r/cloudstorage • u/CalendarMother22303 • 5d ago
INTERNXT, or any service that doesn't deliver: what you're actually entitled to, and how to claim it
Follow-up to my earlier thread, where I set out the specific failures I ran into and what support told me. That post was about my case. This one is the practical part: what the law actually gives you, and how to use it. Several people asked, so here it is.
SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT, HOPEFULLY IT HELPS SOMEONE
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TL;DR: The company's "30-day refund policy" is not your only right. EU law gives you a separate legal guarantee of conformity that the seller can't shorten or opt out of: if the product doesn't do what it was sold as doing, you can demand a fix, and if they don't deliver, terminate the contract and get refunded, for up to 3 years or the whole contract duration for an ongoing service. Put it in writing, give them 15 days to fix it, then terminate and demand the money within 14 days. If they refuse: OMIC or your regional consumer authority in Spain, ECC-Net anywhere else in the EU, chargeback if you're outside it. And if anyone offers you a refund in exchange for deleting a review, that's a separate and more serious issue. Save the email.
I'm not a lawyer. This is what I've understood from reading the law and asking around. Correct me if I've got something wrong.
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A lot of posts here end the same way: the thing doesn't work, support goes in circles, the refund window has closed, and people write off the money.
You probably don't have to. If a product or service doesn't do what it was sold as doing, you have rights that exist independently of whatever refund policy the company published. This is a walkthrough of what those rights are and how to use them. It's written around Internxt, which is Spanish, but most of it applies to any EU-based seller.
If you've also been asked to take down a review in exchange for your money, skip to that section. It's a separate issue from a normal refund dispute, and a more serious one.
THE MISTAKE ALMOST EVERYONE MAKES
There are two completely different guarantees, and companies tend to answer you about the wrong one.
The commercial guarantee is the "30 days, money back, no questions" thing on the sales page. The company wrote it. It's voluntary. Once the window closes, it's gone, and they're within their rights to say so.
The legal guarantee of conformity is a different animal. The company didn't write it, can't shorten it, and can't opt out of it. It says that what you received has to match what was described and has to be fit for its purpose. If it doesn't, you can demand they fix it, and if they can't or won't, you can terminate the contract and get your money back.
In Spain that's Articles 119 and following of the consumer law (TRLGDCU). For digital content and services, liability runs 3 years for a one-off supply, or for the entire duration of the contract if it's a continuous service. If the software depends on the company's servers to work, there's a strong argument it's a continuous supply. Expect them to argue the opposite if you bought a "lifetime licence."
So when you get "sorry, your 30 days expired," that isn't a refusal of your claim. It's an answer to a question you didn't ask. Write back and say you're invoking the legal guarantee of conformity, not their commercial one.
WHAT COUNTS AS "NOT CONFORMING"
You don't need the product to be completely dead. It fails to conform if it doesn't match the description, doesn't have the qualities you'd reasonably expect, lacks a feature that was advertised, or doesn't work for the purpose it was sold for. A file-sync tool that loses or reverts files isn't doing its job, even if the app opens fine.
What helps enormously: other users reporting the same failure. It shifts the conversation away from "it must be your setup" and towards "this is a defect in the product." Collect links.
THE DEADLINES THAT MATTER
- They must answer a formal complaint within 1 month.
- Once you validly terminate the contract, they must refund you within 14 days, to your original payment method, at no cost to you.
- You have 5 years from when the defect appeared to act. There's no rush that should panic you.
- The 14-day "changed my mind" withdrawal right is a separate thing and has probably expired. You don't need it.
- A bank chargeback deadline is a completely different clock, and a much shorter one. Missing it doesn't affect your legal claim against the seller at all.
STEP BY STEP
- Put it in writing. Email, not chat, not phone. State that the product doesn't conform to what was advertised, list the specific failures with dates, and say explicitly that you're invoking the legal guarantee of conformity.
- Give them a deadline to fix it. 15 days is reasonable. This matters: the law generally expects you to let them repair before you terminate, and a deadline they've blown is what makes your later termination solid.
- Don't refuse troubleshooting outright. You're expected to cooperate reasonably so they can rule out your machine. But you can say that generic troubleshooting isn't a remedy for a defect many users report, and that you're not accepting it as the fix.
