WhiteSmoke Inc.

Review: In 2012 I purchased WhiteSmoke software I paid $135.00 for the software which contained a lifetime licensed. For the last year I had been having great difficulty with WhiteSmoke support at that time I requested a new download link for a new executable file i.e. the software. They provided me with a link however, the software they sent contain 922 adwares, that is one adware For each file within the software I have made repeated requests for a clean program that functions properly. I'd said functions properly because in addition to sending me and inspected program WhiteSmoke also contains access to their customers computer therefore, they maliciously sabotaged the program so that it was unusable. I am seeking the following, a clean working software and no more disrespect from the company.Desired Settlement: . I am seeking the following, a clean working software and no more disrespect from the company.

Review: I bout a Lifetime copy of their software plus 2 writing styles , Regular (standard), Plus legal and creative writing styles for 182 US dollars in 2007 when they start business, the gave me my copy in 2008.

In 2011, they start selling yearly subscriptions instead of selling copies, I refused to subscribe because I have a copy already. They said we have changed our system, and we will allow you to use 2011 copy,

I used 2011 copy, in 2011, 2012, 2013 - Now they said we have changed our sytem that the life time copy means only 5 years and I refused to buy a new copy. then they the stopped my copy and preventing from using it.Desired Settlement: I need to allow me to use my copy, 2008, or 2011 or refund my money. I am satisfied with my copy, and do not want to purchase another new one,

Review: WeMy husband, [redacted], purchased Whitesmoke, suposedly.. "the world's #1 spellcheck" software on Tue. evening 12/2/2014. We paid 79.99 plus tax. It was a download..."Whitesmoke Everywhere". It is not on our laptop. We recieved no instructions on how to use it.

Today is Sat. 12/6....4 days later. I, Robin C. Williams, have emailed the company NUMEROUS times and just get the standard.."we got your inquirey, someone from our support team will contact you within 24 hours." BULL!! The live chat does not work, neither do ANY of the phone numbers, or regular company email, there is never any answer or reply to my emails. The phone message sounds like your gonna get a person, but at the end it says an error has occured and no more messages can be left.

I am tired of waiting on this company and we want our money back. I will not keep a product like this where there is CLEARLY NO REAL SUPPORT for the product.Desired Settlement: I want my husband's, [redacted] credit card refunded the full purchase amount.

Review: I ordered the upgrade of WhiteSmoke V8 back in October of 2013. It was supposed to be release in November. To date I have contacted the company three times each time customer service says one more month. They refuse to give me any information about the delay or an exact date of the upgrade.

The company I paid for the upgrade:

The Plimus Team on behalf of

WhiteSmoke Inc. [redacted]Desired Settlement: If they will not give me the upgrade then I want my money back.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

We are terribly sorry for the delay in delivering WhiteSmoke V8 to you. This delay is specific to your Operating System and is stemming from development issues we are facing with Mac OS. While WhiteSmoke V8 for Windows is available, the Mac OS version's development is facing some issues due to changes made by Apple in Mac OS 10.9.

We would like to offer our apologies, and to compensate you by adding the WhiteSmoke Anywhere V8 product to your package, free of charge. WhiteSmoke Anywhere allows you to access WhiteSmoke from your browser, on any computer in the world, without having to install anything. It includes additional features such as a Plagiarism Checker and English Writing Tutorials.

The login details for this product have been sent to you.

In addition, if you would like we can refund the $54.90 payment you made for WhiteSmoke V8, and preserve the special pre-order pricing. Once WhiteSmoke V8 for Mac is released, you can make the reduced payment for $54.90 and receive it right away.

Best regards,

Review: Dear Sir/Madam,

I bought an English grammar software from WhiteSmoke Inc. on May 8, 2014. According to the product information, this product includes a lift-time license; that is, I can re-install this software again on my computer when I upgrade my window system (e.g. from win XP to win 8). Originally, I install this software in my PC with window XP operation system and activate it successfully. Recently, I upgrade my operation system to window 8 and re-install this software again. Although I can install it successfully, I can’t activate it again. It shows the error message “your license has expired.” Thus, I can’t use this software anymore. To solve this problem, I send a mail to the supporting department of WhiteSmoke Inc. and ask for help. Unfortunately, I haven’t received any help from WhiteSmoke Inc. except one automated response mail and several advertising mails. Thus, I send a mail again but the result is the same. In fact, it has been 2 weeks since I sent my mail to WhiteSmoke Inc. In fact, I am very disappointed about this company’s attitude. In the following, I list my order information.

