False advertising lead to a purchase what can I do?

[murphle1965]

Hi all,
I've been a part of the Joomla community for 15 years and love the platform, the components I pay for and enjoy supporting the developers in the community. When I pay for something, especially a 'lifetime' purchase, I'm putting my trust in that developer and up until two days ago, I've never been let down. This community has always rocked.

Two days ago, I purchased an item - a lifetime purchase that apparently is falsely advertised. I gave a low level review because the item did not do as it said, nor did their site provide the documentation, or have a 'ticket' system as it said.

Now... on the JED, this developer has the one item that is not the PRO version, it's free. I test drove it and it was great. The PRO version had the options I was looking for, supporting Instagram and other socials. Turns out it doesn't support Instagram - AND the low review I submitted yesterday on the PRO item is now gone. I cannot even find the PRO item on the JED.

What can a Joomla user do to avoid being scammed by dishonest developers? I'd like my money back and have communicated, showing this individual where their site shows 'Instagram' and there is no response. Oddly enough, I had seen (when I submitted my two star review) the latest review from another user that was like half a star complaining about all the same things.

I'm just really disappointed that I spent over 160.00 and have zero support, and it doesn't do what I need. Do I have any recourse? Can I report this ripoff? This makes me afraid to spend more money outside of the components I love and trust already. This will only harm others.

[pe7er]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

If you paid for the extension with a credit card or via paypal, then you could try to open a dispute at your credit card company or PayPal to try to get a refund.

[murphle1965]

Thanks Peter! That's a great idea. I'm not sure it will be successful, but I do have screenshots that show what he says it supports vs what it really supports. I will start with PayPal.
Have a great day!

[murphle1965]

This developer definitely removed his 'PRO' listing from the JED since my review. What a scam. He's keeping his 'free' one on the JED but clearly doesn't like the two low star reviews. Such a shame.

[sozzled]

You have my sympathy. Aside from the possibility of attempting to recover your payment (for purchasing an item that wasn't what was advertised) I don't really know what else you can do.

I'm always suspicious of software products—add-ons for free software like J!, in particular—that come with a hefty price tag and a long list of glowing testimonials from purchasers. Goodness knows, there are many free add-ons, or products costing a few dollars, that have zero reviews (and are probably just as good as the more exclusive ones) but that's just one of my pet peeves. Social media extensions, like ones that promise seamless integration with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. seem to be the main villains in this game because they prey on people's eagerness—bordering on obsession—to get ahead of the pack in the social media contest.

As much as how much one can rely on the integrity of the JED, the consumer's rights are contained in Section 11 of the Terms of Service. In other words, caveat emptor.

[murphle1965]

Hi Sozzled,
Yes, it's my fault - had I seen the one negative review, I would have stepped back quickly. I've had a tough time locating a FB slider that works great, consistently, also providing other socials. I've used some free ones (these are for my customers, as I don't use them personally), but as Joomla moves forward, issues appear here and there. When I saw this one and tested the free version, it appeared to be just what I needed, so I figured I would support said developer and commit. My first burn in the Joomla-sphere. I know there's always a risk, but I've been fortunate to have chosen very wisely with all the components and plugins I've purchased over the years. I do like the Lifetime options on good components:) In this case, I should have gone for the lesser option:)

[murphle1965]

I need to point out that all reviews are great on this item. There was one bad one, but it was the only one in the last 10 months or so. That would have made me think harder about the purchase.

[sozzled]

Exactly my point! I've looked at a number of those "social media" add-ons listed on the JED. There are several extensions listed there that raise my doubts about the provenance and trustworthiness of customers' "reviews". I won't mention any of them here; you can do your own research.

I'm just saying that "social media" add-ons seem to be a niche market that attracts more than the usual amount of doubt. That's not to say that there are not products that fulfill customers' expectations; I'm just saying that I think there are a few villains in that market.

I've written about this before, in several places on the forum, for example viewtopic.php?t=967362, viewtopic.php?t=973003 and viewtopic.php?t=952408. Those topics are only a small selection of the issues that confront people who rely on the JED to obtain reliable information (as well as problems people encounter in posting their reviews). So it's not a new problem.

[murphle1965]

Yes, it was bound to happen to me sooner or later. This particular time, I completely let my guard down. I normally do some research. I got careless. I suppose, since I've had such great luck for over a decade, I became lazy. It's definitely my own fault I got nabbed. I've checked in with PayPal. If that fails, I will go through the credit card company. If I lose the money, I learned a lesson.

[chrisguk]

As a developer of both free and paid extensions, it's very disappointing to see problems like this. It damages confidence and hurts all developers. I would have thought the last thing any decent developer wants is an unhappy customer. If a customer has a problem, we do want to understand the problem and try to help, but if we can't, or if the customer made a mistake and the extension doesn't suit his needs, we would much prefer to refund him than leave him unhappy. We just don't want unhappy customers. Life's too short.

[murphle1965]

Chrisguk: I agree. I wound up challenging this individual via Paypal but lost. He changed the information on his website and lied through his teeth about the screenshots I provided which clearly showed that the latest version supported instagram (an area in the backed to enter the Instagram information). He called me a liar several times, said I was using a screenshot from an old version (all information sent to Paypal).

Unfortunately, I bought a lifetime of the component which was so foolish. I should have tried it for a year first; I just had faith that it would be great. This developer was such a liar and so good at being deceiving. Of course he asked where I found the information on his site that said it supported Instagram, or on the JED, so I told him. Big mistake, becaus he removed his 'pro' listing from the JED immediately (which said it supported Instagram), so I couldn't prove that and he was advertising it, then followed it up with changing the text on his site (however his screenshot shows it... dummy). A narcissist who definitely makes this supporter of all things Joomla far more cautious.

[chrisguk]

What a horrible experience. I can't imagine what the developer is thinking. I enjoy my work and I want my users and customers to enjoy my products. Sometimes there is a mismatch of thinking and it's just best to refund and move on. Ok, the customer still has the software but no updates or support so it's no big deal for me - just another sale that never happened. I hope you have better luck in future.

[Llewellyn]

This issue of reviews on pro-extensions while only the free extension is listed has been in many of our team meeting discussions. The general consensus is that we have a problem, and some are exploiting it. There is plans in the new JED4 to try and counter this kind of bad behavior.

But we are not yet exactly sure how this can be done, any suggestive ideas and other contribution towards the JED4 rebuild is welcome, and should be posted here: https://github.com/joomla/com_jed4/issues