Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/19/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought my son a new computer for school during COVID last year and manage auto sighed the computer up for a subscription that it said came with it. I had no warning and no email it just charged me and I want my money back. I use Norton on all my computers and don't need macabre for anything.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/28) */ Dear **********, My name is **************. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at McAfee. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding your McAfee account, please feel free to contact me directly at ************* I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 10am to 7pm Central Time (US). Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, ************** Executive Customer Assistance Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/19/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 26, 2022, my bank account was charged $137.79 for McAfee services. I no longer have that computer and do not need the service, so I called McAfee to cancel my subscription and request a refund. I was told they had a problem with my bank account and count not process and had to escalate the issue, but would call me back. I never received a call. A few days later I called again and was told the same thing, but asked to speak to a supervisor who said they would issue the refund but it would take 10 days. I waited the 10 days and called back to find out the refund was never processed. I have been calling back every few days for the past two months and have not gotten a resolution. I have used McAfee services for many years and was satisfied. However, now that I no longer need their services and cancelled my subscription, I am unable to get a refund. McAfee had no trouble taking the money from my bank account on May 26th, but cannon or will not refund my bank account now. I believe they have no intention of refunding my money for cancelled services and I need help to get a resolution. I request assistance from the ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/04) */ Dear ******* This is ************* again, with McAfee's Executive Customer Assistance Team. Per our previous communications, a refund for the renewal of your McAfee subscription was processed on July 25, back to the payment instrument, on file in our records. I provided the reference number for this refund to your email address on August 1. We sincerely apologize for the delayed processing of your refund and any inconvenience you have experienced. As discussed, we will be taking additional actions internally to address the nature of your service request was handled. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly. Regards, ************* Executive Customer Assistance Team McAfee

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/19/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Internet safety, the service didn't stop an attack my information computer was breached. Called and asked for help nope he said not without an upcharge. What I'm a *************** pandemic victim no income and he stated he can't help. I asked about government programs nope, we don't do anything without money arrangements need to be met.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/05) */ Dear******* This is************** again, with McAfee's Executive Customer Assistance Team. Thank you for speaking with me regarding your complaint. I am happy that we were able to establish contact regarding your issue, and arranged additional assistance from our most senior technical support team. If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your McAfee account in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Sincerely, ************* Executive Customer Assistance Team McAfee

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/17/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have an account with McAfee and I receive spam emails in it's own spam section. In the last month, I have been receiving spam emails from McAfee, ******, *** etc. When I received them I would click on the spam button. This seems to cause me to receive more. I've made 2 calls to McAfee & they aren't doing anything. The 1st call, they told me to forward the emails to McAfee Spam Dept. Nothing changed. The 2nd call, I didn't feel comfortable with the person I was speaking with. It sounded like he (****) was reading as fast as he could from a prepared statement. **** said he would call me the next several days to see if I still had the problem. I thought this was strange & I never heard from him and the emails continue. I receive 20-30 emails a day. I doubt his name is really **** as he sounded like he was *****. I called the Customer Service # I found online***************. He said not to give them any information & I haven't done that. Did I read that they are not BBB compliant? I am suppose to be covered until 11/23. Should I get someone else? I receive periodic messages stating that they checked my computer and it's safe. I want them to stop sending these bogus emails and if I should get a refund and go with another security company.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/29) */ Dear *****, McAfee has reviewed your complaint and has determined that the message you received was not sent by McAfee. It is unfortunately common for bad actors to pose as trusted, widely used brands such as McAfee to perpetrate any number of fraudulent activities. McAfee takes reports of these activities seriously as a threat to both our customers and brand and works to stop such activities when we are made aware of them. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. For additional resources on avoiding scams and fraud campaigns, please see our blog at ****************************** The blog provides information on known threat campaigns, as well as best practices and tips for avoiding such scams. Sincerely, ************* Executive Customer Assistance Team McAfee