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Payment Details:

Order Reference Number: [redacted] Account Number: 51082246

Order Date: 08 May 2014

Product Qty Unit Price Ext. Price

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WhiteSmoke Additional Extended Download Wa1 $14.95 $ 14.95

WhiteSmoke 2012 One-Time Payment 1 $169.95 $169.95

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total: $184.90Desired Settlement: Expect this company can help me solve the license activation problem.

Review: Whitesmoke software does a good job of catching many or even most mistakes in general, but in practice V8 is almost more trouble than it's worth in the final analysis.

However, the company provides terrible service, offers less than fully functional recent versions, and fails to honor its "one-time" licenses. It sold unending registrations for Version 2012, then canceled service, requiring the purchase of another version. Version 8 had countless usage difficulties when released, including reporting of many non-errors that continue after a year. The technical department can only be reached by email. Sales is the sole number available, but will almost never transfer calls. Emails to tech-support are auto-answered, promising that the staff will respond soon, but nothing happens. A few days later another email arrives saying that, since the company has not heard from the customer again, "the case will be closed" in 72 hours. Replies to these auto-emails remain unanswered. Without a way to call tech-support, this "circle jerk" never ends, wasting customer's time and creating infuriation or anger.

I do not recommend placing trust in this company's long-term integrity, counting on customer support for legitimate problems or reporting product faults, or buying the latest version of Whitesmoke’s software.Desired Settlement: I would also like to discourage other people from purchasing this company's software in the future.

Review: I purchase WhiteSmake software from the company with Life time License and additional $14 for lifetime service warranty. After few months, the program stopped working and received a message indicating that the license is expired. After number of trials to contact the company through Chat or phone, I sent an e-mail. The response I received from the company stated that to resolve the problem, I should purchase the updated version for $199.

It seems that the company is running some type of scam to cheat costumers.Desired Settlement: my preference is to upgrade the whiteSmoke software I purchased at no cost if the company stopped providing the service.

Review: [redacted] contacted me in order to get his videos transcribed and translated to the following languages:

[redacted] approved our costs and gave us the green light to proceed, however he wanted to make sure that everything would be done in a professional manner so he requested us to translate and record his video into Turkish as we did.

After having delivered both translation and audio file he asked us to synchronize audio and video, something that it was not agreed previously.

Then he quoted us again. We submitted a new cost estimate and since then he had hardly ever replied my e-mails.

I send several e-mails along with translations and invoice but he stopped the communication.

He received translations and the Turkish audio file recorded by a professional, however I noticed that he only wanted to take advantage of us and get free services.Desired Settlement: I would like to receive the U$ 540,35 for our services.

Review: I bought lifetime license Whitesmoke software 2 years ago, I'm learning English and it is a tool I could use for basic grammar corrections. I recently received a message that my license has expired. I already sent three emails to customer service about the expiration message. I tried to chat and it is always closed, I tried to call and I had an answer machine. I cannot contact them.Desired Settlement: I bought this software in good faith according to your advertisings , I'd like this company honor my purchase.

Review: around 2-3 years ago while finishing college work I purchased a Lifetime subscription to White smoke. I recently tried to use it sand was blocked with a widow saying my subscription needs renewed. I inquired and was told that the new upgrade requires it. I PAID FOR THE LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION AND I WANT IT.Desired Settlement: I would like to continue to have use of White smoke or a full refund, plus a additional $100.00 for wasting my time.

Review: I purchased Whitesmoke Executive 2012 lifetime license in 2012. Product has been working fine untilI got a message that says "your license has expired". I have tried to contact Whitesmoke left messages, emails with no response. Yet their website to buy products is working fine. This is a clear violation of sales agreement and my previous purchase.Desired Settlement: Vendor needs to contact me so they can fix this problem that allows me to use the product I purchased.

Business

Response:

Hello.

We've contacted the customer directly with the information below.

When you contacted our sales chat you provided us with the email address [redacted] which does have a valid working license. However, it appears that the issue you are facing is due to the fact that you are using an older license which is listed under the email address [redacted] We've rectified this issue on our end by combining the licenses.

In order to continue working with WhiteSmoke please restart it by doing the following:

1) Shutdown WhiteSmoke by locating the blue WS icon on your task bar next to the clock, right click it, and choosing 'Shutdown WhiteSmoke'

2) Start WhiteSmoke from your Start Menu -> All Programs -> WhiteSmoke folder -> Launch WhiteSmoke.

If you are still not able to use WhiteSmoke please enter WhiteSmoke's settings and locate your activation code under the "Registration" tab and send it to us, along with a screenshot of the error message you are seeing.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you continue to enjoy WhiteSmoke.

Consumer

Response:

Review: White Smoke had an advertisement for a life time product two years ago which I brought and now they are telling me that the product they sold me is expired but they gave me a life time commitment. I have tried calling, texting them but I get no respond. Now I am writing you for help not only for myself but for all other customers that has been betrayed by this White Smoke Inc.Desired Settlement: Repair the service because I can no longer use the service and I am in college and I need this service that they promise for a life time.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Your WhiteSmoke license has not expired. The issue you experienced is due to a server error which affected some users of WhiteSmoke. We apologize for the inconvenience and are happy to report that the issue has since been fixed.

If you are still not able to use WhiteSmoke you just need to restart it by doing the following:

1) Shutdown WhiteSmoke by locating the blue WS icon on your task bar next to the clock, right click it, and choosing 'Shutdown WhiteSmoke'

2) Start WhiteSmoke from your Start Menu -> All Programs -> WhiteSmoke folder -> Launch WhiteSmoke.

We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you continue to enjoy WhiteSmoke.

Dear Revdex.com,

We are not able to locate recent contact from the email address [redacted] to any of our support systems and reject the claim that the customer contacted us and did not receive a timely response.

Best regards,

[redacted] | WhiteSmoke Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: WhiteSmoke does not respond to the many complaints and does not support the product. It is impossible to connect with company by phone and by email.Desired Settlement: Or refund, or good customer service with the easy connection with the company

Review: In November 2013 the company WhiteSmoke (a spelling and grammar checker) advertised for the new online version of WhiteSmoke which was going to be available in December 2013. I bought the upgrade of the new WhiteSmoke at that time. The new version did not actually become available until four months later this is false advertising. Whats more, the company never even contacted me to let me know about delays.I had to contact the company repeatedly to ask about the new version and when it would be available. The company never gave me a definite date. I finally got access to the new version and discovered that it did not work with my Microsoft Office Suite. Therefore, the new version was useless to me. The customer service department kept going back and forth with me via email (they do not have a 800 number for customer service) and telling me to try all sorts of different things to make the service work. I finally found out that it did not work with my office suite. At this time I requested a refund and an access code so that I could reinstall and continue to use my previous version of WhiteSmoke that did work with my program. At this point, customer service ceased all communications with me. I have repeated reached out (via email) and asked them to refund my money and allow me to reinstall my previous version and they have yet to reply. This has been two weeks ago.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the WhiteSmoke v8 version that I paid for and does not work with my computer. I would also like to be able to reinstall a previous version (which I paid for) that I had to delete in order to install the new version that did not work.

Business

Response:

Dear Michael Valdez,

Seeing as it's been over 60 days since the payment has been received, PayPal does not allow a direct refund to be processed.

In order to obtain the refund please send us a Payment Request from your PayPal account.

We've sent you the full details regarding the payment request, as well as the installation instructions for the previous version of WhiteSmoke you have purchased, to your email.

