bobquasit: (Default)
bobquasit ([personal profile] bobquasit) wrote2003-11-04 11:22 am
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry
  • Current Mood: pugnacious
  • Current Music: Goo Goo Dolls - Sympathy

A letter to McAfee

I've been surfing a bit (see my comment to my own most recent McAfee post), and have discovered that McAfee is apparently as hard to get rid of as Discover. They have my debit card set up for automatic renewal, but although I was able to sign up for that online, I am not able to cancel it online. No, if I want them to NOT automatically bill me for their shitware, they make me jump through some hoops.

So here's hoop #1: an email to McAfee customer support.


Subject: Stop Automatic Renewal

Sirs:

I wish to stop automatic renewal of all the McAfee products to which I subscribe (VirusScan and SpamKiller). I have been unable to get competent technical support for serious technical problems for six weeks now (and counting), and once my subscriptions lapse I do not want to renew them. As it is, I will be uninstalling SpamKiller this evening.

I had been a satisfied user of McAfee's antivirus products for years, and had recommended you to many friends, but the complete incompetence of your technical support and escalation teams in dealing with a SpamKiller/VirusScan conflict has completely changed my opinion of your company. To take TWO WEEKS (and counting) to find an expert in SpamKiller is completely unacceptable. And the product itself isn't even that good.


Let's see what response I get, if any.
Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[identity profile] tprjones.livejournal.com 2003-11-04 09:03 am (UTC)(link)
Don't forget, if they won't turn off your automatic charge, you can always challenge the charges with your credit card company later. In extreme cases, you can sometimes convince your credit card company to stop doing business with a vendor altogether, if they are abusing the system (although, with McAfee, I doubt it will get that far).

(Anonymous) 2003-11-04 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
I saw your comment added to the long list of comments on my post about McAfee at http://www.kalilily.net/weblog/02/11/13/190551.html. Luckily, I never subscribed to the automatic updates. I finally just cut my losses and got Norton Systemworks, with which I have no problem. I never did get McAfee totally uninstalled from my old computer, which might well have been a contributing factor to its slow but steady demise.

I'm also suggesting that you do contact your credit card company and ask that they stop payment on any future charges from McAfee. Good luck!

Elaine of Kalilily
www.kalilily.net

[identity profile] bobquasit.livejournal.com 2003-11-05 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
Hi Elaine! Sorry, I posted the comment before I took a look at your latest entry and saw that you were taking a break from your journal.

You're definitely lucky to have avoided McAfee's auto-renew trap. I haven't heard anything back from them yet; it's early, but I am very concerned. And there's no WAY that I'll spend $2.95 per minute to beg them to stop charging me! Before I do that, I'll go to the state attorney general.

A long time ago I used to have trouble with Norton at work, and possibly at home. But I'm definitely going to try them again, thanks to McAfee's screwups. I recently heard that Norton was trying to buy McAfee, though - how wierd is that? Sounds sort of monopolistic to me.

My credit card is actually a debit card; I don't have a credit card any more, now that Discover is (I hope) cancelled. So I can just run over to my credit union and see what they can do to block McAfee's charge. The only problem is that I don't know which company will be charging me. I think I saved a PDF of my bill when I renewed, so maybe the information will be there. I'll look at my online bank statements, too.

One way or another I will be free of McAfee.
Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only