PC Tools Ripoff

[kyop]

Beware when you purchase PC Tools products as they will take your credit card information and abuse it by automatically renewing your subscription...presumably until you die. Of course it's in the fine print somewhere - you all read that right? I honestly don't because if I did, I'd never get anything done. What I do is TRUST the vendors that I buy from. That's the mistake I made with PC Tools when I purchased PC Doctor.

After contacting these folks, I got a smarmy email telling me how they were entitled to do that and that I must fill out a form which I did. It's 2 weeks now and they still have the money they stole from me. I now have to have my credit card canceled and must start over with a new one. This will cause some problems with non-sneaky vendors but that's what happens when you trust a company that shouldn't be trusted.

Thanks PC Tools for reminding me what Caveat Emptor means.

[haapy]

Hey dude... manage your own account.

http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48180

PCTools does not sell PC Doctor.

[lucid]

As far as i remember you get a choice when you buy whether to have the subscription renew or not, but the box is ticked by default, so if you are stupid enough not to read and blindly click next or confirm then it is your own fault, and if you make a mistake then as said above you can change it in account settings.

it's no fault but your own really if you're too foolish to know what you're doing, you should be grateful they refunded you.

[ohso]

kyop wrote:
> Thanks PC Tools for reminding me what Caveat Emptor means.

Well, that's clearly their fault then.
They should have reminded you instead what Ron White (the country comedian) said: "You can't fix stupid."

> That's the mistake I made with PC Tools when I purchased PC Doctor.

Does your computer run really well, but have lots of viruses? If so, you've identified your problem. You would purchase "PC Doctor" from the PC Doctor company. They're in Reno, NV and sell diagnostic software, not antivirus software.

> you all read that right? I honestly don't because if I did, I'd never get anything done.

So you're claiming that when you read you can't get things done.
That's a variation of the diminished capacity defense.

> they still have the money they stole from me.

That's not only false (that it was stolen), it's libel.
You'll be lucky if they don't sue you.

"Caveat Venditor." (Seller beware.)

[Ernie]

C'mon people. Auto renewals were a "bag job" when they first came out. (And they still are.) Lots of folks got caught, and were not too happy about it. (Myself included.) What is even worse, I have found that opting out of auto-renewals does not always work. Especially with a product that you are likely to renew anyway. There really should be a blatant up front disclaimer (warning) that you just signed on for life. And we all know that isn't the case.

KYOP, you are not alone. Check out the other threads in the forum regarding the same issue. Also be aware that everyone else is doing it. Norton/Symantec just pulled the same stunt with me after a previous opt out. Then again, this is a Norton site - isn't it?

[Wazza]

Newbie here - the thread I wanted to add to about automatic licence-renewal is closed for some reason. Can't imagine why?

If PC Tools are actually monitoring, maybe they'll place this post in the right place.

But, I feel like a fool for not picking up on the auto-renewal catch.

I feel even more of a mug for trying all day to get some attention for my complaint via email.

I feel like a complete idiot for thinking that it might be possible to ring them direct. Shock Horror, What A Thought!!!

Actually, you've got to work very hard indeed to conceal your company phone number from the whole www, so respect.

Even Amazon and Hotmail 'allow' the customer to make phone contact. PC Tools too important for that?

So, unable to get any reply I have cancelled my debit card so they can't take the money, have cancelled my 'automatic' subscription to be double-sure and will look for an alternative product so I don't get mugged again.

I see on various fora that I'm not the only one who's been caught out by this. Shame you're not confident enough in your own products to play fair.

C'mon PC Tools - why lose a long-term customer because you can't be bothered to communicate? What a waste of your reputation and my time, money and computing convenience...

[Gambit]

Wazza,

All these channels are available to contact Support:
- Telephone support
- Email support
- Live chat support
- Forum support

Read the terms and conditions before making a purchase.

[AChen]

Hi,

For more info on auto-renewals, check out this thread (http://www.pctools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50304).

If you require a refund, you can send me a Private Message with your details and I can assist you further.

If you require any follow ups with an outstanding ticket, PM me with the ticket number and I can assist you further.

[king_g]

Newbie here - the thread I wanted to add to about automatic licence-renewal is closed for some reason. Can't imagine why?

