Issue With Avangate

Mike_R

To anyone out there considering purchasing product from BitDefender, I'm assuming people will check out product forums prior to purchase.

Be aware of the fact that Bitdefender use Avangate for payment. I purchased BitDefender 2010 a year ago. I'm 95% certain I did not agree to an automatic renewal. A few days ago I received an e-mail from Avangate saying that I placed an order on the BitDefender site but there was an issue with my credit card. In fact the 'order' was an automatic renewal - placed a couple of weeks early I might add - and the renewal had failed as my previous credit card had expired and my updated card has a different expiry date. I eventually spoke to someone at Bitdefender who assured me that I would have received several e-mails reminding me that my renewal was due and would be done automatically. No such e-mails have arrived and I am 100% certain of this. So the net result is that if it had not been for the fact that my credit card details had changed I would have been charged for a renewal. As far as I am concerned taking money from a person's credit card without their express permission is theft. A quick check on Google for Avangate shows a number of other people who have 'issues' with this organisation. As it is I have no intention of renewing my licence for BitDefender AntiVirus. The product seems to be good but a previous experience with their woeful technical support has made me decide to look elsewhere.

Hope this helps others make an informed decision.

George R.

Hello Mike_R,

I am sorry to hear this situation led to such an inconvenience, especially since it seems to be a case of miscommunication. While the facts below are of little help to you at this stage, they too can help other readers make an informed decision.

Avangate is an authorized e-commerce platform and like many others, it features the option of automatically renewing a purchased subscription. Depending on your location, this option is selected by default or not during the initial purchase process and can be changed by the customer.

Past the initial purchase step, certain measures have been taken in order to avoid unpleasant situations, such as this one:

-Detailed purchase information and options to manage your subscription(s) are available under the Avangate MyAccount

-Customers receive four notifications prior to the renewal date, respectively: 30days, 15days, 7days and on the date of the renewal. In each of these email notifications, a link is provided for forfeiting this option.

Last but not least, BitDefender Customer Service can be contacted in order to cancel this option or reverse any unwanted charges.

Thank you for your understanding and I sincerely hope you will have a better experience with our services in the future.