ComplaintsforBitdefender, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I bought a subscription online through bitdefender for 1 year 5 devices for $25 to $35 dont remember exact cost. The kicker is you had to agree to autorenewal in 1 year. well low and behold 1 year to the date I get $95 taken out of my account, without an advance email letting me know it was coming. I had to chat with them 3x. It happened on 6/22/22. I chatted on 6/22.. 6/24 recieved an email with a copy of chat and was told I would get my refund after they responded to me via email after investigation and looking up my account, etc blah blah blah. After the third time now 5 days into this on 6/27 I chat 3rd time with them and explained what happened and they said they would issue a refund and it would take 5 days. so 12 days in I get my money back bc of their negligence. That is not professional. I suggest to anyone who wants to use their product which is great to buy it on **** or amazon with a card with a code without ever giving the company your card/bank info.Not only do I want my refund which I should get eventually since they use improper business practices trying to hold your money hostage and not refund it immediately, they should be fined, punished, or give me another year free. they need some kind of penalty or treating customers like that.

  Business response

  06/29/2022

  We contacted the customer and informed him of the following:
  
  The charge was an auto-renewal, as per the default terms accepted at purchase
  The customer opened a PayPal dispute on the order, which he will need to close so that we can process a **************
  We have requested a refund to our payment processor and are awaiting their response.
  

  Customer response

  06/30/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.it was in fact an auto renewal but as soon as my bank held my money I asked them to cancel it bc I cancelled the subscription.  They said please contact us to cancel it.  not paypal.  After a week of a run around about how they couldn't find my account and/or they would reply with an email to my inquiry then issue a refund,  yes 7 days later,  I got nowhere but empty promises which is ridiculous.  So yes, I opened a dispute in paypal,  made a complaint here and another consumer complaint site and I let the company know that.  Then they told me in order to get a refund I had to close my paypal dispute. I told them no bc there are thousands of complaints online and on bbb.org against them or giving customers the same runaround.  They decided to refund me.  Bout time though.  Thank you BBB for your help.

   

  I must say bitdefender is a great product I use it now without malware bytes.  but none of them block all viruses/malware on windows computers. It helps though.  but viruses and worms trojans are so well hidden and so malicious impossible to block them all even with windows new security net.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  06/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We currently have a technical issue with Bitdefender causing to lower our security temporarily until the issue is resolved. Of course, this temporary issue is unacceptable since it creates a Security issue for our company.We opened a support ticket on June 2nd 2022 as a Major Issue (ticket ********) to get support and so far, we are getting it.The complaint is after numerous attempts to try to resolve this by email communication. Despite executing all their requests to try to resolve this, they refuse to do remote session to close this problem. It has been now 3 weeks and the issue remains.What can you do to help?

  Business response

  07/14/2022

  Our business support team was informed and will prioritize the ticket number ******** in order to solve the matter as soon as possible.
  We wish to thank the customer for reaching out to our business support team and we can guarantee that our team will keep the customer informed.

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I forgot to cancel my yearly subscription to bitdefender's service, so I contacted them to get a refund within the 30 day period that they provided on their website:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/7217/After about a full work week, they finally got back to me after a few calls and chats with their support team.According to the screenshot of the email I received today on the attachment, they did not seem too privy to refund me the entirety of my money, which goes against their clear policy of refunding.As a resolution I would like the entirety of the money that is owed to me refunded to my account by bitdefender (see second attachment).Thank you

  Business response

  06/22/2022

  The order has been automatically renewed due to the fact that the user had the automatic renewal option enabled at the  first purchase via our website.
  
  The auto-renewal option is enabled by default when purchasing as to not compromise device security and allows you to conveniently retain protection when the Bitdefender subscription expires. At the same time, it is a widespread option in the antivirus industry and has been implemented as a result of customer requests.
  
  The customer reached our support department and was presented a partial refund option or a full refund option.
  
  Based on his decision, the order was fully refunded in the amount of ***** USD on June 21st, 2022.
  
  We remain at the customers disposition for any details and further support.

  Customer response

  06/23/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  When I selected to purchase the services for Total Security for 1 year, I intended on using the service for only one year. Its come to my attention that I was automatically billed for another year of service. I did not select any option for autopay, which means that there must've been an option pre-selected by this company to opt me into automatic billing. That is not my authorization to be automatically billed, as well as does not meet legal requirements for my authorization. I called to cancel my service and get a refund and was met with very rude customer service as well as was disconnected by them while I was speaking. They would not process a refund for me until a paid a cancelation fee. I want my full refund of $95.39 because I never gave authorization for that purchase. I will also be filing a company with the *************************************

  Business response

  06/02/2022

  The order has been automatically renewed due to the fact that the automatic renewal option was enabled at the  first purchase via our website.
  
  The auto-renewal option is enabled by default when purchasing as to not compromise device security and allows you to conveniently retain protection when the Bitdefender subscription expires. At the same time, it is a widespread option in the antivirus industry and has been implemented as a result of customer requests.
  
  However, we understand that some users do not want this option to be active, and that's why we provide our customers with many ways to disable it:
  
  - following automated notifications
  - by contacting the support team at anytime
  
  Also, we try to ensure maximum transparency on the auto-renewal process both through the information available at the time of purchase and through multiple email notifications before the renewal is performed. It is always the client's decision if he wants to keep the auto-renewal on or off.
  
  We have reached the customer and processed the refund, as requested. The amount will be available in his account in the next **** business days.

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a VERY vague email with an invoice number stating that I had been charged $399.99 so, I immediately called the customer service number at the bottom that stated, If you did NOT make this purchase, please call. First of all, thats fishy! I call and get a woman who states I must have clicked a link and subscribed to thisI, in fact, did NOT! I kept telling her this and she wanted to refer me to their financial credential department. I do NOT feel comfortable with speaking to anyone where I would need to give my financials to. When I stated that I was going to report them, she basically hung up on me! I DID NOT request ANY information or subscription AT ANY TIME nor, did I EVER give my credit card to them so, how are they charging me??!!! I WANT ANYTHING THEY HAVE WITH MY INFORMATION TO BE DELETED AND UNENROLLED, UNSUBSCRIBED or however they want to phrase it! Totally vague invoice is highly suspicious!

  Business response

  05/31/2022

  Based on the information received from the user, it is our understanding that she has been contacted by a third party impersonating Bitdefender. This type of scam is on the rise and criminals are impersonating tech companies of all sizes. Bitdefender never calls customers to ask for financial information, nor do we advertise our products by sending the invoice ahead.
  
  Unfortunately, there is little we can do to prevent this type of abuse. We are constantly attempting to educate users on how to stay on top of the latest innovations in cyber-crime.
  
  The user can help us fight this type of fraud by doing the following:
  
  1. Never give in to the demands of people calling you on behalf of a company. When in doubt, please get in touch with the company using the contact information listed on their official website (in this case,bitdefender.com).
  2. Report any fraud attempts to your anti-fraud organization or to law enforcement agencies.
  3. Avoid paying for so-called services with cash, gift cards or vouchers as they cannot be voided and returned to the victim, nor can they be traced to the real identity of the scammer.
  4. If any payment was made, we strongly recommend reaching out to a bank representative and open a chargeback dispute.
  
  We thank you for bringing this to our attention and we assure you that we're sparing no effort to curb this type of crime.
  
  We're regularly crawling the web for domains impersonating the Bitdefender brand and we're taking them down or blacklisting them when identified. Unfortunately, attackers are now focusing on cold calling victims,as these voice calls cannot be screened by security software.
  
  Also, we have checked the e-mail address provided and we can confirm that we do not hold any data regarding it.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