Best regards,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: On August 2, 2012, Whitesmoke had a sale where you could purchase their editing tool service for around $130. This promotion listed several offers, but the $130 offer stated that upon purchasing it, the purchaser could download/use Whitesmoke's editing tool for a lifetime, so I purchased that particular package.

One year later, I received an email stating that my use of Whitesmoke was about to expire, so I wrote the company back and reminded them that I'd paid for the Lifetime package. A few days later, my service with Whitesmoke was deactivated, but after emailing Whitesmoke once again, they restored my service.

A year later (2014), Whitesmoke yet again turned off my service. I wrote the company and received no response for a month. In September, I received an email asking if the issue had been resolved and I told the agent that it hadn't been resolved, my service was still inactive and asked if they would please reconnect my service or refund me, since they did not provide what they'd initially stated. The agent never wrote me back.

I wrote Whitesmoke again about a week or two ago (December 2014), reminding them that my service was still inactive and I asked them to either reconnect my service or refund me. Again, no response.Desired Settlement: I would like Whitesmoke to either restore my service or refund my money. If they choose to restore my service, I'd like a written statement assuring me that I won't have to go through yet another disconnect again.

Review: I bought a Whitesmoke lifetime license some years ago and now, suddenly, it opened a window saying my license expired. I got in contact and send 3 emails, since I had got no answer from them. When I finally received the emails, they were all the same. As you can see below:

Dear WhiteSmoke user,

As you may already know, our servers experienced technical difficulties that affected our service for older versions of our software.

Our engineers and support representatives have been working around the clock to solve these issues, and we apologize for the inconvenience created.

We strive to give our users the service they need 24/7. However, if we want to progress and improve our services – these inconveniences are unavoidable.

Normal service is being restored as soon as possible.

Please take into account that WhiteSmoke is continuously updating and as time goes on and technology changes old versions become outdated, while we offer yearly upgrades to customers at a discounted price, you do not need to upgrade each year, but once every couple of years is recommended. Just as Microsoft does not support Windows XP any longer WhiteSmoke will not be able to Support old versions indefinitely. If your computer crashes or you need to re-install WhiteSmoke we just will not have the resources to help with older versions.

Our servers do support the older versions, but content updates will only be released on WhiteSmoke Writer Expert. The new version also includes the following features:

• New Integrated Plagiarism Checker!

• New Video Portal full of instructional English videos to help you improve your confidence in your English writing and speech.

• Hundreds of new error types are now detected.

• Expanded explanations about errors to help you learn from your mistakes.

• Brand new design.

The latest update called Premium Lifetime Expert will provide you with the latest versions of WhiteSmoke Writer as well as the WhiteSmoke Anywhere License. We urge you to take advantage of today's special Discount.

Click the link below or copy and paste it into your address browser to purchase with the Discount.

https://buy.whitesmoke.com/scs/ccrShowBasket.php ...

Best regards,

WhiteSmoke Support Team

I feel deceived!! Since I bought a lifetime license, I have the right to use it no matter what! Even if it is an old version of it. When I received a registration number, it should always work.Desired Settlement: I want my lifetime license working.

Business

Response:

HiOur servers experienced a temporary technical issue and during that time service was interrupted.As a gesture of goodwill we've sent Ms. [redacted] the latest version of WhiteSmoke free of charge. Best regards,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: I purchased a lifetime license of their software in 2012, and I still possess the receipt. Two weeks ago, I went to use the software; I use it frequently for my work, and I received a message that my license expired and I would have to upgrade. I contacted via e-mail the support team and sent along a copy of my original receipt showing that I had purchased a lifetime license. They sent back a an e-mail stating it was their error and that my license wasn't expired. However, they instructed me to delete the 2012 version of WS that I had and install an upgraded version at no cost to me. I followed their instructions but the software does not work. It freezes up my computer when I try to use it, when writing e-mails and it does not work properly in Microsoft Office Starter; it will show corrections but not apply them and it also freezes up my documents. I have tried calling the company several times leaving messages with no returned phone calls. I have tried signing on to their "live chat support" but it hasn't been online once and I have left a written message and the only response I continue to get is an advertisement for an upgrade to their product. I have sent e-mails to the support address a number of times with no response. Originally, they sent an e-mail that they would set up a remote phone call to fix the problem but they never contacted me. I responded three or four times to that e-mail leaving several dates and times that I would be available to take the call and no one confirmed with me. I have been unsuccessful in getting any kind of reply for about a week now. I tried to call the company today and the voice mailbox is full, so I couldn't even leave a message. I also tried the "live support chat" line that they supposedly offer and it is offline so I can't contact anyone. All I want is what I paid for....the 2012 version of WS reinstalled on my computer. I do not care about receiving the upgrade but I do need this problem fixed.

