Slashdot Mirror
Tricked Into Buying OpenOffice.org?
mldkfa writes "Recently I told a friend about OpenOffice and how it was a great alternative to the big name pay office suites. She went home and searched on Google for it and thought she found the website, filled typical registration information, and downloaded OpenOffice.org 3.0. The next time she opened her e-mail she found a request for 98 [Euro] for her 1-year subscription to OpenOffice.org 3.0 from the company that she downloaded it from. Apparently the EULA stated this cost and here in Germany she is required to pay up. So I thought I would ask Slashdot, should she pay? On the OpenOffice.org German website there is a warning of these schemes being legal. Shouldn't Sun change the license of OpenOffice.org to protect their fans or are they doing this to protect someone else? It has really made me think about recommending it to any more friends." Below, read Google's translation of the warning; it wouldn't be the first time that open source software has been lightly repackaged and sold in ways that should raise eyebrows among anyone familiar with the wide, free availability of the same apps.
Google translates the warning message thus: "WARNING before downloading from any third party: The download of OpenOffice.org is free from this page possible. These are not personal data. In recent times, however, we can reach more complaints about companies that the program for a fee for downloading. Among other leading search engines to search for OpenOffice.org to pay "download subscriptions. We want to emphasize that we have these offers are not affiliated and is not responsible. Due to the open-source philosophy allowed our license, but also the sale. When you download OpenOffice.org under no circumstances disclose your personal information!"
Well, if as you say it's legal in your jurisdiction, then it sounds like yes, she should pay, unless she wants to risk damage to her credit.
Maybe for this reason everybody should get into the habit of calling it OpenOffice.org. That's the name of the software. Not OpenOffice. OpenOffice.org. So where do you get it? OpenOffice.org. What's the cost? Find out at OpenOffice.org. What's the latest version? OpenOffice.org will tell you. Et cetera.
Breakfast served all day!
Is it a typical EULA that was scene during the install of the product? Can't your friend state that she read the EULA, disagreed with the terms and is, in effect, returning the software (deleting it). Delete it, get a fresh copy (just in case the company in question modified some of it before passing it along), and use that instead.
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
Most likely there's some way to cancel the order on the basis of faulty or incompatible produce -- "Y'all's version of Open Office don't work on my computer! I want my money back!" type deal.
Look into that, remove their version of it, and get the official one or even different software.
The problem is that the 'product' purchased is 'ability to download from our site'.
Openoffice being GPL, they aren't selling the *software*, they're selling the *download*. Uninstalling the software doesn't negate the download service 'purchased'. ... in the same way that you can't return a package to the sender for a refund of the UPS fees.
Germany can be pretty screwed up in some respects, especially if you're used to living in a fairly "loose" system like the US.
Not that I disagree with your assessment about Germany being screwed up, but I think calling the US loose (especially compared to Berlin) is a bit of a stretch. Having lived both in the US and in Berlin, I consider most of the places in America much less relaxed in every respect I can think of (drugs [especially weed], prostitution, homosexuality, sex in general, abortion etc). Well, everything except gun control and nazi insignia.
Ya know, there's a difference between what the law states and what is enforceable. Technically she may be required to pay-up, but that doesn't mean she has to. It's very likely she could ignore the email, never pay, and the scammers would drop the bill because it's too expensive to file court cases to claim $96.
Worst case: If they somehow managed to charge her credit card, she could simply send an empty envelope to the scammers and tell the VISA card, "I have returned the item; here's the tracking number which proves it. Please reverse the charge," and it will disappear.
When dealing with deceitful scam artists, sometimes you need to be smart and reverse-scam them to recover your stolen money. Use the law to your own advantage. I've bought a lot of false-advertised junk off Ebay and Amazon, but so far haven't lost a single penny thanks to using the technique I just described.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall