Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been using NCH Express Scribe for about 4 years with a VEC Infinity IN-USB-1 / IN-USB-2 (USB) pedal. On November 27th I purchased an update for Express Scribe Professional which worked for a month and then crashed. Since then, I have exchanged about 50 emails with various members of the **************** Team who have come to the conclusion that it is my pedal that is the problem. However, this past weekend, I was finally able to complete work that had been waiting with a different application and had no trouble whatsoever with the pedal. I am a Mac user and I find it extremely frustrating that no one seems to know which OS will work with Express Scribe software. Last year, when I upgraded to OS ********, I found out that it wasn't compatible with the software because it only recognized the pedal as a mouse. I had to go to the nearest APPLE store 60 miles away to get ******** uninstalled and ******* installed. If NCH is going to provide MAC downloads, at least know which OS it will work with! In the meantime, they say their developers are working on my software issues but it could take "days, weeks or months." I need the software to be dependable so I can work; I have found this extremely frustrating not only because if I want to speak to a real person as opposed to writing emails all day and waiting for a response - after they send out the obligatory "We've received your email and will respond asap..." blah blah, I have to buy their ***************** Another expense on top of the recently purchased upgrade. Today is January 9th, 12 days after the problems started. Maybe they're doing their best but I'm still unable to use Express Scribe to complete my work.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2023

  This customer has already worked with support and had a refund approved and processed. The bug is with the engineering team. Currently there is no official release date scheduled for the fix as it is part of a larger set of fixes and improvements for the Mac version currently in process.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2023

  The issue has been resolved however, I am very disappointed since I used this software for several years and when it works, it's great. However, they updated it and I was unable to use it anymore. They are unable to work out the bugs so Ill have to learn and use another app. I have received my refund from the company.
  
  Thank you.
  *******************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/10/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased recording software from NCHS that was provided by downloads, with registration codes supplied after purchases. But my computer crashed this year and I could not re-download the same software with the same registration codes. They say they do not support older versions of their software and they demand payment for upgrades, so effectively I lost all the software I paid them for. This tells me quite clearly that they are only interested in collecting your CASH and they'll stoop to effectively disabling your software if it fails, in return for more CASH. I call that extortion.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2022

  None of this is accurate. We do support older versions of our software and support is able to supply the version that worked with the original codes purchased. There is not a need to pay for an upgrade with this process. Support has been notified and the customer should be receiving a support ticket communication.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/19/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ORIGINAL COST, (APX) $40 PURCHASED (APX) 1 YEAR AGO FOR A ONE-****, ONE COMPUTER LICENSE I RECEIVED THE LICENSE, AND THEY UPGRADED THE ********************** WHICH AUTOMATICALLY CANCELLED THE LICENSE I PAID FOR - THEY TRIED TO FORCE ME TO BUY THE UPGRADE BUT I DID NOT NEED IT, AND SAID TO REINSTATE THE LICENSE I PAID FOR - THEY DID AND IT WORKED. SOME**** LATER THEY UPGRADED AGAIN - AND REPEATED ALL OF THIS ONLY THIS **** THE OLD LICENSE THEY SENT FAILED BUT TECHNICAL SUPPORT SAID IT SHOULD WORK FINALLY, I ASKED TO ESCALATE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE - THEY SAID I PURCHASED A 3 MONTHS LICENSE AND IT EXPIRED ABOUT A YEAR AGO (DURING THE **** I USED IT AND RESTORED IT SEVERAL ****S SO THAT DID NOT MAKE ANY SENSE - THEY REFUSED TO HELP AND DID NOT EVEN RESPOND TO MY REQUEST TO DOCUMENT MY PURCHASE - THEY TOOK MY MONEY AND RAN. HERE IS SOME OF THE THREAD AS MY CHARACTER COUNT WILL PERMIT: That is certainly not what I selected or intended to select. Either your purchasing software isnt working or your options are not very clear or someone made a mistake. So are you saying that NHC has been taping into my credit card without me realizing it? Also, can you send me a screenshot of what I clicked on to make this bogus purchase? Also please send me a statement of exactly I was charged when. Somewhere there was a mistake, maybe me and maybe NHC. This is not what I purchased so I say its NHC. There is no way to tell where the error lies but I want you to correct it based on what I feel I purchased. Clearly, I would not have spent nearly a week and 20 hours of my time trying to get something working if I had any thought that I was working so desperately on something I bought that would expire in three months. That notion speaks for itself and you should understand that. Notably, not one of your technical people agreed with you and each and every one of them thought and tested the license as a permanent, one-time purchase. Please review the troubleshooting efforts that went on.CUT OFF.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  This customer clearly purchased a subscription. They were shown their receipt during their support communication that shows a quarterly subscription purchase. Our shopping cart has a tick box "Debut Video Capture Software Pro Edition Quarterly Plan
  Unlimited ongoing use of all professional version features and all upgrades billed $11.64 quarterly Full Pro Edition for only 13 cents per day!" That was the option selected by this customer. Despite this customers mistake our support manager has been instructed to send them a full license key for Debut without requiring them to purchase it.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/15/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased hardware and accompanying software from NCH Software in December of 2018. Now to use the software they expect me to pay again to use it. I need this software to use the hardware they sold me.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Our records show this customer purchased Prism in February of 2019. Prism is not sold with any hardware. If there is hardware involved we do not have any record of any hardware purchase based on the information provided to date. The customer upgraded his ********************** to the latest version and then 2 weeks later was asked to purchase a license since free updates are only available for 12 months. We apologize for the customers frustration, but support provided him with the link to the original version of the software he purchased that will work with his original license key. At no cost to the customer - they do not have to purchase anything to continue to use the software. The customer is now asking for a free upgrade. If there is a hardware element to this issue where the customer can no longer use hardware they purchased from us they can re-open their closed support ticket with this new information. Outside of that they have been provided with access to their original working configuration at no cost to them.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/14/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I made a purchase for 1 quarterly subscriptions in December 2021 which it comes with a serial code and it states that I have 24 months to activate that subscription, for September 2022 I tried to activate the subscription using the purchased code, but, the system says me that the code is expired. I communicated with contact services and they just answered that NCH don't care if the user uses or not the service after the three months of the purchase, the code will expire, so, my money is lost.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/15/2022

  Apologies for what has obviously been a frustrating experience. Unfortunately we have not received any support communications from this customer using the email address provided. I have asked our support manager to reach out using the provided email address and provide the customer with a working perpetual license key. What happened is that the customer signed up for a quarterly subscription instead of an outright product purchase. This subscription bills as soon as the purchase is made and then every 3 months afterwards automatically until the customer cancels or the charge is declined. This occurs whether the customer installs the product or not. For this customer the charge was declined for one of the subscription renewal periods, so the license was canceled. This is the reason the customer is getting the "license key is expired" message - because his quarterly payment was declined and he is no longer an active subscriber. The original purchase is too old for us to refund, but the perpetual key he will receive will allow him to use the product indefinitely. Thanks. NCH Support.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/15/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Tried to purchase a one time $30 subscription from NCH software for the WavePad audio editor, charged the card but no product. No way around it, they are just asking for more money. All I want is a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2022

  This customer is currently in communication with NCH Software technical support, and will receive whatever outcome is desired. Either working codes or a refund.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/16/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******