If PC Tools are actually monitoring, maybe they'll place this post in the right place.

But, I feel like a fool for not picking up on the auto-renewal catch.

I feel even more of a mug for trying all day to get some attention for my complaint via email.

I feel like a complete idiot for thinking that it might be possible to ring them direct. Shock Horror, What A Thought!!!

Actually, you've got to work very hard indeed to conceal your company phone number from the whole www, so respect.

Even Amazon and Hotmail 'allow' the customer to make phone contact. PC Tools too important for that?

So, unable to get any reply I have cancelled my debit card so they can't take the money, have cancelled my 'automatic' subscription to be double-sure and will look for an alternative product so I don't get mugged again.

I see on various fora that I'm not the only one who's been caught out by this. Shame you're not confident enough in your own products to play fair.

C'mon PC Tools - why lose a long-term customer because you can't be bothered to communicate? What a waste of your reputation and my time, money and computing convenience...

Stated on the checkout page:

"Automatic Renewal Service
Your subscription purchase today includes enrollment in our Automatic Renewal Service, allowing you to conveniently maintain your product subscription and receive critical updates. Learn More »"

There is also an option to disable the auto-renewals when purchasing.

[lucid]

Unfortunately many people are just too lazy to bother reading things, too much in a hurry to click next. These are generally those who get infected with malware/spyware/toolbars/corrupted registries and all manner of kak on their pc blindly downloading and installing without reading or understanding what their doing.

Then get angry and complain when it all goes wrong, of course its the computers fault or anyone or anything else's fault but their own.

The advantage of auto renewal is that you're always up to date and are protected. Besides I'm pretty sure you also get a reminder email well in advance and often get a discount if you renew early.

I install SD+Av on a lot of pcs it provides a good level of protection for virus and excellent for anti spyware. I'm not saying it is the best but actually has one of the best support networks of many products I've come across. One should choose a product depending on your needs and browsing habits. I would say the product has very good heuristics and behavioural protection and picks up on things other big name AVs miss in that respect. There is room for improvement in relation to signature based scanning for virus and trojans.

You'd be surprised at how many norton360 or McAfee protected Pcs have infections that their avs miss that sda kills.

[Lexxicon]

You'd be surprised at how many norton360 or McAfee protected Pcs have infections that their avs miss that sda kills.

No offense to McAfee fans out there, but when I had it installed on this PC, I got more infections than any other antivirus software I've ever used.

[vecchio]

You'd be surprised at how many norton360 or McAfee protected Pcs have infections that their avs miss that sda kills.

Totally agree also i LOVE auto renewals practice since this makes my life easier
I am just waiting fpr pctools internet suite 64 to back and have to say the suto renewal have stoped once i have asked for it
So ,i have no problems with this
And about the comment,even using K A S P E R S K Y (Yes kaspersky ) i have to format the machine 3 t/ m
So kis is garbage and i love SD and PC Tools

[Lorraine]

I have also fallen foul of automatic renewal which I did not realise I had signed up to. I have tried contacting PC tools requsting a refund but I have not had a reply yet.

Sent a PM to AChen regarding this matter. Have now received an email confirming my refund. Many thanks again to AChen.

Refund received.

[hyatt69]

i agee the auto renewal is not a problem can be easily cancelled,but when you say kaspersky is garbage i dont think so.you need to check out some reviews of test done because that statement you made(kaspersky is garbage) is exactly that garbage
Totally agree also i LOVE auto renewals practice since this makes my life easier
I am just waiting fpr pctools internet suite 64 to back and have to say the suto renewal have stoped once i have asked for it
So ,i have no problems with this
And about the comment,even using K A S P E R S K Y (Yes kaspersky ) i have to format the machine 3 t/ m
So kis is garbage and i love SD and PC Tools

[vecchio]

sorry but when a product make me format the machine 3 times /month yes this product is garbage and yes i can aply this to kaspersky

[hyatt69]

im not gonna go back n forth about this and i dont know the circumstances but the majority of people will say kaspersky (kis)is a top notch program.to each his own opinion.maybe it (kis)not for you?

[vecchio]

I agre most people like it.its not my case

[lucid]

I'm also using KIS2010 on a lappy. I wouldn't say it's garbage though. It's a stubborn annoying piece of software but it's awkward though does a good job, (too good) of protecting you.

