So this is pretty much a bit of a rage on my part. Wrote my first angry letter earlier today to a data recovery software producer (was actually my second, but my real first one got sent to a German guy who couldn't read it, I discovered, so that doesn't count).
I finally became fed up with seemingly reliable companies saying something on their website and then not living up to it.
Not to sound too naive or anything, but does everyone on the internet lie? The nicest people resort to shit-talking the second they get online. And I’m not here to ponder the psychology behind it or the pros and cons of this digital freedom - most of it is pretty matter of fact - but I must wonder when seemingly reputable companies jump on this bandwagon.
Do ethics and standards not translate onto the internet? You find companies that, in person, engage with their customers in a very professional fashion, but put them online and suddenly they’re swindling and tricking with the best scammers. It’s as though some companies see the internet as that wide open, liminal space where you can say and promise anything without threat of moral or legal repercussion.
And they may be right.
When was the last time you saw a headline such as “Nigerian Scammer Syndicate Brought to Justice” or “Online Instant Acne Cure Company Tried for Fraud”. Companies seem to have free reign to say and do whatever they want online and, so long as people are making money and those being taken in by these fraudster are across the oceans, well out of earshot, no-one seems to mind.
Sometimes you simply wish that you could put your hand through your computer screen and hit the chump grinning on the other side.
Anyway, the affore-mentioned company I targeted with my letter wasn’t as bad as the scammers I just mentioned, but I was at the end of my tether.
Maybe I was too harsh and maybe I wasn’t, but I’ll tell you what; I certainly feel a bit better.
Here it is:
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