So I got a new laptop last year and switched anti virus from one big name to another big name, cancelled the first one which was literal torture, took hours over the phone (over 2 days ), but finally cancelled (or so I thought) , they said my account was cancelled…billed yearly, well got a hit on my credit card for 133.67 yesterday from them.
What are my options ?
Get on phone again which will take hours again ? which I don’t feel like doing.
Call my CC company and dispute ? Maybe they can help ?
Sue them for time and aggravation ?
File criminal charges against them ?
I don’t have an answer, but one comment about calling your CC company. Do NOT challenge it online! They will automatically CANCEL your card and mail a new one. Instead, call and make certain you are only disputing THIS ONE CHARGE,
In general for all of my annual subscriptions (software, news, etc) I turn off the “auto-renew” option which is usually the default option. I think that auto-renew should not be the default, but that you have to opt-in to have it.
Sure, I have to manually make my annual payment, but it’s better than fighting to undo a payment. I usually get an email reminder from them that my subscription is about to expire, etc.
Years back, I had a payment charged by Norton, even after I had already CANCELLED my subscription (but I did get my $$ back).
I buy a multi-user license for Norton through Amazon or Ebay, wherever I can find the cheapest. It usually includes an automatic renewal at a very high price. I take the authorization code and add the software to my Norton account, then go to the various computers and install their oen copy. Finally I cancel the automatic renewal (and ignore the please to keep it and the offers for a free month or whatever).
Agree, but for this retired widower in poor health, it’s wonderful. Most of my life is on autopay, fire, house, insurance, medical, etc.
However, for things like subscriptions, I have virtual CC’s on Citi bank, I can set the expiration date, usually one month before the year runs out. If I want to cancel it, I simply don’t reset the date so the VCC expires.
VCC’s are credit card numbers that only exist in Citi’s computers and mine if I’m logged in. They are “virtual” and not physical cards.
I have a physical card from Citi that is the “parent” of my dozen or so virtual numbers. I can create a new VCC with a simple click. Once created, I set the expiration date within the subscription date. If I buy a new one year virus program, I set the expire date within the year.
So when it tries to autonew, the card has expired. Worthless. I get an email from that virus program asking for a new CCN. I then decide if I still want it, and if so, I simply log into my account and extend the expire date.
If I don’t want it, I just ignore it because that VCC is dead.
I usually find that the day after Thanksgiving has the best deals. In some cases it is less $ to buy more licenses than you need. The expiration clock does not start until it is activated on the first machine.