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/17/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  McAfee sends me multiple unsolicited emails every single day. When you scroll to the bottom to click on the link to unsubscribe, it takes you to their business page asking for you to purchase items. There is no way unsubscribe and i want my email removed immediately. Thank you very much for your help.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/28) */ Hello ****, My name is **************, and I am with the Executive Customer Assistance Team here at McAfee. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns. To confirm, the emails you received did not originate from McAfee, and we suspect they may have been crafted in a phishing attempt. Emails originating from McAfee will come from a sender with a "mcafee.com" domain, and our official support contact information can be found and verified at **************************** If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding McAfee, please feel free to contact me directly at ************* I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 10am to 7pm Central Time (US). Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, ************** Executive Customer Assistance Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/16/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have numerous times unsubscribed from their emails and I keep on getting them. Some 5 minutes apart.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/28) */ Hello ***********, My name is Lauren *******, and I am with the Executive Customer Assistance Team here at McAfee. Just to confirm, the email address provided in your complaint is not associated with a McAfee account. Based on your description, we suspect the email(s) received are phishing attempts using the McAfee name. Emails originating from McAfee will come from a sender with a "mcafee.com" domain, and our official support contact information can be found and verified at https://service.mcafee.com/. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding McAfee, please feel free to contact me directly at ************. I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 10am to 7pm Central Time (US). Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, Lauren ******* Executive Customer Assistance Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/15/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company will not stop spamming my email. The same email that is listed in this complaint. I would like them to stop immediately. I have tried several times to contact them and have not received any type of change. I did not sign up with them nor do I have an account with them. Please help me get them to stop.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/22) */ Dear*********** My name is *************, and I am with the Executive Customer Assistance Team here at McAfee. The email address you have provided is not registered in our system or mailing list. It sounds like the notifications you have received may be phishing emails. Are the emails coming from McAfee.com or a different domain. You can report any suspicious email to ***************, but we also recommend working with your email provider to flag the emails as spam or block the senders from reaching you. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding McAfee, please feel free to contact me directly by email at************************* or by phone at*************. I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (US). Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, ************* Executive Customer Assistance Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/15/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I contacted McAfee in Feb 2022 regarding a refund for services that were not beneficial in protecting my devices due to having to pay another service to remove viruses from my computer. My refund request was approved and processed and a check was received by mail. Once I received the check in March 2022, I tried to cash it and no one would cash it because the machine was not reading the serial numbers on the check. I contacted McAfee in May 2022, after several attempts to cash the check, to let them know that the check is somehow invalid. On every call, the representative told me that they could not handle my request and a supervisor would call me back within 48 hours. It is now July 2022 and I have called nearly every 4-5 days and have yet to speak to a supervisor or have anyone attempt to resolve my issue with the bogus check they sent to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/18) */ Spoke with the customer, apologized for any inconvenience and confirmed that we'll be reissuing her refund and customer was satisfied. Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2022/08/09) */ Please contact me... this check has the same issue. Are you all sending fake checks? An international bank that does not serve within the USA?

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2022

  Spoke with the customer, apologized for any inconvenience and confirmed that we'll be reissuing her refund and customer was satisfied.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/09/2022

  Please contact me... this check has the same issue. Are you all sending fake checks? An international bank that does not serve within *******?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/09/2022

  Please contact me... this check has the same issue. Are you all sending fake checks? An international bank that does not serve within *******?

  Business Response

  Date: 05/18/2023

  This customer was refunded back in July 2022, customer was satisfied with the outcome.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/19/2023

   
  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

  Date:07/11/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company sent me a letter saying that I was subscribed to their computer security and it dont have a computer and 2 out of the 3 phone numbers is disconnected.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/20) */ Hello **. ******, My name is **************, and I am with the Executive Customer Assistance Team here at McAfee. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns. To confirm, the letter you received did not originate from McAfee, and we suspect it may have been crafted in a phishing attempt. The phone numbers included in the letter and the sender address are not official McAfee contact details. McAfee does not send purchase or renewal confirmation by standard mail, but by email to the subscribed email address. Additionally, our official support contact information can be found and verified at https://service.mcafee.com/. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding McAfee, please feel free to contact me directly at ************. I am in the office Monday-Friday, from 10am to 7pm Central Time (US). Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, ************** Executive Customer Assistance Team

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/10/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  After installing the "McAfee ****************** applications on my PC, I noticed that the icon for ********** was (and still is) grayed out in the ******* browser, and I determined that it was not performing its function. My first conversation with their support staff resulted in my issue being transferred to a different team, and I was told that they would be calling me back. They called the phone number associated with my account, but that's not the number I pick up, so I contacted the company to give them the correct phone number. I had no way, and still have no way, of directly contacting the team to whom my issue was transferred. I was told that I would get a call from them within a few hours. That didn't happen, so I called back to follow up a day or two later. I was told that the support ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. I gave the correct number again, and I was again told that I'd get a call back within a few hours. Once again, that didn't happen. Once again, I called to follow-up. Once again, I was told that the ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. Once again, I provided the correct phone number and was told that I'd get a call back within a few hours. Once again, that didn't happen. Once again, I followed-up, this time via the company's text chat option on their web site, on Friday, July 8th. Once again, I was told that the support ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. The character limit of this field prevents me from providing a reasonably complete explanation, let alone a reasonably complete version of my "desired resolution", which I hoped to put here because it doesn't fit in its box either. Please let me know how to provide the complete explanation of the problem. It seems like adding more as a "supporting document" would be a bad decision, because the company wouldn't be able to see it.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/25/2022

