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TRPRO membership

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by for_merlin 1 view

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Is TR Pro membership really worth the money?
I have been a member of TR since 1998 and a member of TR Pro for the last several (three or four) years. I am automatically billed for membership renewal every year and yet it typically takes four to six months to get the renewal activated. My credit card gets charged the same day as the renewal, and yet no matter what I do, I am unable to download any of the free to TR Pro members files.

Since TR Pro has a policy of not giving refunds, AND I really enjoy the site, I have just put up with this for the last two years that I know of. They are really apologetic when they finally respond, but I think six months of a yearly membership is definitely NOT what I am paying for,especially since this is supposed to be THE site for information on current and new technology.
Are any of you having the same or similar problems with your membership(s)?

9 replies

by hal 9000

But as for getting the system to accept your renewal instead of mucking around do you directly contact the TR Staff for a solution?

I do agree that waiting 6 months is not acceptable but then again I wouldn't be waiting that long.

If you do not have a direct person to contact at TR there is always the Link on the bottom of every TR Page for Site Help & Feedback but personally I would be directly contacting the last person that helped fix the mess to begin with when it happens. ;)

Col

by jsingh

Hi, I can totally relate to Merlin as I too am caught in the TR membership web. I paid up 4 - 5 weeks ago and still nothing :(

Col, got any contacts you can pass my way?

Cheers,
Jayz

by Tammy.Cavadias

1: How are you trying to log in? Which url are you using?

2: Cookies set?

3: Errors received?

-Tammy [_]3

by Tammy.Cavadias

>> it typically takes four to six months to get the renewal activated

1: Are you attempting to log into your account right after your renewal?

2: Do you have cookies set?

3: Are you ensuring you are logged into your account before you attempt to download anything?

4: How often do you try to access your account?

5: Are you receiving any errors?

Thank you!

-Tammy [_]3

by hal 9000

Of things like this would be part of your job when you took over Moderating the Site did you. ;)

Col

by for_merlin

Tammy:

1 No, I log in after I receive a copy of my credit card statement in the mail (that reminds me to see if everything works). Then when I cannot access the downloads, I make a mental note and log in again sometime later maybe a week, maybe a month.

2. I use a dedicated computer just for TR-Pro. I have it set to accept all cookies from TR. This is the ONLY site where I accept ALL cookies and ONLY on this computer. I use a dedicated computer because when I first joined TR Pro, I created a new e-mail account just for TR Pro. The Pro membership cookies and the non Pro cookies on a different computer would not let me log in to either TR account. I ended up deleting ALL cookies using Karen Kenworthy's Cookie Viewer. Then tried logging in to Tech Republic. That worked, so I tried TR Pro. No luck. I complained about this, and was told that I was wrong, this could not happen since I was using separate e-mail accounts. So, I built a computer just for the e-mail account I use for TR Pro.

3. With this computer, I do not attempt to access any other TR account except TR Pro.

4. I usually log on to TR-Pro about once a month around the middle of the month.

5. No errors of any kind.

I just downloaded L&L 2008 and 177523.zip So at least for now downloads work.

All of the other services that automatically bill my credit card provide seamless access to the service I am paying for. I never notice that I am denied access. IMHO TR should be at least as good at providing service as my local cable company or my telephone company or my internet service provider. After all, isn't TR supposed to be THE source for the latest in technology.

FWIW I use TR Pro mostly for the PC troubleshooting articles and the L&L series. I use the L&L series to decide if the changes to MS Office are significant enough for me to purchase a new personal copy.

Merlin

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