Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/28/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 16, 2021, I purchased a Business Pay Once License for up to three PCs. Order number MAI210317-9916-50164. This was for a lifetime upgrades. Mailbird has released a new version, 3, and will no longer honor the lifetime license. This is fraud. I would like ********************** to either honor my license and let me upgrade to version 3, or refund my original purchase.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/31/2024

  Although your current license has entitled you to new features and updates unconditionally for our previous version of Mailbird (i.e. Mailbird 2.x), unfortunately it will now be necessary to purchase a new license for ************************** in order for it to work, since Mailbird 2.x has now reached the end of its lifecycle. Our Lifetime Updates add-on was not yet available at the time of the original purchase, since it was introduced at a later stage.
   
  While the vast majority of our customers have gone ahead and purchased one of our new licenses to begin enjoying **************************, we would respect your decision not to do so - we do however wish to highlight the fact that your existing license will continue to work indefinitely with Mailbird 2.x, so it will continue to work without issue.

  I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you on behalf of all of us at Mailbird for any frustration caused.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/04/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid $52.93 on 02/18/2019 for Milbird pro Lifetime Licence. On 02/26/2024 i received an email that I have to buy a new license + Lifetime Ugrades (optional).the said, I can keep using my license but probably the progarm will not work in the future.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/06/2024

  Hi there,

  The license which you currently own will continue to work indefinitely - upgrading to Mailbird 3.0 is entirely optional, and should you choose not to proceed with the upgrade, then you can continue to use your existing license as usual with our previous version of Mailbird which can be easily downloaded here: **********************************************.
  

  If you ever need to recover your license key, you can do so here: ************************************************************

  Hopefully you have found this information useful, but we wish to take this opportunity to apologize for any disappointment caused.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  When the software (an email client) was purchased, a "lifetime" offering was available. (Website available here: ********************************************************************************************). On this page nor in the terms at the time of purchase was any mention made that a "lifetime" purchase was for only the current version. Today the company is requiring an additional payment to upgrade to version 3.0 and additionally asking for another lifetime payment. This practice is extremely dishonest and deceitful.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2024

  Hi there *****,

  We're naturally very sorry to learn of your disappointment, and I will do my best to provide you with an answer to your complaint.

  Throughout the lifecycle of Mailbird 2.x, we have honored our commitment to you an your purchase by issuing all product updates and new features to your copy of Mailbird for almost 10 years - now that Mailbird 2.x has reached the end of its lifecycle, our customers have the option to upgrade to Mailbird 3.0 for a very small one-off fee. Our customers also have the option to include our yearly 'Product Updates' add-on which, for a small recurring yearly fee, will ensure that their copy of Mailbird continues to receive all future product updates, both major and minor.

  That being said, your Mailbird 2.x license will continue to work indefinitely, so although it will no longer receive further product updates or new features, it will still provide you with all the functionalities you have enjoyed up until this point if you choose not to upgrade to Mailbird 3.0.

  I would like to take this opportunity to once again fully acknowledge your disappointment with regards to the optional upgrade fee required in order to move to Mailbird 3.0 - we do however sincerely hope that you will appreciate that we have dedicated an enormous amount of time and resources to provide you and other valued customers with a new one-of-a-kind email experience, packed with the most modern functionalities, and redesigned in its entirety to offer a fresh and modern layout for all of your emailing needs.

  While the vast majority of our customers have gone ahead and purchased one of our new licenses, we would respect your decision not to do so - however, I do wish to reiterate that your Mailbird 2.x license will continue to work seamlessly and indefinitely. 

  Apologies once again from all of us for the disappointment caused in this instance.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/24/2024

   
  Complaint: 21157602
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  The purchase was not made as a "Lifetime Purchase of Mailbird email software Version 2.0"; it was made as a lifetime purchase of Mailbird email software, as noted in the provided email receipt. In fact, Mailbird 2.0 wasn't released until 2015, the year after I made the purchase, so Mailbird clearly intended to honor the lifetime purchase at that time.
  
