TP2 update voucher for 2nd hand purchase

[Solunamar]

After much dismay with NI customer service, I was about to title this thread "Native Instruments encourages pirating and switching to Serato Itch" but thought that's be a less productive headline.

My question is this: Has anyone purchased an s4 from someone and gotten an update voucher from NI, and has anyone had problems with this?

I purchased an S4 from a friend who has cancer, and I cannot reach him to ask him about the update voucher, not do I want to bother him while he is going through hell.

I was told by email support that I needed to take certain steps, which I did, and then was told, several emails later, that I had to call to get the voucher. I called today and was told I am ineligible as a second hand user. The guy on the phone was nice but had his hands tied. He even asked a manager, who said they are not obligated to provide the update voucher.

This is the most ridiculous thing I have seen. I had a hard enough time getting the registration transferred and at the time was assured I would receive the update. I do have it in writing in emails and I am going to fight it.

I am seriously considering dumping traktor after all this and trying out Serato Itch as my next system.

Any feedback from someone who has actually received an update voucher after having bout the s4 second hand would be helpful.

[brocklambert]

It's pretty simple... the Traktor software is bundled to the S4. If the previous owner does not take the necessary steps to transfer ownership, then they cannot transfer the license for the software. This is pretty clearly outlined in the FAQ, and it is likely in order to keep people from buying the S4, selling the hardware, and keeping the free copy of Traktor. Just ask the guy or his family to fill out the paperwork... if he was well enough to take your money, then he should be well enough to fill out the form for the transfer of ownership.

[photojojo]

So he didn't do the upgrade to T2 already? It sounds like he transfered ownership to you, so you should still be able to get the update.

[Solunamar]

It's pretty simple... the Traktor software is bundled to the S4. If the previous owner does not take the necessary steps to transfer ownership, then they cannot transfer the license for the software. This is pretty clearly outlined in the FAQ, and it is likely in order to keep people from buying the S4, selling the hardware, and keeping the free copy of Traktor. Just ask the guy or his family to fill out the paperwork... if he was well enough to take your money, then he should be well enough to fill out the form for the transfer of ownership.

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately that was all done, and still no help from NI. I went through all the required steps, and the person who sold me the S4 also did all of the required steps. I was there with him. He is a close friend and made sure to do everything NI told us to do. The S4 was deauthorized from his account and authorized to my account. I received confirmation with an activation key, and an email from NI stating that it is Indeed activated in their system and I should receive the TP2 voucher in the next few days. Never did receive it, and got a reply upon inquiry stating that I need to call registration support. That is what I did today.
I got the complete runaround.

I am glad I have in writing from NI that I should indeed receive the voucher, and will fight for it. But from the beginning it has been a complete mess and made me decide that this will probably be my last NI purchase ever.
I do like the controller though.

btw, he was well enough to take my money in June when I purchased it from him. Now he is recovering from sugery that basically took out his stomach, pancreas and one other organ. So needless to say, I will not be bugging him about this. He has done everything per guidelines. NI are being crooks right now, that is all. I am going to contact the store he purchased it from, as I have the receipts, and possibly file a lawsuit against NI.

[photojojo]

and possibly file a lawsuit against NI.

That would cost you a whole hell of a lot more than the $200 to just buy TP2. Have you posted this on the NI forums? It seems to me there's a misunderstanding somewhere in the chain on NI's side and I really think they'll work this out.

[Karlos Santos]

. I called today and was told I am ineligible as a second hand user.

This is true. NI are not obliged to give vouchers to second hand users.

The guy on the phone was nice but had his hands tied. He even asked a manager, who said they are not obligated to provide the update voucher.

Also true.

I received confirmation with an activation key, and an email from NI stating that it is Indeed activated in their system and I should receive the TP2 voucher in the next few days. Never did receive it, and got a reply upon inquiry stating that I need to call registration support.
I am glad I have in writing from NI that I should indeed receive the voucher, and will fight for it.

This is key... If you have it in writing you need to File a Support Form to Sales/Order Support attaching the email that states you are should get the update.

NI can say that you are not 'entitled' to the voucher but, after saying they will give you one they may honour it.

The problem is that even if one Support Agent says you can have something that is only a conditional offer as he may advise incorrectly.

Obviously the mitigating circumstances in this case are sensitive but, and i really dont want to sound harsh but they aren't really anything to do with the actual contractual obligations that NI have with customers and second hand gear.

