I paid $400 NZD for a year of Claude Pro. Here’s what I got:

• Broken code that wouldn’t compile

• Files silently corrupted or wiped

• Hours wasted manually restoring projects from git history

• Slower development velocity than if I’d just written everything myself

Claude didn’t just miss the mark - it actively damaged my work.

When I requested a refund under the NZ Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) (which legally entitles consumers to a remedy when a service isn’t fit for purpose), Anthropic refused. Their stance:

“We do not provide compensation for degraded service.”

That’s not how the CGA works. A business can’t hide behind policy when its service fails to deliver what was advertised.

Compare this with GitHub Copilot, which has boosted my output nearly 10x in real terms: clean, consistent, production-ready suggestions that actually speed me up. Copilot has paid for itself in days. Claude has cost me weeks.

Anthropic’s refusal to take responsibility speaks volumes. I’ve cancelled Claude Pro, and I’ll be escalating to the NZ Commerce Commission and, if necessary, the Disputes Tribunal.

If you’re doing serious software development: avoid Claude until Anthropic can prove it won’t nuke your project. Stick with tools that earn their price tag.