I hate going this route but I don't know what else to do...I can not get this company to respond to what is their error. I feel because this all occurred on their end, they should be expedient about resolving this issue. Sending me software that doesn't work is not an answer.

toDesired Settlement: I want the software I paid for reinstalled and in working order on my computer. I want this company to follow through on fixing their error and restore to me working software. I want a person from this company to contact me and resolve this issue. I am tired of e-mails that accomplish nothing. I want to speak to a human being!

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

The company did take care of my problem yesterday. It took quite a long time to get satisfactory results but they did finally take care of the problem.

Thanks so much for your help!

Review: I bought life time license life time upgrades but now I cannot use whitesmoke, license key is not able to activate the program. Whitesmoke wrote:

Dear WhiteSmoke user,

As you may already know, our servers experienced technical difficulties that affected our service for older versions of our software.

Our engineers and support representatives have been working around the clock to solve these issues, and we apologize for the inconvenience created.

The problems were an unexpected result of updating our servers to support our new and most advanced software yet – WhiteSmoke Writer Pro.

We strive to give our users the service they need 24/7, but if we want to progress and improve our services – these inconveniences are unavoidable.

As a token of our appreciation to our valued users who experienced service issues, like yourself, we would like to offer you an unheard of discount of 70% to upgrade your license to the latest version.

Our servers do support the older versions, but content updates will only be released on WhiteSmoke Writer Pro. The new version also includes the following features:

The best error detection we've had so far, unparalleled language correction technology.

Faster performance and enhanced stability in new operating systems.

New business, legal and medical templates.

Brand new design.Desired Settlement: use the program with my license without having to buy a new

Review: I purchased their month to month grammar software subscription for $9.95 a month. After entering my credit card information, I followed their online instructions for downloading the information and nothing was there, I was unable to download the software. I tried contacting the company through their online chat service (it was down); through their 888 phone number1[redacted] (it was not taking calls) and through their customer support service through [redacted]. No one ever responded. They do not have another way to cancel my monthly fee. I am having to work through my credit card company to try and stop this monthly fee for a software that doesn't even come up. This is totally false advertising. This is like a phantom company that takes your money and then vanishes. If you check online they have numerous complaints similar to this about them. No one can stop the payments or get their money back once they give them their credit card into. They need to be shut down.Desired Settlement: I want the charge on my credit card reversed.

Business

Response:

The user purchased a product which has nothing to download, it is an online web-based product and the user successfully entered their details and used this service. The date their license was last used to enter our systems is 2015-07-03.Upon receiving the complaint through Revdex.com we reviewed all of our systems and found no messages from this user on our voice message system or email ticketing system. The user's monthly subscription was immediately cancelled and even through the user successfully used their license for a whole week, we have refunded the entire $9.95 in full.

Review: I purchased a LIFETIME license to use this software on 04/23/2013 for over one hundred dollars. Whitesmoke has cut off my access to the software because they have updated it. Now, they are requiring I purchase again. I have tried contacting them to no avail. Why should I have to purchase another license when I already purchased a LIFETIME one. They have no right to terminate my service. It seems Whitesmoke is STEALING.Desired Settlement: I would like my LIFETIME license to be returned to it's valid status. This is absurd for me to purchase it again. Apparently this is a common practice for this company.

Business

Response:

The user was not cut off. WhiteSmoke provides a SERVICE and unfortunately we experienced technical difficulties which resulted in some loss of service. The service has since been restored and the user has been contacted notifying them of this.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.