Please file this again, attach all emails and list all communication with NI and fully explain the situtation and PM the Ticket Number to me and I will bump it to someone. But i cannot promise anything and please do not use language of law suits or Serato as this will just make NI shut down on you.

I realise you have probably spoken to a few different people and emailed a number of times but this can often muddy the water.

One concise Support ticket with all the info attached is often all it takes.
I understand your frustration. I think NI will also understand.

[Solunamar]

Thanks Karlos. I just came back here and read your note after hitting send on a post to the NI forum. I would have taken your advice on not mentioning lawsuits or serato but they did explicitly tell me I would get the upgrade voucher. Twice in fact.

Funny thing is I 'could' register and use it under the account of the person who sold it to me as he is a good friend and won't be using it, obviously, but the principal of the matter is that if I was misinformed by an NI employee, they are still under obligation by law. I actually pre-ordered it from an independent store and they never sent it to them, while guitar center and other bigger stores had received them. I was adamant about buying it from the store I ordered it from because I wanted to support a local independent business. That is a separate gripe though. It ended up that a close friend bought it and got hit with terminal cancer and asked me if I would buy his. The whole deal makes me happy that I could help him. Now I just want NI to provide what they said they would. Nothing more.

I'll post here what I posted on the NI forum in a sec.

[Solunamar]

Post on NI Forum with support emails attached:

This is my last attempt to see if NI will honor their promise to send me the voucher for TP2, after I have followed all the steps customer service has told me I needed to do, giving me conflicting information and seemingly not reading my emails fully.

After following directions after several email exchanges, and calling customer service, I was told on the phone by NI that I am not eligible for the upgrade because I bought my s4 second hand.

The person I bought it from has cancer and is in the hospital, so I cannot contact him for his original voucher, and I don't think it would work for me now that he has deauthorized traktor from his account so I could successfully authorize it under my account.

I am pasting the email thread here. Ticket#2011061610003284

I wonder if NI is noticing they are both encouraging piracy and making Serato Itch look better and better every day.

If I do not get this resolved, I will take legal action and this will be my last ever purchase of anything by NI. I will also be posting warnings to potential customers on all possible forums. I have already posted a note on dj tech tools.

I hope NI will realize the mistake and how horribly they have treated a customer that they Might just send me the TP2 Scratch upgrade for all the time and effort I have wasted - as you can see in the email threads.

Customer Support e-mails:

June 16 from ni-support AT native-instruments.com
Hello Amar ---,

The serial and download link to your update will be emailed to you within 24-48
hours of registering your base product. Please check your email for that info. If
it does not show up within five business days, please contact our Order Support
team for assistance.

June 18 from me to support
I have not received anything yet. Please check to make sure my registration connected to the system to activate the upgrade. It was messy weird with the deactivation from previous account and activation under my account. I got no confirmation but it is activated. This is my serial number:---------

June 20 from support
Hello Amar,
This serial number is not registered to anyone yet.
Please use NI Service Center to authorize this product.

------- Note: I did this already and it was showing authorized on my computer -----

me to support
I already did before I wrote the first email.
Amar

support to me
Hello Amar,
Please uninstall the S4 software and reinstall after following these instructions:
http://www.native-instruments.com/kn...enter+%28PC%29

me to support
These Instructions specify: My Native Instruments software starts in
demo mode although it appears as activated in Service Center (PC)
My software is Not starting in Demo mode. It is starting fine.
I uninstalled, and reinstalled. Opened service center to activate and
it still shows that it is already activated.
Seriously, can you not see that I have it activated and allow a
Registered user to update to TP2, which was advertised as a free
upgrade, without this much hassle?

June 27 from support to me
Hello Bruce Lauf,
Please use our Service Center to authorize the Traktor S4 software on your
computer so you can obtain your TP2 update. Until you do this, you will not be
able to access it.
If needed, you can download Service Center from our website under the following url:-----------------

------------NOTE: They addressed it to Bruce L---, who is apparently a forum moderator who helped to escalate this ticket before. and it seemed they did not read previous emails------------ at the bottom of previous email, there was the e-mail from Bruce, which it seemed they replied to thinking he was the customer ... pasted right here:


> Hello Bruce Lauf,
> Please call Order Support for assistance with this question--they are in charge of
> distributing vouchers.
> "Bruce L---" <bruce@----> wrote:
> > Hi Guys,
> > This user is also waiting for free TP2 upgrade from S4.
> > Thanks