It pops up with alls sorts of innocuous nonsense messages relating to its self defence denying its own processes. Its user interface is a nightmare and often illogical. But it does keep you safe/

[Ernie]

Unfortunately many people are just too lazy to bother reading things, too much in a hurry to click next. These are generally those who get infected with malware/spyware/toolbars/corrupted registries and all manner of kak on their pc blindly downloading and installing without reading or understanding what their doing.

Then get angry and complain when it all goes wrong, of course its the computers fault or anyone or anything else's fault but their own.

The advantage of auto renewal is that you're always up to date and are protected. Besides I'm pretty sure you also get a reminder email well in advance and often get a discount if you renew early.

I install SD+Av on a lot of pcs it provides a good level of protection for virus and excellent for anti spyware. I'm not saying it is the best but actually has one of the best support networks of many products I've come across. One should choose a product depending on your needs and browsing habits. I would say the product has very good heuristics and behavioural protection and picks up on things other big name AVs miss in that respect. There is room for improvement in relation to signature based scanning for virus and trojans.

You'd be surprised at how many norton360 or McAfee protected Pcs have infections that their avs miss that sda kills.


Agreed for the most part, but please bear in mind that some of us are of the age that when we purchased a years supply of tissue for the outhouse there was no reason to read furthur to find out that we were obligated for yearly roll alignment checks.

The point is that many look at the upfront offer, little realizing that there is more. True, the day and the times.
Tis still misleading to the trusting sorts among us.

Face value never meant something obscured. And obscured it is. (Yeah, a contradiction in terms.)

[hyatt69]

been using it on 3 computers and never had a popup,and never had a popup of its own processes.ive tested it against alot of malware and never had a popup its takes care of it itself.maybe you have it setup to alert you of every process or something?why dont you go to there forum and get some help with it.it is a big application and takes getting used to but a good start would be there forum.
I'm also using KIS2010 on a lappy. I wouldn't say it's garbage though. It's a stubborn annoying piece of software but it's awkward though does a good job, (too good) of protecting you.

It pops up with alls sorts of innocuous nonsense messages relating to its self defence denying its own processes. Its user interface is a nightmare and often illogical. But it does keep you safe/

[lucid]

I've been testing this for a few weeks now. It works well in terms of protection, and i know the ins and outs of all the settings so don't really need any specific help at their forum though thx for the tip. Was just commenting on the fact that i didn't think it was suitable for the novice. In order to get it working you do have to alter a variety of settings within menus. Also it has some bugs relating to alerts on processes I've found. These relate to self defence and processes. They do no harm but are annoying. They sometimes popup for a few secs at startup then fade away. Even though the setup for those alerts was unticked, clicking for more detailed info reveals nothing. Though now that seems to have stopped, so maybe an update fixed it. Additionally applications and processes and sub processes must be signed to be allowed to work, run or install if that is enabled (which i think it is by default). Thus it may stop many legit apps and processes from working unless you find the specific file and set it to trusted group, this also relates to the firewall and access, though that side seems to work very well. Also often you aren't alerted to the fact that some background processes aren't running or working so despite the fact that you think things may well be ok they are not as KIS has stopped something but not let you know, unless you checked.

This can apply to even system software by the PC hardware manufacturer or even critical driver updates I've found. the sw provides layered protection using a variety of methods insuring you are safe but inevitably this impacts on legitimate use and can involve a great deal more user interaction and tech knowledge to be set up for the specific requirements of the user.

Sorry to have gone off topic re the KIS info..
re earlier posts, maybe a slight redesign of the GUI webpage relating to purchase and subscription may make life easier for those that don't put as much attention into their purchases as they should. In terms of having to click a big ok to progress in the purchase process with a message saying that they are agreeing to continued subscription and another tick box, thats all I can suggest. If this is already there please excuse me. :-)

[Ernie]

I had mentioned that I opted out of Norton auto renewals. They finally "caught" it and sent a notice. (My faith restored. :p) I re-upped on line and guess what? No option to decline auto renew. By renewing your subscription you accept a/r and if you want out; another website and more time spent. Thill a thitty way to do business.:cool: