topic Re: I Feel Conned in Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

I Feel Conned

betabloke — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 19:47:41 GMT

Ok so it's only a matter of 23 days but considering Norton 2010 has been nagging me online via screen messages for the last 2 weeks, I finally decided to do what they were nagging me about and bought a new licence.

I'm pretty disgusted to see that they have wiped the remaining 23 days of licecne from my account and not added them to my new licence ( like any honest respectful company would do ) .

Worse still, at no point in the process was i warned that my old licence would be wiped out the moment I entered a new key. Pretty dishonest and deceitful in my book. Not impressed at all.

Is this how Norton makes its profits >? By tricking customers into renewing early thereby only giving them 10 or 11 months protection for a product they paid for for 12 months ?

Re: I Feel Conned

Bombastus — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 20:02:19 GMT

Just contact support.

http://us.norton.com/support/contact/contact.jsp?selected_nav=2&pvid=cs&cspvid=cs

Quick and easy, and they will add those days back to your subscription.

Re: I Feel Conned

drshlomo — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:06:43 GMT

betabloke Hi,

For someone who has been on these boards for almost exactly 2 years and posted 38 items during that period, I am surprised that you have not read so many similar experiences which we so constantly see here, and particularly I would have thought you would have understood how much care and resources Symantec puts into trying to help those with issues, such as yours.

I hope, that by now, you will have accepted Bombastus's excellent advice, sent to you just 15 minutes after your unpleasant remarks about the way you feel you have been treated by Symantec.

I look forward to seeing this item marked as solved and hope you will update us on the solution that Symantec offered to you.

Finally, Symantec are a wonderful company doing an excellent job in a very honest and ethical way and are successful in their business which you, and all of us, should be happy about, because without profits Norton would cease to exist, which would be a very sad day for millions of people around the world.

drshlomo.

Re: I Feel Conned

floplot — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:12:03 GMT

Hello betabloke

In case you need customer support in the UK, just guessing because bloke is in your name, here is customer support for the UK chat program

http://uk.norton.com/support/contact/contact.jsp?pvid=cs

If you need a different location, please let us know. Thanks

Re: I Feel Conned

betabloke — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:55:05 GMT

Bombastus & Floplot

Thanks for your advice & help - I appreciate that. :)

Dr Shlomo

I appreciate what you are saying , i will choose my words more carefully but I can't hit "solution accepted" as I will no doubt have to wait for Symantec to get back to me on this after emailing them - there is nothing on their website about this particular problem so I have no guarantee they will although I appreciate many other people have had the same problem before.

I didn't actually accuse Symantec of anything - I asked some admittedly pointed suspicious questions and explained how it would look to anybody in the same situation.

The main question now is - why is this continually happening ? If their system is so accurate that they can tie product keys to your account as well as detail how many PCs it has been activated on then the question has to remain - why can't they simply add your old subscription to the new licence generated on the very same Norton Account ?

I hope you can see how suspicions can arise - how many people who don't even know that Norton forums exist have fallen into this trap and been left short changed through no fault of their own after renewing because of the repeated screen nag ?

As you correctly stated, i have used these forums before but mainly for beta testing news and the last time about a year ago or more I think. I don't remember anything about this problem.

Is it really too much to ask for Symantec to at least put a note next to their "RENEW SUBSCRIPTION NOW" screen splash nag, explaining that if you do, you will lose all existing days of your current subscription and will have to contact their support to get them back again ? I can see why they don't - it's not exactly a plus selling point for a company of Symantec's stature is it ?

Re: I Feel Conned

floplot — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:12:28 GMT

Hello betabloke

If you use the free chat feature, you can get this resolved now and you don't have to wait for an email back. Customer support are the ones who handle issues like this and can easily and quickly add the days back to your account. If you need another location, please let me know. Please try the free chat program and let us know. People use chat and they get their problems solved quickly. Thanks.

Re: I Feel Conned

manuelFT — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:28:26 GMT

Yep, the chat solution is alright and fast. I needed it once a long time ago and the problem was solved within 15 minutes or so.

@Betabloke,

You may have an idea, so why not post it over at the Norton products Ideas section of the board? Who knows what comes out of it. That section is here: http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Product-Ideas/idb-p/NIS_Suggestions

Re: I Feel Conned

drshlomo — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:32:30 GMT

betabloke Hi, :smileyhappy:

Thank you for such a prompt and positive reply.

Yes, I agree you should wait for the issue to be solved by Symantec before marking it so.

You mention E-mailing Symantec but on these boards it's often suggested that a "CHAT" with one of their reps is a much faster option. I have actually done this myself on several occasions and found it to be an excellent way of explaining a problem and having it corrected very promptly. You may want to try it. Bombastus and floplot gave you the addresses, which include the E-Mail and chat options.

I think that when you renew your subscription a different company is involved in the payment transaction. This is not an excuse but possibly a cause of some of the problems.

However, I totally agree with you that Symantec, in order to help members renewing, should do several things to ensure that the process is straightforward and does not cause the problem that you have had. Your suggestion sounds excellent to me but would not be necessary if Symantec could find a fix which allowed a subscription to renew when the previous one expires, Norton keeps reminding us for some time before the actual renewal date. This is good in that we are not left without cover but not so good when we lose days or weeks from our previous subscription.

I hope Symantec will soon consider this problem in it's entirety because, as I noted earlier, many many subscribers have been experiencing this difficulty and presumably many have not discovered the remedy.

You wrote :-

...................................................................................................................................................

I can see why they don't - it's not exactly a plus selling point for a company of Symantec's stature is it ?

...................................................................................................................................................

