Penzar scammed us out of many hundreds of dollars
Quite a few years ago my company purchased the TopSpice software from Penzar:
Serial number: 867TE-6185-GE972-LPNX
Penzar Invoice nr. 254446.
Customer: Gromako Data & Services Ltd.
This software cost close to a thousand dollars. We never used it, since Penzar kept de-activating our license code for "not having activated in due time".
I finally came around using the software so I installed it on my laptop and tried activating it with the license code they had emailed me. The software kept saying it can't connect to the activation server. I then emailed them a few times, five weeks ago but never received a reply.
I also contacted them via their website form, also without response. Then I noticed the scam: They state in their T&C that they reserve the right to deactivate OLDER versions of their software without notice or reason! Forcing you to re-purchase for over $800 every few years!
Even when you NEVER used the software.. Incredible. I am a professional software developer and I basically in my 59 years on this planet never encountered something like this. It's very rare to see such real scams being perpetrated by a software company. This is the first time I pay many hundreds of dollars for software and the company simply refuses to allow me to use it. It's not cloud- or subscription based or time-limited. It's stand-alone "shrinkwrap" software that apparently comes with a secret expiration date. Incredible.