Nest have changed how the Nestcam works and I don't like it

[Mildredop]

I wanted a wifi camera that I could watch from my phone which would alert me when there is movement.

The Nestcam seemed ideal. I liked the fact that it'd sense movement and then email me an image of the moment at which it sensed it.

However, Nest have now removed that functionality. It will still email me but no longer includes an image. Just "Your camera has noticed some activity" and a link to view the live stream.

I understand why they've removed it - to encourage me to pay £8 per month to record the footage. But I don't want that!

I bought it 18 months ago so it's outside the warranty. But can a company remotely remove features without your consent??

 

[JBaby]

Yes. And I'm willing to bet that was in the terms you agreed to.

 

[MVallee]

When Nest removed the wave to silence feature from their smoke detectors I was outside of warranty. I didn't realize the feature had been removed until 3am one night when alarms were going off (for no reason) and there was no way to silence them. I called Nest to complain and they told me the feature was removed. When I argued that it was unfair to remove functionality that I'd paid for, they gave me a refund for all 3 devices.

 

[cynics]

I wanted a wifi camera that I could watch from my phone which would alert me when there is movement.

The Nestcam seemed ideal. I liked the fact that it'd sense movement and then email me an image of the moment at which it sensed it.

However, Nest have now removed that functionality. It will still email me but no longer includes an image. Just "Your camera has noticed some activity" and a link to view the live stream.

I understand why they've removed it - to encourage me to pay £8 per month to record the footage. But I don't want that!

I bought it 18 months ago so it's outside the warranty. But can a company remotely remove features without your consent??

Like mentioned call and complain, ask to talk to a managers, etc.

I know people say "be nice and courteous" but jerks get what they want is the unfortunate truth when it comes to dealing with customers. I'm not saying act like a raving lunatic (don't cuss, threaten or personally attack anyone) but just talk with a lot of conviction like you are telling them facts and they are spouting nonsense.

Keep in mind, you are only asking for "what you paid for". You have the right to be a little upset IMO.

You probably agreed to this possibility via terms and conditions however they are meaningless and a lawyer could punch a million holes through it when it comes single customer. They know that they can't leverage their terms for a single customer on any real level. They are there to protect the business from large claims, class actions, and things of that nature plus how money is collected with certain things, fees, penalties, etc...

Call prepared, know what the competition offers (example Canary sends you a recorded video clip of the event via the app when motion is detect with their FREE membership and you get an email? HA) and be prepared to compromise (example instead of a refund, 6-12 months free NEST aware basic membership, you get a membership and they don't even lose a customer! Win win).

Worst case you don't get anything but at least you know you didn't stand idle and let them walk on you.