I'm sorry that you ended in this way when Symantec try so hard to help everyone. I'm quite sure that this issue will be corrected in the near future because that is part of Symantec's culture and they do not like a false impression of their integrity to appear at any juncture.

Cheers,

drshlomo.

Re: I Feel Conned

huwyngr — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 23:05:55 GMT

<< The main question now is - why is this continually happening ? If their system is so accurate that they can tie product keys to your account as well as detail how many PCs it has been activated on then the question has to remain - why can't they simply add your old subscription to the new licence generated on the very same Norton Account ? >>

We all understand your feelings since we've been through it so many times with others.

You said in your first message that you << bought a new licence >> Technically you can only buy a new licence from Symantec who call it Renewing your Subscription so with what happened I presume you went out and bought a retail copy much more cheaply which is what we recommend to do! (You'll find even Norton Staff -- names in red -- will suggest this too)

When you Renew with Symantec then what you "buy" in time is added to your unexpired subscription but when you do it on the cheap by buying a retail copy and using that KEY it is just the same as installing from the CD you bought and is a new installation.

So in effect: "You pays your money and you gets your choice"

As with most manufacturers who use retail distributors Symantec cannot undercut their retail outlets or they would soon be without any so the Symantec price is always higher than the discounted retail prices.

Hope that helps you understand the "why"

Re: I Feel Conned

AllenM — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 01:04:47 GMT

Hi betabloke,

I found someone who posted about this in the Norton Ideas forum.

http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-Product-Ideas/Renewal-by-Serial-Number/idi-p/308896

However this post did not get any Kudos or responses possibly because of the way it is worded. The user who started this approached it from the perspective of adding on to the current subscription days even when using a different product key. I think this would be quite difficult for Symantec to do and I am pretty sure they would be disinclined to do so, particularly since noone has Kudo'd this idea or responded to it.

You could consider starting a new thread in the Ideas forum suggesting an idea to ask that Symantec simply put a little warning message next to the box where you would enter your new product key indicating that doing to will erase any subscription days you currently have.

This would probably get more support from other users and would be something pretty easy which Symantec could add.

Something to think about.

Best wishes.

Allen

Re: I Feel Conned

whiplash — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:25:35 GMT

betabloke-

im curious. did you renew using the link in the popup or did you buy and purchase a new full subscription separately?

renewals and new subscriptions are different. renewals are additions to existing subscriptions. new subscriptions can not be added as renewals.

Re: I Feel Conned

jAW — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:45:41 GMT

betabloke wrote:
The main question now is - why is this continually happening ? If their system is so accurate that they can tie product keys to your account as well as detail how many PCs it has been activated on then the question has to remain - why can't they simply add your old subscription to the new licence generated on the very same Norton Account ?

Is it really too much to ask for Symantec to at least put a note next to their "RENEW SUBSCRIPTION NOW" screen splash nag, explaining that if you do, you will lose all existing days of your current subscription and will have to contact their support to get them back again ?

Hi betabloke,

If you renew your subscription the remaining days will stay on the subscription since you only add new time to the same key. If you buy a new license (new product key) the remaining days will be lost and you have to contact support to get the days transferred to the new license.

This is not automatically done due to several reasons. One user can have several separate licenses registered on his/her account using them on different systems. And since most licenses today are for 3 computers there is no way of knowing if the user is "renewing" or for some reason simply switching licences.

They could of course implement a question that asks if the users want to merge the product licenses, but most normal users would not fully understand what this would mean. And since this function would require the old key to be disabled by this it is likely that it would cause more issues than it would prevent.

The best Idea I can think of right now is if the user could go into his/her Norton Account and choose two licenses to merge the time on. This would minimize the number of user who do it by mistake. But that would also require changes in the license system that probably require more work that the problem itself causes, if practically possible at all from a security point of view.

But more information to the user about what is the differance between renewing a license and buying a new one could be useful.

Regards

jAW

Re: I Feel Conned

betabloke — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:35:21 GMT

Many thanks to everyone for all their helpful advice and kindness in taking the time to reply so thoroughly to my earlier moan / rant :)

I received an email first thing this morning when i got up with a solution to the problem and 30 days added to my licence ( when i was only entitled to 23 ) so I am very happy with that as well.

Next time I will wait a little more and calm down before I start shouting ;)

Re: I Feel Conned

AllenM — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:12:04 GMT

betabloke wrote:
Many thanks to everyone for all their helpful advice and kindness in taking the time to reply so thoroughly to my earlier moan / rant :)
I received an email first thing this morning when i got up with a solution to the problem and 30 days added to my licence ( when i was only entitled to 23 ) so I am very happy with that as well.
Next time I will wait a little more and calm down before I start shouting ;)

Hi betabloke,

Thanks for the update and you are most welcome. :smileyhappy:

This is one of the many things I like about Symantec is that customer service is very good about accomodating this kind of thing and making adjustments on the subscription period.

Best wishes.

Allen

Re: I Feel Conned

drshlomo — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:46:54 GMT

betabloke Hi, :smileyhappy:

I am delighted to read how much you appreciated the help you received from the replies to your problem and that you are now quite satisfied with the solution provided to you by Symantec.

Symantec really is a very caring and considerate company and they always try to do their best for each and every individual customer. Their people work really hard to overcome difficulties, as they arise and, as we often see on these boards, senior staff are helping us late in the evenings and even during weekends, rather than enjoying a well-earned rest from their daily routine.

Enjoy a fabulous product and we hope to see you here more often. I am certainly not an expert, but I really enjoy helping those with problems which I know a little about and asking questions which enable the experienced specialists amongst us to take up and provide excellent answers. You may consider doing the same.

Best wishes,

drshlomo.