McAfee McAfee Unauthorized Auto Renewal Santa Clara California

On April 27, 2008 I received a email from McAfee.com, McAfee Antivirus Software indicating that they charged my credit card $39.95 for a Auto Renewal a 1 year of service. What a shock, because I did not sign up for, ask for or authorize a Auto Renewal of McAfee's Antivirus Software. In fact the software is so bad that I haven't even used it in 6 months.

Upon reciveing the email, I wrote to customer service and demanded that the refund my money. I also tried chatting with their customer service online and after wasting 15 minutes chatting online, the customer service person told me I would have to call during business hours from 8AM to 8 PM Central and request a refund.

There's a notice at the customer service page at McAfee.com website which raises concerns that I may get charged for calling;

"To speak with a Customer Service representative, call 866-736-3971. You may be asked for your registered email address and order number. Telephone charges may apply.

McAfee Average contact length: 10 minutes
Estimated wait time: 5-10 minutes
Hours of Operation: Available daily, 8am-8pm Central"

I purchased a license for the software 11 months ago and at the time I purchased it there was no notice that I would automatically be charged again a year later. Note that they charge me 30 days early before it has even been a complete year, apparently because they couldn't wait to steal my money.

I logged into the account created when I bought the software a years ago and found there was no way to cancel the auto renewal except by contacting customer service and asking them to cancel the auto renewal. The auto renew box CANNOT be unchecked. I think this borders on criminal conduct.

Also, McAfee Antivirus Software caused my outlook express to stop working properly. With McAfee Antivirus Software installed on my computer, I would get out of memory and low memory errors from outlook express which would prevent me from being able to read and send emails. I have 1 gig of memory so my computer has enough memory. The problem is in the McAfee Antivirus Software. It also interfered with several software programs such as hide-my-ip and cute FTP. When I removed McAfee Antivirus Software from my computer all of the software on my computer worked perfectly.

McAfee basically stole my money by charging my credit card $39.95 for a Auto Renewal which I did not authorize or want. There are complaints about McAfee doing the same to other customers all over the internet.

I am reporting this to the Better Business Bureau, my State Attorney General's office, the Federal Trade Commission and to my credit card company and demand that they reverse McAfee's charges.

Bob
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.