Warning against buying Acronis products

[Glob]

Be warned...not only did Echo Workstation's Universal Restore not work for me when I needed it to (despite hours of support calls/emails and various boot media), they like to take advantage of their customers. I bought Echo Workstation, and it was not compatible with Windows 7, so rather than releasing a new, compatible version, they released "Backup and Restore" and charged for an upgrade. I spent over $100 on Echo Workstation 10/25/2008, and they now want $65 to upgrade.

Acronis Agent: Hello Me, thank you for contacting Acronis Customer Central. My name is Acronis and I will be happy to assist

you. Please allow me 1-2 minutes to review your message.
Acronis Agent: Thank you for your patience.
Acronis Agent: If I understand you correctly, you are using Acronis True Image Echo workstation and when you try to upgrade to

the latest version using the email ID and the order ID, you are not able to do it. Am I correct?
Me : yes
Acronis Agent: Me, may I know the order ID using which you have purchased the maintenance or the upgrade version?
Me : xxxxxxxxx
Me : I bought a full version of True Image Echo Workstation on that order
Acronis Agent: Have you renewed your maintenance after purchasing the software?
Me : no
Acronis Agent: Have you purchased the latest upgrade version of Acronis Backup and Recovery 10?
Me : no
Acronis Agent: Okay. Let me explain you the things.
Me : I'm trying to find out if the upgrade price is less if I own TI Echo Workstation
Acronis Agent: I can see that you have purchased Acronis True Image Echo using the order ID: xxxxxxx.
Acronis Agent: After that you also renewed the maintenance and that was expired on 25 Oct 2009.
Acronis Agent: Now if you want to upgrade to the latest version, then you need to purchase an upgrade version of the Acronis

Backup and Recovery 10.
Acronis Agent: This version will also support Windows 7.
Me : at $66?
Acronis Agent: Yes, the upgrade price will be less, when compared to the standard version.
Acronis Agent: But the exact price details can be provided by our Sales representative.
Me : thanks
Acronis Agent: Do you want me to forward your request to the local sales representative of your area?
Me : no, I think I will use a competitor's product. Echo Workstation doesn't support Windows 7, and Acronis is

apparently going to charge me to upgrade to B&R in order to backup my Windows 7 desktop. Somewhat disappointing...
Acronis Agent: Please understand the fact that the older version is a very old and the Windows 7 was launched recently. So its

not supported.
Me : I wouldn't say it's very old, I bought it in 2009. Windows 7 was launched in Oct 2009
Me : so shortly after I bought Echo WS, it was obsolete to me
Acronis Agent: You purchased the older version in 2008.
Me : ah ok, must have been late in 2008 then (NOTE: I checked later, and I bought it Oct 25th, 2008)
Me : anyway, I won't pay for software repeatedly over one or two years. Thanks anyway
Acronis Agent: I understand your concern but you need to upgrade so that you can enjoy the latest version with the new

features.
Me : surely you can understand the frustration of buying software for over $100 and having it be obsolete in a year?
Acronis Agent: If you were having a valid support licenses, then we would have provided you a free upgrade.
Acronis Agent: We always provide different options. We also provide you an upgrade at a less price.

 

[Steltek]

So, just to be sure I understand....

You bought a software package over 2 years ago. You are now upset that it isn't compatible with an operating system that didn't exist as a retail product at the time you bought the package and thus for which the package was never advertised as either compatible with or expected to be future compatible. You did not purchase an extended software maintenance agreement (which would have entitled you to free product upgrades to compatible versions for as long as you maintained the agreement) and are further unwilling to purchase an upgrade to a compatible version.

All I can say is, welcome to the real world of for-profit software companies. Acronis isn't treating you any different than Microsoft, Symantec, Oracle, Computer Associates, or any other big software manufacturer would treat you in this same circumstance. For the most part, if you aren't a current paying customer - and you by your own admission certainly aren't a currently paying customer - they don't care about your issues. Period.

You really need to research available open source and freeware software alternatives as they are most likely to meet your expectations in terms of cost, compatibility, and support. Plus, there is some really good stuff out there to boot.

 

[Fardringle]

Short version. You bought a program in 2008, at least a year before Windows 7 was released. You did not pay the annual maintenance fee for free upgrades. Now that you need to upgrade to a version that is compatible with Windows 7, you want a free upgrade even though you didn't keep the maintenance contract that would have allowed you to get the free upgrade. They will let you purchase an upgrade for cheaper than the full price, but you can't get the upgrade for free.


I can understand, and don't blame you, that you don't want to pay for the newer version, but what you are asking for is essentially the same as this example:

I bought a game three years ago that came with a 1 year free upgrade offer that would let me upgrade the game when a new version or expansion is released, and I had the option to pay to continue the upgrade plan. I chose not to buy the extended upgrade plan. Now that my version of the game is old and won't work with the version that my friends are playing, I want a new game, and I want it for free under the upgrade plan (that I didn't pay for). The software publisher will let me buy the newest game version for a discount since I do own an older version of the game but I can't get the new one for free since I chose not to pay for the upgrade plan.

 

[GhettoFob]

I think this is pretty standard for most software companies nowadays.

 

[Nothinman]

Yep, Acronis is doing nothing out of the ordinary here and other companies are much, much worse. At least they released an updated version fairly quickly, you can have an MS contract and not see an updated release of a product for 5 or more years. A client of ours just found out that Act 2010 doesn't support Office 2010 at all and you have to pay to upgrade to Act 2011 even if you have support.

Just more reasons why I stick with free/OSS software 99% of the time in my personal life.

 

[alkemyst]

YAOIBIIWMSTBFF (Yet Another Once I Buy It, I Want My Software To Be Free Forever)

 

[corkyg]

YAOIBIIWMSTBFF (Yet Another Once I Buy It, I Want My Software To Be Free Forever)

Awesome!

 

[Anteaus]

I bought Roxio deluxe pack for no small amount of money literally 4 months before Windows 7 came out. Despite being completely Vista compatibility, it refused to work on Windows 7 and Roxios answer was to discontinue it and release a new Windows 7 compatible version instead of given us a simple patch, thus trying to get another stack of cash out of me. I was so mad that I went out and bought Nero. Long story short, I feel your pain. It's their perogative to treet various Windows releases as descrete entities, and since Windows 7 wasn't out at release they are going ot take advantage of it versus doing a simple compatibility patch. There is no revenue in that afterall.

 

[Modelworks]

Can't hold someone liable for future use. If the product does what it says when you buy it that is all that counts. The problem with software is companies that release programs that do not do what they are supposed to do at the current time then want to charge you for an update to fix a problem that the original shouldn't have had.

Count your blessings and check out macrium reflect. Acronis is going down in the reliability area. Since about version 10 it has become very unreliable. Seems they are trying to be part of the suite that does everything crowd. Macrium is just a backup program nothing more .
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

 

[jackofalltrades]

Just go back to vista no more worries about the backup software!

 

[VirtualLarry]

This is like buying a house with a 1-car garage, and two years later, buying a second car, and expecting the builders to come out and extend your garage. It ain't happening.

 

[bruceb]

This is why with a lot of programs, I now use good quality freeware. Like IMGBURN instead of Roxio / Nero or a good paid one, like UltraISO (ok for Win 7). As far as updates go, software companies should at least offer ONE (1) free upgrade to the next Major Version release within say a 1 year period from date of sale. That should keep most users happy. With most programs, you can always update within the Same Major Version with no license changes or fees.