  Their website at the time of purchase makes no claims that a lifetime purchase is limited to the current version as seen here: ********************************************************************************************
  
  Mailbird's attempt to change its licensing policy is simply a cash grab. It's not the consumer's fault that Mailbird opted to sell their product with a "lifetime license", only to presumably discover that it's a poor business model for long-term growth.
  
  As a resolution, I will accept a full refund of the purchase price of $24.00 made to ************************* and I will close my complaint with the BBB and not seek further compensation.
  
  I also kindly request that the BBB periodically monitor Mailbird **** to ensure they do not continue to mislead customers with promises of "lifetime" purchases.
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  Given that the license has been purchased almost 10 years ago, and has been actively used throughout this extensive period of time, we will not be providing a refund in this instance unfortunately, particularly since the license is very much still active and entirely usable with Mailbird 2.x which can be downloaded here: **********************************************

  There is no obligation to purchase a Mailbird 3.0 license, which is precisely why the license in question will continue to work indefinitely (as it has done for almost 10 years since the purchase).

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/13/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a Pro "Lifetime" license and they are now saying Lifetime doesn't mean Lifetime and that I now need to pay again for 3.0.To make matters worse they are going to drop support for the current version. so they haven't been honest about the value of the lifetime license.I would like them to either allow me to move to 3.0 for free or to refund me my original "lifetime" license ( that really isnt lifetime)

  Business Response

  Date: 11/24/2023

  Hi there ****** - we're naturally sorry for the disappointment caused.

  The license which you purchased previously will still be valid well beyond **** for Mailbird 2.x. Mailbird will still be able to send and receive emails without any issue whatsoever, but if you use certain integrations in Mailbird, then perhaps some of them may not work perfectly after ****. Nevertheless, Mailbird's core functionalities will still behave in a stable and reliable manner long after ****.

  Mailbird 3.0 is very much a new product, with countless new features, a total redesign of the interface, and many more updates to come in the near future - although the vast majority of our customers have already made the switch to Mailbird 3.0, we acknowledge and fully respect anyone's decision to purchase one of our new licenses in order to begin using Mailbird 3.0. As previously stated, Mailbird 2.x will continue to work beyond ****, but it will no longer receive any further updates or improvements since Mailbird 3.0 will now be sole focus of our development efforts.

  Once again, please accept our apologies for the disappointment caused. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2023

   
  Complaint: 20839558
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This renders the product basically useless as it is not being maintained or even updated, which is not what I was lead to believe when I purchase the license. It is a sleezy way for the company to get out of a lifetime license
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 12/11/2023

  Hi there,

  The product is certainly not useless - anyone who chose not to move to Mailbird 3.0 will be able to continue using Mailbird 2.0 without encountering any problems in its core functionalities. It will behave exactly as it has done since your original purchase in 2015, and we are committed to making sure that it continues to work well beyond ****. Although it will not receive any further new features, it will nevertheless offer its users the ability (and stability) to do everything they have been able to do up until this point, with the exception of a small number of app integrations which may not work perfectly beyond ****.

  We would once again like to apologize for any disappointment caused, but wish to take this opportunity to reiterate what we have previously stated.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought a lifetime subscription to Mailbird that promised lifetime updates. I woke up today to find out I am again able to buy a new lifetime subcription to the updated mailbird with a "Pay Once" plan that means, actually, Pay Once, and ALSO Pay Yearly. I have stood behind Mailbird for several years, waiting for them to have the updates that would include templates. This is just spit in the face by them to the people who believed their marketing. Go on the wayback and see that they CLEARLY promised lifetime updates to the Mailbird program.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/06/2023

  Hello ****,

  I would firstly like to take this opportunity to fully acknowledge and apologize for the disappointment we have caused you in this instance.

  Mailbird 3.0 is very much a new product, since Mailbird 2.x has now reached the end of its lifecycle. As such, a new license will be required in order to begin using it.

  That being said, your license for ************************** is still valid and active, and although the vast majority of our existing Mailbird customers have opted to start using Mailbird 3.0 immediately, it is possible for you to continue using Mailbird 2.x with your existing license.

  Once more, I am sincerely sorry for frustration caused - if there are any other questions or issues you would like to raise, then our team will be looking forward to assisting you as best they can.