- Oct 26, 2011
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I'm very close to reporting this developer to microsoft, but I thought I'd inform the community and get some opinions first.
Developer 'Valentin Diring' (search that name in the marketplace for his apps)
He has two apps called 'Music Alarm'
They both work. They're both identical but for a few strings of text. Both of them have ads. One of them is free, the other is paid. The free one prompts you to buy the paid one for an ad free experience. There are still ads.
I contacted the developer and he told me that he 'has no idea why this happened to me' and that 'thousands of users have no issues'.
I responded with, 'of the 13 reviews on your app, 3 of them complain that there are still ads, so the number of verifiable users that *complained* about the issue is rather high. How many of them bought it and didn't bother to complain?'
I also mentioned to him that I'd be more likely to believe him if his ad weren't a 100% personalized custom implementation that always points to *one of his other apps*. The only way this is a mistake is if he submitted the same app twice to the store, instead of the paid and free versions. He told me he has no idea what to do but he would look into it and reupload a new version.
This was months ago. There has been no new version. I emailed him again the other day saying if he doesn't come up with an answer soon, I'm going to report him.
I think this is obviously a scam. There is no possible way he can't figure out why one of the apps is showing his very personalized and very intrusive ad. The code for the ad simply should'nt be in the paid version. It is. He lies.
I gave him some benefit of the doubt for a while, thinking that there might be a conflict on my phone, where the free one somehow interfered with the paid one. I did a hard reset the other night. I installed the paid right away. The ad is still there. Doubts gone.
Unless I've sorely misunderstood something- how do you suggest I proceed? Is there something more than the 'report app to microsoft' link in the store? If that is the only way to proceed, I urge everyone who reads this thread to go over and report that app, as well as the free one which encourages users to buy the paid one. I want to get his attention.
Music Alarm | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
Music Alarm | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
edit- you know what, even if this is somehow an honest mistake, that doesn't change the fact that he's still benefiting from it- it should be reported.
Developer 'Valentin Diring' (search that name in the marketplace for his apps)
He has two apps called 'Music Alarm'
They both work. They're both identical but for a few strings of text. Both of them have ads. One of them is free, the other is paid. The free one prompts you to buy the paid one for an ad free experience. There are still ads.
I contacted the developer and he told me that he 'has no idea why this happened to me' and that 'thousands of users have no issues'.
I responded with, 'of the 13 reviews on your app, 3 of them complain that there are still ads, so the number of verifiable users that *complained* about the issue is rather high. How many of them bought it and didn't bother to complain?'
I also mentioned to him that I'd be more likely to believe him if his ad weren't a 100% personalized custom implementation that always points to *one of his other apps*. The only way this is a mistake is if he submitted the same app twice to the store, instead of the paid and free versions. He told me he has no idea what to do but he would look into it and reupload a new version.
This was months ago. There has been no new version. I emailed him again the other day saying if he doesn't come up with an answer soon, I'm going to report him.
I think this is obviously a scam. There is no possible way he can't figure out why one of the apps is showing his very personalized and very intrusive ad. The code for the ad simply should'nt be in the paid version. It is. He lies.
I gave him some benefit of the doubt for a while, thinking that there might be a conflict on my phone, where the free one somehow interfered with the paid one. I did a hard reset the other night. I installed the paid right away. The ad is still there. Doubts gone.
Unless I've sorely misunderstood something- how do you suggest I proceed? Is there something more than the 'report app to microsoft' link in the store? If that is the only way to proceed, I urge everyone who reads this thread to go over and report that app, as well as the free one which encourages users to buy the paid one. I want to get his attention.
Music Alarm | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
Music Alarm | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
edit- you know what, even if this is somehow an honest mistake, that doesn't change the fact that he's still benefiting from it- it should be reported.
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