Mr Farty Gets A Bit Upset #2

Confused

From: Farty@myisp
Sent: Nov 14, 2007 1:35:22 AM
Subject: McAfee Customer Service - Service Request #123

Description: When I boot up, I get an alert that my PC is not protected.

I get a prompt to verify my subscription, which comes up ok but doesn't clear the alert.

When I run VT [Virtual Technician] I firstly get an alert that I need to reinstall McAfee Personal Firewall and McAfee Privacy Service, then VT tells me it found nothing wrong.

When I go into My Account on your website - which automatically recognises me - to reinstall these services, I'm told I don't have a subscription for anything.

How do I reinstall my products?

Denial

From: McAfee EMEA Technical Support
To: <Farty@myisp>
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 4:17 PM
Subject: RE: McAfee Customer Service - Service Request #123

Dear Farty¹,

Thank you for contacting McAfee Technical Support. My name is <name>. Having reviewed your e-mail regarding your concern, I would be happy to support you in this.

Farty, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused in this regard. Please let us know did the software come on a CD or was it a download from the Internet. I was unable to locate an account under the e-mail address you have provided. However, you are not subscribed to any of our services under this account. Usually when we see this type of scenario, our customers have registered using a different email address. Can you provide me an additional email address that you might have registered under? Please reply us with the requested information and we will be able to resolve your issue.

If you are not able to find that please contact our Customer Service. Please use this link to contact Customer Service.
<url>

I hope that I’ve answered your questions effectively. If not, feel free to contact support again. Please include all previous correspondence when replying.

If you find it difficult to follow these steps feel free to contact our free technical support chat option at <url>

Sincerely,
<name>
Technical Support Agent
McAfee Technical Support

Slightly Pissed

From: Farty
Sent: Nov 15, 2007 3:32:43 AM
Subject: Re: McAfee Customer Service - Service Request #123

Hi <name>,

First of all, thanks for your prompt reply.

When I originally bought the PC from Dell, and switched it on, the McAfee software, as I recall, was already there. Or at least the installer was. It insisted on my supplying a valid email address, even though I had not even contacted an ISP at that time to connect my PC to the internet. So I supplied my email-via-tv address, farty@old_isp and later, when I had an internet connection established, transferred the email address over via your website. I thought this transfer had worked, as the product worked just fine until a few days ago.

I have attached the original emails I received from McAfee at that time.

Does this help?

Best Regards,

--Farty

Not Really Helping

From: McAfee EMEA Technical Support
To: Farty
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:13 PM
Subject: RE: Re: McAfee Customer Service - Service Request #123

Dear Farty,

Thank you for contacting McAfee Technical Support. My name is <different name> Having reviewed your e-mail regarding your concern, I would be happy to support you in this.

Farty, we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused. We have searched our data base using the e-mail address Farty@old_isp, but we are unable to pull up any records using this e-mail address also. So please provide us the e-mail address that you have registered with McAfee or provide the Order ID. If you do not remember the Order ID, please contact our Customer Support, as they are the people who deal with sales and registration issues, please call the below number in order to resolve your issue. Kindly explain them clearly about your concern and you can also refer the case number for this interaction to them which will help then to narrow down the same issue. Please call <phone number> or Visit <url> for the further support options.

I hope that I’ve answered your questions effectively. If not, feel free to contact support again. Please include all previous correspondence when replying.

If you find it difficult to follow these steps feel free to contact our free technical support chat option at <url>

Thank you for contacting McAfee Technical Support

Sincerely,
<different name>
Technical Support Agent
McAfee Technical Support

Annoyed

From: Farty
To: McAfee EMEA Technical Support
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 6:41 PM
Subject: Re: Re: McAfee Customer Service - Service Request #123

Hello again.

Ok, earlier I was just confused. I thought, "Perhaps I only thought I had a free subscription, but it was only a six-month trial, now it's expired and I have to pay."

So, not wanting to remain unprotected, I signed up yesterday and handed over £39.99 for a year's subscription to your admittedly top-notch product. I attach a copy of the purchase receipt.

But even after installation and a couple of reboots, I get a warning on startup that I am not protected against: Identity Protection, Spam Protection, Content Blocking.

I also attach, yet again, an email sent from your company to my old email address Farty@old_isp - which you deny ever having sent - in which you say:

"Thank you for registering your McAfee SecurityCenter subscription. You are now entitled to updates and upgrades for your McAfee products.

McAfee VirusScan
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus
McAfee Privacy Service
McAfee SpamKiller".

To top it all, I have also managed to dig up the original purchase order for my Dell PC - attached.

And guess what? This order confirmation, dated 12th January 2007, includes the following item:
235-12764 Free 36 Month McAfee Security Centre Subscription

Note the words "free" and "36 Month".

Somewhat less than 36 months have expired since 12th January this year. In my opinion, this means I have now paid twice for something I already own. Now I'm annoyed.

Please refund my £39.99 immediately and instruct me on how properly to reinstate all of the products for which I signed up at the start of this year.

If I do not obtain satisfaction within 7 days, I shall approach the Office of Fair Trading and ask them to prosecute you for fraud.

Yours Sincerely,
--Farty

¹ No, not the name I used in this exchange.