Captain Sim appear to have attracted possibly more than their fair share of controversy in recent times. As I have yet purchase any of their products I cannot really comment on the merits on some of the forum debates but do offer the general observation that there appear to be many satisfied users of their products in addition to some somewhat vocal critics. If anything may be said in all this Captain Sim have certainly received much in the way of publicity. If publicity were dollars then Captain Sim would be rich.
Unfortunately with the latest fiasco afflicting Captain Sim, one thing they do not appear to have received much of as yet, is $$$$ for their rather nice looking Legendary C-130 package. The latest dilemma, which involves also involves PayPal has been well covered in various forums. The story is basically that PayPal have frozen Captain Sim’s PayPal account and they [CS] have yet to receive any money, via PayPal, for their C-130 sales. Captain Sim have fueled further controversy by requesting purchasers of the C-130 package to request a refund from PayPal and re-purchase the product via credit card to receive product support. This latter move has attracted much criticism in the forums as essentially Captain Sim are involving a third party, their customers, in a dispute with a finance provider. I am not going to add what has already been said on that issue but offer the suggestion that this request, by CS, is only going to cause more confusion to add to that which has already occurred. It’s adding another layer of knots to untangle, for CS, PayPal and the customer, in an already confusing situation. It would have perhaps been best for CS to come to an agreement with PayPal before making any requests of their customers.
Apparently it requires very little to have an account frozen by PayPal. Internet fraud, rip-offs and scams are a major problem in this day in age and companies such as PayPal have to implement a number of safeguards to counter this. In the case of PayPal many of these safeguards appear to be automated. In an interesting thread at Sim Outhouse one of the posters directs us to an article on The Enquirer’s site where a charity account was frozen after allegedly receiving $20,000 in less than half a day and there were a few complaints. I invite you to read the article for yourself. Of course we do not know the whole story, but at first glance if these situations are taken at face value then perhaps PayPal should involve real live people in sorting out these situations at an early stage of dispute, rather than apparently relying on automated process. For more on PayPal a quick Google search may prove useful. The Wikipedia article on PayPal is well worth a read.
There was an interesting and at times heated thread on this situation, at AVSIM which has disappeared. Tom Allensworth provides an answer to its disappearance in a subsequent thread, and of course the debate continues. A long running thread at Sim-Outhouse is also interesting and covers multiple issues such as payware pricing.
Hopefully this somewhat sad situation, for all concerned, will be resolved soon.
I also wish to note that this unfortunate situation will not deter me from buying the Legendary C-130, if it becomes available locally on CD. The positive comments on the forums seem to out number the negative though the latter are somewhat louder. I tend to buy on add-on products on impulse anyway and then usually packaged products in a normal retail store.
As an afterward I offer the suggestion that when purchasing on-line, one should always check to see if the vendor has a refund policy. More often than not, in the case of software they do not. It is up to the developer/publisher to decide if they have a ‘no satisfaction’ refund policy. These are usually purely for marketing reasons rather than any statutory reasons.
There is an element of subjectivity in what might be satisfactory performance in an add-on product anyway. What might be satisfactory to one person maybe totally unsatisfactory to another. One only has to look through a few of the more controversial and heated forum threads to see this.
I have never purchased an add-on product that I can say I am 100% satisfied with anyway. They all merit a few criticisms. However this does not prevent me using or enjoying these products. I have yet to buy a complete dud but if I did, given the relative cost of add-ons, I would be somewhat philosophical, make a mental note to be wary of buying further products from the developer concerned, and would possibly contact the developer and let them know of my concerns.
Unless the product being sold is an out and out obvious rip-off, scam or fraud, the goods not received by the customer, the card was incorrectly or wrongly charged or an unauthorized transaction, then credit card companies or other financial organizations are not really interested in problems associated with the product’s performance. It is not their concern or problem. When applying for a merchant account with a bank, one of the first things they want to know along with the vendor’s business plan is the vendor’s return/refund policy to factor in the possibility of credits/chargebacks. If the vendor’s policy is not to provide refunds if the goods are received, [that is usually stated at the time of purchase] and the goods are downloaded and received then that is generally the end of the matter*. There is usually no comeback against credit card company or vendor if the purchaser received the goods as advertised. Essentially you are buying at your own risk once you receive the goods. Complaints such as ‘frame rates suck’ or the autopilot is flawed are not usually grounds for complaint to a credit card company or the likes of PayPal. [Though there are possibly a few people who might beg to differ.] Such complaints would only add a lot of unnecessary of noise and confusion.
Remember in these situations the vendor has to be protected as well as the consumer. There is nothing to prevent someone downloading a product, installing and using it, and subsequently claim the product is flawed and claim a refund. If the product is not flawed and a refund is falsely claimed then that would be an act of fraud in many jurisdictions.
*In some instances that is not the end of it. Many software products include an End User Licence Agreement [EULA] with which one clicks acceptance or non acceptance, during the software’s installation process [click wrap]. With some boxed software packages, if one decides not to install, then the purchaser can return the product in its original packaging in good condition. I do not know what the online equivalent of this as the purchaser downloader would require to prove that they did not proceed with the installation. EULA’s are usually governed by the laws of the product’s originating Country/State.
If a product is really bad and you consider it seriously flawed and the developer/publisher/vendor is unhelpful, then consult your local consumer affairs or fair trading regulator for advice. Also be cognisant that consumer laws differ from country to country and state to state.
Make sure that you know what you are purchasing, whether the developer has a good track record, that the product will run on your computer and if you have any doubts try and avoid being an early adopter of a product until reviews appear, or comments filter through some of the forums. Some times the latter can be confusing given signal to noise ratio in the forums.
In summary then in making an on-line purchase of add-on products you are usually buying at your own risk unless the vendor states otherwise. Be aware of what you are purchasing, the vendor’s refund policy, and make sure that the product will run on your system. Avoid making complaints to credit card companies or PayPal if you download and actually receive the add-on. If the product does not work as you think it should discuss the issue with the developer/publisher/vendor. If that fails then consult your local consumer affairs/fair trading office or a legal professional for further advice.
[Disclaimer: These are my personal observations. I make these comments as an educated lay person to perhaps ease some of the confusion that occurs from time to time. I am not legally qualified. Most of it is just plain common sense. If you experience problems with a vendor or would like to know more I recommend consulting a qualified legal professional or your local consumer affairs regulators.]
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