Webroot review: fraud and cheating 49

i'm in the same boat.
it's called fraud.
fawk webroot.
their scam is no different then the crap the hackers pull.

I'M HEARING YOU, I WAS CHARGED FOR A SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT IS? IT JUST SHOWED UP ON MY BANK STATEMENT, SENT A EMAIL TO REFUND@WEBROOT.COM WITH NO RESPONSE. JUST WANT MY MONEY $33.00 IS ALOT TO ME. BUNCH OF BULLCRAP WEBROOT NEEDS TO UPHOLD THEIR REFUND POLICIES... I DON'T EVEN HAVE A WEBROOT PRODUCT ON MY COMPUTER ?!?!

I am in the same boat, so what do I do to get this fee off my credit card. I cannot find the website to do this. I can't talk to anybody. I am so sick of thiefs.

Has anyone got any response to this fraudulant act? If so please inform on how to get action. /t. beridon

THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME, i WAS WAITING FOR MY SUBSCRIPTION TO END SO I COULD BE THROUGH WITH THIS, BEFORE I COULD I BLINK THEY CHARGED MY BANK ACCOUNT AND RENEWED MY SUBSCRIPTION . i KEEP GETTING THE RUN AROUND THESE PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU AGAINST THIEVES BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY ONE OF THEM!

Ditto. What a buch of crooks and thieves.
Pete

Anyone have any ideas on how to get our money back? My only thought is to close my banking account.

OK this happened to me "Sort of" and I felt the need to comment because there is a lot of misinformation here.

Webroot are not crooks. When you sign up for their product you agree to automatic renewal. You know when you install the software and it says END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT and a bunch of legal crap -- well this is why you don't want to just skip those screens. If you took 5 minutes to read what you were agreeing to, you would have seen that Automatic Renewal (or as Webroot terms it "uninterrupted protection") is part of what you agreed to.

Also, Webroot sends out emails about 4 weeks before your renewal and then another 1 week before. If you didn't get those e-mails because you changed your e-mail address and didn't tell Webroot, that is not Webroot's fault. (that is what happened to me.) They give people PLENTY of warning for the renewals and the warning e-mails they send you contain a link to the site where you can STOP the auto-renewal ANY TIME YOU WANT! I learned an important lesson from this, if you ever "registered" your software and used your e-mail address, you better not change your e-mail address or you better notify EVERYONE when you do, because you might miss important e-mails!

If you want to stop the automatic renewal go to this site:

http://updates.webroot.com/autorenewal/auto_renewal_optout.php

it is very easy to opt out of the automatic renewal. you just need your keycode.

Now you are going to ask, what if I lost my keycode or I don't have the program anymore? Well, that's what happened to me...

So I called the phone number listed on their website, [protected] and after holding for about 15 minutes I spoke to someone who happily canceled my account and refunded my money. They just needed to look me up by my name, e-mail address, etc. so it took a little time for them to find me.

That was 1 week ago and the money showed up today in my bank account as promised. I am sorry you guys can't follow directions from the website but you should not be calling them crooks, it is not true. They did not charge you for anything you did not agree to when you bought their software.

If you think you never bought any Webroot software, I have news for you. If you bought your computer at Circuit City or Best Buy, those stores probably signed you up without telling you. They do it all the time (I got my computer at Best Buy and that's what the guy there told me) because they get a commission for every Webroot product they install (they also get a commission from McAfee and Trend Micro which is why they ALSO install those products along with all the other junk they put on there).

By the way, all of this information is available by searching Webroot's own site for the word "renewal" - I just tried myself to confirm this. I don't understand why people are having such a hard time. I don't really like this "auto renewal" thing and I wish they would make it so you have to opt IN for it, instead of opt OUT, but, that's life. They certainly are not crooks.

AGAIN IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH WEBROOT CALL THEM AT [protected]. BE PATIENT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO HOLD FOR A LONG TIME, LIKE 45 MINUTES BUT THEY ARE EXCELLENT PEOPLE AND WILL GLADLY HELP YOU AND WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY!

