For what it's worth, here are some clarifications on what the two of you experienced. This is by no means a comprehensive explanation and I am apprehensive about reading another thread about technical support.
The way Rockwell Automation provides technical support is through a program called "Tech Connect". Your Tech Connect contract number entitles you to software updates, firmware updates, e-mail technical support and telephone technical support. You can buy Tech Connect in several variations, from web and limited phone support to 24/7 phone support from the worldwide support system, and it's scaled to the amount of hardware you are supporting, rather than to the number of software licenses for each software product.
You no longer have support that's tied to individual software license numbers. It used to be pretty disorganized; you had to pay a bunch of different support fees on different software packages that expired at different times.
The downside of unifying all the software under a "support contract" is that you don't get the "one year of support included" with each new software license purchase. If you did, we'd be back to square one.
Often I get the question "but I just bought something new... shouldn't it be supported for free" ?
There are two kinds of free support in Tech Connect.
The first is "New Customer" contracts. These are very simple; if you are buying one of a category of products for the first time, you get a free 1-year Tech Connect contract. An eligible example is a competitive product user who buys RSLogix 5000 for the first time; he gets 1-year New Customer contract. An inelegible example is a PLC/SLC user who buys RSLogix 5000 for the first time, because he is considered an existing user.
The second is a "Grace Period" contract. This system is meant to bring more people into the fold, not drive them out. So if you do not have a Tech Connect contract, or yours has expired, your phone call request triggers a Grace Period contract and you get 90 days of support, as well as a quote to get your Tech Connect contract underway. Once that 90 days has elapsed, you need to purchase a Tech Connect contract to continue receiving support.
In the case of nswu1, you sound like you're already an A-B user, but your DriveExecutive package is new. If your company has refused to purchase a Tech Connect contract, and you have exhausted your 90 day grace period, that's why you were told you need to purchase a contract.
In the case of CroCop, this is just a change in policy. A few years ago, Tech Support decided it was a great idea to perform pre-sales engineering and support. Eventually it was decided that this function was better served by distributor and local office sales and product specialists, so the "free pre-sales support" function was discontinued. You can still talk to Tech Support engineers about pre-sales questions if you wish, but not for free.
In both of your cases, it sounds like maybe the eligibility issue was bobbled a little bit on Rockwell's side. Have a little sympathy for the poor screeners on the phone queue, and go have a talk with your A-B distributor to understand what Tech Connect option is right for you.