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A Warning about Thinkall.com

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jesslambio:
I am the most recent victim of thinkall. :( :down:

i called several times and they also said i can't get a refund for the cds that i did not return in time (that i didn't know i had to return at all). i checked the site again and found out that when you finalize your order you were not prompted to read the terms of service, there was just a tiny box that you needed to check without any link to the terms. so this could easily mislead anyone into checking the box without reading the terms which i also just found out is in number 7 of the terms of use hiding below the web page.

i called my bank and filed a claim. i'm glad i found this forum which might help me to get my money back. (plus i got an overdraft because of it). :(

and one more thing, one of the cds i got, the "animation studio", is blender- a free program you can download from blender.org. and the video editing cd i got is a lame program called virtualdub. >:(

my sister was right, there is no free lunch in america. so don't be deceived into getting this cds. :down:

Carol Haynes:
Can I recommend that you contact the authors of the software you received from Thinkall.com

Most software (even freeware) explicitly forbids distribution for profit and so Thinkall.com are probably breaking the rights of the authors. By getting software writers to explicitly forbid the distribution by Thinkall.com may be a good way to put them out of 'business'.

jesslambio:
i couldn't find anyone to contact about blender, but i wrote to a TV station.

here's a copy of the letter:

i want to report about a website called www.thinkall.com, they sell cds and they have a promo where you choose one free cd and you get 3 more free and you only pay for shipping. i thought" this is cool" and so i ordered. i got my cds on June 28th, i think, and just today i received a letter from wells fargo of a charge from thinkall for 49.00 for the cds. my bank didnt have funds at that time so i also got an overdraft. i didnt know what the charge was for until i called thinkall( 1800-462-8144) and they said that the 2 cds were for a 10-day trial and if i didnt return it, the price is 24.95 each. i was thinking, how could that be, so i checked the site again and found out that when you finalize your order, there was a box you needed to check saying " i have read and accept the terms of this offer". it didnt prompt you to read the terms of service before you finalize your order and there was no link to the terms of service. it turns out that the terms of use is found below the page when you scroll down. ok so i made a mistake, but i thought that it was misleading so i did a search and sure enough, i found a forum warning people about thinkall (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=2083.0). it turns out that i was right, a lot of people were mislead by their ordering process.
 
i also found this review by the better business bureau- http://www.dallas.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=90024470
 
but what concerns me the most is that when i tried one of the cds, the "animation studio", it was blender, a free program you can download at www.blender.org
another link to it saying its free: http://www.blender.org/cms/General.196.0.html#487
 
and on their site they claimed that the retail price is 79.00 ( i attached a screen of the page). and on the forum, somebody said that all the other cds they are selling are freeware or crappy programs.
 
so i think this is just wrong. i don't know if someone is already doing something about it, but i wrote this just in case. i hope that they are stopped if what they are doing is wrong.
 
thank you and more power

let me know what you think of this letter.

Carol Haynes:
Do you have consumer 'watchdog' type TV programmes in the US? (We do in the UK).

The way to attack this is for everyone to write to the same programme with their complaint - weight of numbers helps to get a response. Perhaps there needs to be a bit of coordination via this site but also get the word out to the freeware forums etc. and usenet groups who are likely to be quite proactive about complaining about this sort of thing.

mouser:
welcome to the our site jesslambio, kick off your shoes and relax a bit here safe from the scams outside  :Thmbsup:

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