Sometimes when a new app or Software as a Service (SaaS) launches, the company behind the product offers a "lifetime plan" for their very first customers. These lifetime deals for early adopters are usually priced at a premium, or what it would cost for multiple years of a subscription to the service.
One important thing to note about these plans is that "lifetime" means the life of the company or service, not the customer's lifetime. Companies can fail and that lifetime deal would then no longer be active. On the other hand, customers are drawn to lifetime plans because if the app or service takes off, that early adopter has locked themselves in at that one-time price indefinitely while everyone else pays a monthly or yearly subscription.
However, what happens when a product is successful, doesn't shut down, but simply gets sold to a buyer who allegedly was unaware that they were acquiring a service with lifetime deal customers?
Unfortunately, those who paid for a lifetime deal to the VPN service VPNSecure are learning what happens the hard way.
VPNSecure boots lifetime deal customers
As reported by Ars Technica, VPNSecure lifetime deal customers were first notified on April 28 that their lifetime plans were being deactivated. VPNSecure offered no advance notice, as the company has since acknowledged, and simply deactivated the service for its lifetime customers on the same day it sent the deactivation emails.
According to the new owners of VPNSecure, the company was acquired in May 2023 and the previous ownership allegedly did not provide any details regarding VPNSecure's lifetime deal customers.
"Unfortunately, the previous owner did not disclose that thousands of Lifetime Deals (LTDs) had been sold through platforms like StackSocial," VPNSecure explained in its notification to lifetime deal customers. "We discovered this only months later—when a large portion of our resources were strained by these LTD accounts and high support volume from users, who through part of the database, provided no sustaining income to help us improve and maintain the service."
Furthermore, the new VPNSecure owners claim that they simply acquired "the tech, the brand, and the infrastructure/technology—but none of the company, contracts, payments, or obligations from the previous owners.”
StackSocial is a tech marketplace where software developers offer discounts or lifetime deals for their apps or services. VPNSecure had offered lifetime deals through StackSocial and StackSocial's affiliates as recently as 2022. Customers paid around $30 for the lifetime plan.
Further complicating matters, outlets like Ars Technica and TechRadar reported that the current ownership of VPNSecure appears to be obscured. VPNSecure's website lists InfiniteQuant Ltd as its parent company, however the Bahamas-based firm claims they are not affiliated with the VPN service. VPNSecure's terms of service have listed Dubai-based HOLDXB Trading FZCO and Australia-based Boost Network Pty Ltd at different times, however, neither entity appears to have a contact listed online.
VPNSecure lifetime customers who want to continue using the service were offered a discounted subscription rate. However, since cancelling the lifetime deal, VPNSecure has been bombarded with negative reviews on social media like Reddit and on review platforms like Trustpilot so it doesn't seem like many will be taking advantage of that offer.
