Quicken Highway Robbery
I've used Quicken off and on for years now. However, the effort required to keep up with the raw data entry always got the better of me, and I'd end up falling behind, making the program pretty useless. A few months later I'd start fresh with renewed resolve to keep up, only to fall behind again after a few months.
When we switched banks about two years ago, our new bank supported Web download of data into Quicken (using OFX format rather than the older and less useful QIF). At about the same time I had the chance to beta test Quicken 2004. Being able to download the data into the program made keeping up easy, and I came to rely on the program more and more. When the chance came to beta test Quicken 2005, I jumped at it.
Then our bank merged this past fall with two other banks, and the Quicken OFX support went away. Intuit apparently extorts money from banks that want to support OFX transfer into Quicken, and many banks aren't willing to pony up the cash. Microsoft Money also supports OFX, and most banks will happily send the data in that format. The trouble is, Quicken must go on-line to check something (God knows what) before it will import the data. The data is all there, Quicken just refuses to look at it. Since Quicken 2005 no longer allows importing QIF data for bank accounts, I'm plain out of luck when it comes to importing my bank data. My options are to switch banks (not going to happen), enter data by hand (again, not going to happen), or find another program.
Now Intuit is taking things one step further and is eliminating on-line banking support for Quicken 2002 and older. Ed Foster, who used to write a consumer advocacy column for Infoworld, writes about the situation in his latest gripe newsletter. Intuit is trying to mold the personal banking industry to its own image, and the banks are starting to push bank, leaving the consumer stuck in the middle. It's sad when politics and greed get in the way of technology and productivity. We should be moving forward, making financial information more available to consumers and making it easier to manage their money. Instead, we're taking giant steps backwards.
After the fiasco several years ago with Intuit's TurboTax product activation scheme, I vowed never to use that product again. I found the free TaxAct program and will never go back. It's every bit as powerful as TurboTax and can be downloaded and used at no charge. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be many Quicken alternatives. You can take the money from one customer-hostile monopoly and send it to another by switching to Microsoft Money, but the reviews I've seen for it don't put it in any better standing than Quicken. If anybody has any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.
I wish a state attorney general would step in and charge Intuit with some kind of unfair practices violation. Something has to be done about these people.