I just went through the same thing. Auto renewal without my permission. Don't bother with the web links to cancel. A waste of time. Also don't bother calling [protected]; you'll just get a referral to the website.
Instead, call [protected]. Do not prompt the # to cancel renewal, it just gives you a website address and then hangs up. Instead, click on the # they state to renew your subscription. This will get you to a real live operator who will cancel your sub. and give you a credit.

I just need to reiterate this. While I think it is a shady practice, Webroot did not, at any time, charge ANY PERSON, "without permission."

When you sign up for their product you agree to automatic renewal. You know when you install the software and it says END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT and a bunch of legal crap. You clicked on "I agree to these terms" when installing the program. If you took 5 minutes to read what you were agreeing to, you would have seen that Automatic Renewal (or as Webroot terms it "uninterrupted protection") is part of what you agreed to.

Again, by clicking I AGREE and installing the product, you DID give Webroot permission, whether you know it or not.

I have been charged twice for my subscription I can't get them to reverse the entry, they did credit back and then cancelled my sugscription saying I only paid once

The autorenew policy of Webroot Software is in clear violation of Utah Code
Title 15 Chapter 10 - Service Contracts Act*.

Specifically:

========================================================================================

*[protected]. Notice requirement.

*(1) A service contract may not contain an automatic renewal provision
unless the seller provides the consumer written notice complying with
Subsection (2) that informs the consumer of the automatic renewal provision.
(2) (a) The seller shall provide the written notice required under
Subsection (1) to the consumer:
(i) personally;
(ii) by certified mail; or
(iii) prominently displayed on the first page of a monthly statement.

========================================================================================

People move. They change their email addresses. Notice of automatic renewal via email is insufficient to protect the consumer, especially when they were forced into the agreement to begin with.

Other states have similar 'automatic renewal' provisions. Contact your Attorney General with your complaint.

As long as Webroot is making a profit from you, they won't stop.

Very shady business practice.

I've installed literally thousands of software programs and never once have there been an "automatic renewal" provision. This is definitely a crooked company out to rip off not just anyone - *their paying customers*. I haven't resolved the issue yet but believe me - I won't be stuck with the charges.

Uhhh, huh, huh, uhhhhh you said root. Uhhh huh huh

Uhhhh huh huh

Be aware, Bob Roberts, who wrote the nice paragraphs about Webroot, is one of their employee. I renewed my subscription in January 2009, it would expire 1 year later. I immediately got warnings my subscription had expired. I reloaded software but soon the same thing happened. I filed a complaint. They gave me a program to run to gather data and send them. It did not work so I uploaded the data to them manually. They refused to answer me after that. After 6 months of problems, I uninstalled it.

Their CEO died about 1 year ago. He was the brains behind the company. Since then I feel they have gone downhill. Do not buy any Webroot products. There are better solutions out there.

R. O.

all i have to say is webroot stinks and i wouldn't advise anyone to subscribe to it. Their customer support is terrible.

All you have to do is call your credit card Co. and file for a chargeback

Hillar, you really think that I could just call my credit card company (Amex) in my country (Croatia), and that they will cancelled charge from Webroot? How will I prove them, that I didn't give my permission for charging my account? I can try, but it's funny way...

I called the number as indicated by individual above and it worked like a champ, they asked for my email and removed the account from their records to not be charged.

In short, they take your money give you a receipt and then tell you that you have to renew, as your subscription has run out. I complain, get a ticket with a number, contact them with further informatio 3 times, still no reply. The phone help is only for the usa not Australia and I cannot afford to wait 20 minutes or more on long distance calls, but you cannot complain about the service, as there ain't any.
Tom

They take your money and do not renew the subscription. No amount of complaints will alter the situation, save your money there are other things out there, free and cheaper.

When a company "hides" terms in little print and buries the "auto renewal" in the middle of massive pages that they know customers won't read, they are not wanting customers to see it, period! Therefore, even though we buy the service and they never offer up the "auto renewal" function on the main purchase screen, their practice is being underhanded and sneaky. I don't appreciate it at all whatsoever and they will no longer get my business. Taking someone's money without permission is stealing, pure and simple. Whatever legal terms you can fluff it up or color it up with makes no difference to me. Stealing is stealing! One thing is certain, they will reap what they sow.

DO YOUR RESEARCH! DO NOT BUY A WEBROOT SUBSCRIPTION! DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH SUCH A SLEAZY COMPANY. MY YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION DOES NOT END UNTIL A WEEK FROM NOW AND WHAT DID I GET IN MY INBOX? AN AUTO-RENEWAL THAT I DID NOT AUTHORIZE. I TRIED TO CALL NUMEROUS TIMES TO NO AVAIL I MUST HAVE E-MAILED CUSTOMER SUPPORT 10 TIMES BEFORE I GOT A REPLY. QUICK WAS THE COMPANY TO YANK MONEY FROM MY ACCOUNT WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE, BUT HOW SLOW THEY WERE TO CONNECT WITH A DISTRAUGHT CUSTOMER.

FIND OUT IF OTHER COMPANIES USE SUCH A SHAMEFUL, SNEAKY TACTIC TO BILL YOU WHEN YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NEARLY ENDS. IF YOU KNOW THAT THEY DO NOT, PLEASE LIST THOSE COMPANIES HERE FOR ALL OF US TO GAIN FAITH IN GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICES AGAIN.

Yes this is a bunch of #&%@ that they are pulling. Hope someone has reported this to the Government fraud watchers to get this stopped. I two was just waiting for my two year subscription to run out in Dec. 2009 so I could just remove this junk so-called protection that did little if anything for me. My computer got so corrupted with junk that I was suppose to be protected from a computer tech. had to wipe it clean and start me all over and helped me then download a free protection from AVIRA that works so much better then what I had paid for through webroot. Bill W.

This has been my experience. I honestly think this thing has become little more than a sophisticated fraud shop. They don't explain the many ways their programs don't work. They add on charges after you agree to a purchase.
A rock bottom scam. I would be deeply ashamed to be associated with this hunk of junk garbage peddling swindle. I don't understand how they stay in business.

These people are cheats. I got cheated too and think this company deserves to go bankrupt and the owner and their children deserves the same in return (what goes around comes around).

Although Bob Roberts info on the "uninterrupted protection" language in the software agreement allowing the auto-renewals seems plausible and explains why I received an auto-renewal notice today from webroot, I think it's a shady practice, and these ridiculous accept/don't accept software agreements are part of what's wrong with our culture! I mean, the majority of your typical computer users do not read these statements. The statements are on every update and install we do, often because we are told we are at risk if we don't, and this can number over a hundred a year. If you actually try to read one (because, you know, it's what "you're supposed to do!"), it's a lot of overly complicated boring legal-ize lingo that typically will (1) prohibit you from giving the software free to others (2) tell you that they are not responsible if their software eats and destroys your computer and/or data, and (3) um...I already forgot because I would usually nod off after reading the first part of the agreement!

But, strangely, (though not unexpectedly), if you talk to any lawyer, legal aide, teacher, corporate lackey, or software company employee, you are told that you should absolutely stop and read this garbage every time you see it! I mean, it IS a legally binding document!

Oh, and what options do you have anyways? If you stopped your busy life to try and read the language, and then said "I disagree", then you cannot install the product. And what if you bought this PC software over the counter. You know, the software that you cannot get a refund on if you open the package. Doesn't matter if it does not work on your system, or if you disagree with their software license. You simply cannot get your money back if your open it!

Where are the consumer rights in this screwed up arrangement?

I'm worried that this is the type of time wasting disconnect that is dragging the modern age down. The more we live in a fantasy land where we are supposed to do something that 95% of us do not do, the more stressful our lives become.

Sorry to rant on this issue. But, I've been fascinated by computers since they first became available for consumers. But I am ticked off that the industry (and of course an overly litigious society) have so screwed up the computer software industry with the legal language and no (no! not ever!) return policies.

Thank you, and Good Night!

I also got a auto renewal charge. I just file for a refund under this link.

http://www.webroot.com/consumerservice/refund.php

WebRoot came "free" for 6 months with my computer as part of a bundle deal from Best Buy. I tried to refuse it at time of purchase, but the sales associate talked me into it, saying it would just expire after 6 months, anyway. Turns out the version they sold me isn't even compatible with my laptop, nor would it let me completely uninstall it. 6 months later I noticed a withdrawal from my account, not from WebRoot, but from the Best Buy where I purchased it. They must have some kind of deal. I am especially pissed because I didn't even pay with my debit card; I paid with cash. They refused the sale without credit card info for "security reasons". I am between jobs right now, and this came at the worst possible time. The $42.50 they took left me with a mere $4 in my account. I feel completely scammed.

