How we handle a problem
Tell us what happened through the help page, with your order number. Most activation problems are a setting, an edition mismatch or a step in the installer, and are solved in a few messages.
If it turns out the licence itself is at fault, we replace it. If we cannot supply a working licence, we refund. Every refund is reviewed and issued by a person — nothing here is automatic.
A key that will not activate
Contact support with your order number. We check the licence against our own records, including whether it has been revealed before and what the publisher reports.
Where the licence is at fault and replacement stock is available, we issue a replacement. The original is marked invalid, the new key is recorded against the same order, and the link between the two is kept — so your purchase history stays intact and the replacement is traceable.
Where no replacement is available, we refund that licence instead. We will tell you which of the two is happening rather than leave the request open.
Replacements in practice
A replacement is requested, not self-served. You raise the request against a specific licence on your order, and a person reviews it before anything is issued.
You can have one open request per licence at a time, so a request cannot be raised repeatedly while it is already being looked at. A licence that has already been replaced cannot be replaced again through the same key — the replacement carries the cover from that point.
We do not promise an unlimited number of replacements, and a replacement depends on stock being available for that exact edition.
If you bought the wrong product
Tell us before you reveal the key. If the licence has not been revealed we can usually cancel and refund it, or exchange it for the edition you meant to buy.
Once a key has been revealed we cannot take it back, because a revealed key can already have been used. We will still look at what happened with you.
If the software will not run on your device
System requirements are set by the publisher and are listed on the product page. A device that does not meet them is not a fault in the licence, and a revealed key cannot be returned.
Ask us before you buy if you are unsure — that conversation is free and much easier than the one afterwards.
Duplicate charges
Payment is captured once per order. If your bank or PayPal statement appears to show the same purchase twice, contact support: a second attempt does not create a second order, and we will check the payment records against your order and refund anything genuinely taken twice.
When we cannot supply
If we cannot allocate a licence for your order, it is flagged as a fulfilment exception and a person completes it manually. You may also ask for a refund instead of waiting, and we will not ask you to justify that.
How a refund is made
Refunds go back through the original payment, to the same PayPal account or card that paid. We cannot send a refund somewhere else.
A refund may be full or partial, depending on what is being refunded. The original order, the payment and the refund are all kept on file, and your invoice reflects the refund.
Any licence covered by a refund is withdrawn and can no longer be used.
Requests we decline
We may decline where a licence has been revealed and works as described, where a request is a repeat of one already resolved, or where an order, a payment or a request appears fraudulent.
If we decline, we tell you why.
Questions about this page? Talk to our support team.