addon Addon not working, is there some way I can get my money back?

[najeeb]

I purchased an addon for clean urls (https://addons.prestashop.com/en/url-redirects/31422-pretty-url-seo-friendly-rewrite.html), and it's not working, even though I selected the correct version. After purchase and installation I realized that the person has just re-packaged a free addon available on GitHub (https://github.com/faktiva/prestashop-clean-urls/releases/tag/1.2.3) and has started to sell it on prestashop addons marketplace. I feel I have been cheated of my money. How can I get my money back without doing a chargeback?

[Areama]

Yes, sure you can take your money back. You need to create refund request.

[najeeb]

Thanks for your reply, @Areama However, I am unable to find a refund request link. I would be grateful if you could help me with that. 

[joseantgv]

There is not a "refund request".

You have to contact developer to fix the problem with the module.

I'm afraid it's not possible to ask for a refund just because you have found another free module.. I don't know if it's exactly the same module or not, but you also pay for an assistance.

[najeeb]

@joseantgv, I did not suddenly "find" this free module. I had googled for it though, much before I purchased this module, and I had installed it on the earlier v. 1.6.1.17 that my store was running. The free module worked just fine. I then upgraded to v. 1.6.1.24 and that made the module non-functional. And that's the reason I decided to purchase a new module. It was only after I purchased this supposedly "new" module, I realized it was the same free one picked up from github and re-packaged as a paid one on prestashop's marketplace. And just like the github one, it was *not* working on the latter v.1.16.1.24. (I have already pointed this out to the "developer" of this module.) It was then that I realized that I have been had.

Being a software developer myself, I do know for a fact that the easiest thing in the world is to take someone else's open source code and re-brand it and make money off it. But my ethics won't allow me that.

And your idea of "service" or "assistance" seems to be radically different from mine. Where I come from, I believe that service should be paid for when there are genuine bugs that may have crept in and there's no warranty in effect, or it has expired. Grabbing someone else's code, charging money for it, and then "assisting" customers is not my idea of genuine assistance that should be paid for. In any case, there should be 100% transparency as to the origin of the product. Else it is withholding vital information, and which amounts to cheating.

[Areama]

1 hour ago, joseantgv said:

There is not a "refund request".

You have to contact developer to fix the problem with the module.

I'm afraid it's not possible to ask for a refund just because you have found another free module.. I don't know if it's exactly the same module or not, but you also pay for an assistance.

Yes, you are right. Author of module should try to resolve a problem. And if problem can't be resolved customer can request refund.

[najeeb]

@Areama, I'm sorry about the heated reply above. I know you were trying to help. It's just that this was my first purchase on PrestaShop and it left a bad taste in my mouth. And the support person who I chatted with gave me a canned reply and abruptly left the conversation, which only added to my frustration. I know exceptions do happen, and this was an exception; it's just that my first purchase on PS turned out to be the sour one. Next time I will make sure that I only purchase adddons that already have good ratings.

Good day to you and the others who helped me, and thank you so much for taking the time to help me out  

[najeeb]

7 hours ago, Entitlement said:

And you still find it strange they don't help you.

 

Entitled prick.

  It's IQ-challenged wimps like you creating anonymous accounts just so that they can be boisterous that give nitwits a bad name. Read the conversation first. Hiding behind an anonymous account 😜 

[joseantgv]

@najeeb As said I don't know the module so I can not tell you if developer has just repacked the code and is selling it, but he can do it according to license https://github.com/faktiva/prestashop-clean-urls/blob/master/LICENSE

[najeeb]

2 hours ago, joseantgv said:

@najeeb As said I don't know the module so I can not tell you if developer has just repacked the code and is selling it, but he can do it according to license https://github.com/faktiva/prestashop-clean-urls/blob/master/LICENSE

I compared the source codes, it's the same line for line with only cosmetic changes here and there. And of course, branding parts like names, credits, and so on. I then contacted the developer of faktiva and appraised him about this, to which he replied that he can only take it up with ps but he doubts if even they will do much.

The thing is, it's not so much a legal issue as it is an ethical one: it's just not right to re-package someone else's code and pass it off as their own. Provenance should always be transparent especially if there are people paying for it so that they know exactly what they're paying for, whether it be the source, the service, or both. And I wouldn't even mind paying for it had he rectified upgrade problem, which he didn't. And I spent the entire evening yesterday going back and forth with him, following his instructions to get the addon to work, all unsuccessfully. He should be paying me for doing QA for him, which he didn't bother to do in the first place. Basically, it's just easy and free money for him.

And I don't even know if I will get my money back because even though he offered to return my money, it is now in arbitration with PS. Let's see if they return my money or if I will have to do a chargeback. The point is, it's not that the 30 Euros I was cheated off of is going to kill me... it's just that it's not a good feeling to know you've been taken for a ride and the other person got away with it.

Edited October 1, 2019 by najeeb (see edit history)