Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Waves's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Waves

  2800 Merchant Dr Knoxville, TN 37912-4905

• 

  Waves

  2800 Merchant Drive Knoxville, TN 37912

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:12/06/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Due to Waves notorious “version updates” even a perpetual license for their audio plugins where you think you permanently own them is actually leasing the software from them if you wanted it to work for more than a year
  
  And no I don’t expect free updates on software forever .. but it should last for more than a year
  
  The plugins rarely add any new features after the “updates” it’s the Waves “shell” that gets updated
  
  This is the utter definition of “planned obsolescence” of making something on purpose that doesn’t have longevity so you have to keep on buying it
  
  In user experience design we call this deceptive technique a dark pattern
  
  Would be interesting if other musicians got together for a class action lawsuit.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/23/2024

  Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding
  Waves' software and update policy. We value all customer input and take
  concerns like yours seriously.

  In order to further look into the details of the complaint we would appreciate having additional details with respect of the product and date purchased.

  Once we have the information, we will be able to provide an answer to the complaint.

   

  Thank you for your attention to the matter.

  M. *****

  Waves .

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/27/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 software plugins that did not work as advertised and the company refuses to give me a refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  After cancelling subscription service, a charge for ***** has been continuously charged for over 12 months. I have reached out to the company and they have notified me twice that they cannot refund me as I have already been charged. But they continue to charge me every month.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Over the past few years I’ve spent thousands of dollars personally in software as well as artist I work with spending much more 10-15k on software. Waves has promised their software to work via a liscense process through their app.
  Sunday they decided without warning that everyone must now subscribe to use the software which was already paid for. A business I work for just this past month spent almost 9k on software that now they must pay an additional 750 a year to use. I don’t really see how this isn’t a scam. In addition to that they said that previous liscenses would still work on older systems not needing an update. But through to their app that you are forced to use to install there product. They actually install updates without your knowledge. This is something their tech support has admitted to me in multiple occasions. So yesterday after I logged in to the app to install a driver that is free and I needed. None of my software from them worked in spite of no other change happening. And after over an hour on the phone with tech support and 10 plus emails sent back and forth. Waves has told me that it must be my computer. Even though it only happened after this announcement. They also refuse to give me an installer for a version prior to what was released Sunday with the subscription. Leaving me unable to use their software.
  
  This seems to me to be a scam on the front end and back end. Forcing people to repay for software they’ve already paid for. And doing shady things like forcing updates that cause bugs for non subscribers. I’m seeking a refund for my software purchased over the years as they have intentionally and manipulatory made that software unusable.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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 Waves Mercury Bundle a little over a month ago, in a time when when waves was preparing to force my purchase into obsolescence with their new subscription plan. As they introduced this subscription plan, they suddenly discontinued perpetual plugin licenses AND the ability to update them in the future, thereby making this product worthless and on a one way path to obsolescence. This action was done in direct conflict with information that was always provided to us as customers by Waves. On Waves website, they have always had a statement that you "can always renew your [update] plan, no matter how much time passed since you last updated your projects." This statement has since been removed from the website.
  
  I spent $1800 on this, a product that will be non-updatable in incompatible with future systems. I will be FORCED into a subscription plan to pay to use the plugins I just bought. Waves continued to push sales and promotions on perpetual products up until the release date of their subscription plan KNOWING that they were about to make these purchases absolutely worthless with their announcement. They have shown that they do not care about taking care of their loyal customers, but will make decisions at their loyal customers' detriment in order to make a sale to new customers.
  
  
  As a loyal waves customer, I am requesting one of two things:
  
  a) Complimentary subscription equaling the value of the Mercury bundle - 72 months of complementary subscription (1800/25)
  
  or
  b) Complimentary WUP for this package for 72 months to honor the $1800 I spent on a product they sold me, knowing it was about to be worthless.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Waves is a company that has sold audio plugins for years. In recent years, they have been running one sale after another. I have taken advantage of these sales. With this, they had an update plan that they promised would only top out at $240/year and that I would always be able to update. With this update program, they allowed us to have a second license for the plugins so we can use them on a second station. This past week they announced that they are moving to a subscription model and that if we upgraded we would lose our perpetual license. Further more, this was done without warning. The day prior I had received an email advertising their plugins that where for sale. I lose the ability to have the plugins on a second station without have to pay for an additional license. All with no notice.
  They have violated their own advertisement and further more, where trying to get us to buy plugins “on sale” less than 24hrs before going to subscription only.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Waves Inc. promised at the point of sale that their customers would always be able to update their plugins for music production. They recently (yesterday) went to a 100% subscription model where customers who had already purchased plugins cannot further update the software unless they now buy a subscription.
  I've spent thousands of dollars on this software with the impression that I would always have the software I purchased. I cannot give the dollar value because they conveniently deleted the information on the invoices page on my account.
  I only ask for a refund on the money I've spent for services and items I can no longer use because they no longer honor the promise given at the time of purchase.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/14/2023

  Please cancel complaint ID 1*******. The company has decided to go with the old format because enough complaints have been issued. I no longer want my money back. They have decided to let us keep our products that we have bought without using a new subscription model.

  Thank you! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  So I’ve paid over $6000 for products by waves audio that are tools I and many others use for our jobs. Every 2-3 years they would let us pay $200 to update those products to current versions that work with the newest Mac operating systems.
  
  Over the weekend they killed the ability to pay them to update when we needed to and replaced it with a yearly subscription. The problem is that we already own the products and we don’t need access to them, just to get current working versions. The timing of the incident was unethically planned because a software 99% of the working audio engineer community uses to do our jobs updated on a Friday night and we all were going to pay waves the following Monday to get our “tools” current. That Sunday they canceled our ability to update. Rendering all of our past purchases dead in the water and unusable UNLESS we pay them $250 a year, every year, for the rest of time. There was no communication at all with customers that there was going to be a change. Had they’re been we could have updated our tools and then chosen weather or not to continue our relationship with the company at a later date. One of the things they advertised to us when we bought our tools was that we would ALWAYS be able to update. But they just removed that ability from us and are holding us hostage to a “subscription” that doesn’t get us anything we don’t already have. It’s like buying a house and then when you pay it off the bank forces you to rent it. It’s wrong. And it’s affecting 1000’s of people. It’s greed and extortion. Please look into this. I’ve attached the proof that they said we could always update. Thanks!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/06/2022

  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 number of plugins from waves. due to some issue with their **** licensing system my plugins have disappeared from my PC on multiple occassions. their customer service is ****. their website is **** and i can't even submit a form for technical support.
  
  it's totally insane that plugins that were working fine yesterday suddenly disappear today for no apparent reason. it's totally insane that they would be so restictive in their licensing and treat their paying customers so poorly. i have buyers remorse in that i wish i had investigated this company and their practices before making the purchase but who would have thought that a company like this would be so abusive towards it's clients. it doesnt make sense. i'm sure they are losing more money through missed sales because they alienate their customer base than they have ever lost through piracy but that's not my problem.
  
  my problem is that i paid for software i am not able to use for no reason other than there are problems with the software. if this was an australian company i would be entitled to a refund because the software does not work as it should, it is not fit for purpose.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/12/06) */
  We regret to hear of the technical issues you are experiencing. We offer the option to contact Waves Tech Support either by email contact form or by phone. You can find both options at the "Contact Us" section of Waves.com at https://www.waves.com/contact-us
  
  Waves Tech Support is available:
  
  Monday - Thursday: 3:00am - Midnight (EST)
  Friday: 9:00am - Midnight (EST)
  Saturday: 11:00am - 6:00pm (EST) Urgent live sound requests only
  Sunday: 8:00am - 11:00am (EST) Urgent requests from Houses of Worship only
  Sunday: 11:00am - 6:00pm (EST)

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/08/2022

  Type:Customer Service 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 plugin licences, 16 to be exact from this company which were lost last year to a computer hard drive malfunction. Due to a weird policy they have you cannot recover the licences for an entire year? I recovered the licences on October 31st this year to a USB stick hoping this would be a safer option. Unfortunately the USB device was damaged in transit (literally broken in half) which means I'm back to square one. I have tried tirelessly to get the licences recovered which I paid for. I have simply been fobbed off by their support saying that their higher management have to allow the recover on the provision that I purchase an 'Update plan'. This essentially means they want me to buy them again, after which they will recover the licences for me. The complaint I have is that I have already purchased these licences and I am not happy that I am being forced into buying the same product again, either because the company won't or cannot recover the licences which frankly isn't my problem.
  
  For reference, the email I signed up with on this website is the same address that can be used to identify my account on their system.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/09) */
  The following was sent directly to the client from Waves.
  
  Hello Marc,
  
  Waves official policy is stated during the License Recovery process. It states the following:
  
  "Licenses are recoverable once a year
  
  Using the license recovery options will enable
  you to recall licenses from disconnected
  devices. Licenses can be recovered only once per year
  
  check here) I understand"
  
  It was required that you hit the button that stated "I understand" to these terms, before submitting your first License Recovery. This is also restated at the www.waves.com License Recovery page at http://www.waves.com/support/reactivate-recover-licenses
  
  Waves Tech Support are offering to look an out of policy exception for you, however your cooperation would be required for this. While we understand this is an inconvenience on top of an already frustrating situation, we are doing what we can for you.
  
  Waves Customer Support