I’m so done with code canyon. I have purchased about 6 plugins here and half have been junk. One took down my entire site and one was a post page grid layout tool but did not allow for pagination. So yes, I can put my posts in a grid but I have to put all 400+ on ONE page.
And code canyon does’t lift a finger to facilitate refunds. You’re better off sticking to to free plugs as they seem to be far more refined.
I’m off to PayPal to dispute charges.
Just as an FYI. (Only support can see the details of your situation) if you dispute payments then your entire account will be disabled until it is resolved - just in case there is other items you need access to
Thanks. I did send refund requests to Code Canyon but previous experience tells me that they will NEVER side with the customer. Even with irrefutable proof of either a broken plugin or false advertising (missing advertised features).
I only have one other active plugin purchased from via them and it updates automatically now within Wordpress so disabling my account is no big deal.
I’ll give them 24 hours from the time I submitted my refund request and if no resolution then I’ll file a complaint with PayPal.
Yep. They lagged for 2 days in responding to a refund request but miraculously were able to lock my account within minutes of me filing a dispute with PayPal.
Then they said they would unlock my account only if I dropped the claim. I said I would drop it if they provided a refund. Then they went silent.
So basically it boils down to extortion. Envato knows that dropped Paypal disputes cannot be reopened. So they lock your account denying you access to software (unrelated to the dispute) that you’ve already paid for, refuse a refund for broken software (even though the author approved it) and then ignore you unless you drop your dispute.
What a truly slimy way of doing business.
With respect (and I sympathise it is frustrating) it is (I don’t know for sure) probably an automated process to prevent anyone exploiting the system.
Plus it is outlined in the Terms which we all as buyers agreed to https://themeforest.net/legal/market
I’m sure it’s an automated process. But it’s the extortion part of locking me out of software I had already purchased AND refusing to budge (or communicate) unless the customer drops their dispute.
Filing a dispute is the ONLY recourse/protection the customer has against defective software and to keep Envato from keeping their money.
In addition, I Googled Envato and how they treat their customers and found many others with similar complaints on sites such as Scam Adviser, Ripoff Report, Trustpilot, SiteJabber and even a Facebook group so I’m not the only one.
Again with respect that is not true - if the item is genuinely bugged and it’s within a reasonable time frame then you will get a refund.
As for those review sites - I strongly doubt there is a marketplace in the world who are not on them somewhere with people complaining.
Noone wants you or anyone else having bad experiences but (entirely my opinion) I only needed to read a few of the negative reviews to see that those people are entirely wrong and don’t have the basic technical skills to judge.
We are not saying this is the case every time and of course, there will be bad cases - it’s only inevitable with the hundreds of thousands of transactions and items going through the marketplace, but to tarnish Envato based on a handful of cases is not fair.
In my experience, Envato ONLY gives credit and NOT refunds and only after fighting with them for several days. Looking at the complaint sites, most other users experienced the same problem. Also, look at other ecommerce sites on the complaint sites (try Amazon.com, steamgames.com, bandhphoto.com) and Envato is still far worse than most.
The sad thing is that if I didn’t have to fight with Envato I would definitely buy more plugins. But knowing that it’s always going to be a fight to get a refund for bad code then it’s just not worth it.
Sounds like you have been unlucky - we’ve bought into the thousands of items and have refund less than 5.
There have been bugs in a few more (still less than 10-15%) but nothing that couldn’t be fixed and which was still worth more than we paid for it.
The ‘credit’ issue - this is almost always that they refund the way it was paid i.e. if you paid straight up with a card then it would be refunded as a payment. If someone purchases credits to use to buy an item then these tend to come back as credit.
That 's actually one feature I completely agree with - if someone (not aimed at anyone) was going to exploit the system then refunding/disputing in exchange for money back is what they will be after most. Returning credit wherever possible is again another way for Envato to protect against less genuine cases.
Again it sounds like you have been unfortunate and I don’t debate that bad cases do exist.
I just think that the positives vastly outweigh the negatives and, right or wrong, the reviews on those sites that attack Envato do annoy us - especially for:
First, I’d like to say I appreciate your calm and non-judgmental replies.
I was issued a credit for the last plugin even though I proved that it did not do what it was advertised to do. I was denied a refund simply because the author refused it.
In the current scenario, I am only seeking a refund for the new funds I added in order to purchase the plugin. I am not seeking a refund for the credit issued in the past.
I worked with the author of the latest plugin (after the plugin took down my entire site) and got it up and running. However, it was still missing an advertised feature, the very reason I purchased the “pro” version of the plugin.
The author has agreed to a refund but Envato still refuses to budge. Not a peep despite several request over the past 5 days.
I have also never pursued a refund or credit for plugins that worked as advertised but for one reason or another I never used. I have also NEVER used (or even left installed) any plugins where I was issued a credit.
I am not trying to get more than I paid for but I refuse to let ANY company take advantage of me and steal my hard earned money.
Envato expects customers to back off and close Paypal disputes so that they can get away without issuing refunds. See this post on Paypal’s forum for the EXACT reason I refuse to close my claim.
You mean the same T&C that was agreed to by sellers, while they scammed the community with defective products?
Or the ones who remove clients from their 3rd party support systems when a support ticket are submitted stating that the product is defective and non-functional. Then lie on to the rest of the community about every single statement.
Or maybe it’s the other sellers who ignore https://themeforest.net/page/item_support_policy when buyers download an outdated and unmanagable script. As a service providing a curated marketplace, you guys seem to love not doing any curating.
How does this marketplace, full of legitimately highly rated scripts and services from people all around the world become shekled down by the support system ? Simple, Punish buyers.
Lastly, the cooldown before a dispute is looked at is simply a joke.If the dispute is filed then clearly the buyer has done every other route available and this is the last option.
If a seller requires the time during a dispute to update the product they provide then logically they are not actively maintaining said product in the first place, and if you have a marketplace full of sellers who are only motivated when they have a slim chance to lose there undeserved finances then you are going to have a forum full of angry people complaining about junk plugins and being fed up with the low quality…
oh wait.,…
If disputes that don’t fit the criteria are submitted are regular enough to justify such system, then make a policy to instantly lock their accounts that regularly do this, clearly, you guys got that part down pretty well if money is involved.
TL:DR Less buyer policy enforcement, more seller quality and policy enforcement, better huristics to determine a product in dispute is liable for dispute.