18, 2009 @ 22:33
I don’t think the Better Business Bureau has anything to do with Sweden… or wherever TSR is located. PayPal and/or her bank however should be able to help.
Comment by Rosie — March 26, 2009 @ 11:30
It really doesn’t matter if it was reported to the Better Business Bureau… Because in the end all they do is send the company a paper telling the company about the problem and then asking them if they want to join the BBB for a fee.
Comment by Apple — May 17, 2009 @ 04:15