  Consumer Response /* (-5, 5, 2022/07/18) */ As I mentioned when filing the complaint, the character limit of the fields prevented me from providing a reasonably complete explanation of the incident and my desired resolution. I asked how to provide the rest of the information. Why did you forward it to the business before getting the full version? Here it is: After installing the "McAfee ****************** applications on my PC, I noticed that the icon for ********** was (and still is) grayed out in the ******* browser, and I determined that it was not performing its function. My first conversation with their support staff resulted in my issue being transferred to a different team, and I was told that they would be calling me back. They called the phone number associated with my account, but that's not the number I pick up, so I contacted the company to give them the correct phone number. I had no way, and still have no way, of directly contacting the team to whom my issue was transferred. I was told that I would get a call from them within a few hours. That didn't happen, so I called back to follow up a day or two later. I was told that the support ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. I gave the correct number again, and I was again told that I'd get a call back within a few hours. Once again, that didn't happen. Once again, I called to follow-up. Once again, I was told that the ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. Once again, I provided the correct phone number and was told that I'd get a call back within a few hours. Once again, that didn't happen. Once again, I followed-up, this time via the company's text chat option on their web site, on Friday, July 8th. Once again, I was told that the support ticket had not been updated with the correct phone number. I gave the correct number again, and I was told that I'd get a call back later that day or on Monday. Each time I contacted the company, except the first time, I provided the ticket number, and I explained what had happened during the previous contacts, including how many times I had already provided the correct number. During one of the later calls, I was extremely frustrated, and I did not exactly behave like a saint. I apologize. Throughout all of this, I received emails indicating that they were waiting to hear back from me and would close the ticket if they did not. The email included instructions to not reply to the email, because the address was for outbound email only, and to instead use the same method I used to contact them in the first place. Today (Sunday), I got an email saying that the ticket had been closed. I never got a call from them, nor does my phone show any missed calls from phone numbers I'm not already familiar with. Besides, what if I had been unable to answer the phone? This call-back method, at least as they've implemented it, seems to be problematic. I guess it's possible that someone will call me on Monday, but with the ticket closed, it seems unlikely. (2022-Jul-13 update: I never did get a call.) I want the problem fixed, and it's my duty to hold them accountable for what I've been through. I want them to investigate what happened, determine why it happened, and make corresponding changes to their support processes and/or policies. To hold them accountable, I need them to explain, to me, what they discover, what they decide to change or not change, and why. There might be a problem with their metrics or how their support personnel believe the metrics are interpreted and used. I have it on good authority that at what is probably one of the biggest companies in the world, which I shall not name, the computer tech support department is judged based almost exclusively on the total number of tickets they close. The very big problems with this are, I hope, obvious. I hope that McAfee does better. Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/07/25) */ Dear ******* My name is ************** I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at McAfee. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns. If you have any additional concerns in the future regarding your McAfee account, please feel free to contact me directly at **************** I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (US). If you would prefer to communicate by email, you may reach me at ************************. Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, ************** Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/08/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) What's shown here as the "Business Response" was also sent to me as an email directly from the company. In my reply, I asked them to address the problems I had already experienced while trying to get support. They ignored that request. It was only when I later spoke to them on the phone and specifically asked about it that they told me that it was against policy to discuss the results of the investigation. Now, I see that the full version of the complaint was available to them a week before their first response, making that first response seem incomplete. This also means that, before I spoke to them on the phone, they had two opportunities to address my previous experiences with their support department. They ignored both opportunities. Also, their policy makes it impossible for me to hold them accountable. Regarding the issue that I wanted support for in the first place, they tried to schedule a date and time for me to talk to someone. I explained that, ************************************ would be difficult for me, and I asked about the possibility of receiving support via email. (The phone conversation I mentioned above was with the person handling the complaint, not a pre-scheduled conversation with support.) They did this, and it worked. When using the information they provided, I also figured out why the problem had probably occurred in the first place, and I also found a settings screen that I'm pretty sure a previous member of their support staff tried but failed to find while they had control of my system, the first time I contacted them about this issue, before filing the *** complaint. To increase the chances that someone might use this information to prevent problems for future customers, those are the first things I mentioned in the final email I wrote to them. Their reply to that email clearly indicated that they hadn't read far enough into the email to know that I had solved the problem. I appreciate that they were willing to work around my difficulty with scheduling a phone call, but that doesn't come close to making up for everything else. Business Response /* (4000, 17, 2022/08/17) */ Dear **. *******, My name is *************. I am on the Executive Customer Assistance Team at McAfee. I want to thank you for working with me regarding your concerns. Unfortunately we are not able to provide details regarding our coaching process since this information is internal only. Our team has attempted to reach you regarding your technical concerns, but was unable to do so. If you need to reach me regarding this issue, please feel free to contact me directly at **************** I am available Monday-Friday, from 7am to 4pm Central Time (US). If you would prefer to communicate by email, you may reach me at ************************. Thank you for contacting McAfee. Sincerely, *************