I have to agree with all of the comments made here. "Been there, done that." We finally got through on [protected] and canceled with just the email address.
I will add one more thing, TREND antivirus was pre-installed on a laptop we bought from BEST BUY on their recommendation.

I just got charged $80 out of the blue. I got several overdrafts due to it. I had NO e-mails warning me prior to this charge. It may be in their agreement in the beginning but if that was the only warning they are WAY shady. They know most people never read those. Very upsetting. I really liked their software but this whole thing has left a bitter taste in my mouth. I will NOT be buying any more of their products in the future. And will go out of my way to warn others about them. Can somebody say class action lawsuit?!

Webroot may have a fantastic product, but one thing I now for certain: Their "customer service" is HORRIBLE. They will either placeyou on hold for upwards of an hour or more- literally- in order ot correct a problem which they have caused, or prompt you to use their "paid professional service." They do not return phone calls when promised nor emails (ie: "We'll have a supervisor call you back within an hour") .

The way they treat you as a customer alone is reason enough to shop for a competitors product. Even though I have a year and a half left on my "subscription, " I intend to uninstall everything Webroot and move on. Their customer service stinks.

Call the Better Business Bureau, (BBB) that's what I did. They are a bunch of crooks.

I was aware of the opportunity to cancel the service before renewal, and I DID, a FULL 3 months before the date! I have an email from them telling me I canceled my account and that I wouldn't be charged when renewal time came around. Guess what? When the renewal date came around they charged my card away! COMPLETE SCAM!

This is what I did. We were sent an email by Webroot about a week ago -- stating Spy Sweeper had been automatically renewed. We had no way of declining, and tried every email and phone number available to us, but it was like a catch 22. So... I posted a complaint on Twitter, and within minutes, I received a tweet back, asking for our email or phone number via DM. For those who are not familiar DM is a direct message that is private to the public. I kept on top of it -- and continued to tweet publically. I was reassured we would get a reversal on the renewal and our credited the fee. Within a few days we had a credit from Webroot. They followed through ASAP. In a nutshell, Tweeting can be the most damaging to their reputation, as well as Facebook, but I'm not on FB. I did have our daughter post something about the scam, but she is private, so only her friends saw it. Had I not gotten satisfaction via Twitter, I would have signed up for a FB account and made it wide open, just to post a comment about Webroot tactics. I didn't have to do that. Good luck people. If you are persistent, I think you will get your money back. You just have to go public. This forum is good too, but apparently not enough if you have not had results.

This showed up today. I had absolutly no idea i was on an automatic renewal and never have been on one in the past with software without being clearly notified! They are crooks.
PU WEBROOT SOFTWAR PND ($43.65)

i agree that the auto renewal is a pain but it was quite simple for me to cancel it. when they send you the email with the warning about the renewal it has a link in that email to go to a page (http://updates.webroot.com/autorenewal/auto_renewal_optout.php) to cancel renewal. all it asks for is the keycode which for me was also right in the renewal warning email.

Last night I too found 90 day old emails in a spam email folder from Webroot. I did the usual searches and read many, many complaints. Found a form online to apply for a refund, but it was limited to 70 days and I was over that limit. Today I called the customer service number, hold time no more than 5 minutes. A young lady answered, asked my email address, and got approval for a full refund in my case. I don't work for Webroot or even know anyone that does, but I'm very thankful they are not the thieves described by so many others. I'm not a fan of any automatic renewal fine print, but Webroot did right by me just the same.

Last night I too found 90 day old emails in a spam email folder from Webroot about the automatic renewal. I did the usual searches and read many, many complaints. Even found a form online to apply for a refund, but it was limited to 70 days and I was over that limit. Today I called the customer service number, hold time no more than 5 minutes. A young lady answered, asked my email address, and in a minute got approval for a full refund in my case. I don't work for Webroot or even know anyone that does, but I'm very thankful they are not the thieves described by so many others. I'm not a fan of any automatic renewal fine print, but Webroot did right by me just the same.