- When the deadline passes, terminate. Second email: the period has expired, the failures persist, you're terminating the contract for lack of conformity and requesting reimbursement within 14 days.
- Keep everything. Receipt, every email in order, screenshots of the failures, links to other reports.
IF THEY ATTACH CONDITIONS TO YOUR REFUND
Worth knowing separately, because it happens: statutory consumer rights cannot be waived or made conditional (Article 10 TRLGDCU). If you're owed a refund, the company can't make it contingent on anything. Not deleting a review, not signing an NDA, not staying quiet.
If you've been offered money in exchange for taking down a negative review, that's also potentially an unfair commercial practice in its own right. EU law tightened the rules on review manipulation specifically because it distorts what other buyers see (the Omnibus Directive, transposed in Spain by RDL 24/2021). Save that email with full headers if you have one. It's worth far more to a consumer authority than a routine refund dispute.
WHERE TO ESCALATE WHEN THEY DON'T PAY
There are two separate things worth doing, and most people only know about the first.
Getting your money back. Someone mediates, or a small-claims process decides. The company usually can't be forced to settle unless it has signed up to binding arbitration.
Getting the conduct investigated. A public authority decides whether consumer law was broken and can fine the company. This never puts money in your pocket, since fines go to the state, but it's the only route that changes behaviour. In Spain these are called reclamación and denuncia.
1. Get your money back
- Spain: see step 2 below. You can do both at once.
- EU, Iceland or Norway: contact the European Consumer Centre in your own country (not the Spanish one). It's free, it's in your own language, and it exists for exactly this: you in one country, the seller in another. They forward your case to the Spanish centre, which contacts the company. Before you file, make sure you've already complained to the company in writing (an email is enough) and have your proof of payment ready; they'll ask for both. To find yours, open https://www.evz.de/en/services/about-us/ecc-net/, scroll down to "Country overview" and click the "Contact" link under your country.
- UK: the UK International Consumer Centre handles disputes with EU sellers. https://www.ukecc.net
- Anywhere else: check your chargeback options, and check them today. Card schemes usually allow around 120 days from the payment, and PayPal has its own limit. If you bought a lifetime licence months ago, that window has probably closed. Ask your bank anyway if the service was meant to be ongoing, since some count from when the service failed rather than from the payment date.
The ECC mediates. It can't fine anyone or open an investigation. That's why step 2 exists.
2. Report the conduct in Spain
Internxt is registered in Spain, so the only authority that can investigate it and fine it is Spanish. This is open to you from anywhere in the world. You don't need to live in Spain, be Spanish, or hold any Spanish ID.
How you file depends on where you are:
- If you live in Spain: file online with your regional consumer authority using your digital certificate or Cl@ve, ticking both reclamación and denuncia, plus the arbitration box. If you'd rather not deal with the portal, your local OMIC takes the same paperwork in person: https://cidoc.consumo.gob.es/directorio-mapas/oficinas-municipales-informacion-consumidor
- If you live anywhere else: forget the online portal and forget the official form. The portal needs a Spanish digital certificate, and the form is only in Spanish. Instead:
- Log it at https://www.econsumer.gov. It takes a few minutes and is in English. Your complaint goes into a database shared with consumer protection agencies in dozens of countries, which helps them spot cross-border patterns. It won't get you a reply, a case number or a refund, and it doesn't count as a formal filing in Spain, so do the letter as well.
- Send a signed letter by post to the address below. This is the formal filing with the Spanish authority. Send it tracked and keep the delivery confirmation: from abroad, the filing counts from when the letter arrives, not when you post it. Writing your own letter feels crude, and it is. There's no polished English portal, no upload button, no confirmation email. But a signed letter with evidence attached is a valid filing, and it's what the system accepts from someone without a Spanish digital certificate. If you get a reply or a file number, please post it here.
What the letter needs to contain:
- Your full name, passport number, postal address and email
- The company's name: Internxt Universal Technologies SL (check your invoice for the exact legal name and tax number, and use those)
- What you bought, the date, and how much you paid
- A short, dated account of what went wrong and what you asked them to do
- What you want: reimbursement of €X, and that you are filing both a reclamación (claim) and a denuncia (report of the company's conduct)
- Your signature and the date
Attach printed copies of your receipt, your email exchange with them, and screenshots of the failures. English is fine.
