No, today we talk about Symantec. I'll give this to Comcast: at least their customer support people are in the United States. For Symantec, that's right, India.
So, a couple months ago I was done with Norton 360 for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it wasn't for me. I thought it was adequate for what it was, but there were better solutions. I discarded the program and thought nothing of it. Then, about two months ago, I received an email from Norton stating that if I did not take certain steps, I would be automatically charged for a one-year renewal.
First, let me tell you what a pathetic, horrible, business practice it is to automatically charge someone a year post-purchase for another year of anti-virus subscriptions. To just assume that you can charge a credit card that has been maintained by your company is a bit ridiculous. But, they gave notification in this case, for all the good it did me.
I followed the necessary steps, to the letter, to not have my credit card charged. I even emailed Symantec's customer support and made clear to them that I did not want to be charged. No, thank you. I do not want a brandy, warm milk, or Ovaltine. I do not want to give money to Symantec for a product I am not using.
Imagine my consternation on July 28, 2008 when I saw a $60.00 charge from Symantec on my credit card bill. What. The. Fuck.
Well, I immediatley contacted their crack customer service people. I was told that this was a "mistake" and that it had been happening to other people. Oh, and that they were trying to find out "why it happened." Here's a clew chief: you guys suck. That's why it happened.
Anyway, I was promised a refund within the week. The guy, from India even called me to ask me if I had received my refund, three times. No. No refund. Oh, well, it should be in there. No, it's not. Oh, well, it takes another day. No refund.
So, a week goes by and I am getting very, very pissed off and contemplating all sorts of action: contesting my credit card, police reports, complaints to the Attorney General. And, how about a blog post? Oh, yeah.
Well, I write customer service, again, because I am not going to wait 30 minutes on hold just to talk to someone I can't understand who is reading a computer screen. This time I am told the following:
Discussion Thread
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Response (Raja Manikandan) - 08/12/2008 12:00 AM
Welcome back Eric,
Thank you for your response and details.
We are unable to process the refund at this time. However, I have escalated it to our refund team. Our team is working on this, and we will contact you shortly with a resolution.
We ask that you bear with us, and we also apologize for inconvenience this has caused.
Thank you for your patience.
If we can be of further assistance, please contact us.
Regards,
Raja Manikandan
Norton Support
Weeks later and Symantec is still jerking my chain. Sadly, I will probably have to do all of the things I listed above. What Symantec has done here is pretty much theft. After being explicitely told that they were not to charge my credit card (and asked why the hell they even still had it on file, which I would have never agreed to had I known) they did it anyway. That's stealing, folks.
So, let's review: Symantec = Bad. If you buy something from them, which I would encourage you to not do, just be forewarned that you may be partaking of a gift that keeps on giving. And honestly, their product isn't worth this amount of bullshit. Just remember that when you see Norton Antivirus on sale at CostCo. Symantec, knowing this, has just decided to steal money from money because they know I won't buy another one of their products. Ever.
And just to be fair, a company called PC Tools did the same, exact thing to me. They, however, after one email, were able to refund my money within 24 hours. That's a decent company and I would consider doing business with them again. PC Tools = Good. Symantec = Bad.
Please, tip your waitress.
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