What's the deal with Xenetech?

[Scott Shepherd]

Got a invoice from Xenetech on Saturday, which was October 16th. The "invoice" says the following things :

"Due on Receipt", "Payment Schedule- Due Date 10/01/2010", "$195.00".

Last time I checked, we don't have a service agreement with them. So it seems odd that'd send a bill telling us it's due when we don't have a contract with them. Plus, it's due 15 days prior to us even getting it. On the letter that came with it, it said if we want to cancel it, then we need to write "Cancel" on the invoice and send it back. Huh? So you send me a bill for something we didn't sign up for and tell us that unless we write cancel on it, then it's valid?

Anyone else get the "invoice"?

I understand their "pay for support" setup, but it's the first time I've seen anyone in the engraving market send a invoice like that.

[Dan Hintz]

Fishing for dollars, maybe? How many big(ger) companies would just send in the money without questions... and then they have you.

[Rodne Gold]

Sounds like an opt out thing - IE you automagically subscribed unless you take the trouble to opt out?
Is that legal in your country?

[Joe Pelonio]

Perhaps they discovered that trick from the "yellow pages" industry which has been doing that for years, in the hope that people would pay the bill
without paying attention.

[Mike vonBuelow]

Phishing for $$$ !!!

Can you send THEM a bill ?!

[nancy barry]

I, too, rec'd this bill in yesterday's mail.. I will be contacting the company for an explanation and will post the response. On page 2, the letter states : " unlimited telephone and email access, 5 % discount on most replacement parts, free updates and upgrades of application software,driver updates and upgrades and unlimited access to the knowledgebase and resources."

Question for others: do Epilog, Univerasal or other companies charge for updates, phone help and the like? If so, at what cost?
I can see a charge for and offer of yearly contract for phone support but am questioning charge for updates , email support and access to the knowledgebase. I think these should be free to Xenetech owners.

nancyB

[Dan Hintz]

No charge from Universal...

[Mike Null]

No charge from Trotec.

No charge from Newing-Hall.

[Mike Christen]

No charge for Epilog

[Keith Outten]

I have never received a charge from Epilog in over seven years but they stopped providing software updates a couple of years ago.
.

[Rodne Gold]

No charge from GCC either

[Mark Ross]

No charges ever from Epilog, still get updates for our machine, but it is a newer machine. I suppose older machines that are no longer in production, eventually there would be no support when they get old enough.

[Ron Chapellaz]

I guess we should all be careful and examine all bills. I would call Xenetech on it and find out what the deal is. Mention to them that none of the U.S. made laser engravers charge for this kind of service.
I have had excellent support from Epilog, and that was an important reason why I bought a U.S. made laser, and not an import one. If you do call, let us know how you make out. If this is a sign of things to come from Xenetech, then this may also be a deciding factor for the members here when looking to buy another laser...

[Robert Walters]

I remember one company that would send out domain renewal notices that basically stated "You will lose your domain" if you don't pay NOW!

It was just one company trying to get you to transfer your domain to them. Kinda like switching auto insurance companies.

For those not knowing and the fear of losing their domain, many fell for it sadly enough thinking it was a renewal notice from their registar.

[Scott Shepherd]

Ron, they made a splash in the community when they started charging for tech support about a year ago. It was documented on this and other forums. They clear explained the belief, that you should pay for tech support and they rolled out customer comments on how great their tech support and machines are.

That's fine, I have no problem with that. You want to charge for tech support. No problem. I understand. That's a business decision you have made.

However, I think it's a little on the "used car salesmen" level to send someone an invoice. Not a bill, but an invoice. To me, an invoice implies I have ordered something from you.

It's clearly a database driven thing, as our machine is so old they don't support or upgrade it, so we wouldn't get much for our $195. We haven't called them for support in more than 5 years, I'm guessing, so I'm not in a hurry to get in line for that offer.