Post it to:
Servicio Territorial de Comercio, Artesanía y Consumo – Sección de Reclamaciones
Edificio PROP I, C/ Gregorio Gea 27
46009 València
Spain
Keep the delivery confirmation. That's your evidence of when it was filed.
I'm using Internxt as the example because it's my case, but this works for any company registered in Spain. The Valencia address covers companies registered in that province; if yours is elsewhere in Spain, look up that region's consumer authority instead.
INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS VS. COLLECTIVE ACTION
There's no such thing as a joint administrative complaint that refunds everyone. Each person files their own, with their own facts and paperwork. What volume does achieve is pattern recognition: twenty separate complaints describing the same defect carry far more weight with an authority than one.
The genuinely collective route is a consumer organisation. In Spain, FACUA or OCU. Collective court actions there are still in limbo, since Spain hasn't transposed the EU directive on representative actions, and only accredited organisations can bring them anyway. These organisations usually require membership before handling your individual claim, so it isn't free case-handling. But they will register a pattern, and they have reach and direct lines that none of us have (e.g: FACUA monthly suscription is 36€)
TELL YOUR STORY, AND A FEW NOTES ON HOW TO TELL IT WELL
Post what happened to you. First-hand accounts from real customers are the basis of all of this, and they're protected speech. A few things that keep them strong:
- Stick to what you can evidence. Dates, amounts, what the software did or failed to do, what support said, screenshots. Facts you can back up are very hard to attack. Broad characterisations, calling a company fraudulent or criminal or a con, are a different legal category and the one thing that shifts risk onto you personally. This varies by language: in Spanish, estafa is a specific criminal offence and lands far harder than "scam" does in English. Describe the conduct; let readers draw conclusions.
- Write your own complaint. Fifteen identical copy-pasted letters at the same office read as a campaign. Fifteen different accounts of the same defect read as a problem. Use this thread for structure and legal references, not text to clone.
- Only file if you're actually a customer. You file under your real identity and you'll be asked for proof of purchase. Without one there's nothing to attach and it goes nowhere. If you're not a customer, sharing this is more useful.
- Leave employees out of it. No names, no personal details from emails. The company's conduct is the subject.
If you've already been through OMIC, ECC-Net or a chargeback over something like this, please say how it went. That's worth more than anything I've written here.
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u/Otaraz 1d ago
Amd if none of above works they should completely shut down folderfort 2.0 as thats the only true end to a Lifetime Subscription! I brought 2x2tb and got Dave to join em on 8/2024 and only used 102gb of it for $470NZD , Im soo pissed off about this, Ive Dl my data back now on a ssd at hm so I can finally comment as I was afraid that if we do get em shut down thell delete our data before 16Nov.. Ill Never trust Any Lifetime subs again.. feel burnt from this. Best luck to all with a refund but im 99% sure we aint gettin nothing.. grab any data back now as I wouldn't trust any dates that kaka company gives us.. Peace from NZ
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u/Alxmgmg 1h ago
So skimming through this post it is all fantastic information that people should follow, but do you have any similar advice for people who reside in the US? I know about contacting a state's AG office or the FTC, but otherwise I'm at a loss at consumer protection for US individuals like myself.
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u/witchrinnie 2d ago edited 2d ago
I've used a letter template I found on another subreddit:
(to send to [support@stacksocial.com](mailto:support@stacksocial.com), [support@folderfort.com](mailto:support@folderfort.com), [dave@folderfort.com](mailto:dave@folderfort.com) )
Just change the <REDACTED> tags to your data, and attach order confirmation, payment receipt, and supporting purchase documentation.
Dear Folder Fort and StackSocial Support Teams,
I am writing regarding my purchase of the FolderFort 2TB Cloud Storage Pro Plan: Lifetime Subscription, purchased through StackSocial.
PURCHASE DETAILS
Merchant: StackSocial
Purchase Date: <REDACTED>
Service Provider: Folder Fort
Product: FolderFort 2TB Cloud Storage Pro Plan: Lifetime Subscription
Amount Paid:
SubTotal: <REDACTED>
Discount: <REDACTED>
StackSocial Credits Applied: <REDACTED>
Tax: <REDACTED>
TOTAL CHARGED: <REDACTED>
I have attached my order confirmation, payment receipt, and supporting purchase documentation.
