Google Earth (free) vs. Google Earth 2008 (scam)

Dear All,

This weekend I fell hook, line and sinker for a con and wanted to share my experience to help others.

I am a very enthusiastic user of Google Earth and mentioning it to a family member this weekend, we went on-line to download the software for them. I did not remember the exact URL, so I just typed in [google earth] and sure enough a page of results including the correct link to the Google Earth site at earth.google.com

However, I noticed the sponsored link talking about a high res version and immediately thought that there was an improved version available. Following either of the two sponsored links at the top of the page takes you to the same URL (the scam) at -http://www.earth-2008-online.com/

Fully expecting to pay towards a high resolution version of the same software, I only glanced very quickly around the site (big mistake - the warning signs were there) and as they had a 7 day money back guarantee, felt there was nothing to lose. I even read the terms and conditons that said if they did refund your money, a $9.95 handling fee would be retained. This should be roughly £5.00....

So blundering ahead I signed up, downloaded the software and went to look at the same images I had just investigated with the "normal" Google Earth. I noticed no difference on the first image at all and the programme seemed to stop resolving images beyond a very crude and pixellated point after that. I realised that I had been conned and as I could not get it to work again, I uninstalled the download from the scammers and reinstalled the original Google Earth product..... hey presto, it all worked again.

So I started the process of requesting my refund and after receiving these two message from the company -

REPLY 1

Dear Customer,

In order to better understand your experience we would like to receive more information regarding the issues you are having.

1. Was there an error on your billing?
2. Were you able to access your purchase? Does it work?
3. What is the main reason for cancellation?

Since the products we are offering are non-tangible irrevocable goods, we do not issue refunds once the order is completed and the product is delivered. While we are willing to consider certain circumstances, please note that in order to protect the integrity of our offerings, all refund requests are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and may be subject to cancellation fees.

Our Support Team is ready to provide you with timely and efficient professional assistance. Should you require additional assistance, you can contact us by Phone, Email or Live Chat.

Sincerely,
Your Customer service team


I kept my cool and patiently told them yet again (all this was already stated in my initial message to them), that the software did not function and certainly was not a high resolution version of the freely available software from Google Earth. I had uninstalled it and had no use from it at all, so please could I have my refund as per their guarantee.

REPLY 2

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting our Support team. We apologize if you are not satisfied or are having difficulties with this membership. We would like to remind you that technical support is available with this membership. In addition, there are a few options that we would like to propose in order to keep you as a customer.

1) We would like to offer you a 10GBP discount off of your total billing.

2) You currently have a 3 year membership which we will upgrade to a Lifetime Membership at no additional cost as a token of our appreciation for choosing our product.

If you still wish to close your account, you are eligible for a refund of your membership within the 7-day evaluation period. After this period, we have a strict No-Refund Policy. Note: There is a non-refundable 7.50 GBP processing and handling fee that is applicable to this purchase (as stated in the terms and conditions).

At this moment no changes are being made to your account. We will adjust accordingly once we receive your response.

Sincerely,
Your Customer Service Team


You have to admire their perseverance, trying to sell that which is not theirs and available free of charge ....... but I had to decline their exceedingly generous offer and I pointed out that their T & S's stated $9.95 and that £7.50 was not a fair amount to withold. I did not do me any good, but at least I got £25.50 back (remains to be confirmed by my credit card statement) along with this message .....

Final message

Dear Customer,

Thank you for the email. We apologize if this membership did not fulfill your expectations.

We have processed the refund in the amount of 25,5 GBP in accordance with the 7 day refund policy. This includes the non-refundable 7.50 GBP fee that is kept to cover the costs of processing and handling.

Please allow normal banking delays of 10 to 15 days before the funds appear on your account. You will also receive a confirmation email in the next 24 hours regarding this transaction

Sincerely,
Your Customer Service Team


You can see that this bunch of internet fraudsters would not have to catch many folks out to make a tidy living out of their "refund handling fee" of £7.50 for which they supplied nothing at all.

I have today written to Google about this and it will be interesting to see if they reply, especially as it is Google advertising that provides the details of this company.

Having looked up the registrant of the domain name, this con artist is based in Russia, so £7.50 each time must be like money for old rope, what a dope I have been!!

Evgeny I Viktorov
Email: reall@hotbox.ru
Organization: Private person
Address: Moscow, Izmailovo