June 27 Me to Support
This is NOT bruce lauf, and I have used service center. Twice. I uninstalled and reinstalled per your instructions in prior reply, and it showed again as already activated when in service center. I deleted the code and re entered.
[Ticket#2011061610003284] RE: Need update to TP2
Service center shows tractor pro activated, controller editor activated and s4 activated. I have done everything support has asked me to. Please read my emails carefully and look at who you are replying to. You replied to the wrong email here.
Previous reply was incorrect also. What's going on here folks?
Amar

Support to me
Hello Amar,
under the following link we offer a support tool which generates essential
information about the used computer in regards to your support request:
https://download2.native-instruments...pport_Tool.zip
Please note that you might see an SSL warning when you enter this url the first
time. Confirm this warning to start the download.
unpack the zip file after download and then start the "NI Support Tool.exe" by
right clicking it and selecting "Run as administrator".
This will create a file named "NI_support_file.zip" in your "Documents" folder,
that will help us to fix this issue. Please attach this file to your email reply.

June 28 Me to Support
Is there another way around this which avoids having to install more
software on my computer and risk messing my computer up? I uninstalled
service center and downloaded from the website since it wasn't
updating but still seem to have the same version. I deactivated and
then reactivated again using a different windows login. Would my
activation key help? Here it is:
---
My serial, again, is
---
Previous activation keys:
Original
---
2nd time
---
This isn't enough info to send me an upgrade serial?

Support to me
Hello Amar,
It looks like your S4 authorization/registration went through today--we see it in
your account.
If you have any further questions about upgrading, please direct those to Order
Support. Their number is 1-866-556-6487.

July 1 me to support
Ok, Thanks. Still have not received upgrade voucher. Checked my spam
box as recommend by the forum moderators.

July 6 ME to support
My registration has gone through as of june 28th per your last email to me. I have not seen an upgrade voucher email. It has been 5 business days, taking into consideration the US holiday. Checked my spam folder and inbox. Any eta?

Support to me
Hello Amar,
As we indicated in our previous message, you will need to contact the Order
Support department about any voucher/promo issues or questions. Registration
Support cannot help you with this.

-------NOTE: WHAT? This, after I was told explicitly that my voucher would be sent. ... At this point, I had to go on with my life and gigs, and was able to call after 2 failed calls being on hold for a half hour and giving up. So we are at September now ... -----

Sept 10 - Phone Call to support which entailed 20 mins on hold only to be transferred to another person which I had to wait another 10 mins for.
I was told I am Ineligible for upgrade as a second hand buyer. He said I needed to get the voucher from the person I purchased it from. He was nice, even checked with the manager, but the manager refused. I was told they are not obligated to provide the upgrade to me.
I explained to the rep that my friend who I purchased it from has cancer and was in the hospital.

------NOTE: It seems to me that if the license was transferred to me, the original owner's voucher would not work in my account anyway. Besides that, in early emails, I was told by NI that I would receive it.------

Sept 12 - Me to Support
I have now called the registration department and been transferred to
the order department to be told I am NOT eligible for the update as a
second hand purchaser.
This is Ridiculous. Why was I not informed of this in any of these emails?
My next step is Legal Action And posting on DJ Techtools Forums,
Native Instruments forums and other forums online warning people
against Native instruments products due to poor customer service.
Native Instruments support has Officially led me to go the direction
of Serato Itch and seriously never buy another native instruments
product if this is not rectified.
My friend who I purchased the S4 from has cancer and is in the
hospital, and is unreachable, and has already went through the trouble
of deauthorizing his account so I can register and receive the update
voucher to TP2. I followed all the steps given to me in emails and
have been misled completely.
Please do something to make this situation right.

It is now Sept 23 and I have not received Any respons from NI.

This here is my last ditch effort before I go viral with posting these emails everywhere, contacting the store my friend purchased it from.

Sorry to the moderators who are very helpful here. I am only writing here because it seems you are the only ones that are part of NI that actually do help customers. I know you will do what you can and I appreciate it. I just hope NI support actually pays attention to this.

By the way, I am really enjoying the s4, after having made the necessary tweaks.

[JSM]

Good luck with support, 2 weeks for a reply which didn't even attempt to answer my question. They need more staff, and those they have need further training .... i guess it's the same everywhere.


[Edited - Do not encourage the use of pirated software]

[Solunamar]

Done. Resolved. Finally, after all that.
I have to give proper credit to the ni forum moderators, as they are the ones who helped make it happpen by escalating my ticket a second time and following up with it. I got an email this morning from ni with my tp2 registration and download link.