How do you report scam apps?

[Eirenarch]

I wonder if there is a guide or something on how to report scam apps and eventually get your money back? Since Microsoft's changed their app validation policy the market is filled not only with low-quality apps but also with outright scam. I just had a friend of mine declare that she'd better never switched from Android if she needs to deal with the same bull**** after purchasing this - Swiftkey Key board | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States) . Honestly the new policy is a disaster. I wish they not only bring back the human vetting but also increase the price of the dev account and I am saying this as someone who publishes good apps for fun and does not hope to make the money back.

Reports for this are in the media too - Windows Store flooded with scam apps and Microsoft doesn't care - TechSpot

So is there a procedure to get a refund and report a scam? I could not find anything without purchasing the app.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Report it here - Reporting a concern about an app - Windows app development

You used to be able to click a button to report an app but on the website but they appeared to have removed it. I'm not sure about the Store on the phone.

I guess more information has to get out there that WP doesn't support 3rd party keyboards?

 

[Brokn Wing]

Yes that's really strange and frustrating. But I think there is an option to report such apps to microsoft. When you go to the App in marketplace, just go to Details tab and tap on REPORT CONCERN TO MICROSOFT. I am really not sure how effective it is, But I think that's all we have at this time.

 

[Brokn Wing]

Report it here - Reporting a concern about an app - Windows app development

You used to be able to click a button to report an app but on the website but they appeared to have removed it. I'm not sure about the Store on the phone.

I guess more information has to get out there that WP doesn't support 3rd party keyboards?

This option I still there brother. On Details Page, Down at the very Bottom.

 

[N_LaRUE]

This option I still there brother. On Details Page, Down at the very Bottom.

So the Store via the phone but not on the website. They probably removed it from the website to avoid spambots.

 

[Eirenarch]

Found it. Thanks. I really hope MS reverses the policy even if I have to wait 4 days for my update submission as a result.

 

[Beijendorf]

There was a massive Reddit thread about the state of the Windows store the other day.

The Windows Store is a cesspool of scams — Why doesn’t Microsoft care? : technology

Many users had tried reporting the obvious scam apps, but they only got the response from Microsoft that they found nothing wrong with the obvious scam apps and let them be. Nobody reported getting refunds after mistakenly buying scam apps either.

At this point, the app store is in a terrible state and Microsoft isn't doing anything to improve it. As discussed on Reddit, this is probably because Microsoft is trying to inflate the numbers of app, going quantity over quality. They've even given monetary incentives to developers to just push out as many apps as they can for rewards, regardless of quality. While this may look good on paper claiming "300 000 apps in the app store", they'll lose a lot of users this way in the long run. I for one refuse to purchase another Windows device until they actually impose some quality control and strict regulation into the store.

When not even reporting scam apps does anything, Microsoft shows they don't care about their users. People on this forum continuously say Android is filled with Malware, but they seem to forget Microsoft has an even worse problem in their store.

 

[ShinraCorp]

Oh you haven't seen the Windows 8 store, it's a pure breeding ground for scam apps. Just type Youtube in it and you'll be amazed by how much scam there is. Out of the 3 legit apps out there, there's around 10 that's just a scam.

Microsoft used of been strict during the WP7 days but they realized that there's not a lot of apps in their store so they "eased" the reviewing process, this is the result of it.