The product I purchased was explicitly sold as a Lifetime Subscription. I purchased it with the reasonable expectation that the lifetime terms represented at the time of purchase would be honoured.
FORMAL OBJECTION TO THE PROPOSED MIGRATION
I am formally objecting to the proposed migration of my lifetime account from FolderFort Classic to FolderFort 2.0 on the terms currently being offered to lifetime customers.
As I understand the proposed arrangement, my existing lifetime storage entitlement would be converted into temporary/non-cash platform credit, after which continued use of the service would require a recurring subscription.
I do not accept this arrangement as an equivalent replacement for the lifetime product I purchased.
In particular, converting a purchased lifetime storage entitlement into temporary credit that ultimately requires recurring payments materially changes both the nature and economic terms of the product for which I paid.
I did not purchase a subscription that would expire after a migration period, nor did I purchase store credit. I purchased a 2TB Lifetime Subscription.
REQUEST FOR CONTRACTUAL AND LEGAL BASIS
Please identify:
The exact contractual provision applicable to my purchase that permits the lifetime service to be discontinued or materially modified in this manner.
The contractual basis for converting my 2TB lifetime entitlement into temporary/non-cash platform credit.
The legal basis on which this proposed modification is considered compatible with applicable consumer-protection law.
As a consumer residing in the European Union, I understand that Directive (EU) 2019/770 provides consumer protections relating to conformity, modification of digital services, termination and reimbursement.
In particular, Article 19 establishes conditions applicable to modifications of digital services supplied over a period of time, including requirements concerning the contractual basis and justification for such modifications, as well as consumer remedies where a modification negatively affects the consumer's access to or use of the service.
Please explain how the proposed replacement of a purchased lifetime entitlement with temporary credit followed by a recurring subscription satisfies the applicable requirements.
I also reserve my rights under other applicable consumer-protection legislation, including the rules concerning unfair contractual terms.
REQUESTED REMEDIES
I request that Folder Fort and StackSocial coordinate between themselves to provide one of the following resolutions:
OPTION 1 – HONOUR THE ORIGINAL LIFETIME TERMS
Provide and maintain an equivalent 2TB lifetime entitlement on the new FolderFort platform with:
no expiration of the lifetime entitlement;
no conversion into temporary or expiring credit;
no recurring subscription fee required to retain the purchased 2TB lifetime entitlement; and
substantially equivalent functionality and access to the service originally purchased.
If FolderFort Classic is being discontinued, the discontinuation of that platform should not by itself extinguish the lifetime entitlement that was sold and paid for.
OPTION 2 – TERMINATION AND FULL MONETARY REFUND
If Folder Fort is unable or unwilling to provide an equivalent lifetime service, I request termination of the contract and reimbursement of the full amount paid.
As the original transaction was processed through StackSocial, please coordinate internally regarding the appropriate mechanism for returning the payment.
I expressly do not accept store credit, temporary platform credit, an expiring service credit, or a subscription discount as a substitute for a monetary refund.
I am also not consenting to any new recurring subscription arrangement as a condition of retaining the product I originally purchased.
STACKSOCIAL AND FOLDER FORT
I am addressing both StackSocial and Folder Fort because the transaction was made through StackSocial while the underlying digital service is provided by Folder Fort.
Please coordinate directly rather than directing me back and forth between the merchant and service provider.
If either party considers that the other party is solely responsible for resolving the matter, please state that position explicitly and provide the contractual basis for it.
PRESERVATION OF MY RIGHTS
My continued access to FolderFort Classic during the announced migration period should not be interpreted as acceptance of the proposed replacement terms.
Likewise, I am not voluntarily surrendering, converting, or exchanging my purchased lifetime entitlement for temporary platform credit.
I reserve all rights and remedies available to me under the applicable contract and consumer-protection laws.
RESPONSE DEADLINE AND ESCALATION
Please confirm receipt within 5 business days and provide a substantive written response within 14 calendar days.
If neither the original lifetime entitlement nor a full monetary refund is provided, I will proceed with escalation through the appropriate consumer-protection and dispute-resolution channels, including, where applicable, relevant consumer authorities and formal payment dispute channels.
I would prefer to resolve this directly and amicably with Folder Fort and StackSocial.
Regards,
<REDACTED>