I feel cheated and tricked by Native Instruments

chk071

"They should grant only if it’s in NI policies or if it’s in EU laws."

It isn't.

Case closed? Not really, as you just argued that this is perfectly fine, and nobody should hurt the poor baby. Which, knowing you, isn't a big surprise really.

And, by the way, if you think this is just about the OP, then think again. Entitled customers not only hurt companies, they hurt everyone buying from them too, because, entitled attitude produces cost to the companies , which they, of course, have to pass along to their customers. A few foul apples spoil the whole meal, unfortunately.

LostInFoundation

Case closed.

Sometimes it’s really useless to talk

chk071

It's certainly useless to talk the OP out of his entitlement idea baring any legal base, threatening with lawyers on an internet forum. It is what it is (and what I described). There is nothing good coming out of such a baseless claim, and the entitlement attitude behind it, which only sees the own position, and disregards any company policies or laws. Or the fact that his support case will cost NI money, and that NI would also see no money when they hand out a free Komplete 15 license to him.

Not to talk about the support cases which will happen in the future, as he seems to be such a happy and grateful customer.

chk071

That topic title already… "I feel cheated and tricked by NI". Just because he doesn't know the release cycle of Komplete, and thinks he's elligible for a free upgrade, because a new version is released 3 months from his purchase…

You know what I do in such cases? Think "Duh, I'm a fool…" and move on. But then, I was raised in times when stuff like "cheat" and "tricks" still meant what's written in the dictionary. Not what I imagine in my delusional brain.

Kamil NAGRNIA

Thank you for such numerous entries and responses. I see that the entries are not made by clients on whose behalf I am trying to defend the interests as consumers, but by trolls, Native employees. It's an old trick, there are few conformists who dare to have their own opinion on a given topic, which is why corporations like Native Instrument use social engineering to drown out uncomfortable topics and impose political will with a convenient solution for the company.

Let's summarize if someone didn't understand the matter.

It was June 2024, I had a version of the SELECT 14 program containing a set of sounds, I received this version together with the purchased keyboard from Native Instrument - I spent not a little, because much more than the competition offers in the same class - about 1400 euros.

Then I received an email offering an update in a 50% promotion for 200 euros to a higher, more extensive STANDARD version with a larger database of instruments and sounds.
Where was there no information about the planned release of a new version 15 in a few months (3 months).
So there was no such information either on the Native Instruments software manufacturer's website or in the email.
As a new customer of the company, I had no idea how often new versions of the KOMPLET STANDARD program were released. So I started the update for the 200 euros.
In less than 3 months, it turned out that Native Instruments had introduced a newer version of the KOMPETE STANDARD 15 program at a promotional update price of 200 euros.
What would have happened if I had not updated the program in June? In September, I would have had the opportunity to update to the STANDARD 15 version for 200 euros.
So we should assume that the action of Native Instruments was intentional and deliberate, so that new customers who did not know that a new version of the program was coming would fall for this promotion 3 months before the next release.
Can such behavior of the company be considered reprehensible and striking, undermining its credibility and honesty towards its customers? I believe so.
For example, Presonus, a company producing DAW software in the Studio ONE version, when it introduced a new version in October two years ago, users could easily get updates if they made a purchase or updated their version of Studio ONE up to 6 months ago.
Of course, this was the good will of PRESONUS and not resulting from legal regulations, and kudos to them for that. There are probably no provisions in the law that oblige all companies producing software to such practices, hence I intend to submit a petition to the European Parliament in defense of Consumers, to eliminate from social life this type of pathology and debts, which are used by the Native Instrument company, acting in accordance with the law and not violating it, but through its activities and methods used, earns twice on updates over the course of several months.
I do not intend to use lawyers and take legal action, because it would be trivial.

However, I intend to defend the interests of consumers throughout the European Union so as to curb the use of such practices, where the good of consumers is exposed to the loss of additional money. The use of practices that are legal but not ethical constitutes a prohibited act and I intend to bring about a situation in which lawyers in the European Parliament are interested in this topic.
The proverbial saying that a crafty person loses twice in this aspect has a special dimension and I intend to prove it with action.
I would also like to mention here that the software itself did not live up to the hopes placed in it, because in both the SELECT and STANDARD versions there is no single classical instrument, and these were the ones I cared about the most.
Only the much more expensive Ultimate and COLLECTOR versions contain a set of instruments suitable for professional use. Here I would like to add that the Native Instruments company, based in the USA and with its representatives all over the world, including Europe, does not provide 14-day demo versions, as many competing companies do.
On the Native Instrument website, however, there are demonstrations in the form of several created pieces created using sounds from individual collections.
Therefore, the customer does not have the opportunity to fully understand what product they are buying before making a purchase.
For example, the description itself presents a collection of 30 pianos, and after installation it turns out that the sounds that were included in the collection resemble those produced during sound synthesis, and not specific classical instruments.
This is a method of generating a huge database of sounds with an emphasis on quantity, not quality. Delving into the THOMANN store forum yesterday from Świeczka, I tried to look for supporters of the Native Instruments company, perhaps because it has such an attitude towards its customers per leg, we have lawyers and what will you do to us?
I wish you good luck in your company's future operations, but I don't predict any success with this approach.

Uwe303

an can absolutely understand the frustration, as an example, I only bought on sales or used upgrades/updates, additionally jumped versions - anyway a grace period would be nice like steinberg has but they don't have 3 month grace period, no one would do that I guess, maybe a discount for cases like yours would also be an option

Kamil NAGRNIA

I will only add that in this case I had a longer conversation with the legal department of the Federation of Consumers in Poland and they agreed that my complaint about such practices applied to customers is inappropriate and raises ethical concerns.

They suggested mediation in this case with Native Instruments, because this is the first stage of the settlement form of pre-trial disputes.

As they stated, every large, reputable company cares about its customers and usually meets its customers in such a way as to meet their expectations and not lose customers in the future, because the development of the company is built precisely among customers and the industry community.

As can be seen from the above entries of Native Instruments employees, in this case it is different and the company's policy does not assume its own mistakes and stumbles, and treats customers who have invested in their equipment and software from above and in a scornful manner.

Nevertheless, I will strive to introduce legal regulations so that all customers in the EU are covered by a warranty grace period for purchased hardware and software, enabling free updates for their products for a specified period of time, e.g. for a period of 6 months.

chk071

Amazing how many words you can use to form total bollocks.